West Des Moines’ Seascapes Celebrates 32nd Anniversary

Iowa Pet Foods & Seascapes in West Des Moines is celebrating its anniversary this month, marking 32 years of phenomenal animal care and service to its customers.

“I’ve come here since 2017,” said Bella Frost, a junior at Valley High School and an employee at Iowa Pet Foods & Seascapes. 

Despite having competition with larger pet stores, Seascapes has managed to maintain a loyal customer base. Customers come to Seascapes to get accurate information about their pets and high-quality pet supplies. 

Lori Sandahl, one of the owners of Iowa Pet Foods & Seascapes said, “My husband’s hobby was saltwater fish, and there was only one other store in town that had saltwater, so he was like, ‘Let’s start a pet store.’”

While the store started out only as a saltwater store, it expanded to a wider variety of merchandise. Cat, dog and rodent food can be found on the shelves as well as toys, leashes and harnesses. The products are specially curated so that only the best for pets are available to purchase.

“[The mission of the store] is two things. One is providing quality products for pets…,” Sandahl said, “and the other thing is by having the donated corner in the back for the [Animal] Rescue League.”

In the donated section of the store for the Animal Rescue League, many rescue animals are ready for adoption. Through Iowa Pet Foods & Seascapes, over 21,000 animals have found their forever homes.

The store has not lost its passion for marine life. The Fish Room is in the back. In this area, both saltwater and freshwater aquatic animals are for sale. Marine hermit crabs, bettas, guppies and clownfish have tanks. The betta fish are in heated and filtered tanks, not seen in Petco or Petsmart.

Sophomore Ash Marshall said, “[The employees] seem like they care more about their animals and about what they sell and are less commercial focused than Petco or Petsmart.”

People don’t just come for their pets either, inside the store, there are many interesting animals to watch. There is a large Arowana tank next to a Russian tortoise enclosure, along with massive saltwater tanks filled with marine life. Two birds also call Iowa Pet Foods & Seascapes their home, Gobbels and Lukie.

The staff are friendly and approachable. They are ready to answer any questions customers have about products or animals. Though the store is not massive, it is easy to spend an hour or two watching all of the animals and playing with and petting rescue cats.