Animart is definitely one of the most aesthetically pleasing pet stores I've been in, and it is a local shop. Prices seemed to be similar to the big-box pet store we usually end up stopping at for my boyfriend's small animal bedding needs. I had three main issues with our visit, though:
1) The store smells, or at least it did on our visit. They do have a large number of live animals on site, but I haven't noticed a smell at other pet stores in town. I don't know if having dogs on site makes the difference, but my first thought was that all the bedding could use a change.
2) All the language they use is "adopt," but really what you're doing is buying from breeders. The labs they had in the puppy area were $1200. Their website FAQ does have me convinced they're not part of the puppy mill industry, but I think the word "adopt" conjures helping shelter animals.
3) There were two people working the checkout desk when we visited and they were more interested in continuing their conversation (one making her voice quieter to drop the F-bomb mid-sentence) than paying attention to the checkout process. I'm not actually offended by swearing but it's just poor form for customer service, especially when you're treating the customer like a background task.
Maybe this was just an off day and I'm sure we'll be back if it makes more sense to stop there, but on this occasion I just wasn't bowled over.