Sonoma Pet and Aquatics

This store is wonderful. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. More importantly they put the animals’ well being first. They always have the best information about your pets and any rescues brought in are almost guaranteed to find the best possible home. You can also plainly see that the pets who live there full time are well loved and very well taken care of. I wouldn’t go anywhere else for my pet care needs.

Highly recommend. I’ve been coming to this store for my cats since I moved to Sonoma. One thing I love about this store (other than store pets Victor, Jack and Harold) is that I know the products sold here are always top quality, sourced from sustainable, ethical companies and whenever possible, local companies. The prices are competitive, which you would not normally find to be the case in an independent shop. Anything Karen doesn’t have, she’ll order but so far, I’ve always been able to find what I need there. Karen is also extremely knowledgeable about all kinds of domestic pets from dogs, cats, rabbits fish, reptiles and if you wish, horses. As a local business and animal lover, she also gives so much to the community. She hosts and often pays medical expenses for adoptable animals from local shelters, giving them heightened exposure for adoption or foster. She also gives young kids the chance to intern in her store. When my son was about 13, he volunteered there after school and got a valuable lesson in work ethics and animal care. By the time he was 16 and ready for a job, he had a nice big plume in his resume. I may be a bit biased because of that but I wouldn’t have let him work there unless I thought Karen was the bomb — and she is.

Being a small business owner, I love to see how other’s manage their businesses!
This is a full service pet store with a super-​knowledgable owner. I stopped by when I was in Sonoma and will do so when I head over this week. Just have to check out any new pet friends and have some questions regarding our timid rescue dog.
Thanks, Karen!

Love the self dog wash! Only one in town, makes it so much easier to bath 2 dogs! I can be in and out in 20 minutes with clean dogs — and my own house/​bathroom isn’t wrecked! Awesome store!

Oh boy, this is a warning to other parents of small children. I had a very bad situation happen the other week while shopping with my two year old. Karen (is she now the owner?), usually a little grumpy, went off on my son. I mean WENT OFF. She had about 5 – 8 loose cats and kittens in the store, and usually we negotiate the loose animals ok. As a toddler, he’s learning what’s right and wrong, and I’m ALWAYS right next to him while he’s cooing and laughing over the kitties, bunnies and fish.
The other morning, I was asking Karen about food for our Beta fish we purchased there, and my son slipped from my side lightening quick and grabbed one of the many loose cats in his vicinity in his tiny hands.
The cat was pissed, but fine, and I was two steps behind him and about to sternly discuss why we don’t grab animals, etc., and make sure it didn’t ever happen again (which it has not, he’s usually so gentle, just was EXCITED), when Karen cursed at my son JESUS CHRIST!!! she screamed) and then said (and I quote) «That’s just MEAN!!!»
My son was totally upset, scared, confused (as was I), so I scooped him up and told Karen that she has no right to talk to a child that way. Mean?! Because he grabbed a cat? Huh?
Karen, if you don’t want those cats to have kids grabbing them (sorry, that’s what kids can do, even with the most well-​intentioned, highly perceptive parenting), then KEEP THEM IN CAGES. And certainly, don’t yell at a baby, my goodness. Calmly address the situation, especially because the cat was FINE. But you sure scared the hell out of my son, myself, and the rest of your menagerie.
I hope this doesn’t happen to other parents. Frankly, it sucked. Karen has always been a bit cranky towards us for whatever reason (I did buy all my animal gear there since moving back to town), yet Gene, the man who works there on the weekends, is just the sweetest man on the planet, so we kept coming round for kitty visits. Sadly, not anymore. I can’t condone Karen’s nasty behavior towards the little guy. And I certainly don’t condone my little boy grabbing cats. It’s my responsibility to bring him to appropriate venues, and The Sonoma Pet Store is indeed not.
Thanks for listening.

love Karen and love this store. I always try to support local!
if she doesn’t have what I want she orders it for me.
the guy Gene that works there is amazing and the animals are so great.
Also they work with other shelters to save animals and get them adopted. cant say enough good things. they are so awesome about all the kids that visit Harold the bunny and the other animals. sometimes I see kids being a little rough and hope they get reprimanded for the sake of these sweet animals!

Great selection, wonderful groomer and a locally owned business! They have really nice tubs for washing animals and never put your dog in a kennel while grooming. They even cary the Orijen line of dog food which is the absolute best and it’s priced well!

Wonderful pet store! Every item for sale has been researched and is the best quality and the most healthy for your pets. I have never seen such happy animals in a pet store before. If I lived closer, I’d go there every day to pet the bunnies! The owner puts many hours into helping animal rescue groups. She really cares deeply about animals and their care.

I have been going to Sonoma Pet and Aquatics for many years. The owner Karen and another young man are very helpful and knowledgeable, however, recently there has been another woman who informs me that she does not know how to take care of fresh water fish. Is this not an aquatics store? I learn from uTube videos more than I need to know — she needs to do the same!

If ever I have had the feeling of wanting to shop local it is with Sonoma Pet and Aquatics. They are always a willing outlet for animals in need to find them loving homes, and a friendly owner and staff to help you find what you need for your pets. Everyone in the store is deeply committed to providing great customer service. I really appreciate the work everyone there does to rescuing, fostering and alerting the community to animals in need of homes. Thanks for all you do!

I purchased dog food all of my dogs got sick from. I switched my food around and it turned out over and over again, their food was contaminated. I contacted them as well as the manufacturer via their website; both ignored my emails for 7 days now they clearly have received. I find this very poor costumer service; it appears as soon as you open your valet they will talk to you. Now I have wasted $ 26 and will not go ever back to this store or purchase this brand of food again!
UPDATE: I was contacted a few days ago by the owner stating that she read the review and stated she wanted to know what food it is and get more information. She claimed costumer service would be important to her and that she has changed email addresses (…)I emailed her back but it has been over a week now and she doesn’t follow through with her promise to provide costumer service.
Looks like I was right and the owner of the pet store doesn’t care about TRUE costumer service.

My doggie, Bowie, loves this place. He got to meet rabbits for the first time here.
It’s cute, convenient, and filled with pretty good stuff, despite it’s small size. I buy dog food at costco but for treats, leashes, etc. this is where we end up. We were also able to have Bowie’s toenails clipped here for only 15.00– an added bonus and it was done by a wonderfully nice lady!

I walked in and was greeted by a friendly woman, she was so helpful in finding exactly what I needed. I LOVE that the staff that work here not only sells great products but they help the animal world by fostering/​adopting pets in the store, that speaks volumes about their love for animals. I highly recommend supporting this business.

Service here is very good. Shop staff are very knowledgeable and care a lot about pets and helping customers.

I’m so glad to have a local, high quality pet store in Sonoma. The women who work here are friendly and knowledgeable and they offer high-​quality products at prices competitive with chain stores. They take special orders, provide advice, and remember my cat’s name. They sell a great line of pet beds made in Petaluma. In the backroom they have fish. All animals look happy and healthy.
They also feature animals that need to be adopted — rabbits, hamsters, and cats from Pet’s Lifeline.