Ellensburg Pet Center

Sonja

2024-05

We had purchased a couple fish 3 days prior for the MIL. 1 of the fish died. We brought it back and they exchanged it without to many questions. Very nice, helpful staff

German lady

2024-02

Lady that helped my husband today with purchase of hamster and crickets was really rude. She didn't want him to look at the hamsters in order for him to see which he wanted to purchase. And also we have been there lots and have never had rude customer service. On top the store Parrot has always showed affection to my husband and she told him not to go near it, when he has in the past and the Parrot stepped on his shoulder.

MontyBakes

2023-10

I have been frequenting the Ellensburg Pet Center for 20+ years and would give them more than 5 stars if I could. The best place ran by the best people. Professional, caring customer service and pets that are given the highest level of care. So much more than you could ever expect from a small town shop, and truly a centerpiece of the community.Picture of my wonderful girl who was a fostered rescue through the shop ❤

Rebekah

2022-05

Best place to find your well cared for adoptive family pet! We bought one bearded dragon from here, and because it was so loving, we went back the same day to get another and they are inseparable! Everyone there was so friendly, and informational as well as have a wide variety of pets, and fish! As well as their store pet Buddy the parrot who is obviously also well loved and cared for and worth just stopping by to meet him!

Avery R.

2022-05

I bought my two Guinea pigs Sage and Ivy there. It is way to expensive for them ( $50) but it is so worth it. A few staff know my family and how often we go there so they always let me help with the pigs there. Staff are always welcoming and I love that.

Beezy Bee

2023-10

I just moved to town for school and was so excited to hear that Ellensburg had a family owned pet store. While enjoying an event put on by my college I was excited to see Ellensburg Pet Center was participating, I love to see communities coming together to support EVERYONE! I was a lucky winner for a Betta fish today and man was that a lot of fun, the gentleman running their booth was so friendly and engaged with each individual that stopped by. I was so excited for my new fish I couldn’t wait to get to the pet store!! Immediately upon walking in the environment was so inviting and I was greeted by several kind ladies. The selection of tanks and supplies was absolutely superb. The staff walked me through all fish care, recommendations and requirements and gave me lots of tips and tricks on how I can provide the best environment for my new fish friend. I also really enjoyed the fact they had a care sheet for me take home just in case I needed to reference at a later time. I ended up purchasing a 10 gallon kit with all the works, plants, houses, decor and a cute little floating log. If you are looking for new fish friends, furry friends or even reptiles this is the place to go!! You will receive outstanding customer service and the staff will take the time to walk you through all care and answer any questions you may have. And the best part is they did all this without making me feel like I was waisting their time, or asking silly questions. Great pet store and great staff!!!!!!

Dylan Womer

2022-05

Got my new best friend here. very helpful. Cool shop even had to go back and get her brother for my girl. They are amazing!

Tania Kenner

2023-12

We drove from Cle Elum specifically for a product we could only get here (Mushers Secret). No other local stores carried anything like it. We had a very important dog event taking place nearby and were facing icy crusty snow that could really hurt the dogs' paws. Finding this product here meant we could offer some protection. Very nice staff.

s

2023-07

I've heard of other people getting sick rats from them and they don't care. Pictures below are of a rat I found there who had necrotic tissue on the tip of her tail as well as she had a respiratory infection at around 1.5 months old. I let them know about her condition and they just told me to return her as well as upped the price to $14 because she was "hairless and dumbo" (she is clearly not) I recommend looking at different rescues in Washington vs getting pets from a store that doesn't prioritize healthy animals and knows nothing about them. Munchies Place, Layla's playhouse and Little Lives Animal rescue are a few rescues I recommend.For people who don't know what goes into proper animal care this may seem like a great place but it's quite sad that so many animals are packed into tiny cages/tanks. They also don't sell any proper enclosures for most of the poor animals sold here. When are we going to stop treating animals this way?

Katieann Cook

2023-10

I feel like this is so unnecessary to have to say, I can't believe people who have ran a petstore for God knows how long in this ramshackle town still don't know how to properly take care of FISH. One of the most abused animals in the pet trade and they are willingly subjecting who knows how many fish to horrible care by just giving them out for free for some downtown event. If they truly gave even the tiniest sliver of a damn about their animals this would not have even been an idea that crossed their minds let alone actually be something they regularly do yearly. So sad to see happening in MY town and so sad to see so many people blindly participating.Very disappointed with the quality of everything that comes out of this store. I use to purchase frozen rodents from this establishment for my snakes but every time I fed them anything from this store they would regurgitate them. The rodent care is NOT up to the standards it should be for pet consumption. My animals refused food multiple times when it had to do with this store, my ball python specifically lost multiple pounds from the stress of regurgitation and refusing food in general. Live feeding is unsafe and was never an option for my pets so I was forced to take my business elsewhere 45 minutes outside of town. After living in town for the last 2 going on 3 years I have not seen much if any improvement to the treatment of the rest of the animals, it always hurt my heart when I would go in there for cat litter to see how depressed the reptiles clearly were. No reptiles should be subjected to inaccurate heating and humidity. It was honestly always surprising to see that their lizards didn't have metabolic bone disease. I think the only saving grace for these animals was them either dying young before it could set in or they sold quickly enough that they could hopefully recover outside of these individuals poor and inexcusable care.Take your business elsewhere save your money and your own animals health. If I could leave zero stars, it would be greatly EARNED by these individuals.

Junior

2023-10

Embarrassing that the owners and management have to rely on their own family to feed their business 5 star reviews on Google, rather than obtain such reviews from actual customers, visitors and people who don’t have a personal affiliation with the shop. It has been a shame to watch this business come downhill in the way it has. I will not go more in depth, for everything else has already been said in previous reviews. But, in summation, to echo those other *legitimate* reviews, please consider taking your business somewhere where animals and employees are cared for alike, employees are educated, and management is wholly willing to educate, listen, and change.

Andrea Knight

2023-10

Very nice, local pet store! Staff was very helpful with suggestions for my new puppy's chewing. For a small shop, they have plenty of options! Awesome, smiling staff, clean store, and a great place to support local business!

GMc B

2023-09

Where do I start… With this being the nearly only place in Ellensburg to get fish it is unfortunate that care seems aloof and their staff are often dismissive or disinterested. Nearly every fish (except for one), that I have gotten from here has died far too soon to be acceptable. I have had tropical fish and aquarium setups for more than 10 years and have never had fish die so quickly. I have purchased the same species of fish from other pet stores that have lived over 2 years. The same species being purchased here and multiple dying within 48 hours to a week is devastating. Many other businesses guarantee their fish from 2 weeks to 30 days with receipt and water sample. A window of 48 hours is so unfortunate especially given the amount of fish that I have seen sitting dead in their tanks. A good handful of the workers seem unenthused to be there and handle the critters (especially fish) with such a lack of compassion. This most recent time getting fish from here the fish died within the 48 hours and a replacement fish was issued but the lack of care during this replacement was disappointing to say the least. While waiting for the water sample to be tested I noticed multiple fish and other aquatic animals who had died and were still sitting in the tanks here. When the water sample we brought in was finally approved the person working was looking for the same fish to replace our deceased fish and when we selected one of the fish we were told “that ones face is all deformed” and told “it probably has health issues so I wouldn’t get that one”. Then the fish was put in the bag and shaken about while getting the rubber bands on and there was barely any air in the bag. Supporting small businesses is essential and I wish this could be on my list of businesses to support but not with the lack of care for the critters, the disinterest and disregard of the staff, and the amount of fish that have died from here with tests being well within the healthy range from my tank.

Astran

2023-09

Where to even begin? Management treats their staff like hot garbage. Staff don't know how to improve because management refuses to provide any reason for chewing them out. They could care less about their animals. There have been multiple occurrences of animals dying in their cages or they get sick and management couldn't care less and management even goes so far as to blame their own staff who only have so many supplies to work with to care for these animals. They put the weight of these animal's deaths on the shoulders of the staff.They also don't have the appropriate enclosures for their tarantulas, they don't have nearly enough substrate to burrow and if they're arboreal they are in the wrong kind of enclosure for climbing. It should also be noted that management doesn't take ANY advice on how to properly care for these animals and management will be combative towards criticism to improve the care of these animals. Petsense is no better, but for a local pet store I expect better. The African Grey Buddy is obviously stressed with how many feathers are gone and how small the cage is for them despite all the denial and insistence that theyre fine. This place is absolutely abhorrent and I highly advise you to take your money elsewhere. Get your pets from a more reputable establishment. Do NOT support the Ellensburg Pet Center because of how they abuse their staff and neglect the animals they sell by not providing adequate space and supplies for the staff to care for them. Run FAR away if you're thinking of seeking employment with them. You'll be working a full time position marked as part time just because they don't want to give you the benefits you deserve.

Hallowayfrost

2023-10

I write this after learning this awful establishment is going to kill thousands of fish by handing them out in this plastic bags to anyone that asks for one. I’m not gonna lie there needs to be some serious changes made to the store it business model if it shouldn’t just be closed down. When I came in I was looking for a turtle for my son for his birthday. The moment we saw them it was clear that the animal had been being forced to share a tank even though proper husbandry calls for the them to be separate so that the humidity won’t make them sickly. I’m no expert on birds however it was clear that the shoe box they called an enclosure was covered in poop and was far too small for 1 bird let alone the 8 they shoved in the poor prison . THIS IS NOT HUMANE!!! I wanted to blame the workers however after voicing my concern they told me of there personal concerns, I think it is appalling how clear it is that those responsible and making profit off the lives of these animals care so little for their safety or for the customers who are simply looking to find a pet that is healthy not depressed and has come from a good location. Instead I felt like I was simply paying an exuberant amount for a rescue. My sons turtle died 2 days ago after its eyes swole shut went blind and starved to death. Thank you Daria and randy please explain to my 8 year old why his turtles eyes bled so much and why it’s gone forever….. this first time mother has no idea how.

Tiffany Ochoa

2023-10

I honestly would give them 0 stars if I could, they literally mistreat the animals so badly. They claim to be a great pet store but they only care about upping prices and making money. The poor animals get mistreated and they don't care what happens to them, makes me sad seeing all those animals being mistreated those poor babies need better care!! They are literally no better than how a circus treats animals.

Sarah Fieroh

2023-05

While the staff here is friendly I don’t appreciate the fact that they have terrible customer service. I understand not taking returns on pet toys and treats since some dogs may destroy something fast while others slowly. However after explaining that I believe it was manufacture issue, it was expensive and destroyed in under 5 minutes I at least expected a simple gesture of 10% off your next toy/treat or something that says we care that you had a bad experience. Instead they told me that they don’t take returns on those items because some dogs destroy things quickly. I also bought a very expensive cat tree there that they wouldn’t back if it fell apart. They said we don’t offer a guarantee but it won’t fall apart. When you are up against big company’s like Amazon that take back anything and everything plus offer a better price the least you can do to be successful is at least offer top notch customer service to your customers so they know that you care. I can’t rationalize spending more money locally when they won’t even back their products or show that they are sorry your out the money. That is part of running a small business that makes all the difference in people returning. I love shopping locally and always give local businesses a chance before I buy online.

Tom Baxter

2023-09

Really wish I could give more stars. I went there twice while staying in Ellensburg. First time was great! I was impressed with the quality of foods, great local raw options, but the staff was pretty inattentive. I only bought a couple items my first trip there, but decided to go back again to buy more stuff to bring home since I'm from out of town and wanted to support this local business. So this 2nd time My wife and I noticed they had birds over to the side, so we went to look at them. After maybe 5 seconds, I noticed a toy hanging from the top of the cage that was snagged on a piece of wood. I lightly slid the toy from the top, not putting my finger IN the cage and was promptly yelled at (yes, yelled) from across the store "DON'T SCARE THE BIRDS!!". Needless to say, that was wildly unnecessary, considering the birds were calm and I had done absolutely nothing to scare them. I was about to ask the associate what I had done wrong, not to be rude or argue, but to see if maybe I had done something I was not even aware of. I wanted to learn from this experience. Unfortunately when I responded with "oh, I wasn't trying to scare them at all, I'm sorry, can I ask what I did?" She rolled her eyes and ignored me, then walked away... So, my wife and I put our items back where we found them and decided our business was clearly not wanted or appreciated at this establishment and walked out. I work as a pet nutrition specialist, I own a Dog Training business and a non-profit that helps get all different types of animals transported, fostered, fixed, medical, etc. I have worked in privately owned pet shops and dedicated years of my life to educating myself about animals, including birds. I had hoped to potentially get in contact with the owners of this business to see if they would be interested in getting involved with adoption events or food drives sometime. I always try to expand my network to nearby areas. However, if this is the type of employee they are okay with having around their customers and animals, and consider this an acceptable interaction, Im forced to question the integrity of the entire business. Maybe this is just an isolated incident with 1 employee, but as a 30 year old adult, with more experience than most, to be yelled at by this teen-early 20s person like I'm a child...that's just insulting. I hope that employee learns to treat people more respectfully and REALLY hope she doesn't treat the animals with that same hostility.

Erin

2023-10

I'm very disappointed in this store, I've have seen firsthand how they treat their employees, put money before the quality of life for the animals that are living in the store, specifically not ensuring that the animals are kept in the proper spaces depending on their species, to the point that there have been multiple, avoidable deaths that management has failed to act upon. The fish have also been seriously neglected, which is also due to the lack of instruction from management to employees on the proper care for them.

Brady Timberlake

2023-10

ZERO STARS! DO NOT BUY FROM HERE. They treat animals like their decoration and do not care whatsoever. No pet store should recommend small tanks for fish nor should they keep fish/reptiles/mammals in small tanks! They use tanks that should be specifically used for transportation or cleaning for regular use. Absolutely terrible pet store that is money hungry. Choose anywhere else!

Mae Bloom

2023-10

I’m never the type to leave a bad review for a business but I’ve been living in Ellensburg for about 5 years now and I have never walked into this store thinking about how well taken care of these animals are. There is an annual event that happens downtown every year and when I found out that they were going to be handing out Beta Fish for free to any random stranger who “wins” it without telling anyone about the tank requirements to take care of a beta fish, (did you know beta fish need to have a filter and heater because they’re a warm water fish?). Everything that lives there is suffering… they have shoved upwards of 10 birds into one small prison, same with the turtles, hamsters, and other rodents. I must admit though, the reptiles and fish have it the worst, they are being held in improper living conditions resulting in premature deaths. Every month I come in there’s a new chameleon in the tank and not because they had sold it. Having to find out through the staff that typically run the store how much the animals really are suffering here was really just disappointing. Clearly the employees care more about the animals here than the owners of this establishment do.

Carson Defa

2023-10

This place is amazing! Been going here for as long as I have lived here. An Iv know the owners for just as long. They are amazing and truly wonderful and kind and caring people. I highly recommend people go to their shop. There family owned and just down to earth and honest people.

Jordan Hubbell

2023-05

Great place! They helped me cary out a large cat tree I bought and offered to hold it in the store if it didn't fit in my car. They also helped me pick out wet cat food that would be good for my two cats. Great people, and they have a cute bird who is such a sweetheart, she's the cover of the store and she is the coolest bird ever.

Agnes Miller

2023-10

I have patronized the Ellensburg Pet Store as long as I have lived in Ellensburg, and would highly recommend them to anyone looking to buy everything pet, from food to supplies, to animals from kitten to fish! They provide individualized help, and if a store employee cannot answer a question or put in a special order for you, the owners can and will! Lkve this store :)

Andrew Wilson

2023-09

We were looking for a specific collar that we had left at home. I gave pet center a call and they immediately knew they carried the brand and had it in stock. Great local pet store!

Darcie Correa

2023-10

Anytime I need anything for my fur babies,, they have what I’m looking for. I’ve been buying fish there forever. Never took home a diseased fish to my home tanks. They care.

dakota

2023-05

the employees were mostly helpful and nice- the owner on the other hand seemed to be more money driven than actually care about the animals she sells. she was very rude, not only to me but to other customers that were in the store. i’ve never seen the owner of an establishment with so little customer service skills. so if you plan on shopping here, just hope you go in at a time where you’re able to avoid her. your experience will be much better.

Mike M

2023-10

EPC has always had amazing staff, and a great variety of items. My cat required a special food, and they always had it in stock. My go-to place in Ellensburg for pet supplies!

Alexis Fisher

2023-10

Unfortunately they have no morals and neglect all the pets. Rude and unprofessional staff. Will never shop here again! Animals deserve peace and to be safe!

Avery Wheeler

2023-10

The most helpful staff that I have encountered. Their animals are so well taken care of and have a wide selection of pets and products.