I love this place! They have the cutest little animals and so many neat things for your pets. I always stop by after going to trader joes. I keep rats as pets, and my first two boys were from breeders because many people are against buying from pet shops since they usually take poor care of the rats. The rats that the pet house sells are from a breeder, and a very good one at that. There are many young rats in the back, and the color options are amazing. The males sold here are neutered, which is good, because it makes them calmer and increases their lifespan. I had to have my breeder rats neutered at a vet and that costed over $100. The two rats I bought here, a cream colored male and a grey female, are healthy, very social, have never bit me, and have better personalities than my 'fancy' breeder rats. The girl knows her name and always comes to me when called. The people working here are very friendly, too. They're very helpful, cheerful, and knowledgeable. They helped a lot when I mentioned my ratties having sneezes. Highly recommend this place. read more

The service here is awesome, they always know me and my dogs, and are content to let me browse around if I'm in the mood. Staff is knowledgeable about the animals they sell, and take very good care of them. The dog food selection isn't great, and some products are more expensive than at other stores, so they only get four stars instead of five. They do sell Harrison's bird foods, Green Tea cat litter, tiny parachute cord leashes for tiny dogs, and lots of other products you can't find anywhere else. read more

The pet house is the best pet store in town! I got two zebra snails from the pet house which are absolutely beautiful! They've been well taken care of. I also recently bought a peach-banded Syrian hamster there, and he's incredible! My hamster isn't nippy or aggressive, but very energetic and a great deal of fun! The staff were extremely helpful and nice, and even complemented me on my knowledge of hamsters. They also asked fun questions like: "Have you owned a hamster before?" "What will you name it?" And things like that. The pet house is by far my absolute FAVORITE pet place. It's about a 30 minute drive from my house, but, with the large selection of cute pets and the incredible staff, it's totally worth it! read more

I got a lovebird in 2011 and it was a great experience the girls were really knowledgeable about the type of bird and the bird needs I needed to know about before taking him home, since he was hand raised he was super affectionate and would give me kisses (I say would because he has now passed away) read more

I have been a patron of this store for nearly two decades now. Their staff is dedicated and caring. Their products are competitively priced and well-organized. But the most important thing about them is their livestock. I have bought bunnies, mice, finches, reptiles and fish from there for one reason- the integrity with which they treat their animals. Talk to any one of their staffers and you can immediately tell how much they strive to have their animals live excellent, happy lives both in the store and in the homes to which they are sold. It is a wonderful thing to support local small business, especially when said business is also the best in town. Proud to support the wonderful team and owners of Goleta's Pet House. read more

I have been a satisfied customer for over 15 years. They have everything I need and I love going in just to see all the critters. Their staff is friendly and incredibly knowledgable. I highly recommend the pet house. read more

Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Our kitty is older and was eating much less than normal. We tried different flavors of food with no avail. I came in to the store today to exchange for different food, they recommended another kind of food that was higher in protein as well as softer. After getting home its a miracle! She ate the whole can. We can't thank you guys enough. Even throwing in a few extra cans for free. These people care about animals and it shows. The experience and knowledge of the staff is a difference maker and gives you confidence in what you give your furry lived ones. I highly recommend The Pet House. read more

Their staff have given me a lot of freshwater fish advice and free water tests, which was very helpful especially when I was getting started. Sometimes the internet doesn't agree with their advice, but that's a minor point. Their prices are higher, usually 50-100%. I wouldn't mind paying more to a local business if everything was better, but it's not. The real problem I've had is the return policy. If a product works out for me, things are fine. But whether it's a fish or a cat collar, their policies are bad. See their web site. http://www.pethouse.org/html/return_policy.html I can understand that a smaller store will either have to have higher prices or a weaker return policy; this store has both. If you want to be able to return anything, go to Petco. Of course, there's a tradeoff. Petco often has a dead fish at the bottom of one of their tanks, so either their suppliers or employees aren't very good. read more

This is the only store I go to these days for my crickets and rat care needs. The staff is great, and always help me quickly and with a great attitude. The animals are always in great condition and if one is ill they'll pull it from the floor to seek proper care (Unlike the Petcos in this town which will essentially let their poor animals decline on display) They have beautiful rats, I keep meaning to find out who the breeder is, just stunning. By far the best selection of animals in Santa Barbara, the only bummer is that I asked about a guarantee on the one of the UVB bulbs I purchased and was told they don't have one. My other favorite local spot does offer a 6 month guarantee on their lights. Otherwise A+ read more

Stood in line for 10 minutes while the staff at the counter was doing chit-chat with another customer instead of billing her and sending her on her way. I just kept the items where i had picked them from and left. read more

we finally got our adorable hamster, Sammy from this place. the employee was pretty knowledgeable and they had a good selection of hamsters to choose from. i think all pet stores carry those plastic hamster cages and mazes which are a total waste. the hamsters will chew through almost anything, plastic cages included. our new addition, Sammy is so friendly and so social! we'll be back for more pet stuff! read more

BRIEF: I used to love this place. There were a couple employees that knew me. They knew I was quite a fish guru and only offered their advice when needed. They also took advice from me and corrected problems I noted to them. They were quite knoledgeable about advanced fish keeping and gave me a lot of good advice that I pass on to this day. They never demanded a sample of my water or a carcas to get a life-warantee on livestock (which I only needed with a few unusual cases). Then the 2 employees left and The place became crap. PROS: Huge variety of freshies (fish) and a huge variety available to special order. CONS: Arrogant employees that think they know it all, lots of false information, absent mindedness, and bad customer service (only asking SOME people if they need help) DETAILS: -I've had many occasions where I"m standing in the fish section looking at fish while an employee finishes up with a customer. While I'm waiting other customers will arrive in the fish section and are addressed before me. If I step up and correct this it makes me feel petty (in front of the other customer). -I bought a farlowella catfish that carefully drip-acclimated to my tank. He was quite sickly from day 1. When he died I tried to find out what some common reasons are. I found out they are very shy in croweded tanks and need lots of wood/algae in their hiding spots. I tried to get store credit for something else (like fishfood maybe) but they insisted on giving me another one. I even explained that it would suffer in my tank and they wouldn't give me store credit. This was before I knew my 2 friends that worked there. -I've had employees there argue with me over things that they clearly got mixed up. -The employees always grill me about what size tank I have and how many fish I have in it. They think there is some formula they can use to tell me if the fish will be happy. Most of the time they are ill informed. -One time the new aquatics supervisor girl voided my receipt because she said she feared the fish would get swallowed in my tank (because I said one of my fish almost has a big enough mouth but it's a "frog fish" that has an oversized mouth) She couldn't eat anything nearly that big! But even if she could, the life guarantee requires a carcas + receipt + water sample. So I couldn't return the fish if it's been consumed. All this did was insult me. -Another problem is, recently I called and asked for a certain fish in stock, they told me they had it, I drove accross town to find out that they did NOT have it and it was all sold out. The girl later confessed that she THOUGHT she saw ONE earlier that day but it could have been something else. The fish was a reticulated hillstream loach (according to the label on the tank). I asked her if they had any other hillstream loaches. She said "No, I'm sorry but we do have these:" and showed me another type of hillstream loach. The label read: "Hillstream Loach". She started asking me the standard "tank size tank mate" questions and told me 76 degrees is "way too cold for these guys" while in reality, it's a KNOWN FACT that 76 degrees is the maximum temperature in their comfort zone. I told her this and she shook her head and said "no I'm afraid not, they do just fine in 78 degree water like in our tanks" but I know for a fact that more than half the hillstream loaches that don't get sold in the 1st week die -- I asked her if they had freshwater clams she said "No but we do have these" and took me to another tank and showed me a freshwater clam. The label read "Large freshwater clam". I put this on my life this is a true story. I said "I guess I'll drop by after Thursday to check on your new orders and she said "Yeah or you can just call and check with us by phone" -- The SAME GIRL THAT MISINFORMED ME ON THE PHONE SAID THIS TO ME -- I laughed all the way home (back accross town). I swear this is all true! Other than the owner, they have very little information about tropical fish like their commercial indicates. read more

I go to this place to buy my 2 cats' food and toys. They have a good selection of both: of course the kitties have learned to demand premium lines. The young people working at the counter are awkward (adolescent angst?), but are knowledgeable about their products and are helpful when asked. The location is good for me. I haven't done a lot of comparison shopping, but their prices seem reasonable for the products. read more

I shopped here when I first got my kittens. I didn't realize the prices were 20% higher then other pet stores in town. The staff was friendly, but not worth the extra cost in my opinion. read more

Pet House has such a wide variety of fish for sale, we have had some betas in the past but our newest addition is our fancy tail gold fish what a fun fish for s pet!! Pet House has everything you need to keep your tank healthy and beautiful we have had some great advice from many of the staff. They carry a wide variety of pet supplies for all pets! We like the remodel and the friendly atmosphere. We always try to shop local, this is your chance Wendy the owner seems to know how to keep a well trained staff we highly recommend shopping here! read more

Tons of great info. I thought their prices were a bit high til I found out the foods that most other stores sell are shit. Lemos had several recalls on all or nearly all of their foods. I have no problem spending slightly extra for my dogs, especially if it means it's clear of salmonella. Store is really clean too. read more