ASHLAND, Ore—When you think of businesses being impacted because of the supply chain crisis, the first thought that might come to mind is grocery stores, restaurants and even hardware supply stores.
But one hidden business that is being impacted that you might not think about, is pet stores.
“The supply chain has really gripped us hard,” said Billie Jo Vinson, owner of Wellness Pet Supplies in Ashland. “Frankly sometimes there is this worry that I have in the back of my mind where I wonder ‘will we be able to make it if we can’t find the food’. They have to feed their animals.”
For almost five years, the Wellness Pet Supplies shop has been opened on A Street in Ashland, giving customers a unique and friendly experience. All in an effort to keep customer’s pets as healthy as possible.
“I see so many unhealthy and not well animals all day every day,” said Vinson. “To be able to sit and talk with these people and put their animals on a different system and see it work, it literally brings me tears of joy.”
But like many pet stores that NewsWatch 12 has spoken with over the last several days, when the pandemic and supply crisis hit, new and more difficult challenges arose.
One of those challenges, finding enough product to fill their shelves.
“We are just constantly on the phone and just researching products to see what’s out there,” said Vinson. “Every time I can’t sell something because there is a hole there, it affects our bottom dollar.”
On Wednesday, NewsWatch 12 also reached out to Nature’s Pet Medford to find out how their business has been impacted by the supply chain crisis.
Over the phone, NewsWatch 12 was able to speak with owner Vickie Pagan, who told us that because of the supply crisis, they’ve had to try and get two weeks ahead in their orders, just to make sure they have enough product to fill their shelves.
However, over the course of the day NewsWatch 12 discovered that not every pet store in the valley has been impacted as dramatically as Wellness Pet Supplies and Nature’s Pet Medford.
One of those stores who hasn’t, is the Rogue Valley Pet store in Medford.
“We actually haven’t been impacted too much,” said Joslin Redler, former manager of Rogue Valley Pet.
Redler told NewsWatch 12 that despite the supply crisis, the store has been able to keep almost all of its product stocked, excluding canned pet food.
“We have not been hit nearly as bad as some of the other companies and businesses out there,” said Redler. “We have been very lucky to not have that issue.”
But despite the challenges of the on-going supply crisis and COVID-19 pandemic, small-time pet store owners like Billie Jo have told NewsWatch 12 that they will continue to press on.
“I just want to let people know that we are working as hard and as fast as we can,” said Vinson. “We have everyone’s pets and interests at heart and we will do our very best that they can get the things they need.”
