‘Retail is dying’: Long-time area pet store shutters after 40 years

A long-running independent pet store in Barrie has closed its doors after nearly 40 years in business, citing online competition.

Doogan’s Pet Centre, located in the Kozlov Centre on Bayfield Street, has been owned by Lindsay Fitzgerald since 2006. She was a manager at the store prior to buying out the business.

With online shopping giants such as Amazon and pet retailer Chewy, the decision to close was mainly a financial one, she said.

“COVID was busy because people wanted animals, but since COVID it’s just gone downhill,” Fitzgerald said.

During the pandemic, many people purchased pets to help stave off the loneliness of isolation, but that changed once the restrictions were lifted, she added.

When the imminent closure was announced March 12, the next day customers were lined up to get in on the store-closing savings.

“People were pushing to come in. (The) Thursday was really crazy,” Fitzgerald said.

Since then, she and her bare-bones staff were cleaning up, packing items and organizing the shrinking amount of pet toys, collars and supplies left in the shop.

Fitzgerald remained open, unofficially, selling any remaining items to whoever dropped in.

She said Habitat for Humanity will be picking up anything that is left over after bargain hunters pick through the remaining stock.

What’s next for Fitzgerald, now that her business has been forced out of the industry?

She says she’s going to be grooming at a local pet salon, because ancillary services is where the money is to made in the changing pet business landscape.

“Retail is dying,” Fitzgerald said.

She will be working full-time at The Dog Salon on Dunlop Street West in Barrie.

Looking back at some of her favourite memories of working and later owning Doogan’s, Fitzgerald says her customers and staff meant a lot to her.

“The people,” she managed to say before breaking down in tears.

Her last bit of advice for her longtime customer and friends?

“Just encourage people to remember to shop local,” Fitzgerald said.

Meanwhile, the sudden departure of another longstanding tenant is just one of the many issues the troubled Kozlov Centre has been facing of late.

Recently, dozens of buckets could be seen on the floor catching water from the ceiling areas in most parts of the building that are open to the public.

Some of the glass panels in the large skylights on the roof, above the corridors in front of shops, are broken with large cracks. Water damage is also evident throughout.

A Barrie councillor told Village Media earlier this month that city staff have received complaints about the condition of the mall and are investigating.