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Pet Businesses Get Creative When Coronavirus Causes Sanitizer and Disinfectant Shortage

55 percent of those surveyed reported difficulty finding these operational necessities, but in typical indie fashion, they figured out a solution.

Published

4 years ago

March 20, 2020

Pamela Mitchell

When Johnna Devereaux of Fetch RI in Richmond, RI, could not find sanitizer to buy, she put on her herbalist hat and made it.

“Everywhere is out of stock,” she says. “Luckily I had my herbal supplies around and made batches for the store.”

When taking our PETS+ Brain Squad survey on how COVID-19 has affected pet businesses, 55 percent of owners and managers answered “yes” to the question “Have you encountered any difficulties obtaining disinfecting, sanitation or medical products?”

Like Devereaux, Melissa Ripple of Paws & Effect, LLC, in Eustis, FL, found a solution to the shortage problem.

“I am able to get kennel wash from my distributor. I use that to clean and have to apologize when the door handle is wet as it takes a few moments of sitting to actually kill the hard germs!”

Georgann McConn of Pet Pros in Woodinville, WA, took a DIY approach.

“We resorted to ordering the supplies to make our own hand sanitizer.”

Stores also reported having difficulty finding toilet paper, to no one’s surprise.

As of March 20, 73 owners and managers have responded to our survey. Stay tuned for more results. Join the PETS+ Brain Squad to take part in surveys. To hear more from your independent pet business peers, join our Facebook Community.

P.L.A.Y. Media Spotlight

At P.L.A.Y. — Pet Lifestyle & You — toy design is definitely a team effort! Watch PETS+ interviewer Chloe DiVita and P.L.A.Y.’s Director of Sales Lisa Hisamune as they talk about the toy design process, the fine-tuning that makes each toy so special and why every P.L.A.Y. collection is made with independent retailers top of mind.