Marlon Vickerman, Features Writer

Desmond Ellis, owner of Pets Unlimited at 98 Old Hope Road, points to a small shark in an aquarium in his pet shop. Ellis said the fish could grow up to five feet long. - photo by Marlon Vickerman

Had there not been such a heavy flow of traffic on Old Hope Road drowning out the beautiful symphony of the birds, then chances are the upper sections of the stretch, 98 Old Hope Road to be exact, would always be characterised by the high-pitched melodies of the feathery angels at the recently opened Pets Unlimited pet shop.

With just eight weeks since its doors were opened, Pets Unlimited is already making good of delivering furry bundles of joy, scaly ones as well, to pet lovers of all ages.

When the news team visited the location recently, Desmond Ellis, owner and operator of the business, had his hands full attending to customers. Ellis, who opened his first pet shop, also called Pets Unlimited in Papine Market Arcade, said his business started out in a small room in 2000.

"When I started out in Papine, the shop was nowhere near half the size of this location at 98 Old Hope Road. Nonetheless, having a pet shop had always been my dream, so I went ahead, took out a loan and got the business running. Now seven years later I've added another location," said Ellis while tending to an orange parrot in his shop. He continued that he had always been drawn to petting animals for as long as he could remember, retelling tales of how he used to raise fish as a child and ran to nearby pet shops to have them sold as a youngster.

Outsprinting

On that note a young man made good of outsprinting his mother as soon as they came through the front door. He ran to the sections where pets were caged, pointed to the turtles and shouted: "Mommy, Mommy, turtles! May I have one? Huh Mommy? May I have a turtle, please?"

Obviously his mother was not enthused enough and the youngster then dashed for his daddy. He made the same request but soon changed focus to the fish in the aquariums before his father could answer. He soon made similar requests about the possibility of his parents buying him a pet fish.

So what should customers expect when they step into Pets Unlimited? First off there is a very large fish tank with shark-like fish that you will definitely notice. There is then a small compartment with a wide variety of feed, pet equipment, toys and pets ranging from a rainbow assortment of birds (budgie, tangerine and white doves, parrots), fish of all sorts and sizes, turtles and hamsters. As for the price range, Ellis said pet lovers could take as little as $1,000 to the store and take home a pet, pet food and possibly some change. No monkey business!

Desmond Ellis with a customer at his Pets Unlimited business on Old Hope Road, St. Andrew. - Contributed