I've been a proud rabbit mama for nearly two decades, and have always bought my hay and litter off Amazon (please don't judge me; it was a lot easier in 2008 to get "exotic" animal supplies from them). Recently, the Oxbow Western Timothy Hay I've been buying online has been *terrible*; the worst quality I've ever seen. I wonder if it's sitting around for longer than it should be in a hot warehouse or truck? The hay is also frequently unavailable randomly on Amazon; and, Amazon frequently can't ship this hay out for at least seven to ten days for some reason. Unsure why this is happening, but enough is enough. So now I'm Team Animal House (and, again, I'm so sorry it took me so long to make this decision). It seems locally-owned. There's currently three locations: Damariscotta (which has a self-service wash facility), Brunswick, and Westbrook. The Westbrook location is in a strip mall and has loads of parking. The store is pretty clean, and while it's predominantly focused on dogs and cats, there is alllllllllllll the way in the back lefthand corner a section for our rodent and bird friends. And... voila! A wall full of Oxbow Western Timothy Hay (other kinds available as well) in all sizes: 15 ounce, 40 ounce, 90 ounce. It's nice to be able to look at each bag in person to see what the color/consistency/quality of the hay is and doublecheck lot numbers against each other. I bought a 40 ounce and 90 ounce bag just in case one ended up being not good, and the OH SO LOVELY employee cashing me out asked me if I wanted to join their loyalty program which would, for this particular item, get me a complimentary bag of hay after my seventh purchase. Um... what? YES. I didn't see the litter that I use here (Carefresh, all natural) or the hay cubes (Kaytee Timothy Blend), so unfortunately I can't swap all my shopping here. But I would if/when it becomes an option! THANKS for saving the day, Animal House! My extremely picky and always very hungry rabbit appreciates the good and immediate hay! read more

Local and accessible, the store has a variety of items we use on the regular. Can be a bit pricey and I'm not entirely sure how their reward program works...my dogs love going in as the employees always want to offer scratches and cookies! read more

I kept hearing about The Animal House from other pet owners I encountered, mainly my hair stylist. It wasn't until months later, I made a point to seek it out. I think I had one of those "I haven't been there, is there parking?, I don't know my way around Westbrook", moments. I never google mapped it or looked it up on Yelp to answer these questions. Low and behold they have a ton of parking because it's in a strip mall, and it's way easier to find than I thought. I was prompted to seek it out when my dog kept getting yeast infections in his ears. I was interested in any dietary changes necessary. I already knew he is allergic to chicken so I àsked what was best and the staff immediately said a raw diet. I was honestly overwhelmed with dehydrated raw, frozen raw, what is all of this? Raw sounds gross, should my dog eat that? With bones? The answer is yes. My dog also happens to have pancreatitis so eating a low fat diet is important. I went home with raw dehydrated rabbit bites and realized I already gave my dog chicken hearts from the same brand. Cool. The staff recommended we research and gave us some suggestions. My husband and I went home and watched a documentary called Dog Fooled and were shocked at how terrible the pet food industry is. You don't even want to know what types of nasty are in kibble, canned food, treats, you name it. Brands that tell you they're good for Fido, are lying and making your pet sick. Even the food the vet gave us, at the emergency vet for a pancreatitis flare, was called out for being awful. What? My husband and I looked at each other and agreed we'd go back to The Animal House the following day to transition our dog to a raw food diet. I would've gone right then, if it wasn't 10pm. I anxiously returned the following day and talked to the staff about what I learned and determined what food to try. I learned the rabbit bits I had been giving my dog as a treat is actually food. Score because my dog loves it. I forgot to mention I tried every trick in the book to get him to eat his food so there was a chance my dog wasn't even going to like it. We followed the instructions to transition to raw over the course of a week or so and it went really well. My dog was willingly eating and so excited when I put the food down, I was a proud parent. He finished the bag after a couple weeks so I went back to Animal House. I had noticed my dog drinking a lot more water, which I learned is because the raw food is dehydrated, duh. To add more moisture into the diet I could add water to the dehydrated food, but that seems counterproductive and I liked the crunch for teeth cleaning purposes. I left with a 6lb bag of frozen raw turkey dog food. Turkey and lamb are the 2 lowest fat options and they were out of lamb, which concerned me because turkey is feathered and he's allergic to chicken, but apparently it's rare to be allergic to both. The frozen raw is in small chunks that you portion and thaw in the fridge. I started weighing and prepping a weeks worth and my dog is ecstatic about the food. Again, I am so happy. It's been going on 6 months and I stop by Animal House almost everytime I drive by it haha. In my defense, they didnt have the frozen lamb that one time so I make a point to keep a backup bag on hand at all times. If I had more freezer space, I would really stock up. I appreciate what I learned and continue to purchase from the Animal House. I feel good about what my dog is eating. He loves the raw food so much, he's drastically cut back on begging for treats. He seems much more satiated eating what dogs are meant to eat. Even if you're not considering raw, Animal House has high quality options for all dietary needs. I cannot forget to mention, they have a nice variety of rabbit ears, feet and even whole heads, hair and all. My small dog has had a couple of rabbit ears and he loves them. Wasn't sure about it at first but started crunching and poof, it was eaten on seconds. read more

Great shop with friendly employees and a wide variety of products! I went in looking for some food for my crested gecko. They don't have a huge selection of reptile stuff, but the food I was looking for was sold out everywhere and I was desperate to find some! I spoke with a super cool employee named Cal -- they helped me check the store and then even looked online to see if they could special order it for me! When we found that the food would not be available in store or online, they generously offered to give me their own personal leftover food from their gecko which had just recently passed (rest in peace little friend ). I came in a couple days later to pick it up, and they were so friendly, kind, and helpful. Thanks to Cal and all the employees for everything they do! 10/10 would recommend this place to anyone looking to pickup their pet essentials. read more

My husband and I really like the products that The Animal House carries and shop their regularly for our dog food and other dog related stuff. The prices tend to be a bit high, but to be fair, I have found that to be pretty much true for certain high end dog foods no matter where you shop. The reason I am giving them 3 starts instead of 4 or 5 is for what I have experienced as a pretty consistent response of judgement from the staff whenever I ask a question. To really describe what i'm talking about, here are some examples: "Do you think this could be a good chew toy for my dog" (already described the dog's stats) "This one is better. Make sure you don't give your dog real tennis balls!" "We were looking to switch dog food, our dog has been having bad gas" "This is a good choice. Make sure you are not over feeding. Don't feed him anything but dog food (we don't). Grapes are bad for dogs (I didn't even mention grapes!) "Where are the leashes?" "Never leave your dog off leash" (????) Either i must look like a person who might lead a dog to disaster (NEVER!), or the staff here feels ok giving unsolicited advice to dog owners. It is not extreme, just feels like a mom wagging a finger at a child. Kind of a drag. read more

The Animal House - A great selection! - Pet Stores Near Me - Westbrook, Maine

Do not buy toys there, if they are broken or do not work, they will not credit you or replace it. You are just out of luck. Store policy is all I heard from the cashier, so I told her.... she lost a good customer. If a product you buy is broken... you should be able to return the product... Oh well there is always other pet stores. Suzanne read more

So after hearing Beneful wasn't the best dog food for my furry kid I decided to check out a place I had heard great things about. The Animal House is located near Kohl's and has plenty of options and locally made items. I talked to Donna for a long time about different options & ideas. She showed me what would work best and was really patient and explained everything. I went with "Wellness Complete Health" for my dog and even picked Dave's wet cat food for the kitties. They have a frequent buyers club & they host an adoptable pet from The Animal Refuge League. Check it out. Amazingly knowledgeable & kind staff. read more

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Have you met my dog? He's very spoiled. He gets the best of everything. His food is probably more gourmet than mine. And we get it from the Animal House. We stopped in, shortly after they opened, to get him weaned off of his puppy food and onto an adult diet. The nice lady, who I assume is the owner, helped us pick out his current food, Taste of the Wild- Veal. He loves it and it makes his fur so soft! In the few instances that his food has been out of stock, she has offered to call us when it comes in. Today, there was a promotion and I got a free full-size bag of treats with my purchase! They also host rescue events. I've arrived a couple of times to find the place filled with puppies. Adorable, yelpy puppies! I imagine one day I'll come home with more than just dog food. (All dogs need a brother or sister, right?) And though I'm not a cat person, I do like that they always have a kitty lounging in this big cage at the front of the store, just waiting to be adopted. Everything is reasonably priced, we always get service with a smile, and our dog gets affection and, often times, a treat when he comes shopping with us. It's one of his favorite places. read more

I've found that people who work at pet stores are generally happy, enthusiatic employees. Probably because so many dogs come to visit them at their place of business. But all the people who work at The Animal House are so nice and helpful that they stand out, even amoungst the usually great pet store crowd. They have raffles that help local rescue societies and host adoption events, and their prices on food and stuff are the same or better than at the big pet chains as well, so there is no down side at all to spending your money there. Also I'm a sucker for business names with puns and/or allusions to popular culture. read more

Donna and Sarah are extremely helpful, knowledgeable and quite friendly! When Donna and I first met, we talked for a while about my two cats and she still remembers after so many times I've been there. It's nice to be remembered as the cat momma of two. Donna is the go to person if you have any questions about your cat or dog. She is very passionate about giving advice and tips on what kind of food you're giving to your animals. I really think that's important and very beneficial to customers when people like Donna care so much. The store's layout changes from time to time so you might have to go for a treasure hunt to find your animal's dry and wet food. To the left, Animal House houses a rescue from time to time and I think it's great so that people can have a more one on one experience if they wanted to adopt. Sometimes upon check out, you'll be asked to be entered in raffles and they are quite cool! I've done about three so far and won a lot of cat food and cat treats! This location is located at the intersection of Larrabee Road and Main Street in Westbrook, ME. It's in a plaza where there's a Panera, Chipolte, Kohl's, Shaw's and more. read more

The Animal House - Pet Stores Near Me - Westbrook, Maine

My favorite place to shop for my dog. They have lots of different options for food and treats and toys. Prices are incredibly reasonable and compare to some on-line retailers. They also offer a frequent buyer program on the majority of the food. The staff is very friendly and quick to help. read more

This is the only pet store in the Westbrook/Maine Mall area that actually makes my (a bit hyper) dog feel welcome when she shops with me, rather than a polite inconvenience. They have a walk on scale in the store for pups which is genius and everyone is very helpful and friendly. They don't have the huge selection that some of the bigger stores have, but meh, who needs more choices. Their prices are very competitive as well. They have promotions on the weekends which are fun too. Great shop! read more

Very friendly staff whom will take their time in explaining all of your questions and all of the options that are available. They are also very involved with supporting the local shelters and frequently have animals available for adoption that visit the store. read more

The staff here helped me out with my kitty a while back. They were friendly, knowledgeable and great in a pet crisis. I highly recommend them for your pet care needs and questions. read more

Great store! I buy a specific type of wet cat food, Weruva, that you don't find in most stores. Well, The Animal House has it and the prices are comparable to Amazon. They offer a discount for a cases of food as well. Perhaps other discounts too but I cannot confirm. read more