Business Profile: Putnam Pets, Carmel

As Joe Bellantoni Jr. walks around his family’s business located in Putnam Plaza, he can’t help but think of the memory of his late father Joseph Bellantoni Sr.

Bellantoni Sr. owned and ran Putnam Pets in Carmel for 40 years as a family business until his death in February. Since then, the younger Joe Bellantoni has assumed responsibility for the store along with his mother Nancy to keep Putnam Pets a haven for customers seeking an assortment of pet needs and goods. In the same location for four decades, the pet shop has treated customers like family, a key to their longevity in a line of work that’s tough to survive in with so many large pet businesses cropping up.

Bellantoni, a Mahopac resident, is able to tell the story of how his father got into the pet goods businesses like it was yesterday. His father bought the store from a man who was simply selling fishes at the time. Immediately, after taking ownership, he began to build the store up from almost nothing.

“Starting spreading out from fish,” Bellantoni said of his dad. “To everything else.”

Putnam Pets offers fishes, hamsters, small birds, and in addition to that, pet supplies and pet toys for any household pet. The store even did dog grooming at one point, but doesn’t any longer. The shop tries its best to cater to its customers’ needs, Bellantoni said.

Bellantoni said what made the store unique is the family atmosphere Putnam Pets provided, proving to be a comfortable place to shop. He noted everyone in the Carmel/Mahopac area knew his father, and they would call him the “Mayor of Carmel.”

Bellantoni said the small family businesses truly cares about their customers. Shoppers of the store would make sure to set plenty of time aside to shop and then when they were done, simply talk and catch up with Bellantoni’s father for another hour.

“Whatever people needed, he was there, Bellantoni said. “Even if it wasn’t pet related.”

He said any of the regulars that would walk in were essentially considered family.

Bellantoni grew to love animals just like his father, though he didn’t seem to have much of a choice. He said he was either at school or at the pet shop doing his homework. And when he was old enough, he began to work in the store.

“Now I’m kind of running it besides my other job,” Bellantoni said.

And because of such a busy schedule and other obligations, including impending nuptials, Bellantoni said the family would like to possibly sell it. While 40 years is a good run, he knows he doesn’t have the time even though he’d like to and knows his mother can’t run the shop by herself.

“I’d like to keep it going even if it isn’t with us in charge,” Bellantoni said. “Keeping it going, passing it forward. We built it up from nothing so it’d be nice to keep it going.”

As Joe Bellantoni Jr. walks around his family’s business located in Putnam Plaza, he can’t help but think of the memory of his late father Joseph Bellantoni Sr.

Bellantoni Sr. owned and ran Putnam Pets in Carmel for 40 years as a family business until his death in February. Since then, the younger Joe Bellantoni has assumed responsibility for the store along with his mother Nancy to keep Putnam Pets a haven for customers seeking an assortment of pet needs and goods. In the same location for four decades, the pet shop has treated customers like family, a key to their longevity in a line of work that’s tough to survive in with so many large pet businesses cropping up.

Bellantoni, a Mahopac resident, is able to tell the story of how his father got into the pet goods businesses like it was yesterday. His father bought the store from a man who was simply selling fishes at the time. Immediately, after taking ownership, he began to build the store up from almost nothing.

“Starting spreading out from fish,” Bellantoni said of his dad. “To everything else.”

Putnam Pets offers fishes, hamsters, small birds, and in addition to that, pet supplies and pet toys for any household pet. The store even did dog grooming at one point, but doesn’t any longer. The shop tries its best to cater to its customers’ needs, Bellantoni said.

Bellantoni said what made the store unique is the family atmosphere Putnam Pets provided, proving to be a comfortable place to shop. He noted everyone in the Carmel/Mahopac area knew his father, and they would call him the “Mayor of Carmel.”

Bellantoni said the small family businesses truly cares about their customers. Shoppers of the store would make sure to set plenty of time aside to shop and then when they were done, simply talk and catch up with Bellantoni’s father for another hour.

“Whatever people needed, he was there, Bellantoni said. “Even if it wasn’t pet related.”

He said any of the regulars that would walk in were essentially considered family.

Bellantoni grew to love animals just like his father, though he didn’t seem to have much of a choice. He said he was either at school or at the pet shop doing his homework. And when he was old enough, he began to work in the store.

“Now I’m kind of running it besides my other job,” Bellantoni said.

And because of such a busy schedule and other obligations, including impending nuptials, Bellantoni said the family would like to possibly sell it. While 40 years is a good run, he knows he doesn’t have the time even though he’d like to and knows his mother can’t run the shop by herself.

“I’d like to keep it going even if it isn’t with us in charge,” Bellantoni said. “Keeping it going, passing it forward. We built it up from nothing so it’d be nice to keep it going.”