Pet stores join forces in Springfield.

Byline: Joe Mosley The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - Denise Shimp was running an exotic bird business out of her home, while Paula Mathasen and her husband, Nathan Duerre, were trying to make a go of it with a pet store in Creswell.

Then the light bulb came on: Merge.

In a novel way, Shimp's Parrot Delights joined forces a month ago with Mathasen and Duerre's The Safari Next Door. The two businesses retained their own names, but moved together into a 2,000-square-foot retail space at 3305 Main St., in Springfield.

The result is separate cash registers but a combined inventory that gives customers a wide selection of animals - including rescue shelter dogs and cats, parrots, reptiles, rabbits, rats and mice - along with food, supplies and expertise.

"What our plan is, after all of our merchandise that we previously had is sold, then we will go in together (on joint inventory)," Shimp says. "But right now, we're two separate businesses in one building."

Owners of the two businesses not only wanted to pool their resources, but saw an advantage in moving together to a high-traffic, high-visibility location. They got that in the shop at the corner of 34th and Main Streets - a former antique shop that's located between a Knecht's Auto Parts store and a Les Schwab Tire Center.

"We wanted something on a main street, and this just seemed like the right place to be," Shimp says. "That, and ... buildings in Eugene are very expensive."

Mathasen says she and Shimp have worked together for the same bird rescue groups for several years, and it just made sense to combine their businesses.

"My passion is parrots, and my husband's (Duerre) is the reptiles," Mathasen says.

"We're only a month into (the new location and business arrangement), but it seems to be working real well," she says. "(Shimp's) expertise is great on the bird side - and baby birds - and in the last year and seven months (since opening in Creswell), we've learned a lot about reptiles."

Mathasen hopes to use the shop to promote well-informed pet ownership.

"Just basically getting people, when they buy an animal, to know what that means," she says. "They buy these animals and don't know what cage to put them in, or what to feed them. So our goal is education - along with the animals."

The store owners have made a stand against pet over-population, promising to offer dogs and cats only if they've come from rescue organizations rather than pet breeders. Dogs and cats were brought to the store's opening early this month by Save the Pets, a pet adoption organization, and the owners hope to eventually create a permanent space in the store for pets supplied by rescue groups.

"We wanted to support their idea, by bringing in rescue animals and showing them," says Lori Smith, president of Save the Pets. "I love the idea of them wanting to do that. It's about educating the public, and I think they're doing an excellent job."

RV Store owner retires

A little further out Main Street, a longtime business has a new owner.

The RV Store, founded 28 years ago by Al Lueck, was sold last week to Gary Wilson, who had been the store's service manager. Lueck offered the store to Wilson when he decided to retire.

"I'm going to pretty much run it the same way it's been run since 1979," Wilson says.

The store features a $150,000 inventory of recreational vehicle parts and accessories, along with a service department that does everything from hitch installations to appliance work.

Wilson, who worked 12 years at another local trailer and RV store before joining the RV Store in 2000, says he's adjusting to being a business owner.

"I'm taking on stuff that I haven't done before," he says. "My jobs before were the service end of it, so this is kind of a new ballgame to me. But I'm getting over a lot of the jitters."

Retail Notebook runs on Fridays. Joe Mosley can be reached at 338-2384 or jmosley@ guardnet.com.