HOW MUCH IS THAT <i> DRAGON </i> IN THE WINDOW?
For those of you thinking of giving an animal as a Christmas gift, the list is much longer than kittens, puppies and fish. True, those venerable pets still seem to be the most popular gifts--even in trendy Orange County. But if you’re geared to giving something more exotic or are determined to present someone with a pricey new friend, there are several interesting alternatives--as this survey of county pet stores shows.
Pet store/ Most Least Most Least Location Popular Popular Expensive Expensive Russo’s Fish Tarantulas Blue/gold Goldfish Costa Mesa Puppies macaw 19 cents Kittens $2,800 Petland Puppies Hamsters Scarlet Mice El Toro Parrots macaw $1.49 Kittens $3,500 ‘Tis For Pets Puppies Hamsters Blue/gold Mice Fountain Valley Kittens macaw $1.49 Birds $2,200 Rabbits The Pet Pantry Puppies Tarantulas English Mice Orange Birds Snakes bulldogs $1.39 Fish $1,900 Collar & Leash Fish Scorpions Lhasa Apso Crickets Garden Grove Iguanas Tarantulas $339 8 cents Puppies Tustin Pet Snakes Rodents Blue/gold Fish Village Santa Ana Kittens macaw 25 cents Puppies $1,750 Chinchilas Pets West Hamsters Puppies Pomeranian Mice Anaheim Mice $400 $1.99 Rabbits San Bar Fish Snakes Toucan Goldfish Mission Viejo Puppies $3,000 15 cents Kittens Barney’s Pet Birds Lizards Scarlet Goldfish Centers Kittens macaw 29 cents Fullerton Puppies $2,800 Noah’s Ark Puppies Tarantulas Lhasa Apso Guppies Pet Kingdom Kittens $349 Goldfish Huntington Beach Rabbits 10 cents House of Earle Birds Rats Salmon-crested Goldfish San Clemente Fish cockatoo 25 cents Hamsters $1,600 Fish & Etc. Fish Puppies Emerald Goldfish Stanton Reptiles tree boa 10/$1.00 Rodents $400
Pet store/ Most Location Exotic Russo’s Chinese Costa Mesa pot-bellied pig Petland Scarlet El Toro macaw ‘Tis For Pets Blue/gold Fountain Valley macaw The Pet Pantry Great Orange Pyrenese Collar & Leash Sudan Garden Grove plated lizard Tustin Pet (tie) Village Santa Ana Dragon and Frog * Pets West Sulphur- Anaheim crested cockatoo San Bar Toucan Mission Viejo Barney’s Pet Scarlet Centers macaw Fullerton Noah’s Ark Chinchilla Pet Kingdom Huntington Beach House of Earle Mili-gold San Clemente macaw Fish & Etc. Emerald Stanton tree boa
*The formal name for the dragon is Dummerrils Monitor Lizard; the frog is a South African Pixie, which is currently three pounds but expected to grow to six pounds.
Source: Individual stores; Los Angeles County Zoo
