Petco's La Costa location at 3421 Via Montebello in Carlsbad operates a full-size store with dedicated aquatics, reptile, and small-animal departments alongside standard dog and cat supply aisles. The store's fish section spans freshwater tropical, goldfish, and marine invertebrate inventory maintained in temperature-controlled display tanks, a live-animal breadth that pairs with the internal-medicine focus at Companion Animal Wellness Center for exotic-pet health needs. Founded as a San Diego County mail-order operation in 1965, Petco opened its first brick-and-mortar store in La Mesa in 1976 and now runs more than 1,500 locations with headquarters still in San Diego. Full-service grooming at the Via Montebello store covers breed-standard cuts, de-shedding treatments, nail grinding, and ear cleaning, while the adjacent La Costa commercial area also supports coat care at Paw Purrfection. The aquatics department stocks filtration systems from Fluval and Marineland, protein skimmers for saltwater setups, and CO2 injection kits for planted freshwater tanks requiring pressurized fertilization.