Philadelphia Pet Store Guide: 19 Local Shops to Know

Philadelphia’s pet stores range from a business in continuous operation since 1866 to shops that opened as recently as 2025.

Some are family-run independents, while others are boutiques built around grooming, wellness or treats. A few are chains.

Here’s a look at 19 of them, with contact details for each and a note on what each does best, from adoptions and self-serve dog washes to fish, reptiles and exotic animals.

Old Roots, New Specialties

Ac’cent on Animals holds the longest record on this list.

It grew out of Vahle’s Pet Shops, a family business in continuous operation in Philadelphia since 1866 and known for its bird trade, including canaries and finches imported through relatives in Germany.

Today the South Street store sells toys and treats for dogs and cats and runs a dog bakery, and the company has two more locations, on Ridge Avenue in Roxborough and on Chestnut Street near Rittenhouse Square.

Details: 804 South St.; (215) 625-8420; aoapets.com. Best for: dog treats and a piece of local history.

The story behind Litterpaw Pet Supply’s name starts with a cat.

Guinness, the 19-year-old pet of owners Donnie and Ilya, was forever getting litter stuck in her paws, and when the couple opened the Washington Square West shop in 2010, she gave it its name.

They wanted a clean, welcoming place to shop, and the shelves carry top brands alongside natural, unique and local products. The shop’s cat and small-pet sitting service began in 2012 almost by accident: a customer asked the owners to watch her cats during a last-minute work trip, and the request became a business.

Details: 267 S. 10th St.; (215) 825-5625; litterpawpetsupply.com. Best for: cat owners.

In Old City, a familiar name got a new one. BONeJOUR became ANIMA Natural Pet Products to signal an equal focus on dogs and cats and on preventative health and nutrition.

The shelves reflect that, with raw and frozen food and supplements, and a DIY dog bath serves owners who would rather do the scrubbing themselves. The store also delivers citywide.

Details: 302 Arch St.; (215) 800-1103; animapets.com. Best for: natural and raw diets.

Rescue Partners and Horses for Hire

Fairmount Pet Shoppe works with several shelters and rescue groups, and sometimes has cats for adoption from Fairmount-based Green Street Rescue.

According to the shop, the adoptable cats are fixed, vaccinated and tested for FIV and FeLV, and would-be adopters start by applying at greenstreetrescue.org.

Details: 2024 Fairmount Ave.; (215) 236-6080; fairmountpetshoppe.com. Best for: cat adoption and small-animal and reptile supplies.

In West Philadelphia, Baltimore Pet Shoppe keeps cats for adoption from local rescue groups and stocks food and supplies for cats, dogs, small animals, fish and reptiles. The Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society lists it as a partner.

Details: 4532 Baltimore Ave.; (215) 222-7387; baltimorepetshoppe.com. Best for: cat adoption and one-stop shopping.

Then there’s Pelzer’s Horse & Pet Supplies, a family-owned and operated business with an unusual sideline: horses you can meet or hire for birthday parties and events.

Details: 4802 Parkside Ave.; (215) 473-6700; Instagram @pelzershorsepets. Best for: horse and pet supplies under one roof.

Dog Cakes, Eagles Biscuits, and Adoption Days

Monster Pets has been a family-owned fixture in South Philadelphia since 2002.

It carries supplies for dogs, cats, fish, birds, reptiles and small animals, offers a self-serve dog wash, and on the second Sunday of each month hosts the Tiny Paws Adoption Event.

Details: 1946 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd.; (215) 336-9000; monsterpetsonline.com. Best for: fish, reptiles and birds.

Doggie Style Pets turns adoption into part of the shopping trip.

Every store in the chain makes space for two adoptable dogs from ACCT Philly, the region’s only open-intake animal shelter.

At the Passyunk location, which also offers supplies and grooming, would-be adopters apply online and must be approved before scheduling a meet-and-greet. Browsing needs no such paperwork.

The stores are open to everyone with no purchase required, and each offers a free treat for your pet and has resident cats.

Details: 1804 E. Passyunk Ave.; (215) 271-5200; doggiestylepets.com. Best for: adoption and grooming.

Near 9th and South streets, The Pet Snobs Boutique splits the pet world between its owners.

Jaci is the “dog half” of the team, and Dara is the “cat lady.”

Store manager Kristine has been there since the shop opened in 2012. The team hand-picks what it stocks rather than packing the shelves with everything, and it offers grooming for dogs and cats.

New grooming clients pay a $50 deposit.

Details: 606 S. 9th St.; (215) 922-7662; thepetsnobs.com. Best for: carefully curated food and grooming.

A few blocks south, in the Italian Market, Melmos Treats began as a handmade-treat business that Melissa Morales started in 2019, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

She opened her first shop in May 2025, and its refrigerators now hold dog cakes, teddy bear cookies and biscuits shaped like Swoop, the Eagles’ mascot.

Morales makes human-grade treats for dogs, cats and horses using ingredients from Italian Market vendors, and she sponsors animal rescues at the store twice a month.

The treats are sold in about 75 stores across 15 states.

Details: 905 S. 9th St.; (516) 503-5802; melmosdogtreats.com. Best for: handmade treats and birthday cakes.

Boutiques and Big Names

In Fishtown, ham + bone has a story that starts with a dog.

Owner Amy opened the boutique in 2017, a few months after she adopted Luna.

The shop sells curated natural food and novelty treats and accessories, offers grooming, and has a second location in Queen Village.

Details: 1824 Frankford Ave.; (267) 773-7094; hamnbone.com. Best for: boutique gear and grooming.

Pet Supplies Plus Fishtown is a chain in local hands: an independently owned and operated store in a company that started in Michigan in 1988.

It sits in the Fishtown Crossing shopping center, at Aramingo Avenue and York Street, and offers grooming, self-serve dog washes, live fish, small pets, crickets, curbside pickup and a visiting pet-care clinic.

Adoption groups stop by on weekends, and the store asks visitors to call ahead for the schedule.

Details: 2475 Aramingo Ave.; (267) 639-2869; petsuppliesplus.com. Best for: one-stop shopping with a wash bay.

Nearby on the same avenue, in Port Richmond, Petco puts grooming, training, a vaccination clinic, an aquatics department and a self-service dog wash under one roof.

It doesn’t sell dogs or cats, but it works with animal-welfare groups on adoptions at select stores.

Details: 3300 Aramingo Ave.; (215) 423-4414; stores.petco.com. Best for: vaccinations, training and aquariums.

Wash Tubs, Fish Tanks and Exotics

In Manayunk, City of Paws Pet Care grew in stages. It began in 2016 as a walking and pet-sitting business, opened a small Main Street store in 2018, and in 2021 moved into a bigger space down the street.

Its three self-wash tubs come with shampoo, towels and dryers, and the shop partners with local rescues on adoptions.

Details: 4167 Main St.; (267) 516-2436; cityofpaws.com. Best for: DIY dog washes.

Nearby, on Ridge Avenue, Furville Pet Supplies was founded in 2024.

Customers can book its self-pet wash by appointment, and the shop doubles as a drop-off point for donations to Familiar Hearts Animal Society’s pet pantry in Germantown.

Details: 5226 Ridge Ave.; (610) 288-0661; furvillepetsupplies.com. Best for: self-wash appointments.

In Roxborough, World Wide Aquarium & Pets has been in business for more than two decades, and owner Jeffrey Ruder had a front-row seat to the pandemic pet boom.

The shop carries fish, reptiles and amphibians as well as dog and cat food.

Details: 7043 Ridge Ave.; (215) 482-8700; worldwideridge.wixsite.com/worldwideaquarium. Best for: aquariums and reptiles.

Farther north, Queenie’s Pets in Mt. Airy grew from a one-person operation.

Adina “Queenie” Silberstein founded it in 2006 as a home-based dog-walking and pet-sitting business with one employee.

Today there’s a storefront selling food and supplies. In 2020 the shop launched Queenie’s Kibble Kitchen, a drive-through pantry giving out free pet food.

It isn’t a groomer, but it delivers locally and offers pet-loss support.

Details: 7174 Germantown Ave.; (215) 248-9999; queeniespets.com. Best for: walking and sitting services and holistic wellness products.

Doggie Style’s newest store, Doggie Style Pets Chestnut Hill, opened on June 25, 2025, in a newly constructed building as the chain’s 13th location.

It offers grooming and ACCT Philly adoptions like its sister stores.

Details: 8100 Germantown Ave.; (267) 448-3508; doggiestylepets.com. Best for: grooming and adoption.

Farther east, People’s Pets in Olney bills itself with the tagline “All Kinds of Pets, for all kinds of People,” and the stock backs it up: fish, reptiles and other exotic animals.

Buyers should know that Pennsylvania restricts many exotic pets and requires a permit for some, so it’s worth checking with the state Game Commission first.

Details: 5216 N. 5th St.; (215) 377-9477; peoplespetsandexoticanimals.com. Best for: fish, reptiles and exotics.

A Changing Scene

Not every shop made it.

West Pets, a self-wash and pet store that opened in West Philadelphia in 2017, has since closed. So has Amelie’s Bark Shop, a Best of Philly winner on East Passyunk Avenue, which closed in 2025 after 10 years.

Meanwhile, newcomers such as Furville, Melmos and Doggie Style’s Chestnut Hill store have opened, and the chains have grown.

Taken together, these shops trace how Philadelphia pet retail has evolved, from traditional live-animal and supply stores into neighborhood hubs that offer grooming, wellness products, adoption programs, pet care and specialty treats, with independents and larger chains sharing the map.