Excellent Pet Store Experience

**tattooyu** · #1 03-12-06, 11:58 pm

I just have to share this with everybody.

Today, my wife and I went to our local (mom and pop) pet store called Peggy Woods Pet Emporium in Burbank, CA. We went there to pick up some puppy pads. They are SO nice and helpful and are listed on Oxbow's site, so they stock mainly Oxbow hay and pellets!

Anyway, we were looking around the back where the cages are, and they had a circular, open air cage in the middle with piggies and bunnies! I couldn't believe how well they cared for them.

Here's what I found:

CAGE -The cage was pretty darn big. It was a divided circle, so it's hard to say how big it was, but they only put two pigs in each section. It probably wasn't up to C&C specs, but it was much bigger than any PetCo cage I've seen. They didn't look crowded in there at all.
BEDDING - They use shavings, so I asked what kind, and the guy say "kiln-dried pine". That was a good answer! The bedding was fresh.
HAY - Obviously Oxbow, although there wasn't quite as much as I'd like to have seen, it was fresh, green and soft.
HIDING - Each pig had its own pigloo.
HEALTH - all the pigs looked very healthy and fat. Their eyes were clear and bright.
FOOD - Oxbow pellets I'm sure, and fresh looking water.

I was so pleased! If you are in the L.A. area, you should take a visit and help support this place.

(I am in no way affiliated with them, so I'm doing this on my own accord.)

**maeve100** · #2 03-13-06, 12:18 am

Where in LA are they located?

**daftscotslass** · #3 03-13-06, 01:14 am

Nice that they're taking care of them BUT...

Where do the guinea pigs come from?
Fat does not necessarily mean healthy.
They're still selling animals... full stop.

**tattooyu** · #4 03-13-06, 01:18 am

They are in Burbank, CA. Here is a link to the Google map of its location.

Peggy Woods Pet Emporium (map)

**Susan9608** · #5 03-13-06, 05:47 am

Quote:

They're still selling animals... full stop.

Yup, still selling animals and contributing to the overpopulation problem ... unless they are only adopting out animals from a shelter or rescue.

Quote:

If you are in the L.A. area, you should take a visit and help support this place.

Please don't. By supporting a place that sells animals, no matter how well they care for the said animals, then you're just contributing to the problem.

**muffin** · #6 03-13-06, 07:00 am

I thought the same about my local pets at home, but I got jumped on here because the animals are probably kept in bad conditions in the stock room. And I have to agree, my praise was a little short-sighted. No matter how well kept these pigs seem to be in this little pet shop, if they're coming in from breeders, it's just as bad as dirty cramped pet stores, except it's dressed up nicer to make people believe it's all nice and the pigs are happy. I'm sorry to burst the bubble, but this may well be the case.

**C&K** · #7 03-13-06, 07:47 am

I still cannot fathom how many abandoned pigs are sitting in CA shelters. It seems that CA has a guinea overpopulation problem that is not topped by any other area. It is just disgusting. And here they are, the "nice" pet store people, adding even more pigs to this mix, and people near them are supposed to run out and support this? Nonsense.

Perhaps they could be encouraged to switch over to an affiliation with a rescue and stop the selling of guineas and other small animals plagued with pet overpopulation problems. THEN, I would consider them a "Good Pet Store".

**Jeanne** · #8 03-13-06, 09:07 am

I'm not sure if they have these stores in the US, but I shop at Global/Ryan's Pet Foods. They have oxbow products there, great guinea pig and bunny toys, and many support local Humane Societies. I have NEVER been to one that had animals for sale, only animals for adoption.

I live in Toronto and go to the Global Pet Foods that is just north of the Davisville subway stop. Pellets are always fresh and the hay is always green.

**VoodooJoint** · #9 03-13-06, 09:21 am

On top of the problem that they sell animals I doubt these animals are seperated by sex so how many of these animals will become pregnant? They also house the Guinea Pigs with Rabbits. Maybe you missed the thread about the GP I rescued and the injuries it suffered from being housed with a rabbit.
http://www.cavycages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14706

**nikilovesdogs** · #10 03-13-06, 09:26 am

I'm on the wagon with everyone else here. First, there is no such thing as an "excellent" pet store that sells animals. If they're supporting breeding and not rescue, they're banned from my wallet and its contents.

**tattooyu** · #11 03-13-06, 02:44 pm

Forget I said it. I understand what you guys are saying, but they seemed really knowedgable about cavies and they only have animals that can actually be seen in the store.

I will call and ask them where they get their GPs from before I make any kind of judgement call.

**nikilovesdogs** · #12 03-13-06, 02:51 pm

tattoo,

Let me make sure I'm understanding you. It's ok for a pet store to get its animals from a breeder or mill as long as they "seem really knowledgeable" about them?? I know a lot about medicine, that certainly doesn't make me a surgeon. Your logic makes absolutely no sense here.

**C&K** · #13 03-13-06, 03:09 pm

They can have all the knowledge they want, but CA still has an abhorrent overpopulation problem, and they are part of the problem.

I don't care if Mary Poppins herself hand raised these pigs from birth, they still are pet shop pigs that never should have come into existence.

And if you still don't get it, then go down to your local animal shelter the next time they are euthanizing a load of small animals, and ask to help comfort them in their last moments, and see just how wasteful and sad all this over breeding really is.

**tattooyu** · #14 03-13-06, 03:32 pm

Did I ever say that this place gets its animals from a breeder? No. All I am saying is that they may not buy from a breeder. It seems like this place is trying to make a concerted effort at doing things the right way.

That's all I am saying. Until I have evidence otherwise (either for or against), I cannot make that call.

**Percy's Mom** · #15 03-13-06, 03:36 pm

If they don't buy from a breeder or pet mill, then they are breeding their own animals. That would be as bad or worse. The only other option is if they are housing animals for a shelter and has them up for adoption. If that was the case, there would be signs up in the store, or the employees would be telling you all about it when you walked in the door.

And just to clarify, did you mean this to mean that they are housing the guinea pigs and bunnies in the same cage?

Quote:

Originally Posted by tattooyu

Anyway, we were looking around the back where the cages are, and they had a circular, open air cage in the middle with piggies and bunnies!

**C&K** · #16 03-13-06, 04:09 pm

Quote:

That's all I am saying. Until I have evidence otherwise (either for or against), I cannot make that call.

Make what call?

That their live furry four legged merchandise is unacceptable? I honestly don't understand, there are probably 100's, if not 1000's of small animals euthanized in a couple our drive of this "store" every year, due to overcrowed shelters, and this is OK by your standards? Just because the person behind the counter seems "nice and knowledgable" and the animals seem to be well taken care of?

**nikilovesdogs** · #17 03-13-06, 04:14 pm

Ever feel like you're trying to have a battle of the wits with someone who is clearly not armed?

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