Zoo Pet Center, Peekskill
Photo credit: Neal Rentz
Lifelong Peekskill resident Z. Smith did not have a difficult time determining his career path.
Since childhood he has loved various types of pets and he has turned that passion into his profession. As a youth he owned fish and turtles and animals he found in the woods that he would later release and later purchased snakes. Today, he owns two cats.
Smith is the owner of the Zoo Pet Center in Peekskill. The store had “zoo” in its name when Smith purchased it in 2007, the first business he has ever owned. The store was originally located two blocks north of its current 828 Washington St. site.
Smith started out as an employee of the store in 1996. “I didn’t want to look for another job,” he said in a recent interview. “It just felt natural when my previous boss (the late Frank Fonte) was ready to give up the business that I wanted to move in and give it a shot and see what I could do with it.”
“I was always into the hobby,” Smith recalled. “When I was 18, I had a little tough time finding a job.” But after Fonte gave him a job, “It just clicked and it just worked” and Smith decided to make the pet business his profession. “I guess it was a natural calling,” he said.
The 1,500-square-foot store offers a wide range of pets and pet-related products including a variety of fish, coral for fish tanks, aquarium supplies, different types of birds, lizards, snakes, pet food, bedding and toys, and leashes.
“It’s always exciting when we get a new batch of stuff at the end of the week,” Smith said.
Smith said his clients come from as far south as Ossining and as far north as Poughkeepsie.
He said he wants to expand his business. “The goal is to get bigger and grow,” he said, adding he would potentially like to operate a larger store “and maybe make it a family business.” Smith and his fiancée welcomed their first child, Scarlett, in December. Their daughter was named after the Scarlett O’Hara character in “Gone with the Wind,” Smith said.
Smith said he is grateful about finding a profession to his liking. “I’m one of the few people in the world that probably likes their job,” he said.
Zoo Pet Center is located at 828 Washington St. in Peekskill. For more information, call 914-739-1222 or visit its Facebook page.
