Dear Valued Customer,

I wanted to personally reach out to you and provide an update on the actions SOS reTAIL is taking to protect the health and safety of our customers, employees and neighbors. This is a proactive email, not a reactive one.

We believe the best approach is to follow the guidance and advice of the medical experts so we are following the CDC guidelines for preventing the spread of viruses. We are fortunate that with our animal rescue background, controlling disease transmission is familiar to our staff and volunteers, and our diligence in caring for ourselves by using good hygiene will also help our pets and customers.

We are providing hand sanitizer in the store for all customers, and we have stepped up our frequency of cleaning and disinfecting our merchandising areas, paying special attention to high contact surfaces like freezer/refrigerators, counters, restrooms, door handles and payment terminals. Sales Associates and Groomers have increased the frequency of their hand washing throughout every shift, and any staff experiencing flu-like symptoms or feeling ill have been asked to stay home. We also ask that you make use of our new Curbside service (see below) if you are feeling ill or exhibiting any respiratory symptoms or if you would like to remain in the car.

We are remaining open during our normal business hours and continuing with our appointments, training classes and events as planned, but are continuing to monitor recommendations made by state and local officials and will act accordingly.
**NEW SERVICES**

To better serve our customers, we will be offering two new services during this time:
CURBSIDE PICK-UP
With the alarming information about COVID-19, it is understandable for folks to be concerned right now about being in a public place. We would like to offer to all of our customers the convenience of curbside pick-up for grooming appointments and pet supply essentials so you do not need to come into the store and be around other people.  

Y ou may email us at wags@sosretail.org or call us at 401-360-2258 to request this service for supplies. 

The more notice you give us, the more quickly we will be able to serve you, but you can also call us from your car in the parking lot to tell us you are here as well. We will do our best to get you situated as quickly as we can, we just ask that you please be patient with our staff if they do not come out immediately or answer the phone immediately when you call in, as there are random times each day when it suddenly gets very busy without notice.
PRE-ORDER
We have seen a shortage in some popular necessities. This is a result of a larger quantity of supplies being purchased at a time. To help meet the needs of our customers, we are offering a pre-order option for specific products.

You may email us at wags@sosretail.org to request that certain products be included in our weekly delivery on Tuesdays, and put on hold for you to pick-up within 72 hours. 

Orders received by 11 a.m. on Monday morning will be ready for pick-up by Tuesday at 5 p.m. Please note: This will be based upon availability from our distributor . When you email in a request, please put "order" in the subject line, and also include a good phone number to reach you in case we need to contact you.
Please note: according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), “no animals in the United States have been identified with the virus, and there is no evidence that dogs or other pets can contract or spread COVID-19.”

We will continue to work hard for our customers by providing you with the best products available and an outstanding neighborhood shopping experience.
 
We know that you have a lot of choices when buying products for your pets, and we appreciate that you have chosen to support SOS reTAIL, where 100% of our profits go to helping the homeless animals in the SOSARL community and beyond.

Please let us know if you have any questions, and thank you for your continued support!

Best,
Emma
Executive Director

For information about local impacts of COVID-19 on humans and guidance for keeping yourself and others healthy, please follow the dedicated page on the RI Department of Health .