Keeping It Quirky: How One Pet Shop Owner Rebuilt Bigger and Bolder at 68

The Quirky Pet, Montpelier, VT

OWNER: Cindra Conison; FOUNDED: 2011; locations: 1; AREA: 673 sq. ft.; ; EMPLOYEES: 2 part time; websites: thequirkypet.com and vtcatnipdispensary.com; facebook: thequirkypet; INSTAGRAM: thequirkypet; TOP BRANDS: Bark’NBig, Butcher’s Block Pet Treats, Dr. Pussums Catnip, Frankly Pet, From The Field, Nature’s Own, Petcandy, Pet Professional’s Choice, Polkadog, Preppy Puppy, Simply B Vermont, The Vermont Organic Catnip Dispensary, Vital Essentials, Wagatha’s, Wellness Pet Food, Zignature

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“Over a 38-hour period, 6.82 inches descended on Montpelier. The nearby Winooski River jumped over 14 feet,” recalls Cindra Conison, owner of The Quirky Pet. The 2023 rainstorm triggered massive flooding in Vermont. “My shop took on 4 feet of brown muddy water. It was totaled. Fixtures, merchandise … everything. Downtown Montpelier was shattered.”

Founded in 2011, the 673-square-foot Quirky Pet reflected Conison’s vision of a unique pet shop. And then, “At age 68, a natural disaster destroyed the business I spent a decade-plus of my life building,” she says. “At an age when most would consider retiring, I pushed forward into total uncertainty, operating a business in a downtown with a wholly uncertain future.”

When she rebuilt, Conison and Richard Sheir, whom she refers to as “store husband,” had an idea: Add more distinctively original feline products to the dogcentric mix, switching from 20% cat to 50% cat. “In 2023, I essentially bet our retirement on an insight that shaped a unique path forward, which would fundamentally redefine my shop’s customer experience as well as the core business model,” she says.

From Catastrophe to Catastic

For 15 years, The Quirky Pet has sat in the same location in the tourist town of only 7,500 residents. Conison says, “You really don’t understand the bond between a long-time business anchor and its community until disaster hits.”

People told her that Montpelier wouldn’t be Montpelier without her shop. Entire families scrubbed muddy floors, ripped out wallboard and hauled refuse with her. “Customers from all over the country placed orders on my website to keep a shared dream alive,” she says.

The shop’s unique look had been created with carpenter Chris Dyson, who stepped in to make it a reality again. “The design is a Vermont country store for dog and cat lovers,” Conison says. “A small cozy place often referred to as cool or even magical.”

Barn wood throughout is the defining feature. A wooden dog-bone-shaped counter sits at the entrance, facing the front door. A long row of brightly colored products sits on barn-board shelves. Leashes and collars hang from wooden ladders. “The barn wood sets off the wall color,” explains Conison, who has a Masters of Fine Arts and loves color. “Display ladders are red, blue and green.”

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Kites descend from the ceiling and marionettes from the rafters, and a 10-foot aviary with nine budgies sits behind the counter. A kids’ red step stool in the front holds little toy animals.

Upon reopening, Conison added “The Nation’s Only Catnip Dispensary” in back. It occupies one-third of the shop’s floor space, and has brought in more customers and revenue. “The dispensary has a wooden-house facade that leads from the toy area to the catnip,” she says. A fun wooden tree with shelves holds jarred catnip.

Even though she totally rebuilt the business, Conison’s main goal has remained the same. “A pet shop the likes of which you have never experienced.”

Signature Approach

After the flood, Conison focused on making the small shop a much richer experience for her customers and herself, as well.

“All are greeted at the entry and shmoozed before leaving, whether or not they make a purchase. All receive a free ‘Montpelier Legendary Bergamasco’ sticker and a free ‘Vermont Organic Catnip Dispensary’ sticker, for those buying cat stuff. On Saturdays, we hand out free animal crackers.”

Conison is top dog. “I do everything. Woman the front end, clean the shop, order, design new products. I do it all.” Husband Sheir helps with marketing, including creating the Quirkymania window display (See 5 More Cool Things below.).

The staff consists of friends who work one day a week each. And “On Saturdays, I have a 15-year-old intern learning the ropes of running a small business. She is helping me design and package my products.”

Bergamascos have long been the stars of the store. Joshe, age 10 and currently the only dog, is store mascot and quality control. “My original dogs were Aria, Anuzzo and Cuba. They’re in urns in the window,” Conison says. “They came every day. Now, only Joshe. She brings in a lot of traffic because people see her in the window.”

The shop has been the epicenter of the area’s dog community since opening. “Since adding the Catnip Dispensary, it has evolved to a hangout for cat people, too.”

Curated Goods

The Quirky Pet does not sell food. Offerings include cat and dog bulk, boxed and bagged dried and dehydrated treats, plus bakery cookies. The shop also carries collars, leashes, boots, toys and T-shirts. Of overall revenue, Conison says, “Dried and dehydrated animal parts are 40%, catnip and catnip products 40%, and 20% is other treats.”

The big attractions are catnip products that she creates or are U.S.-made cat toys. Also, “I sell ‘buds’ in 0.5-ounce quantities and have created a hot tourist item — catnip in 4-oz. mason jars.”

A cat buffet features big sellers rabbit, duck, salmon and ahi tuna treats and chews. And “air-dried minnows are the rage!” Conison remarks. Customers who buy catnip items are offered a brown bag for their purchases and asked if they would like it infused with catnip spray, creating yet another toy for kitties to play with.

The Catnip Dispensary goods presently account for a sizable portion of in-store revenues, replacing the shop’s traditional Canadian tourist dollars, which now only contribute around 20%. “Prior to the Canadian tariffs and gas hikes, tourism was at least 40%. I have a very strong local/regional base of at least 60%.”

Off-Beat Marketing

Conison relies on attention-getting curb appeal and signage to bring in new customers, such as a large wooden red dog on a snowboard covered in stickers, which hangs from a tree branch above the front door.

“It was a store-husband idea brought to life by our carpenter,” she says. “The red dog icon was designed by me. The stickers are all local businesses or ski resorts.”

A chess table also sits in front of the shop, with a timer for a community chess challenge, which raises funds for low-income spay-and-neuter services. A sandwich-board sign and inviting front window display, with a yellow neon non-sequitur “Why Not,” entices tourists to stop in. It’s “all ridiculous by design, but visually memorable,” Conison says.

She thrives on face-to-face communication with customers and doesn’t lean heavily into social media. “I prefer my two websites, thequirkypet.com, which is interactive, and my wholesale website, vtcatnipdispensary.com.”

Ms. Brightside

“What truly amazes me is how much I got right before I even opened 15 years ago,” Conison says. “I did my homework, and it has paid off.”

She hopes to be on the crest of an upcoming loose organic catnip wave. “I would love to see the wave lifting indie pet shops across the country. A virtual wave of local catnip dispensaries across the land. The success of the indie pet shop itself is how I measure my success these days. In the end, nobody wins unless everybody wins.”

Conison still has unfinished business. “In 2018, I was at SUPERZOO accepting an Indie Spirit award,” she recalls. “For almost a decade, I’ve kicked myself for not riding the zip line over the five blocks while the music of The Killers is blasted from above at arena-rock volume. Being named one of the coolest pet shops in the land and going back to SUPERZOO provides the needed excuse for an avowed small towner to spread her wings and soar over five loud, chaotic city blocks after dark, at age 71.”

Five Cool Things About The Quirky Pet

1. ALL AMERICAN: Everything in the shop is made in the U.S. “My criteria is that they are physically made here,” Conison says. “People thank me for only carrying Made in the U.S. goods. Revenue booster? Maybe. Marketing tool? Definitely.”

2. DISPENSE THIS: The Vermont Organic Catnip Dispensary came into being after husband Sheir created a poster for the window satirizing cannabis dispensaries when they became legal in the state. “The dispensary simply took off with my take on making products marinating in catnip,” Conison says. She buys catnip in bulk, and bags and turns it into many configurations, with the base being organic leaf and flower. She also buys in bulk a mixture of silvervine and catnip, as well as a mixture of valerian and catnip. Today, several cannabis dispensaries sell her wholesale products.

3. COUNTER CULTURE: A unique 5-by-3 foot, bone-shaped checkout counter has a polished wood surface and sits on a base of barn board. It holds the shop’s tablet, Square, and impulse items for purchase. The internal side is used for storage. It was also built and designed by carpenter Chris Dyson.

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4. LOVE ME DO(g): The front window showcases posters created by Sheir — a Quirkymania career retrospective with three shaggy sheepdogs mimicking The Beatles from their first album cover through their final cover in the crosswalk.

5. STICK IT: People love the free Quirky Pet stickers. “We give away thousands,” Conison says. “We buy them in orders of 3,000 for 12 cents a piece. They are awesome advertising because they remain forever on water bottles, computers and refrigerator doors.” More than 30,000 have been distributed over the years and they’ve shown up all around the world, including in the Guatemala City airport.

PHOTO GALLERY (6 IMAGES)