North by NorthEast Elizabeth Creith lives and writes in Northern Ontario, Canada. Together with her husband, David Syme (and her Australian shepherd Sky), she owns Animalia Pets & Supplies in Sault Ste Marie. Her articles on the pet trade and exotic pets and their care have appeared in several online and print publications. Elizabeth also blogs about writing and life at http://ecreith.wordpress.com.

February 6, 2012
Rodent on the Run
Keeping the rodents in their cages seems like a simple matter, right? In theory, if you have a cage with wires spaced too closely for the critter to squeeze through, it's in there for good... More»

January 24, 2012
Whatever's Left, Right?
There was a while there a couple of years ago when pig's ears were almost impossible to get. The story was that they were all being shipped to Asia, where people ate them. I don't know if that was true or not... More»

January 16, 2012
Care and Feeding…
There's a lot of food in a pet store. Dog food? Which dog food? The one for senior chihuahuas or the one for chihuahua puppies? Or beagle puppies, or German shepherds or border collies or St. Bernards? Or maybe... More»

January 2, 2012
Not in the Curriculum
When I was in school, back when megafauna roamed the earth, each of the students in my graduating class had a little meeting with the guidance counselor. This meeting was intended to help prepare you for your shiny new career in the big world... More»

December 12, 2011
Cato
Thirty-some years ago Dr. Irene Pepperberg walked into a pet store and asked one of the staff to choose her a young Congo African Grey parrot. This bird became Alex (Avian Learning Experiment)... More»

November 29, 2011
Feels So Good When It Stops
"I want something to go with the fish I have at home." "Okay, what do you have?" "I don't know what they're called. They look kind of like that—or maybe those over there."... More»

November 16, 2011
Give Yer Head a Shake
I once thought about being a veterinarian. I passed on that profession, but when I went into the pet trade, I found out that included in the job is “cheap substitute for a vet.”... More»

October 31, 2011
Hey, Stud!
Nothing says “tough dog” like a black leather collar with bright metal studs... More»

October 21, 2011
Simple Minds
Morning is quiet in the pet store. Hardly anyone comes in; it's the time I use to feed and water the animals and to clean cages, tanks or terrariums... More»

September 8, 2011
How Much is That Doggie in the Window?
"Do you have any puppies or kittens?" In our first year of business, we heard it several times a week. "No, we don't," we said, "If you want a mutt, go to the Humane Society. If you want a purebred, you should go to a registered breeder... More»

August 10, 2011
A Failure in Diplomacy
"Here's your change," I said to the young man buying a mouse. "What's the mouse for?" asked the teenage girl behind him. She tossed her head to flick her hair out of her eyes. "To feed my snake," the young man said... More»

July 12, 2011
Disappearing Act
"Elizabeth, would you bring Garm over here?" David was standing by the dog-food shelves, and I knew exactly what had happened. One of our volunteers had dropped a hamster or a rat, and it... More»

July 1, 2011
Want Fries with That?
We have a store shirt, khaki button-down with the Animalia logo embroidered over the left pocket. The great thing about a store shirt is it lets people in the store identify employees immediately... More»

June 22, 2011
Jack
We have a loud, demanding, argumentative employee that we can't get rid of. We opened in June 2005, and he joined our staff in August that same year. He's never learned to run the cash register or... More»

June 7, 2011
Security Breach
A telephone call after midnight is hardly ever good news. When David came back from answering it he started to dress."That was the security people," he said. "The front motion detector went off at 11:45. That means... More»

May 27, 2011
Bird Brain
Every time I hear the term "bird brain," I have to laugh. Most of the birds I've met in the pet trade are way too smart for my own good. A few months after we opened, we had a sun conure for sale. Conures are smallish birds, a little... More»

May 5, 2011
Trial by Water
"I'd like four tiger barbs, please," said the woman in the denim shirt. It was my very first day as the co-owner of Animalia Pets. My husband, David, had years of experience in the pet trade. If there was something he didn't know, I hadn't found it out yet... More»