Sad Sight in Petstore Window

[Marina_7]

Today, my boyfriend and I thought we would walk into town for exercise and to enjoy the beautiful weather. I live in a smallish town and Sundays are a pretty quiet day around here (most stores are closed.) Anyway, we walked by the local petstore and looked into the window. Well, there was a plastic "aqarium" style "guinea pig cage" with 3 piggies in it. The cage was filthy and there was No water or food in sight. The two bowls put out for that purpose were full of poo and shavings. All of the pigs were lying down, with this dull look in their eyes ( probably really dehydrated.) I was sickened by this sight. It is the one of the most cruel thing you can do to any living kind is to lock them up in a cage with out food or water. It makes me boil!
Anway, I am thinking now of my options of attack. The store was closed today so I could not talk to the owner etc. The owner is a creep and doesnt seem like the kind that would take my words of concern to heart. So, do you all think I should just call up the local humane society and tell them about the situation? I would like to stay anon and I do live in a small town and down want any problems in the future (this guy is a real creep!)

Tomorrow, I am either going to call the humane society or make the petstore owner a call from a payphone.
It would be great to get some feedback on this! Thanks

[pignewton]

Definately report him to the humane society because a phone call to him probably wont do any good (make the phone call too if it will make you feel better).

[Tulia&Susie]

That's so sad. You could do what you said and report them. Also you could try talking to the owner. But I wish you the best of luck.

[Naomi]

I am in BC too I know that here the SPCA is the better one to contact for things like that.

[CavySpirit]

Call the police. Tell them you want it fixed NOW. They will most likely put you in touch with a off-hours number for the animal shelter. Call them. Threaten to call the local news/radio/TV etc. CALL the local NEWS, RADIO, TV stations. You've really got to follow through with big threats. If they are still there languishing in the window, get the media involved NOW.

[birtha]

He sounds like a creep, I would 100% call who ever you have to, to work this out.
poor piggys I hope you can save them in time.

[MCR_Rox]

You should really report them to your local animal authorities, and to PETA. I think it's illegal not to provide an animal with food or water. Also, they might get into trouble for having a filthy cage. They will probably be taken from the pet store, into a shelter. Maybe you could offer to adopt one or two of them!

[guineapigfan9000]

How about a humane society or a polite phone call to the store. Short term aims (within the next few hours) must be to get food and especially water and hay to those guinea pigs. Vegetables help with rehydration as well. Long term aims would be to obviously get them into a bigger cage and give them forever homes.
Good luck.

[Marina_7]

Thanks for all your helpful replies. Yesterday, I called the Humane Society and told them about the situation. They asked me basic info like the stores address, my name, address etc. So, basically I filed an official complaint against him and his measly pet store. They said they would send an officer over there that morning and that I should call back in a couple days to check with the investigation.
I am going to go over to the petstore today and check if the owner has complied to their orders.
It makes me sick that people can treat an animal like this. I hope this owner learns from all this, and if he doesn't then he may just be out of business!

[MilwCavyMom]

Give us an update on what happens. I hope those animals are properly cared for now and taken away. Kudos to you for doing something!

[Marina_7]

Update: I went by the store earlier and looked into the window. The pigs had very fresh water and a full bowl of food (no hay though.) They didn't look very happy...who would in a small cage with nothing stimulating around you.
Lets see if the owner takes heed to the warning for a long time afterward- I am going to keep a close eye on his store for sure.

One thing I really don't get about pet store owners, is that they are hindering their business by not supplying the best care for their animals. If they feed their guinea pigs timothy hay etc, don't you think they could sell it alot easier? If people see it being fed to the animals, then they would learn that it is a very important part of their daily diet. Educating new owners about proper guinea pig nutrition would put more $ in the pet store owners pocket. Some people are not that bright are they??