The Business of Pets

Pet World Re-Opens in Lawrence

| 2016 Q1 | story by JULIE DUNLAP | photos by STEVEN HERTZOG

Sherry & Tim Emerson with Phoenix the cockatoo, Hope a red foot tortoise, and Spoggy a ball python

As a young kid growing up in Topeka, Pet World owner Tim Emerson spent his free time searching for, catching and sometimes, when he could get away with it, keeping creatures he found outdoors.

By the time he was in middle school, Tim was frequenting Martin’s, the local pet store and home to more exotic animals such as sloths, monkeys and various birds. There was one rather large barrier, though, between the animals and the young humans who longed to interact with them.

“Martin’s had a sign posted by the front door that clearly stated, ‘No Child Under 16 Admitted Without Parents,’ ” Tim recalls with the same mischievous chuckle Martin himself likely heard back in the late 1970s as he and his friends would stake out the parking lot for potential parental stand-ins and enter the store closely behind childless adults, hoping for a sloth encounter before being discovered and asked to leave.

Owen Lester petting pets at Pet World

“That policy never made sense to me,” Tim says. “It’s the kids who want the pets and bring in their parents. Why would any business owner turn away their best advertisers?”

For nearly 28 years, Tim and his wife and co-owner, Sherry, have proven this hands-on business model to be not only profitable but the very reason Pet World is a beloved signature in Lawrence, following their company mission “to raise environmentally responsible adults.”

Bobbi Reid petting pets at Pet World

Tim opened Pet World with the help of his then-girlfriend, Sherry, July 12, 1988. Three years later, the two sweethearts married and have owned and managed the store together ever since. “Pet World was Tim’s dream,” Sherry says with a bright smile, “and Tim was mine.” The Emerson family has since expanded by three more humans with daughter Autumn, 24, and twins Rhiannon and Spencer, 17, and countless furry, feathered, finned, shelled and scaled friends.

Elle Martin petting pets at Pet World

Though Pet World was not the sole pet store in Lawrence at the time Tim bought it from the Stice family, by the mid-1990s, it was the only large pet and pet supplies retailer in town. These years of being a solo act were not just good for sales but further allowed the Emersons to fill a vital need in the community for accessible animal education.

Toward the end of the 1990s, as national chains began to move in, Sherry recalls feeling some initial concern about the pending competition until hearing a business-oriented motivational speaker paint the scenario in a strikingly different light.

Audrey & Lincold Dipman with staff member Olivia Jimenez petting pets at Pet World

“He told us not to worry about the competition,” she clarifies, “but to be the competition.” Already established as a business with a reputation for large inventory, fair prices, quality animal care, community outreach and high employee satisfaction, the Emersons knew Pet World upheld a high standard in every aspect of business practice.

This high standard is exactly why state inspectors routinely train newly hired pet store inspectors at Pet World, citing their exemplary record for cleanliness and care as the model for other pet stores in Kansas. It’s also why generations of customers proved quick to rally around the Emersons during their darkest hours.

For nearly 27 years, Pet World served, educated and grew through the typical ups and downs of the economy, pet trends and regulations. But on May 25, 2015, the owners were hit with a challenge of mammoth proportions when an electrical fire in the 8000-square-foot store’s back room broke out in the electrical panel while the employees were participating in an annual company retreat hosted by the Emersons.

Danielle Springer petting pets at Pet World

The fire quickly spread within the back room, igniting combustibles in storage. While the flames were largely contained, the intense heat and toxic smoke rapidly took over all breathable air, destroying the facility and killing all birds, breeder snakes, most mammals and—most heartbreaking of all for the owners who have dedicated their lives to the care of animals—all boarded pets.

Firefighters arrived approximately 30 minutes after the fire broke out, and, as word of the fire spread, veterinarians and other animal specialists rushed to the scene to care for rescued animals, administering oxygen to those in need, cleaning them and finding new homes for the survivors.

As devastated as the animal-loving community of Lawrence was to have lost what had become a neighborhood nature sanctuary, nothing compared to the grief Tim and Sherry bore at the loss of life that day as environmental stewards and educators in the community.

Overwhelming options, including closing Pet World forever, and countless decisions loomed large. But Tim, recalling his own days as a kid who longed so deeply to interact with nature and feeling the call and support of a community decades-old (longtime customers held a public vigil in the wake of the fire on behalf of Tim and Sherry, and continue to fund-raise today), took less than 24 hours to make the most important decision of all, telling Sherry, “We will rebuild and bring Pet World back to the Lawrence community as soon as possible.”

Laila Garcia petting pets at Pet World

Sherry wrote about his unwavering focus on their website’s blog the day after the fire, sharing, “All he cared about were the kids and what they would do without Pet World in their lives.”

And rebuild they did.

For the next eight months, Tim and Sherry tirelessly planned and executed a rebuild of the structure, inventory, programming, displays and habitats. The hurdles were monumental, but the couple overcame them with tenacity and faith.

Perhaps the most difficult and immediate hurdle was deciding what to do with their staff of 30 full- and part-time employees.

“We held an employee meeting in our kitchen right after the fire,” Sherry recalls. “There were many tears, but we just couldn’t keep everyone on the payroll while we were in transition.”

Though the Emersons had to temporarily and drastically cut their staff, all 30 of their employees were able to return when the store reopened. Pet World receives more than 500 applications every fall and operates an extensive 10-step employment process to narrow down the massive field to the few they hire each year. This process pays off in the long run, as turnover is exceptionally low, and the staff is exceptionally loyal.

Within a month of the fire, the Emersons were able to hire a small number of employees back to open Pet World Express, a temporary store located across the parking lot in the same shopping center. Because the fire had destroyed their inventory records, they had to replace their inventory largely from memory and with a little help from their friends.

“We had a Google spreadsheet at the temporary store where customers and employees could enter items they typically bought from us,” Sherry explains of the community effort. The space stocked nearly all pet supplies and a very small number of pets during that time.

Rebuilding the original store proved to be much more complicated than originally anticipated. Understanding the fire was accidental and not preventable did nothing to significantly ease the guilt Tim and Sherry felt about the animals that perished. The facility, owned by an out-of-state real estate developer, was up to code, but even those measures were not enough to prevent the fire or the spread of toxic air that quickly killed the animals in-house.

It was up to Tim and Sherry to research, appeal to the city for more strict and specific codes and guidelines, and implement their own preventative measures to ensure a tragedy like this one would never happen again.

Thomas Garcia petting pets at Pet World

Working with longtime local security advisors at Rueschhoff, and with the help of a passionate community of supporters who insisted on spearheading a fund-raising campaign that ultimately allowed the Emersons to go well above and beyond city-regulated requirements, the owners installed a number of extra measures, including a separate ventilation system for the boarding room, a wireless cellular security notification to alert the fire department instantly and separately from the previous landline-based system, and a new sprinkler system.

In addition to new safety standards, Tim and Sherry began to rethink the overall design and flow of the store.

“We incorporated feng shui principles of flow and organization when we designed the layout,” says Sherry, remarking with visible joy that customers almost always comment on how great the store feels before saying anything about how it looks.

The Emersons maintained the same basic layout, updated the education room and color-coded the retail area walls, with golden brown walls lining the mammal area, green walls marking the reptiles and amphibians, and blue surrounding the fish and aquariums. The near corner of the fish area also features a sea life mural and sitting area complete with complementary coffee. Music plays overhead thanks to the help of MSM Systems Inc., completing the inviting atmosphere.

“I love it when moms come in and take the time to sit and chat, and enjoy a cup of coffee while their kids explore the animals,” Sherry beams, pointing to a customer favorite, the tortoise habitat. The Emersons encourage safe, supervised physical interaction between their customers and animals, with many of their animals in open-air cages. They emphasize, “the day we have to lock up the animals is the day we lock up our doors.”

As the grand reopening drew near, Tim and Sherry began to refill their pet inventory, filling the in-store habitats with guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, snakes, lizards, tarantulas, tortoises and more. Birds are due to arrive sometime in late March. Most were new acquisitions, though a few old friends made their way back.

“We were able to save a number of fish after the fire,” Sherry says, “but we didn’t have anyplace to put them. So we sent them to our friend, Evan Boxberg, at the Olathe Pet Store, and told him he could keep them, sell them, whatever he needed to do.”

But Boxberg had other plans.

“At the grand opening,” Sherry continues, “Evan surprised us and showed up with a giant container with all of our fish. He said he wanted to bring them back home.”

As Sherry tells this story, she spies another longtime Pet World supporter, Dawn, with her caregiver. Sherry jumps right in and helps Dawn find the perfect rabbit to hold.

“Is it going to poop?” Dawn innocently asks, ultimately undeterred by Sherry’s answer.

“You know how it works, Dawn,” Sherry replies with a gentle smile, “if it eats, it poops!”

Story time at Pet World

Dawn cuddles the rabbit a few more moments before delicately setting it back down, just in time for Sherry to greet Lawrence High School geography teacher David Platt at the door. Platt, another regular in the store, asks Sherry if Pet World would be willing to sponsor a photography show for high school kids after their upcoming trip to the Galapagos Islands. Of course, Sherry is happy to show off students’ photos of nature in the uniquely exotic location.

This personal kind of service is just a snapshot of the extensive community education the Emersons provide. With educational-outreach programs ranging from in-house events to off-site summer camps at the Pet World Nature Preserve, near the Rim Rock area, and a partnership with Lawrence Public Schools that has resulted in educational programs available for K through 12 students, Pet World puts children in literal touch with nature.

Though all of these programs had to be suspended after the fire, they are all making their way back to Pet World’s calendar, with summer camps resuming this year. There is one thing, though, that Tim has not managed to make a part of their inventory, even with the redesign.

“Sloths!” he laughs. “They’re really cool! And even in the wild, they are nice animals,” he insists, though he seems to be at peace with the unlikelihood of ever being able to deal the exotic creature in Lawrence.

Sloths or not, Tim is his usual jovial, lighthearted self as he leaves to pick up more fish for the store, infectiously happy to be back in the business of connecting humans and animals.

For, as the Emersons have discovered, the foundation they built for 27 years did not burn down in the flames that day; that is the day its permanence was revealed. And eight sweat-, tear- and joy-filled months later, Tim and Sherry gratefully wake up every day with an even greater resolve and drive to continue their work as faithful stewards of nature for this city that considers Pet World an integral part of their home.

Since Pet World opened in 1988, the population of Lawrence has grown by more than 30%, bringing not only more humans to Lawrence but animals, as well. To accommodate this growth, two national large retail chains have also opened in Lawrence.

Petco, located at 3115 Iowa St., has served the Lawrence area for roughly 20 years and offers a full range of domestic pet supplies and services, including dog training and grooming. PetSmart, located at 2727 Iowa St., opened in Lawrence in March 2015 and, in addition to a wide variety of domestic pet supplies and grooming and training services, sells live reptiles, small mammals, birds and fish.