She ORDERS them! LIKE SUPPLIES! LOL I shut down another pet store today :)

[CavyLove]

My normal pet store, (Which isnt like most pet stores, it's owned by a nice old lady, Pam,that is so caring you all wouldnt BELIEVE), was closed today for some reason. Must have had a family thing going on. But I needed some hay really bad. My normal pet store is actually a "rescue pet store". Pam takes several rescue animals and unwanted fish, pays to get them healthy if they are ill and then sells them in her pet shop. For a while, I thought ALL pet stores did this. (I know, go ahead and flick me on the forehead, right?)

Well, there is another pet store across town that I decided to get my hay from. I hadnt really been there before because I always buy from pam.

GET THIS you guys...

I go into this pet store, and they've got all the normal animals that pet stores have. Birds, fish, hamsters, rabbits, mice, some cats. Most of the rodents are in aquariums though. Then I saw a ten gallon aquarium with a single solitary guinea pig in it. I asked the owner, "How come you have several mice, rats, and rabbits, and what not but only one guinea pig?"

"Oh, I have to order more guinea pigs," she said, matter-of-factly. I was beyond disgusted.

"ORDER?" I repeated. "They aren't supplies, they are living breathing animals."

And I think my frustration irritated her a bit because she put a hand on her hip and said "They ARE JUST animals. Is there something that I can help you with, anyway?"

"YEAH, you can ORDER that guinea pig a proper cage because the one you have it in does not meet LEGAL standards, and the fact that it has no water in its bottle isnt helping matters either. Matter of fact, I'm TAKING that guinea pig, and if your future cage setups are anything like this one, I'm reporting your store."

She kind of stood there dumbfounded, hating me with her eyes.

"You can HELP me by placing that guinea pig in a box for me," I added, somewhat smart-alecly because things were getting fun.

As she put litter into a box and placed the guinea pig in it, she asked me, "Do you do this to every pet store to get free animals?"

And I replied, "Only the ones that are guilty of animal cruelty." Then I smiled, took her card and said "You'll see me again."

And I left with my new baby. Didnt pay a dime so she got NO financial support and she probably wont order more pigs either. Even if she does, I'll go back. You bet your bottom I'm gonna go check on her. Sucks that even some adults need to be babysitted.

[seagirl96]

Oh no, they're going to start calling us Bonnie and Clyde! Did you read my Pignapper thread back in April? I hope you didn't get this idea from me. I don't want to encourage anyone to do this, most especially our younger members. They could get in serious trouble

[CavyLove]

LOL no it was my own idea. I did it to a petsmart I think it was, a while back. You wouldnt believe the conditions they had their guinea pigs in. ANyway I told them that if they didnt give me the pigs for free, I'd report them. So they gave me the pigs, but I reported them anyway ...

I remember your pignapper thread. WAY TO GO on that one. LOL. i agree though. Not a good idea for younger people. But adults, BY ALL MEANS! SAVE THE PIGGIES! (If you have the space and finances, and love, of course).

[CavyLove]

Shame on me, I know... But I cannot resist. Animal cruelty MUST have justice

[CavyLove]

Sometimes you have to rob the rich to help the poor.

[Ly&Pigs]

Most pet stores view their animals this way. They are stock to them. Something to sell to make a profit on. You just opened up a free spot for her to order more and most likely she will or whoever manages/owns the store will. Are you going to go back and basically steal every pig she gets in to restock the ones that are sold?

There are no "legal" standards on caging. As long as the animals are in a cage with water and food, there is no animal cruelty going on by most states standards. If there is no water or food then you don't steal the animal, you call your local authorities and report them.

[seagirl96]

In my heart I know that Ly&pigs is right but I have a hard time being too disapproving because it's already done. I didn't think there were any "legal standards" but it is fun that the salesperson bought it! I have decided to go straight and I hope you do too cavyLove. Remember how Bonnie & Clyde ended up. We don't want any orphaned piggies

[Calliso]

Ly makes a good point..what you did likely did not stop anything at all, the lady will likely just shrug off the incident and order more. Also you likely just caught the lady off guard with your umm rather "strong" response..but in the future that might not work so well to your liking. In the future if you took that sort of attitude..there is a chance you would find yourself being asked to leave or at least refused any service. But anyway I agree with Ly calling the authorities is the apporiate response.

[envisionary333]

I hate to say that the owner's response doesn't shock me at all. I've come to expect it from pet stores. Why is it that more pet stores don't offer animals up for adoption instead of "restocking" them from a breeder? If the money is in the supplies and not the pet, wouldn't it be a feasible option? I am picking up two new girls tomorrow morning at a Humane Society adoption center located inside a Petsmart. I hate to have to go through the store to get to them- I wonder if they sell animals as well? I just don't understand the reasoning of these chain stores.

[socal805]

Can I ask who should I report a pet store too?? Last night I had to go to Petsmart to get some cat food and ran by to look at the GP's..when I want to the GP section there were 3 males all shoved into a tiny aquarium with no hay left at all. One of them was a little guy sitting in a corner shivering and he has really crusty eyes. He looked like he had mites too...I have been thinking about him all day and I don't know what to do or who to report him to. Should I go back and talk to a manager and tell them that I think the little guy is sick??? I wonder what they would do to him. I know that they would not send it to the vet and even if they did I know for a fact that the vet they use is a terrible one. I have first hand experience with the vet that this store uses and he seriously mis-diagnosed my dog not one but 4 times. So what do I do..who do I report to?????? Even though I got my baby GP from a petstore I would never ever buy a GP from the store again. BUT if I could take the little sick guy and get him some help I would do it!

[seagirl96]

I hate to say it but my Humane Society does not take guinea pig complaints very seriously. Bigger animals are more important to them. I have a new method: call the store manager, politely, quietly, unemotionally explain your concerns, what you want done about them and then get their name and ask for a phone number for their corporate headquarters. If you can actually get someone at corporate headquarters, report on whether the manager was polite, rude etc. Explain the problem again and explain that you and your family/friends do not support this store because of these problems. Stress firmly that you prefer pet stores that do not sell live animals at all.

I haven't got my local Petsmart & Petco to stop selling animals but I do see improvement in the conditions for small animals. Last night I checked. Petco was much cleaner, everyone had water and pellets and even the tiniest wisps of hay. There were two pigs in each enclosure instead of three or four. The local Petsmart was always clean, with water but now each cage has a little dish of fresh fruit & veggies too. No hay, they need a call on hay which they will get today. All the piggies in both stores looked calm and healthy.

I haven't helped the overall problem of live animals but they know someone is watching and reporting. I keep telling them over and over that they can't sell the hay if they don't visibly feed it.

The other really bad local place is hopeless but I report the owner from time to time. He breeds in the back room, always puts males & females together and is NOT going to change. Maybe I could try PETA against him. He deserves some radical protest.

[heatherbunnie]

Originally Posted by CavyLove

But adults, BY ALL MEANS! SAVE THE PIGGIES! (If you have the space and finances, and love, of course).

I agree with Ly. Each time you go back and steal a pig, she can just order another one to take its place. By "saving" this one pig, you've only ensured that there will be more to take its place.

[Jennicat]

Also, just to point out, if everyone "saves the piggies" from pet stores, you're punishing rescues in your area. If they're full, they're full, and they can't help other animals until someone makes room for them by adopting piggies from them. You're basically punishing them for not having sad, decrepit piggies jammed into aquariums.

[VoodooJoint]

I don't understand why you said, "I shut down another pet store today",?

[CavyLove]

I AM the local rescue in my area. When people don't want their pigs they bring them to me. Where I live, I'm known as the Cavy Lady. LOL. There isnt much out here its a small town but the few rescues that do come out here, end up with me.

Originally Posted by Jennicat

Also, just to point out, if everyone "saves the piggies" from pet stores, you're punishing rescues in your area. If they're full, they're full, and they can't help other animals until someone makes room for them by adopting piggies from them. You're basically punishing them for not having sad, decrepit piggies jammed into aquariums.

[CavyLove]

Originally Posted by VoodooJoint

I don't understand why you said, "I shut down another pet store today",?

I meant that in terms of telling them off... I know, maybe I shouldnt have.

[CavyLove]

Originally Posted by heatherbunnie

I agree with Ly. Each time you go back and steal a pig, she can just order another one to take its place. By "saving" this one pig, you've only ensured that there will be more to take its place.

I agree, but I went back today and she had the pigs in a much bigger cage.. She actually bought the whole "Legal Standards" bluff and even if she does order more, at least they will be cared for properly.

And would you believe that she thanked me for being rough on her? She said that after doing research on guinea pigs she realized that the cramped area and lack of veggies was not good for them. She even apologized. And I did too for being so blunt.

[heatherbunnie]

That still doesn't change the fact that she is going to be buying more pigs from breeders, and the breeder will make $$ and breed more pigs. Adding to the problem with overpopulation!

[envisionary333]

Even if they are now properly cared for in the store, you and I know perfectly well where they come from. A bigger cage and daily veggies doesn't erase the fact that they come from an overcrowded, abusive breeding mill and are probably carrying mites, have congenital problems, and may have been falsely sexed and/or pregnant. I think it's good to be checking on pet stores to make sure they have an appropriate set up, but as long as you are bringing guinea pigs home from there you are still part of the problem, I'm sorry to say.

[Alusdra]

I don't see why people are being so rough here? She didn't give this pet store any money, so essentially cost them however much $ it costs to 'order' one, plus educating the store owner. There already was a spot open for her 'order', in the tiny cage. Now she has more- but in a bigger cage being cared for better. If you can convince a pet store to let you take animals not in ideal conditions, why not do it if you can care for them better? That's a rescue, I feel, as no money changed hands. No pet store was supported. You could even consider it the pet store paying their profit to you to rescue the animal.

If the goal of steering clear of pet stores is to get pet stores to have less piggies and eventually none, than this seems like a very positive step toward that. Maybe this owner will get so ashamed she will stop selling cavies. Maybe she'll research on other animals she sells. She'll certainly tell people who come in to her store expecting expert advice better advice and maybe even point them toward this site.

(I do agree though that the 'shut down' terminology is a bit heavy. This place seems to be still up and running and there hasn't been any humane investigation there, either.)