Burns Pet Shop to close its doors after 48 years, to customers' dismay

After 48 years, Burns Pet Shop is shutting its doors.

The pet store, located on Route 9 just outside Georgetown, has been owned and operated by Edna Burns since it first opened its doors. However, she said right now is the perfect time to close shop.

"Some of my regular customers cried when I told them," she said. "They all were happy that I was getting a break, but they were unhappy because they didn't know what they were going to do."

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Burns Pet Shop was created because Burns's husband was a "fish nut," she said.  When Burns Pet Shop opened, its specialty was tropical fish. Since then, it has evolved into an all-encompassing pet store.

Burns said people kept coming back for the customer service she was able to provide her customers.

"They come in with all kinds of issues with fish tanks and animals," she said. "If I didn't know the answer immediately, I would tell them I will find out for them."

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One customer who will miss the store is Quincy Duckworth, of Milton.

He said the store has everything he needed for his pets and it has stood the test of time as an institution.

When he first saw the store was going out of business two weeks ago, Duckworth said he was shocked.

"They have been around for so long and it's such a nice place with such nice people," he said.

Burns' son, Billy Burns, said his mother has done a good job running the store.

She's a good business person, and she has worked hard to make the store what it is, he said.

"In the pet business, there's nothing more than than talking to people about their pets," he added.

The customers knew she would treat them right, Edna Burns added, and there was a level of trust between her and her customers.

She wouldn't use any technical terms that would confuse her customers, she said, so that her customers wouldn't be confused and so they could fix their problem themselves.

That kept the people coming back, and Burns is rewarding her loyal customers for their years of patronage.

"There has been a lot of reaction because there are the people who come regularly for live food and things for their pets every week; they don’t know where to go now," Billy Burns said. "And the people who came here as kids, and they are bringing their kids, and in some cases they’re bringing their grandkids. It’s a big deal that way, and they are all telling her they’re going to miss her."

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In preparation for the store closing, they have reduced its hours. It is now open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

The store will remain open until they run out of inventory, Burns said, but until then everything in the store is 75 percent off dry goods and 50 percent off live stock.

The store had enough inventory to restock the shelves several time since Edna announced she was going to retire around Christmas of last year, Billy Burns said, and the only thing that is remaining is what's on the shelves.

The store plans on selling everything it owns, he added.

"We're basically selling stuff at a loss," Edna Burns said. "It's a 'thank you' to our customers."

After working nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week since 1969, Burns said she plans on taking it easy in retirement.

On Twitter @hughesg19