Groton’s Fin & Feather Pet Shop Closes After 45 Years

Every day, people drive up to Fin & Feather Pet Shop in Groton and take a closer look.

The store is empty, but they get out of their cars anyway and peer inside. Then they try the door even though it’s locked. Sometimes, they back up and look at the sign to make sure they’re in the right place.

Then they walk next door and ask Deanna Fish, manager of Best Rents Plus, what happened.

“We’ve had people who actually had appointments for shots for their dogs and didn’t know it closed,” she said.

The store the Smith family opened in 1968 closed about three weeks ago. The Smiths could not be reached for comment, but left this message on their website:

“The Smith family has decided the time has come to retire. The entire Fin and Feather family wants to thank its loyal customers for a wonderful 45 years of business.”

Pat and John Smith, who started breeding red show parakeets, opened the store in the Groton Shopping Plaza where it remained for decades. It evolved into a family business, and all of the Smith children worked there at one time or another.

Laura Smith-Wainston, an emergency medical technician, 1984 Fitch graduate and animal lover, stepped in to help keep the family business going and was still taking care of it in 2011.

Pat Smith served as caretaker of both animals and people. In an earlier interview, she said the business was cherished in Groton, but had to downsize by almost half because of corporate competition and tough economic times.

“I love coming to work, because I love seeing the animals and seeing the people," Pat Smith said at the time.  "Animals bring you a lot of comfort, and I feel that we’ve helped a lot of people over the years."