BROOKFIELD, Wisconsin-

When Diane, the manager of Pet World Warehouse Outlet in the Falls was approached by the owners of the store in 2005, she took up a new opportunity: she bought the store.

Diane’s journey started when she was a cashier in the store, and she came to work full time after leaving her career in the contact lens industry. After hard work and dedication to the store, she was promoted to management and eventually purchased the store.

Diane loves what she does, although running a business is “stressful.” Diane’s favorite part of running the store is talking to customers, and discussing products and the animals. Reptiles are not Diane’s favorite, but she loves the small animals and the birds!

One trouble Diane faces is staffing. After the COVID-19 pandemic, it is hard to find people to work at the store.

Another pro to Diane’s office is Einstein, the store cat. Einstein had the run of the store for 15 years, but in his old age he is confined to Diane’s office due to his high blood pressure.

Einstein gets many visitors, and college students will come in and tell stories of how they met Einstein when they were little kids, and how they grew up with him.

Diane comes into the store seven days a week, and works hard to keep the business organized and running smoothly. If you ever hear the ad for Pet World on the radio, that is Diane as well!