TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Taking On Pet Projects

Greg Fight photo

A bearded dragon can be had at Stephen Tippie's Fancypet Petstore.

ADVERTISEMENT

By JAN HOLLINGSWORTH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 26, 2008

Updated: 01/24/2008 09:44 pm

Additional Photos

PLANT CITY - The tiny service station on Wheeler Street has seen war, peace and nearly a century of change. Only time will tell if the sturdy structure, which occupies a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, can weather the storm brewing over its new incarnation as a drive-through grooming and pet supply store called Pet City Center.

If the name sounds familiar, it is because it carries the notoriety of its owner, who has been dogged by controversy since he opened the first Pet City Center three years ago.

"No matter what obstacles come my way, I'm going to push forward and run a business to support my family," said Gary Hicks, who has secured a lease with an option to buy the old gas station.

Hicks, a registered sexual predator, has been a lightning rod for community protests over his running a business that attracts children and a spate of animal abuse complaints that have since been resolved.

On Dec. 31, after nearly three years of sporadic picketers and protests, he packed up his parrots and pythons. His lease was up and the rent was six weeks overdue.

That left Fancypet Petstore on Alexander Street as the city's sole remaining full-line pet shop.

The following week, however, a sign planted out front of Hicks' former shop announced a new store, Pick-A-Pet, was set to open at that location.

Henry Lewis, owner of a local trucking company, had decided to get into the pet business with the help of his wife, son and daughter, a pre-veterinarian student at Hillsborough Community College.

"We're trying to do it on a shoestring budget. Money is tight," Lewis said.

Nonetheless, the family has been busy stocking the store with truckloads of merchandise - none of which, he is careful to point out, was purchased from Hicks.

"He offered to sell me all his stuff in there for $38,000. We decided to start fresh," Lewis said. "We're trying to bring the reputation of the pet store back up."

Shortly after the first Pet City Center opened, community activists had picketed his store, bearing signs announcing it was operated by a child molester: Hicks had pleaded guilty in 1999 to three counts of attempted sexual battery and lewd and lascivious behavior involving two boys - one age 5, the other a teenager - between 1994 and 1998.

Under state law, he must register as a sexual predator for the rest of his life.

Last summer, the picketing resumed, this time after Hicks, 37, was charged with animal cruelty in connection with injuries sustained by dogs groomed at his shop by two employees.

Hicks has denied the animals were injured there.

"Like any other business, whether it's grooming or hair salons, there are unhappy customers," he said.

A county judge dismissed one civil citation, saying there was no way to determine exactly who had caused the dog's injuries. The Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office declined to prosecute another for the same reason.

Prosecutors also declined to prosecute Hicks and his 19-year-old girlfriend in connection with an emaciated, heartworm-infested boxer that animal control investigators said was tied without food and water in Hicks' yard in Dover. Hicks said the dog recently had been rescued by his girlfriend, Heather Morrison, and was in that condition when she acquired it. A key witness, Morrison's mother, later recanted what she had told officials about the dog.

"I hate the fact that he walked away from this one," said Linda Penny, who is suing Hicks for vet bills she said were incurred when her Shih Tzu was groomed at Pet City Center. The vet report said the dog had razor burns on its face and genitals.

Hicks is countersuing Penny, saying she has damaged his reputation.

"I've done nothing but tell the truth," she said.

Judy Cornett, a community activist who led the first round of picketing against Hicks in 2005, called for a "victory" party when it was learned Hicks' landlord would not be renewing his lease at 1103 N. Wheeler St.

That's when Hicks turned his attention to the old gas station at 1111 N. Wheeler, which has stood empty for some time. It was in need of a tenant and a facelift. Hicks needed a fresh start.

For years, the building held the distinction of being the oldest working gas station in Florida and was still operating in the 1990s, said Shelby Bender, president of the East Hillsborough Historical Society.

Zoned "soft" commercial by the city, it had few permissible uses. There was little space for parking on its diminutive lot and even less room inside the tiny station for retail or professional purposes.

The city's staff determined it might be suitable for a drive-through pet grooming operation if appropriate improvements were made, such as handicap access to its restroom.

Hicks said he plans to exercise his option to buy the 1918 building within a year and hopes to maintain its historical integrity. Original facets of the building, including an ancient kerosene pump and door lock, will add to the ambience, said Hicks, who has acquired an antique bell hose like those used at gas stations of old to announce arriving customers.

"We found in the attic all kind of receipts and sales slips dating way back," he said. "We're gonna frame them and put them on the walls."

The vintage artifacts, he said, should appeal to his target customers - senior citizens who find it difficult to bring their dogs in for grooming. Here, he said, they can drive up and someone will meet them at the car to unload the animal.

The new shop will not sell pets, he said. It will, however, have dog and cat supplies - leashes, collars, medicines, flea control products and shampoos.

"At least kids aren't coming in and out of his pet store. I think that's the biggest fear that people had," said Cornett, who says Hicks is a threat to the community.

Hillsborough County Animal Services, for its part, would prefer not to see Hicks in the animal business.

"From our department's perspective and numerous investigations we've been involved with ... we have genuine concerns about his facilities," said Sgt. Pam Perry, investigations manager for the agency.

Hicks said he has a loyal following of satisfied customers who will support his new enterprise. He is undeterred by the prospect of more protests driving customers away.

"If they picket, they picket out of ignorance because those charges of animal cruelty were dropped," he said.

Meanwhile, Lewis plans to use the local grapevine to overcome the baggage that comes with operating out of the old Pet City Center building.

"I go to church at Bethany Baptist and I'm friends with a lot of people at Shiloh Baptist. Just spreading the word through the churches, I think we can overcome the reputation of the place," said Lewis, who will carry a full line of pets and pet supplies as well as offering grooming services.

What he lacks in retail experience, he hopes to balance in resolve and the love of animals. The family's personal menagerie includes eight cats, four dogs, guinea pigs, white rats, a ferret and a rescued squirrel.

Lewis's wife, Mary, and 18-year-old daughter, Vera Ann, volunteer with Cat Calls, an organization that tends to feral cats. Mother and daughter foster adoptable ferals until a home can be found.

Cat and dog adoption events will be a part of the family's Pick-A-Pet business.

Today's grand opening, which comes a day after the one planned by Hicks, will feature an open house with cookies and coffee for members of the community who would like to drop in and see what the new store has to offer.

"We're trying to get the word out that we're here, their kids can come in, they're safe," Lewis said. "We've got our fingers crossed, and God will bring us through the whole thing."

Across town, Stephen Tippie, owner of Fancypet Petstore, remains on the sidelines of the developing fray.

The young Eagle Scout and college student has built a solid following in the four years since he opened his Alexander Street shop. Tippie was still in high school when he launched Fancypet about eight months before Hicks opened Pet City Center.

"It was no competition for me," Tippie said. "I reinvented pet stores for Plant City - the quality of the product, the knowledgeable staff, cleanliness."

Nonetheless, he has sometimes felt the fallout from the Hicks controversy.

"The way this town works, there's only one pet store: It's me or him," Tippie said. "If they only hear on the news 'pet store' and 'Plant City' - that kind of hurt us a little bit."

Business, however, is brisk, said Tippie, whose store is artfully merchandised and stocked with an impressive line of pets and supplies, including chinchillas, iguanas, hedgehogs, sugar gliders and other exotics.

Fancypet doesn't offer grooming services, so Lewis' Pick-A-Pet - not Hicks' new enterprise - may present some competition in the Plant City pet arena.

Tippie, who was raised in his parents' wholesale pet business, said he believes his experience will prevail.

"I've been doing this since I was 8," he said.

Lewis doesn't consider Hicks' operation next door to be a significant competitor.

"I'm not going to push dog grooming right now," he said.

The biggest obstacle, he said, will be shedding the aura of men and women bearing signs marching on the store in the Pet City Center days.

"I don't know how it will affect me," he said.

PLANT CITY PET BUSINESSES

FANCYPET PETSTORE

Pets, pet supplies

1507 S. Alexander St., Suite 101

HOURS: 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday

CALL: (813) 719-1129

WEB SITE: www.fancypet -petstore.com

PET CITY CENTER

Grooming, dog and cat supplies

1111 N. Wheeler St.

HOURS: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday

CALL: (813) 752-9118

PICK-A-PET

Pets, pet supplies, grooming

1103 N. Wheeler St.

HOURS: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday

CALL: (813) 754-8516

Tribune researcher Buddy Jaudon contributed to this story. Reporter Jan Hollingsworth can be reached at (813) 865-4436 or jhollingsworth@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT