Skipton Kennel & Pet Center

I have been loyal to Skipton since they opened, and have purchased the expensive small breed dog food here for 5 years. I moved out of the neighborhood, yet continued to come here to purchase the food. It is very common and EVERY OTHER PET STORE carries it, yet over and over for 6 months… they have only had it in stock once or twice. The employees have said they would order and call me… never happened. I was there today, and no surprise: the large bag of Wellness small breed dog kibble– anything but fish– wasn’t there.
I was told by an employee that the manager is responsible, and doesn’t listen to employee’s requests for customer’s requests. I assumed the manager would listen to a request for a long time customer for a product that has always been carried before– wow, was I wrong.
She said that the vendor sent what they wanted, and that was the end of it. I told the manager that she was losing a long time customer… and her answer was, «Fine.»
So now I went online on Amazon and am having the food delivered to my door for several dollars cheaper.
I would rather have patronized my local store.

Outstanding customer service. They went out of their way to make me completely happy. I was an avid betta fish collector, gave them up and Skipton got me back collecting (I thought this was impossible to do). Go buy your pet needs here, you will not be disappointed. The staff is super knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. I would give Skipton 10 stars if I could.

This place doesn’t have the largest selection around, however the staff are awesome. When I go in I ask a ton of questions, sometimes I already know the answer but want to see what they say. They are always spot on! You may have to wait a bit for help because they give every customer the attention they deserve. The guys here really care that they give you correct information. I have went in looking for something specific that they didn’t have in the store. The guys have ordered it from Hawaii and it will be in this week. A lot of stores wouldn’t do that and Skiptons has won my loyalty!

It’s been one year since our dog died from heat exhaustion the other almost died of the same torture while in Skipton’s care. Sure, board your dog there!
Not sure how someone could find our tragic loss funny. It’s not funny to us.

As someone who has always gone to Petco and Unleashed and other pet supermarkets, I was a bit wary of Skipton at first. It seemed a bit ghetto and was located in Roxbury. However, if you can look past the slightly dirty and cramped nature of the store, you’ll see some really awesome staffers that make this a stellar aquatics store.
I found the store on Unilocal because I was looking for someone to fix my saltwater tank hood, which my cat jumped on in his attempt to kill all my fish and dunked into the water and effectively destroyed. I called, and eventually got Brendan on the phone. I described my ordeal to him and he immediately told me my hood and lights were ridiculously antiquated, expensive, inefficient and also unnecessarily powerful for my fish-​only tank. He gave me advice on a much better and more appropriate item. Me and my roommates don’t know a ton about saltwater and this is our first time around, so this news saved me $ 150. I drove in, got the light, then as always, was mesmerized by their fish. Their selection isn’t as good as the other store I’ve been in, Underwater World in Taunton, but those guys lied to me to make a sale (Koran Angelfish in a 55 gallon? No problem! He’ll definitely fit. — NOT) so I probably won’t go back there. These guys are really honest and they love their fish. I talked to a youngish guy who used to catch fish for a wholesaler in Hawaii, and I think I actually stayed in there past their closing time talking to him about the BIG harlequin trigger they had. He also told me about a shrimp they had that could punch through glass, and I was like «OMG i want to see!» and he actually dropped a hermit crab in for me! The shrimp got performance anxiety and hid so I didn’t get to see his awesome knockout punch in action. Bummer.
Their frozen shrimp was cheaper than Petco. Also, Brendan told me that if anything went wrong with the light within a year I could bring it back and they would replace it. Awesomeeee.

Great and knowledgeable staff and they are always wiling to help. If they don’t have it they can get it so be sure to ask! This location is just aquatics now and the dog/​cat operation has moved down the road to Red Dog so plan accordingly.

Gotta get them their gourmet chow: salmon & bison = SOLID GOLD

I’ve been shopping at Skipton’s for supplies and food for my pets (pitbull and a cat) for 10 years and always found them to be knowledgeable and friendly. Unfortunately on my last trip there I noticed a sign on the door advertising pitbull puppies for sale. I immediately sent a friendly email asking them not to support the backyard breeding and sale of pitbulls (given the hundreds of thousands that end up in shelters and are ultimately euthanized every year), but received no response. Sad, because I always considered them to be supportive of the breed… So, I’ll be taking my business elsewhere and would urge you to do the same.
Update 12÷8÷10− I did finally receive a very courteous response from the manager of the store. Which I appreciate. Unfortunately she states that she will continue to support the sale of pitbull puppies… so I will continue to take my business elsewhere.

I have been going to Skipton’s for years. As a feline «owner» and an on-​going feline foster parent for a local shelter– I go thru a lot of cat food. Quality does matter. If you wanna buy junk at the supermarket or Walmart you will pay up what you saved on food later on in vet bills. I have always have decent service at Skipton’s and they are willing to order stuff if they can get it — unlike the bigger chain pet places.
Although some of the items are a little pricier than elsewhere, the food is a decent price for the quality. And given their location the only other pet stores in the vicinity are of the boutique variety. UGH. Talk about mark up!

This is far and away the very best pet store in the city. these are people who aren’t out to make a buck and are genuine pet enthusiasts and you can really tell with the way they treat the animals and customers.
The fish section is one of the best in the city and the free water tests, policy of not selling sick fish and returning dead fish is above and beyond what i expect in a store.

I go here for my fish and dog supplies and any possible question or problem I come with, they always know how to fix it. Our dog, a lab mix is always having allergies to something and we go to Skiptons for advice. They haven’t been wrong yet.
Also, their fish seem to out last the ones at Petsmart. Haven’t figured that part out yet.

Best place in Boston for fish, hands down. An amazing, generally healthy selection of everything from boring guppies to $ 75+ discus and arrowanas. Per fish, the livestock are more expensive than PetCo, but you’re not going to find german blue ram cichlids in this good health in PetCo, either. You seriously can lose an hour looking through the fish and tank-​related accessories.
Let’s get this out there: the entire staff is bat-​s*** insane. I think there’s a sort of normal chick who works the fish area, but beyond that, you will definitely feel like you’re in an asylum. That’s good. That’s really good. These are people who are crazy and highly passionate about their animals. They’re also ridiculously patient and knowledgeable, which is useful when you’re dealing with a crack addict who’s working on his salt water tank. Pretty much not kidding about that.
This is the kind of place where the dingy, crazy-​ass atmosphere adds to, not detracts from, the overall feel of the store. Go and bring a fat wallet.

This place has a nice assortment of things that I need or want to buy. The staff all have their… little personalities if you know what I mean.

Our first reaction to Skipton was a little strange. The staff was a little weird and seemed to struggle answering my basic questions at first. But they were wonderful with our dog who can be reserved around new people and scared in new environments.
We took her there to try it out for the day and all went well. We will be using Skipton to board over Labor Day weekend (will update review). The cost is $ 35 to have the dog taken out 3 times per day.
Pros:
Close to animal hospital
They are flexible so dogs do not all have to be on the exact same schedule, they will make exceptions for different needs as they see fit.
Owners are on the property at all times.
Cons:
House is small and a little crowded, but this is no different than most boarding/​daycare facilities.
No drop off/​pick up on Sundays

This place looks like crap (inside and out), but it is FABULOUS. The staff are friendly, helpful and incredibly knowledgeable about everything pets– from raw diets for cats or dogs to the history of special guppies.
The selection is pretty good, especially if you’re looking for quality foods for your pets. The small animal section looks small, but holds as much as a larger Petco or Pet Smart. And the fish selection! It’s heavenly– awesome salt water fish, badass coral things, tons of freshwater fish. I tend to kill fish fairly quickly, but I always spend a long while looking at their selection and asking questions if it’s not busy. The one time I did get fish, the guy told me about how the tiny colorful guppy I wanted was a pimp fish andThey never sell sick fish, and almost every time I’m in there I hear them counseling someone in person or on the phone about what to do if their tank is sick.
I’d also say their prices seem pretty fair.

Love their selection of food brands. Very knowledgable staff. Answered all of my questions. One stop shop– food, training, vet, boarding, grooming!
Also they have frozen marrow bones that my puppy goes nuts for!

These guys are awesome– we go there for all of our pet needs (Tropical fish, dogs and cats). I would not suggest going anywhere else in the area for salt water fish. These guys know exactly what they are talking about, and would never sell you anything that was a) sick, b) not right for your tank. They also have saved my tank on a few occasions as well.
Highly recommend!

I took my cat here to be groomed and was pretty satisfied with the job that they did. In particular, I was really impressed with the «sanitary» trim they did to her butt/​legs. When I asked Petco to do it, they just shaved a ½ inch off the back of her butt — Skipton actually trimmed her butt and both the back/​inside of her legs down fairly short. (When you’ve got a poofball like my baby, this detail can make the difference between happy litterbox time and «EW GROSS!!») They also did it such a way that it looked pretty good and it wasn’t glaringly obvious that she’d had a trim back there.
I also REALLY liked that I could drop her off before work and pick her up after, with no charge for boarding. This is super convenient for me!
The only thing that I didn’t like was that she smelled all flowery after her bath. That was just weird.

Big fan: they’re helpful, funny, attentive and fast. I went looking for a high-​end dog food to replace my by-​product Beneful that I finally got tired of feeding my dogs. The salesman who helped me pointed out a bunch of different, comparable foods, and told me that I couldn’t go wrong with any of them. He compared those top shelf brands to a Porsche, while what I was currently feeding my dogs was like driving a Pinto. It was hilarious. And I left feeling confident that my dogs will benefit from better dog food. Quality store, quality products. When you’re in there, check out the big ass dog collars (and pay attention to the studs on those collars) behind the counter. Good times!

One of the few pet shops left in the city and this is likely because it was one of the best.
Before my dog died last August my family and I would make frequent trips to buy my dog’s favorite hippie food. Skipton’s was one of the few places that carried a full variety of pet foods in the area. If your pet is of the non-​mammalian variety this is the place to go for supplies, equipment, décor, and a fabulous selection of *healthy* marine critters.
If you’re vehicularly challenged this place can be a bit tricky (and scary) to get to as you’re crossing several roads that feed directly into the SE Expressway.