Teen siblings open pet shop
After struggling to crack the job market, a brother and sister have opened their own pet shop.
Madison and Taylor Rolston raised calves on their family farm in Rangiwahia, in rural Manawatu, for over a year to scrape together enough money to turn their dream of working with animals into a vocation.
They have opened Shiloh’s Pets in Feilding – the town’s first pet shop in 20 years.
The young entrepeneurs – Taylor is 21 and Madison 19 – had been struggling to find work, each having been searching for more than 12 months.
They made a pact to cut any unnecessary spending. By handraising a herd of calves they had enough money to lease a small store on Fergusson St and start up the business.
Rainbow coloured birds twitter in one corner while bright freshwater domestic fish glide silently in tanks on the opposite side of the shop. There are guinea pigs and rodents and just about anything a cat or dog would need.
‘‘We couldn’t really get a job no matter how hard we tried,’’ Taylor Rolston said.
‘‘There were a lack of jobs around for what we wanted to do. We both had a love for animals and decided to start a pet shop – Feilding needed it. There hasn’t been one here in 20-odd years.’’
They’ve developed a division of labour that allows their talents to complement each other.
‘‘Madison looks after the rodents and rats and guinea pigs, and I take care of the puppies, fish and everything else,’’ he said.
The shop is named after Taylor Rolston’s 3-year-old labrador Shiloh.
‘‘She’s really good around all the animals,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s why we call it Shiloh’s Pets, because they’re all her pets.
‘‘She’s here 90 per cent of the time. She hides out the back, but likes children and women, and comes out occasionally.’’
Running a business is unfamiliar territory for the Rolstons. They attended small country primary schools before being home schooled, then dropping out at 16.
‘‘We [didn’t like] school but, hey, it didn’t stop us starting a business,’’ Madison Roston said.
The siblings were born into a farming family, which is where they discovered their love for animals. They drive to work from their home in Rangiwahia.
Taylor said they loved people coming in to look at the animals.
Feilding resident Veronica Labuschagne had taken her two children to the shop several times since its opening in January.
‘‘Coming from a suburban background we pop into the pet shop and have a sit and play with the puppies or the bunnies.
‘‘Other pet shop owners would get frustrated by that. They didn’t rush us along – there’s a real family feel.’’