Shopping Local: Pets One

I think I just fell in love with a hedgehog.  A real live hedgehog, a little tiny guy with quills, who just burrowed his way into my heart as he tried to nuzzle in closer to me.  Go figure!

I’m very particular about my pets.  I had a turtle- he just wasn’t very interesting.  Love my dog, and I like cats, but I am ridiculously allergic to them.  But any kind of rodent????   Not so much.  Hamsters, mice, even ferrets just are not my thing.  And if it slithers or has scales?  Count me WAY out!

And then tonight I stopped into Pets One on the very north end of Yorkville at 129 Commercial Drive.  As my girls and I walked around and they fell in love every 2.5 seconds, I was very much the mom.  The voice of reason and rationality.  Until I saw this little hedgehog. 

Pets One is a family owned business, and I asked Hailey (one of the daughters) if I could pick him up.  She showed me how to lift him up by scooping him up from underneath, and I nestled the little guy in my arms.  He walked around a bit on my arms, then tried to burrow into my coat.  He is about 10 weeks old, and is just this little tiny guy, about 8 inches or so long.  His quills were down, so he was much easier to hold then I thought.  And then this little guy climbed up my coat and tried to nuzzle up to me.  At that point, I was a goner.  Head over heels for this little tiny hedgehog.

I talked to Hailey for a while about the different animals they had in the store.  They breed many of the animals themselves, and handle them a lot so they get used to being with people.  I was really impressed by not only how well she knew about the different types of animals, but how well she knew the personalities of each individual animal.  She gave me information about diet, lifespan, and if they would be suitable for a home with kids. 

Pets One is not what I have ever experienced at a “pet store”.  Both daughters made suggestions about suitable pets based on my very limited criteria of what is an acceptable pet.  And there were more choices than I would have thought.  A hairless guinea pig isn’t my top choice, but I could live with that.  A sugar glider looks kind of like a cute chipmunk with a long tail, but Hailey warned me that I needed to be prepared to spend time and bond with him if I wanted one as a pet.  They get attached to people, and can become so depressed they can die if they are not around their caregiver.  And a chinchilla is not a good pet for a home with younger children.

But that little guy I held tonight.  Today, I walked away.  But if you stop by tomorrow, please just try to ignore the woman standing in the corner, completely enthralled by the adorable little face on this sweet little hedgehog.