Team Carefully Breeds Nationally Known Pet Shop

For Larry Lipke, educating children was not enough. 

The longtime owner of Pet Safari left his job as a Christian school teacher to follow his childhood dream of owning a pet store. 

He wanted to teach people to love and respect animals. 

And after nearly 30 years into it, he has carefully and steadily created a Main Street pet shop that is nationally-known, especially for its care for exotic sloths and other animals.

Lipke met longtime store manager George Talmadge about 15 years into his business. Talmadge was a Dunedin Parks & Recreation employee tasked with coordinating the city's annual  5K.  was one of the sponsors.

The two became friends and met for lunch every Friday. One afternoon Talmadge mentioned that he was ready to retire after 30 years in his field.

Lipke replied, “Would you like to be my new store manager?”

Talmadge paused and said, “Let me talk to my wife.” He took a weekend, discussed it with his wife and said, “Yes.”

That was 12 years ago. And with Talmadge as the new manager, Pet Safari sought to differentiate themselves from other pet stores. Because of the harsh outcry against puppy mills, they applied to become a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-certified pet store. This certification assured that their store and all the animals in it are inspected by the USDA. Pet Safari declares that their dogs come from small or home breeders and never from puppy mills.

The store became licensed and registered under the Animal Welfare Act. This licensing is regulated by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service under the USDA. Retail pet stores are generally exempt from being governed under the Animal Welfare Act.

"If you choose to be licensed by the USDA, they inspect your entire business and regulate who you can buy your animals from,” Talmadge says.  

Pet Safari is also inspected by The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which licenses the owning and selling of exotic animals. The FWC claims that it routinely conducts inspections and its regulations are among the most stringent in the nation (see Captive Wildlife Rules and Regulations).

Being licensed with the USDA gave them permission to exhibit exotic animals. Both Talmadge and Lipke are educators at heart, and wanted to share their passion for animals and teach about the destruction that was happening to the rainforest.

In the store’s Adventure Outpost, visitors can see agouti pacas, the second largest rodent in South America, a white-tufted Marmoset monkey named Miley (that Lipke and Talmadge bottle-fed as a baby), and three adult two-toed sloths (Blondie, Baby and Scarface, who were rescued from Guyana after their habitat was destroyed).

Lipke and Talmadge’s strong friendship, their desire to do right by animals, and their mutual love of sharing knowledge led them to having a store that has gotten nationwide attention. The sloths have generated interest from national media, because of four babies born there, a rarity in captivity.

Blondie gave birth to the pet shop's first captive-born sloth on March 22, 2009. It was such a shock they even named the baby Surprise. Two years later on March 7, 2011, Baby became a mother. Baby’s baby was  on Anderson Cooper’s daytime talk show. Two more sloth babies have been born since. Most recently on .

The store offers educational "sloth encounters" for those interested in getting a chance to pet and feed them. All money goes to the care and feeding of the exotic sloths. 

Pet Safari prides itself on the knowledge of its staff. Untrained employees must volunteer for at least a year before given a job to familiarize them with the care and feeding of the animals. The staff is there to give expert advice on what animals are right for what owner and how to properly care for them for a long healthy life.

“We wanted to assure our customers that we have our animals’ best interest in mind. We are animal lovers. We pride ourselves in our knowledge and want our customers to leave our shop knowing about their animal and how to care for them,” Talmadge says.

Want to Go?

Is your 6-year-old harassing you for a pet snake? Have Bob The Reptile Guy steer you in the right direction. Or if you already have a pet, try Grandma Mae’s Country Naturals dog and cat food which contains no additives, animal by-products, artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. It also contains none of the common food allergens such as corn, wheat or soy.

Then  on Patch!

• Where: , 1749 Main St 
• Contact: 727-733-6641, www.​dunedinclearwaterpetstore.​com/​petsafari/
• Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.