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Vol. 2, No. 38
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Friday, September 22, 2017
Healthy Pet brings ‘‘family vibe’’ to Peabody By Christopher Roberson
C
iting a recent shift in consumer shopping trends, Robert Mellace, along with his brother John and sister Lucia, decided to open Healthy Pet, a store with a comprehensive approach to pet care. Located at 637 Lowell St., the store’s soft opening was on July 9 with the ribbon-cutting and grand opening on Sept. 15-16. “Healthy Pet is a new concept store for us,” said Mellace, adding that he and his siblings have also owned Pet Express since 1995. “We try to provide consumers with healthy alternatives; we don’t want consumers going to the Internet to buy things for their pets.” Mellace said customers can quickly determine the quality of pet food by looking at the first five ingredients. “The proof is in the label,” he said. Some of the brand names customers will find at Healthy Pet are Blue Buffalo, Merrick, Taste of the Wild and Fruitables. M ellace also said that Healthy Pet is designed to be a neighborhood store, rath-
Shown celebrating the Healthy Pet store’s ribbon-cutting on September 15 are, from left to right, Mayor Edward Bettencourt, the Peabody Area Chamber of Commerce President Deanne Healey, Healthy Pet Co-Owner John Mellace, Healthy Pet Co-Owner Lucia Mellace-Castle, State Rep. Thomas Walsh, State Rep. Theodore Speliotis and Healthy Pet Co-Owner Robert Mellace. See photo highlights from the event on page 11. (Photo Courtesy of Maria Terris)
er than a big box conglomerate. “We have that family vibe here,” he said. The store itself features a 400-gallon fish tank; a rabbit-petting area, which Mel-
lace said has been very popular with the children, as well as fish from across the globe, lizards, ferrets and hedgehogs. Mellace said Healthy Pet is equipped with LED lighting.
“We’re a green store,” he said. In addition, Mellace spoke in favor of House Bill 3212. Sponsored by State Rep. Mark Cusack, the bill would prohibit the sale of puppies and kit-
tens that are less than eight weeks old, require puppy microchips to improve consumer protection and prohibit the roadside sale of puppies. “This is a bill we’re standing behind,” said Mellace. Although Boston City Councillor Matthew O’Malley sponsored and passed a similar city ordinance in March 2016, Mellace said, it did nothing more than create a black market for puppy mills. “What they did in Boston was so counter-productive, it does absolutely nothing,” he said. State Rep. Theodore Speliotis said he would like to see tighter regulations for service dogs. Right now, anyone can go online and obtain a document stating that they have a service dog, when in fact, that is not the case at all. “I’d like to do that bill,” said Speliotis. “It has wide support in the State House.” Healthy Pet’s hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The store can be reached at 978-535-7387.
Tanners soccer net home opener win Medical marijuana still a
hot topic for City Council By Christopher Roberson
T
Austin Silva attempts to regain control of the ball during a rush to the net against Swampscott during the Tanners 4-2 home opener victory against their Northeastern Conference foe. See story and photo highlights inside on page 6. (Advocate photo by Greg Phipps)
he City Council continued to tread lightly on the matter regarding medical marijuana companies who will be applying to set up shop in Peabody. “We don’t want to be in court, we want to protect ourselves,” said President Joel Saslaw during the council’s Sept. 14 meeting. He also said he expects all approved companies to be active and positive contributors to the city. “These entities are going to put their best foot forward,” he said. But the real issue has been about determining when a letter of non-opposition would be warranted. “That’s the elephant in the room,” said Saslaw. “There is no guide.” Therefore, he suggested a list of criteria for the council to use when it comes time to start making those kinds of decisions. Saslaw recommend-
ed inquiring about a company’s board of directors, its level of security and its years of industry experience and location. “Those are the things that I thought about,” he said. Saslaw also said the council would review a host agreement before sending it to Mayor Edward Bettencourt for his signature. Councillor-at-Large David Gravel suggested implementing additional zoning restrictions for medical marijuana companies. “We should go back into the Zoning Ordinance, open it up and put in the restrictions,” he said. In other news, the council voted unanimously to grant a live and non-live entertainment license to Metro Bowl. Resident Jose Pinto of Chestnut Street said he and his neighbors were initially apprehensive about car alarms
MEDICAL | SEE PAGE 10