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Vol.16 No. 21
Pelham’s independent news source from the Heart of Niagara
The
VOICE
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Proud to be
The Voice of Pelham
for 15 years
Celebrating our 15th anniversary in print
Local business celebrating two anniversaries BY SARAH MURRELL VOICE Staff When it was time to renovate their PetValu store in keeping with the new branding of PetValu Ron Leavens and Julie Gledhill thought it would be a good time to enlarge the store and add a grooming salon. Head office thought differently and resisted the move. A year later Leavens and Gledhill, big smiles on their faces, say they were right. The business partners are celebrating the first anniversary in the larger store, complete with Groomingdale’s grooming salon and say it’s been a great year. “It’s been good, excellent,” says Leavens while Gledhill acknowledges the move has been “very, very good.” The old PetValu space in the Fonthill Shopping Plaza was a mere 1,800 square feet. Moving just two doors down in the plaza, the new PetValu has 3,200 square feet. In the old location, says Leavens, products were triple and quadruple faced to make room for all of the stock they carried. Now, everything has it’s own space. Gledhill notes customers
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TODD, the Golden Retriever, is happy to be at Groomingdale’s, the pet grooming salon in the new PetValu location in Fonthill, where Cortnie Welychka (left) and Alicia Walker treat their clients with care. Sarah Murrell/Voice Photo
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“We know by all means we’re not the vets,” says Gledhill. “We do what we can.” Leavens adds the PetValu staff never pressure pet owners to change their pet’s diet, but offer the knowledge they have and allow them to make the choice. He goes on to point out if a veterinarian prescribes a pet diet, there are some things PetValu can provide but often they send customers to the veterinary clinic to buy the proper food prescribed. “We have a great relationship with the area vets,” says Leavens. While the new store is just a year old Leavens and Gledhill have been offering great service to local pet owners for 15 years. “We take pride in our customer service and the knowledge our staff has,” says Leavens. To celebrate the first anniversary of the new location and the 15th anniversary of the business itself, the store will be holding a barbecue on Saturday, Aug. 4 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., complete with a birthday cake and a draw for a $100 gift certificate for the store. The barbecue is a fundraiser with all proceeds going to help kittens find forever homes. There will also be an adopt-athon that day.
INSIDE
thevoiceofpelham Check us out, eh?
comment the store carries so much more product no, but it’s just that you can see everything they have. The goal, they explain, is to make shopping at PetValu a pleasant experience rather than a trip to the warehouse. Aside from the space, there have been a few other changes at the store as well. The addition of a grooming salon, which drew two excellent professional groomers to work there and two great assistants, has allowed PetValu to provide an extra level of service to their clients. Leavens laughs that often pet owners come in warning the staff it will be impossible to groom their pet, but the staff take care of the pets with no problems. It’s an indication the groomers know how to handle all kinds of pets and are very professional, he notes. The staff in the retail side of the store are also very professional, having had to take a series of modular training courses on all aspects of pet products, including an extensive nutrition course. Taught through the University of California’s Davis School of Veterinary, the courses allow PetValu staff to help their customers from a place of knowledge.
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