Meet the Owners

Pets-N-Pals has been an independently-owned business since 1989. When Emily was twelve years old, she volunteered at a local pet store in downtown, Staunton. Pets-N-Pals became her “second home” when she was a teenager. Before Emily’s Grandmother passed away, she told Emily, “Darlin’, you’re going to own that store one day!”, referring to Pets-N-Pals. She always knew how passionate Emily was about this store and the animals. On July 9, 2018, Emily and her husband, Chris, were blessed to become the owners of Pets-N-Pals. Chris served in the United States Marine Corps for six years. He is happy to serve not only his country, but his community.

A New Chapter with a Familiar Heart

At Pets-N-Pals, we have always enjoyed connecting people with pets that bring joy, love, and companionship into their lives. For many years, we proudly offered a wide variety of animals, including: birds, reptiles, small animals, aquatics/fish and everything in between.

But like all families, we have grown and changed over time. Years ago, we started noticing a shift…not just in our store, but in our community. More and more families were coming through our doors specifically looking for their perfect canine companion. At the same time, the demand for other types of pets began to decline, as dedicated expos and specialized events for reptiles and other exotic animals became more popular and frequent.

After a lot of thought (and way more than a few heartfelt conversations), we made the decision to focus all of our energy and attention on providing happy and healthy puppies to loving homes.

This was not an easy choice, but it was the right choice for our team, our community, and the families we serve. Our heart has always been in helping people find the right pet, and today, that means being the best resource we can be for puppies, from choosing the right breed to offering transitional guidance after you have brought your new best friend home. With our public store-front, you can visit a variety of breeds without having to stress about: finding your own breeder, traveling to an unfamiliar private home, obtaining medical records and understanding what the medical records mean before purchase, possibly falling for a scam, making sure you are not supporting a backyard breeder or puppy mill, and so much more! We do this work every day and know what things to look for and we know what to avoid! Because we do all of the leg-work, all you have to do is pick which puppy is best for your family with our staff right by your side to offer guidance and answer your questions about each breed. Now, here is something special….Our puppies are never delivered to our store by the breeders nor by a third party. They are never in a public transportation vehicle. We PERSONALLY hand-select every single puppy and pick each one up directly from the breeder’s ourselves to meet the breeders and to see where the puppies are from. We make sure we are with the sweet pups every step of the way, in our private vehicle! This thorough work demands an endless amount of time, labor and attention, but is the best way to ensure that we are providing the healthiest and most socialized puppy for you and your family. We do not support puppy mills.  We can confidently tell you our puppies are from good people and from good places. We put our heart and soul into our work! Even though we no longer carry the variety of pets that we once did, we do have some melt-your-heart-cute pups to look at and snuggle with when you visit!

We are still the same Pets-N-Pals you have come to know, we are just starting a tail-waggin’ new chapter!

Thank you for turning the page with us.

-The Pets-N-Pals Family

Our Family

Mr. Claws

Mr. Claws wants to say thank you to everyone who comes to visit him! He is so loved by the community! Whether he jumps in your cart, rides on your shoulder, or just gives you love at the front counter, he loves all of the attention he gets! He even loves people who are “not cat people”. Come visit him today!

♥️In Loving Memory of Scrappy-Doo♥️

Our hearts are broken but he will always be with us. He loved his community and everyone who visited him daily. Thank you for loving him as much as us.

Dozer and Turbo

Tiana - Assistant Manager (2018)

Tiana, thank you for your love for animals; You display your love for animals each day! She is very knowledgeable about many types of animals and loves to share her knowledge with customers, especially with aquatics. If you have any questions about aquatic plants, corals, or fish, Tiana is the one to see! Also, many of you may remember Malakai, the Alaskan Malamute….he is Tiana’s giant baby. Tiana is passionate about animal care and will help guide you on how to properly care for your next pet. Tiana, thank you for all you do! You are a great leader to your team and we appreciate you.

Jessie - Shift Manager (2020)

Jessie, Thank you for being such a great part of this team! Jessie loves to be around the animals. She has a passion for all animals, especially snakes, and is very eager to help customers learn about them and get the perfect set-up together. Like Patti, Jessie is also a fan of the Pug dog breed! Thank you for your dedication, Jessie. We appreciate you!

Patti (2013)

Patti, thank you for the many years of dedication to this team, our animals and store! Patti is very knowledgeable with the puppies, small animals and reptiles. Patti is best known for her knowledge of Bearded Dragons. Many people know her as “The Bearded Dragon Lady” or the lady who loves Pugs! Patti is a blessing to Pets-N-Pals! Thank you for always sharing your knowledge and happiness with everyone! Patti, thank you for all that you do. We appreciate you!

Tiffany (2016)

Tiffany, thank you for many years of being a great team member and animal care-giver at Pets-N-Pals. Tiffany is very knowledgeable about small animals, especially Chinchillas! She loves to show children the different animals when they visit the store to make it more than just a visit but an experience! Thank you for being such a great, reliable and caring part of our team Tiffany! We appreciate you so much!

Kenly (2017)

Kenly, thank you for being  a wonderful animal care-giver. Kenly brings so much happiness and joy to Pets-N-Pals! She has a passion for all animals; her specialties are puppies, reptiles and tarantulas…yes I SAID TARANTULAS. Kenly has found that tarantulas are incredible creatures and there is always something new to learn about them. Kenly, thank you for always being wonderful! We appreciate you!