After five years in Sharpsburg, the pet shop Sara’s Pets and Plants has closed its doors.

But the nonprofit rescue associated with the store will continue its mission to aid exotic animals and place them in loving homes.

Owner Sara Smith said the cost of operating the for-profit shop became too much.

Donations helped keep the shop afloat during the pandemic, said Smith. She also held events to raise funds to keep operations going. But she said she realized it was time to turn out the lights.

“I didn’t receive funding from the government at all,” she said. “It’s difficult out there, and I know times are hard on a lot of people.”

A lifelong animal lover, Smith had a special affection for creatures that often are overlooked — the snakes, lizards and birds that don’t get the attention that puppies do.

In 2018, she purchased a pet store in Squirrel Hill — Alan’s Pets and Plants — when the owner retired. She had adopted her first pets from that store, three fire-bellied newts.

Smith relocated the operation to Sharpsburg in 2020. In addition to providing supplies and education to pet owners, the location also shared space with Feathers, Scales and Tails, an exotic pet rescue that rehomes cats, reptiles, amphibians, birds, small mammals, and insects.

“Over 600 pets have been adopted through the rescue,” she said.

“There’s not a lot of support for exotic animals that are on their own,” Smith said. “I saw the need and wanted to step in. It’s so different caring for them than your typical pet.”

• 1.8.2020. Sara's Pets and Plants reopens in Sharpsburg after moving from Squirrel Hill • 10.10.2019. Longstanding Squirrel Hill pet store moving to Sharpsburg • 10.30.2018. Meet the new owner of Alan's Pets and Plants in Squirrel Hill

As the shop on Main Street prepared to wind down, the nonprofit rehomed the remaining rescues — about 20, including chameleons and a bearded dragon.

“We moved it to a foster-based rescue system,” Smith said.

Smith has since moved to Florida with the aim of continuing her passion for education. She is teaching anthrozoology at Beacon College in Leesburg, Florida. She brought along her educational animals that also were her personal pets, including Burt the bearded dragon and Large Marge the 10-foot red-tailed boa.

She urges people who are interested in exotic animals to make sure they do their research before taking the plunge.

And don’t just look up any old blog or YouTube video.

“Make sure your sources are right,” she said. “Don’t look at one website and base everything around that.”

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