Treat Your Pet Like You Treat Yourself at Harbor Pets

Having a dog or a cat is not like having a toy – it’s an addition to your family and a huge commitment. If you only settle for the best and healthiest options for yourself, why not do the same for your dog?

That’s where Harbor Pets in Sag Harbor comes in handy. Owned and operated since 2004 by Alan Fruitstone, Harbor Pets is your one stop shop for all things dog-related – and also sells some cat products.

Dan’s Papers interviewed Fruitstone to discuss Harbor Pets’s history, offerings, and business model.

A Chat with Alan Fruitstone, Harbor Pets

How did you come to own and operate Harbor Pets?

My wife and I were the second owners. We had a summer house out here. She was a teacher in Syosset, and she decided to retire and [we wanted to] move out to what was our summer house and weekend house. It was only like an hour and a three quarter drive for us. So a lot of times she would finish school on a Friday afternoon and we’d come out here. I was a mortgage banker at that time. I ran a branch office or mortgage bank, and I was tired and burnt out. We used to come out here a lot, and we rented. I said, ‘What we’re paying for the renting is a carrying course for the house we’re gonna buy.’ So we bought a house and moved fully out east. When we were out here, I just didn’t want to sit around doing nothing. So the guy that owned Harbor Pets since 1976 had an ad for help. I took the job. I found out after a week here that he was hoping to sell it. So I asked my wife if she wanted to own a pet store, and she always loved pets, and she said, “Yes.” We bought the store in March 2004 and were operating by May. We were originally going to do a five-year plan and flip the store. I’m still here. She passed away in 2018.

You offer a wide range of pet products. What would you say are some of the best?

We tend to stay more to the high end – or better quality, as I like to say. We’ve always intended to carry more natural products. We stay up on what’s happening in the industry. I talk to the vets out here a lot to get their feedback about what’s happening, and I’m really amazed about how little most of these vets, until the last few years, really understood animal nutrition. Stella & Chewy’s is a very big seller. It’s very expensive to feed your dog, but it’s high quality; a lot of good protein, good products, not a lot of fillers in them. We do big business in bully sticks which dogs love. I work with a Mormon rancher out west for these, so they’re all made in America. One of our better-priced foods is a food called Health Extension. They’re based out of Hauppauge, and they manufacture upstate. Health Extension is easy on the stomach for dogs. A lot of people come out here seasonally – for a few weeks or even just for a few days – and forget to bring dog food, and get worried that whatever they buy will give their dog the runs. That doesn’t happen with Health Extension. Another great dog food we have is Orijen, which comes from Canada.

Grooming is a service dog owners are typically very picky about. Tell us about Harbor Pets’ grooming services.

We do full grooming services. My groomers will do just about any dog that walks in the door. No dog is too hard, really, to do. They’re very good. They have very loyal followings both, both my group of loyal followings that come in here, just make sure that the agreement that they want is here. So do anything just about from a bath and nails. We have people who just come and get the nails done. Next door to us is Wharf Wine & Spirits. We have a very symbiotic relationship with them. Come in here, get the dogs done, go next door, get the wine. People treat their dogs while they’re treating themselves. The only thing is that we do not groom cats as doing that is more dangerous than dogs.

You’ve been doing this for a long time. What advice do you have for anyone looking to go into the pet supplies business?

Number one, they have to love animals. Number two, they have to be willing to provide service to the customers, and the customers can be very demanding. Sometimes you get older people that don’t have grandchildren, the dog becomes a grandchild. You get younger people who have a baby yet, or don’t want to have children, the dog is a child. They have to understand that. And the other thing is just, learn the business, learn the products that are out here on the market. And learn to recommend them. People trust you to recommend the right thing for their dog. Not one size fits all.

Through the years, do you have a favorite memory at Harbor Pets?

The favorite memory is that we’ve met a lot of people that come into the store that just aren’t customers or clients, they become friends. I think that’s one of the things I like about this business here, but you have people that just aren’t customers or clients, around our friends, they ask what we’re doing. We stay in touch with our we know things about their families, what they’re doing. They know the same thing about us. You got to be a people person. That’s a big plus.

Harbor Pets is located at 12 Bay Street in Sag Harbor and can be reached at 631-725-9070.