Business Profile: Mutts and Butts

When your dog needs a treat, your cat needs a new scratching post, or your goldfish wants whatever it is that a goldfish might want, only one place in Merrick meets all your pet’s needs – Mutts and Butts.

Mutts and Butts, with its large, blue storefront, has become a fixture of sorts on Merrick Road, with the popular family-owned pet supply store having recently celebrated its 35th anniversary. However, such a well-known destination for the pet needs of Merokeans certainly didn’t get the start one would imagine, as evidenced by the origin of the store’s unique name.

“I had a beverage store years ago, and everyone kept asking for cigarettes, so I opened up a store next door selling cigarettes and dog food,” said owner Mike Silverman, who started the business back in 1977. “The demand kept growing for dog and cat food and other pet-related goods, so 12 years ago I closed the beverage store, took over the entire building and expanded Mutts and Butts into a full-length pet store.”

Along the way, Silverman partnered in the new, expanded business with his brother, David, and the two continue to work together to this very day.

Mutts and Butts carries everything a discriminating pet owner could possibly need, spanning a wide array of companion creature types in its 8,000 square foot storefront.

“We carry many different specialty items and brands for many different animals and tropical fish,” he said. “We carry supplies and items for dogs, cats, small animals, reptiles, fresh water and salt water fish.”

Silverman’s store also offers a selection of fully little critters just waiting for you to come and take home.

“We carry small animals, such as hamsters, gerbils and guinea pigs,” he said. “We also have cats for adoption a few times a year that we set up through local animal shelters.”

Silverman expresses pride in the fact that he employs a very experienced, caring help and assures shoppers that whatever their pet needs entail, Mutts and Butts and meet that need.

However, what Silverman enjoys most is the fact that the loyalty of Merrick residents has enabled him to thrive for 35 years in an economy that has claimed many other local retail establishments.

“People still have to feed their pets, and that’s one of the last things they cut back on,” he said. “I like the retail atmosphere, and I like helping people get the right items for their pets.”