Lucia McCallum
Downtown Montpelier’s Aubuchon Ace Hardware has two team members who hardly leave the store. Known as Almond and Joy, the duo can be found up before sunrise, surveying the store’s aisles of tools and fasteners, or long after sunset, keeping watch over the bags of pet food and litter.
Sales associate Shirley Gomez spoke highly of Almond, who she said is the designated store greeter.
“If you’re at the door, he runs to the door,” she said. “He walks you to whatever aisle you want.”
In between their long shifts, Almond and Joy take catnaps in a cardboard box behind the register. You could ask them for advice on your most recent DIY wood project, or what to do about the pests in your garden, but they probably wouldn’t be much help. Almond and Joy are cats.
Many hands contribute to the success of small businesses, and according to several stores in town, a couple of paws do too. For these four local businesses, their furry friends are more than just a fixture of their store; they are members of the community.
Veruca, the Russian desert tortoise, is roughly 35 years old and lives on the second floor of Bear Pond Books. Formerly a resident of Rivendell Books, he moved across the street eight years ago, when the two businesses merged.
Jane Knight is the children’s room manager and shares the space with Veruca, whose enclosure can be seen from her desk. She said up until recent years, Veruca was believed to be female until revealed by a vet to be otherwise. Bear Pond Staff decided the name was still fitting.
Though Knight had recently laid down a heaping pile of fresh Romaine lettuce on his ceramic plate, Veruca chose to sit with his back turned to visitors, soaking up the rays of his heat lamp.
“Absolute crustiness, attitude, crusty attitude,” said Knight, when asked what Veruca contributes to Bear Pond Books. “And that’s what people like!”
But crustiness is not all that Veruca’s bringing to the store, Knight said. He has over 2,000 Instagram followers and loving admirers from across the country.
“We get people from out of state coming to see Veruca,” said Knight. “I’m not kidding. People are like, ‘Oh, I’m from New York State, and I follow him on Instagram.’”
Veruca’s cold-blooded coolness has garnered the attention of outlets such as WCAX and even The New York Times, where he was featured in a 2025 article about bookstore pets. When asked if his celebrity ever complicates her work, Knight said it’s a mixed bag.
“Sometimes you know his attitude is a little much to bear,” she said. “But in general, he just, like, makes people happy.”
The appeal of strange store pets is not something unfamiliar to the owner of The Quirky Pet, Cindra Conison. She said the unique look of her Bergamasco sheepdogs can be an easy way to connect with fellow pet lovers.
“I have people bringing out-of-town people just to see the dogs,” she said. “Because you know, they are really unusual looking.”
Bergamascos are a breed characterized by their long, naturally occurring “flocks,” made up of dense layers of matted hair. Conison’s dog, Joshe, relaxed in her pool of mop-like hair behind the desk as Conison spoke. When prompted, Joshe dutifully popped up and waddled over to get some love for her luscious flocks.
Alexis Wells started her business Kitty Korner Cafe in Barre in August of 2020 as a way to care for more felines without overfilling her own home. She already owned five cats, including the two living in her pre-existing business, Forget Me Not Flowers and Gifts.
Wells said Kitty Korner consists of both its own independent humane society paired with a for-profit cafe. Since opening, Wells said Kitty Korner has overseen the adoption of 1,069 cats and grown their business as a cafe.
“And now we have a lot more of a clientele for the food and the coffee than we did, because they come in for the cats, stay for the food,” she said.
While Wells said she gets fulfillment from helping pair cats with their forever homes, she credits her cats, Abby and Maisie, with helping her juggle the stress of her businesses.
Abby is Wells’ rather round tabby cat, whom she inherited from her grandparents. Abby and Maisie live together in Forget Me Not Flowers. Beyond greeting customers and ushering them in with her easy-going disposition, Wells says Abby offers comfort simply with her presence.
“She’s definitely good for my mental well-being,” she said. “Sometimes I’ll just sit down there and be like, Abby, man, you’re the only one who understands, right?”
In terms of what they have to offer businesses in general, Wells said retailers have a lot to gain from in-store pets.
“I feel like every store needs an animal. I don’t care what the animal is,” she said. “You can have a lizard or, heck, a parrot if you want.”
