It is quite the all-encompassing enterprise, changed in the twenty years we were there last. There are so many other pet supply 'supermarkets' that opened closer to where we live, in our more immediate neighbourhood that we tended to go to them as reasonable alternatives to driving a little further. This week we drove a little further, re-visiting the original large pet supply place that we had gone to when our miniature poodle Button was just a pup. It was there that we had taken advantage of a clever machine that uses laser technology to print a personalized name tag complete with address to be worn at all times on a dog's collar. In case they ever get lost or anything remotely similar when identification is critical. We also had one done for Riley, seven years later. That would be almost fifteen years ago.

The place has changed in the sense that it offers now so many services to people with dogs. It operates what it calls a "pet hotel", otherwise known, one supposes as a temporary kennel, where dogs can be left when their owners go off somewhere. There is also a dog-sitting service, two large areas fronted by plate glass where dogs of all shapes, sizes and breeds can be seen milling restlessly about, the sorting done by size, and perhaps temperament. There are young women in each of these areas to ensure that all is well in those large 'pens' resembling hotel lobbies. They obviously must clean up any messes that ensue when any of their temporary charges inappropriately, but somewhat understandably decide to evacuate or to pee.

There are shelves groaning with a multitude of choices in canine and feline kibble, food tins, shampoos, grooming appliances, (oh yes, of course, they also operate a grooming studio where pets can be taken to look well-kept and stylish for a price) beds and cushions, crates and fences, toys and clothing, jackets, boots, anything a pet owner might think of complementing their responsibilities to their pet with. 

The place was quite full with shoppers, many people arriving with their dogs, large and small, and generally extremely well behaved, on leashes trotting along beside them. We were there to make some purchases of our own. And among those purchases two small collars and two name tags.