Published: November 15, 2009 03:01 am      

Pets Plus expands under new ownership

FAIRMONT — Pets Plus LLC, under new ownership, has expanded its offerings to become a full-service pet store.

Pets Plus, located at 601 Fairmont Ave., has been in business since September 1989 and was previously owned by John Daniels.

Aaron Ashley, who owns Shermantic Computer Service directly across the street, said he had known the workers at Pets Plus for more than a decade and saw that the shop could potentially go out of business. Pets Plus had been seeking new ownership, and Ashley had been approached several times over the years to purchase it.

Ashley did an interim term at the business from August through September and officially took over on Oct. 1.

Under Ashley’s ownership, Pets Plus has more than tripled its in-stock items and has done a good amount of renovations. Ashley called this work “a refresher for a 20-year business.”

The store is putting in new facilities for all its puppies and now offers full-service grooming.

“It essentially makes us Marion County’s only full-service pet store,” Ashley said. “It’s a one-stop shop for your animal.”

Pets Plus only works with local puppy breeders and offers a lot of rescue puppies and kittens.

“If the pound won’t take them, we very well may,” Ashley said. “We placed over 20 rescue puppies in the month of October.”

He said Pets Plus has one of the largest aquatic displays in the area, with more than 76 species of freshwater fish. The store has birds, rabbits, gerbils, hamsters and guinea pigs for sale. Customers can also find chinchillas, ferrets, mice, rats, geckos, snakes, turtles, hermit crabs and more there.

Pets Plus recently applied for its United States Department of Agriculture license to carry exotic animals, like squirrels and monkeys. Ashley hopes to be able to sell these animals by the first of the year.

Rachel Abel, who has been with the store for more than eight years, is the manager. Pets Plus also hired some new employees, which brought its total number of workers to six. Ashley said he’s shocked by how well business has been going since he bought the shop.

Ashley, originally from Mannington, moved to Fairmont when he was about 17 years old. He is also the owner of Mountaineer GrafX LLC, which outgrew its Fairmont facility and moved to a larger space in Shinnston in June.

Pets Plus is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 304-366-7016.

E-mail Jessica Legge Borders at jlegge@timeswv.com.