Cheney's Pet Paradise expands into former furniture store

By BECKY THOMAS

Staff Reporter

New customers have been coming into Cheney's Pet Paradise and asking how long it's been open.

“Well, about two months,” owner David Hobbs said of the shop's new location, just around the corner from their former space. “They didn't even know we were next door for seven years. It's a lot more visible.”

Pet Paradise moved to the former Copperwood Furniture store at 1814 Second St. at the end of September. Hobbs, who launched the pet shop in 2003, said he had been looking to expand for a while.

“I just couldn't do anything else over there because I was maxed out on space,” he said. “We wanted to bring back more reptiles and birds and stuff like that, but I had nowhere to put it.”

The new Pet Paradise is full at 4,800 square feet, but much more organized and less crowded than its former home at a third of the size.

Hobbs sells dog and cat toys, collars and other supplies, food for a variety of animals including a selection of all-natural foods and much more. He said heated pet beds, water dishes and coats and boots for dogs have been selling well with recent cold weather.

The fish selection has expanded, with a wall dedicated to display tanks and dozens of types of fish. Hobbs said the extra space has allowed him to sell larger fish tanks, up to 210 gallons.

“There's a wide range of styles, sizes, colors,” he said. “I could fill up the whole store just with fish tanks if I wanted to.”

Pet Paradise also sells animals—from puppies and kittens to gerbils and lizards. Hobbs said he plans to offer more different reptiles and other animals in the future.

“We want to expand and have more of a variety, more snakes, more different kinds of lizards, stuff like that,” he said.

While Hobbs said he has a solid group of regular customers, he's hoping to entice more Cheney residents to do their pet shopping locally with his expanded store. He said he can offer more personal service and comparable prices to shops in Spokane, adding that anything he doesn't have can probably be ordered.

“A lot of regular people, I just order stuff for,” he said. “I get orders every week so I just add it on to my order, as long as my distributors carry it.”

Cheney's Pet Paradise is open weekdays 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturdays 11 a.m.-5 p.m. The store can be reached at 235-7387.

Becky Thomas can be reached at [email protected].