I was delighted a couple of months ago when I saw that a new Pets at Home store had just opened on a small retail park that is only 5 minutes away from home. We had no pet store anywhere near us prior to this and where it is easy to find food for our dog in any supermarket, special treats, or equipment proved more difficult. We keep tropical fish and have one or two tropical fish shops near to us but everything in those was very expensive.


Pets at Home is like a superstore for pets, it sells food and equipment for most pets such as dogs, cats, tropical and cold water fish, budgies, canaries , cockatiels, parrots, it has wildlife feeders and accessories, and even food and equipment for reptiles


I was amazed on my first visit how large the store was and on entering there were some cute little hamsters running around in their spotless units which housed the hamsters, food, water droppers, wheels and little wooden huts where they could take refuge from prying eyes.


Our store also had guinea pigs, rabbits, mice, and gerbils for sale as well. They glass units they are kept in were all very clean. One of the assistants was sat on the floor with four children surrounding her as she told them what was involved in keeping these small animals and what equipment they would need. I was considering buying a hamster and asked the assistant did they sell all the necessary equipment and she said that they did and another assistant showed me around the store, pointing out what I would need and how much it was.


Along one side of the store there was a lot of tropical fish and goldfish tanks, again all equipment was spotless and the fish all looked healthy and swimming around happily. In this section they had everything you would need to set up an aquarium, which included, tanks of varying sizes, cabinets and stands to hold them, filtration systems and pumps, thermostats, food, water treatments, gravel and tank ornaments.


I was delighted when I got to the back of the store and they had some reptiles for sale which were small bearded dragons and leopard Gecko's they were lazing around on the rocks in their vivariums happy in the artificial light provided.


Mr. Benn nudged me and reminded me we had come to look for a new bed for Huxley (our dog) as he had his other one from when he was a puppy and it was rather chewed and tatty, now he knows better than to eat his own bed so we decided to treat him to a new one. There was quite a few to choose from, all different shapes, sizes and materials and after much looking around we chose a nice faux fur square one with plenty of room in it which Huxley took to straightaway, the price was right for us at £19.99.


The dog and cat section is amazing there is stuff for anything a dog or cat would need, from all the usual stuff to grooming, hygiene, health products, travel equipment and even coats for the winter you name it, it is there. We also bought Huxley an adorable cuddle monkey dog toy (£9.99) which sleeps in his bed with him.


We picked up some replacement foam filter pads for the fish pump and some of our usual tropical fish food, both items were around £1.00 cheaper than we have found anywhere else.


There also sell care books and DVD's on how to look after most house pets and what food and how much to give them, with tips on grooming and training as well.


The service was excellent the staff were all in uniform, and interested in telling us about the animals and products.


We paid for our goodies and only realised when we got outside we had been in there for the best part of 2 hours, there was so much to look at and if you are interested in animals the time will fly past.


I would recommend anyone who has not been to a pets at home store to visit one and see what they are like, to me it is a wonderful chain of stores, the stuff all looks nice and of good quality with a reasonable price tag.