ShawneeDispatch.com

Smokey the cat used to rule the roost at Hartman Hardware.

Children would watch for Smokey as their parents drove by and would sometimes even call out her name from their cars, said Mike Unterreiner, owner of the store at 11018 Johnson Drive. Smokey was so famous, people still ask for her — four years after her death.

Smokey was brought into the store to control the mice that were coming after the grass seed the store carried, but even after they were taken care of, she stayed, living at the store 10 years total.

“I couldn’t get rid of her because everybody would come in and ask for her,” Unterreiner said.

Smokey may be gone, but in-store pets still can be found at several Shawnee businesses, where they serve to put customers at ease or simply make a visit to the business more interesting and memorable.

At Blues to Bach, 22366 W. 66th St., the pets don’t live at the store, but they come in every day with owner Detroy Green. When he’s there, it’s almost a sure bet that you’ll find three dogs wandering the premises, two yorkies as well as a Lhasa Apso named Bob, who is the store’s official mascot.

“A lot of the people in the community know Bob before they know us,” Green said.

Green said when children first come in they ask, “Where are the puppies?” The dogs provide entertainment while parents shop or while customers wait for their music lessons.

“Our whole strategy is to just have a nice, warm, homey atmosphere, and the dogs, they make the people feel comfortable and welcome,” Green said.

If children are a little leery of the animals, Green either will contain them while the children are there or just hold the dog to make a more gentle introduction.

“These dogs are kind of unique — Bob especially,” Green said. “They seem to have a natural instinct of how to deal with certain customers. They’ll keep away from customers who aren’t interested, or stay calm for people who aren’t comfortable with them.”

It may seem like a Sylvester and Tweety Bird scenario waiting to play out, but Wild Birds Unlimited owner Diane Gover insists that the store’s resident cat doesn’t harass the birds, despite being dubbed Tasmanian Devil.

“My grandson named her Tasmanian Devil, but it doesn’t fit her at all because she is very laid back,” Gover said. “We call her Tasmanian Devil when my grandson is around, but in the store we call her Miss Tazzie.”

The long-hair cat, Gover guesses, is about 6 years old and was a rescue.

“We thought wouldn’t it be fun to have a kitty cat in a bird store, so we let the vet know, and that’s how we found her,” she said.

With a litter box, food and water in the workroom, Miss Tazzie has lived full-time in the store for about three years.

“It was our intention to take her home when we closed, but I have a male rescue cat at home who terrorizes her,” Gover said. “So she just stays here, and she probably gets more attention than he does. She never goes a day without seeing humans and being loved.”

Miss Tazzie is friendly, allowing customers to pet her and constantly purring, Gover said.

“When the front door opens she saunters on up there and says ‘Welcome. Pet me,” she said.

And if someone walks in who says they are allergic, Gover says she simply puts Miss Tazzie in the workroom, but that doesn’t happen too often.

“I can count on one hand the amount of times that has been done,” she said. “The people who shop my store are animal lovers. We’re a nature store.”

At Russell Florist, 6129 Nieman Road, Harley, a male eclectus parrot, and Bentley, a female blue front Amazon parrot, are the main attractions. Harley came to the store first in 1994 after his former owner could no longer care for him.

“With Harley, we just thought it would be interesting, just add a little bit of activity,” owner Ben Russell said.

Two years later, Russell found Bentley at a store he delivered to in Mission.

“We just instantly got along famously,” Russell said. “I went back four times because I just couldn’t get her off my mind.”

Finally, Bentley came home with Russell, who ended up bringing her to the flower shop with Harley so she could get more attention. Harley is known as the ornery one.

“Harley, we generally don’t condone letting everybody put him on their shoulder, because his whole thing is ‘Let’s see what we can do with the human,’” Russell said.

A year before Smokey died, Hartman Hardware added another pet, Dusty, a female eclectus parrot, who learned to call “Here, kitty, kitty,” and meow like Smokey before her death. Now Dusty helps fill the void that Smokey has left.

“People will come in just to see the bird,” Unterreiner said. “It works; the kids love it and the parents can get what they need to get without the kids underfoot. … It seems to work out very well. She’s basically our customer relations.”

— Reporter Leann Sulzen contributed to this story.

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