A longtime animal supply store is soon closing its doors for good after serving the Pikes Peak region for more than four decades.

Pikes Peak Animal Supply at 5286 Edison Ave. in southeast Colorado Springs will permanently close Dec. 19, according to a statement posted on the company website.

“It is with deep regret that we must announce the closure of our store,” owner Pat Taylor and employees wrote in part. “… This decision was not made lightly, and we understand this news may be disappointing. It comes after careful consideration of several factors. … We want to express our sincere gratitude for your patronage and support over the years. We have truly valued the opportunity to serve you and be a part of this community.”

Pikes Peak Animal Supply primarily sells veterinary supplies and fills veterinary prescriptions, with products including dewormers, supplements and vaccines. The store carries products for horses, livestock and pets.

It was founded in the early 1980s by three veterinarians, Dr. Phil Jackson, Dr. Gary McEntyre and Dr. Gene Naugle, all of whom at the time also owned Airway Veterinary Hospital next door.

The shop was a new way they could help ranchers and dairy farmers who had operations east of Colorado Springs. They’d often visit the veterinary hospital with questions about vaccines, de-wormers and other medications for their livestock and ranch animals, McEntyre said.

“That was kind of taking up a lot of our (veterinary) practice time, so we decided to separate that and (supply shop staff) could handle their questions,” he said.

Taylor began working at Pikes Peak Animal Supply in March 1987, staying on to work with veterinarian Dr. William Schroeder when he bought the business in July that year.

Taylor became the store manager in 1991 and purchased the business from Schroeder in 2009. She ran it with a tight staff over the years — including Donna Barr, who worked for Pikes Peak Animal Supply for about 30 years before retiring three years ago, and whom has since come back to work a few days a week at the shop. Wendy Buss-Butler has managed the store since Taylor, 73, began working from home in late 2023 due to health concerns.

Pikes Peak Animal Supply works with ranchers in the cattle industry as well as with clients who own sheep, pigs, horses, dogs and cats.

Taylor learned how to work with cattle through the years and by working with Schroeder, she told The Gazette.

For almost five decades, Taylor’s husband also worked for the 91-acre Powers Ranch on Marksheffel Road, just east of Peterson Air Force Base. Ray Powers, a former Colorado state senator for whom Powers Boulevard is named, moved his Powers Dairy there in the 1970s after selling the original dairy for development. Powers Ranch ceased operations in 2013 after more than 40 years and the original dairy site is now the Village Seven subdivision.

“I worked with cows and I really enjoyed talking to these people and helping them,” Taylor said. “Dr. Schroeder was an excellent doctor. He knew cattle and he taught me so much about it. Any time I had a problem with a cow, I’d call Dr. Schroeder. I just felt that I was helping people. I’ve always felt like my customers were my friends.”

Industry changes necessitated the business’ permanent closure. As Taylor’s clients have retired, they’ve sold off their ranches and the city has developed on and around those properties.

“The whole industry has changed from when I started. I just don’t have the business I used to because of the declining numbers of cattle in the area. It’s developed more. The city is different,” she said, adding she also had trouble finding a new buyer for the business.

If she were healthier and if it were practical to keep the business running, she would, Taylor said, but she’d also like to join her husband in retirement.

“It’s just time,” Taylor said of the store’s closure.

Her clients can still find the supplies they need at stores like Big R, Tractor Supply, online retailers like Chewy.com or directly from their veterinarians, but Pikes Peak Animal Supply’s closure will mean the end of an era for Taylor and the store’s clients.

“I feel bad for my customers whom I’ve had for years. … It was just a really good life. It is. I felt like I helped people. I don’t know how to say it any different,” Taylor said.

Pikes Peak Animal Supply is offering discounts through Dec. 19 to clear inventory.