Best Pet Store
Dolittle’s
In the olden days of 1993, Ric Sommons and his fiancee (now wife) Leah founded Dolittle’s with their love for pets as their compass as they drove up the Eastern seaboard. They began by selling handcrafted trinkets in the City Market, realizing that a full-blown store would have to wait; after all, opening a new business was going to take some serious starting cash.
It wasn’t until the winter of 1994 that they sold their first item, a hand-painted personalized leash holder, and with its sale came more: homemade treats, picture frames, bird houses and others. These small items and even smaller sales eventually built the foundations for Dolittle’s to open its first shop after five years of scraping and saving.
Now, after 25 years and great success, Dolittle’s is a collection of locally owned and operated stores with the Sommons still at the helm. With a quarter of a century under their belt, the Sommons’ early concept of a neighborhood pet store that would run for 100 years doesn’t seem quite as lofty.
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