NYC Pet

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With its towering shelves and colossal selection, NYC Pet takes the big-box approach to selling pet supplies. Almost every major brand of cat and dog food (organic and otherwise) fills the store’s central aisles, as well as fish food, turtle chow, and birdseed. Bulk sizes are piled in the back, like fifty-pound bags of kitty litter and staggering sacks of rice-and-venison dog chow—as well as the forklift needed to get them off the shelves. With the massive stock comes lowered prices; most of the tins of cat food, for instance, sell for around a dollar and bulk food bags are bargain buys. NYC Pet also carries an impressive selection of dog collars, leashes, and chew toys, as well as a smaller array of less-conventional items like diapers, tearless shampoo, canine cologne, and seat-belt harnesses. Tucked behind the cash register is a lock-stock pet pharmacy, and there’s a nametag-engraving service that takes about a week. — Alex Littlefield