New Pet Store will Open in Palisades Center Mall to Promote Pet Adoptions

The soon-to-open USA Dog & Pet Shop in West Nyack will not be a typical pet store. It will house some of Hi-Tor Animal Care Center's animals up for adoption and publicize the adoption of animals. Nothing like the store, which will also sell pet products, exists in an enclosed mall in the U.S. 

The Pomona-based animal shelter and new store hope that their partnership will increase pet adoptions. Currently Hi-Tor contains many more animals than it can accommodate.

Hi-Tor Animal Care Center President Roberta Bangs shares some statistics. 30 dog kennels are available. The shelter is currently home to 37 dogs. Cats are an even bigger problem. 

“We can hold 70 cats, comfortably,” Bangs explains. “We have over 100 cats.”

“We certainly hope it helps with overcrowding,” she says of the new store. 

Though applications will be available at the Palisades Center Mall location, all adoptions must be completed at the shelter.

“So people don’t buy on impulse,” says Bangs, “and so we can make sure they’re going to good homes.” 

The spot appears to be ideal for publicizing dog adoption. Given the large number of people who window shop daily at the mall, there is a greater chance that a passerby will fall in love, and, hopefully, ask for an application.  

USA Dog & Pet Shop is currently under construction. It should be completed some time between August 20 and August 25, depending on the inspection process. Opening day is scheduled for Saturday, August 27. The store will be on the third floor, directly under Barnes & Noble and across from JC Penny.

The store's products are all U.S. made, which Allen Alagna of USA Dog Shop describes as “a rarity - especially in the pet industry.” It will be selling its own patented harnesses, used by top training organizations, but will not be selling pets. It will also provide services such as grooming, pet day care, and training, in addition to adoption information.  

One unique product for sale is the Freedom No-Pull harness. Co-Owner Jessica MacDonald is the patented item’s inventor and describes it as their “#1 selling product.”

Top training organizations consider the harness a way to train dogs without putting too much stress on their necks, while still allowing the owner control. 

Grisha Stuart of Ahimsa Dog Training calls it “the Ferrari of dog walking harnesses.” The show “It’s Me or the Dog” on Animal Planet also featured the harness. Read more about the leash’s features at the Wiggles Wags & Whiskers website.   

Hi-Tor Animal Care Center is the only animal shelter in Rockland County.