WESTBROOK, Maine — The Animal House, a Maine-based business that sells healthy pet food, celebrated the opening of its latest site with a ribbon-cutting Saturday morning.
Westbrook Mayor Colleen Hilton cut the ribbon at the organization’s new digs on Main Street.
Established in 2005 in Damariscotta, the Animal House is dedicated to providing healthy food to pets. In 2008, the business was expanded to Internet sales, and in 2011 the company expanded its inventory to include small animals such as fish, birds and a variety of reptiles.
Aubrey Martin, president of The Animal House, explained that although the Westbrook store has been open since November, she wanted to wait for warmer weather before hosting an opening celebration. Since opening day, a different rescue group has visited the shop every weekend to discuss and arrange pet adoptions for interested customers.
“Anyone interested in adopting an animal can simply talk to me and we can go from there,” said Martin. “Unlike pet stores, we don’t sell animals. This started as a family business that valued animal safety and happiness, and we can’t say enough how important it is to adopt and take care of your pets.”
During the celebration, rescue groups sat at booths around the store and educated customers on proper pet nutrition and adoption. Groups such as New England Border Collie Rescue, Lucky Pup Rescue, Almost Home Rescue, Buddy Up Animal Society and the Animal Refuge League all attended Saturday’s celebration.
“We all support each other and we all do events,” said Jeannie Forgues, a volunteer coordinator at Almost Home Rescue. “But most importantly, we all support The Animal House and what it represents to this community.”
The Animal House has won numerous awards and was recently a finalist in the Institute for Family Business Awards that was held earlier this month in Portland.
“We are very pleased with this Westbrook location because we’ve gotten a lot of good community feedback,” said Martin. “The community service element of our company is the cornerstone of our business.”
Lindsey Smith, a Portland resident and customer at The Animal House, said that without the help of the staff at The Animal House, she wouldn’t have known what to do when her elderly dog’s health began to deteriorate.
“My veterinarian had told me that since my dog couldn’t eat, he wouldn’t last much longer,” said Smith. “Thankfully, the incredible people at this store gave me options on food he could easily chew, digest and love. They even taught me how to make my own pet food, which makes the customer service here amazing in comparison to different pet stores.”
The Animal House is located at 11 Main St., Westbrook, in the Kohl’s Plaza and is open seven days a week. For more information, call 207-887-9638 or visit www.theanimalhouse.net.