My Mom and Petsmart

[I<3MyBabies]

Hey guys,

Well, I decided to post this in The Kitchen because I knew many would be "disgruntled" by what I am going to say.

My mom was just hired to work at Petsmart. She has been a stay-at-home mom for 20 years, and now that my brother and I are older, she wants to start working again. I tried to tell her why I have "boycotted" Petsmart. My dad just keeps saying how she could spark change at her store. And I keep saying that one person can't change a world-wide corporation.

What do I do guys? I really don't want to hurt her because she is so excited about working. And believe me, my mom couldn't be a bigger animal lover! But maybe a little naive. I just feel really stuck, like if I keep pushing it I'll hurt her. Any advice?


Thanks,
Heidi

[PiggieMamaKelly]

She is an adult and she is your mother. She has a right to make her own decisions. Once you've told her how you feel I think you should stop nagging about it. It really isn't productive to keep on about something when the person has already heard you.

[I<3MyBabies]

Thanks PiggieMammaKelly,

I know, this is how I feel. I just wish there was a way I could explain to her better. But I guess, what's done is done. Thanks for listening!

Heidi

[TX_2_Pigs]

Tell her how you feel and wish her luck. Give her a big hug and kiss as she leaves for her first day at work (if you can). Then don't mention it again. I think once she starts working she will see what you were talking about and may find pretty quickly that she can't stomach that environment and look for something better.

[i-love-nev]

Hey look at it like this if she works there maybe you could go help out and sex the pigs properly so they dont mate? no laughing matter really but its true!

[jilovecavies]

Think of this as an opportunity for her to educate people that have their hearts set on buying a guinea pig about what pigs REALLY need, although some of that might go against Petsmart rules. I wish she could refer people to rescues, though. Anyway, as long as she knows how you feel, it's out of your hands. She can make a difference, even if it's not on a grand scale.

[I<3MyBabies]

Thanks guys :-)

I mean it. Thanks for being encouraging! I'm going to definately take your advice and just make sure she knows I'm proud of her no matter where she works.

Heidi

[Jenni_Feathers]

She is your mom and you need to respect and support her decisions even though this may be hard, I would know, but maybe she will realize why you are so against petstores when she starts working and finds out first hand about impulse buys, and not getting the proper food and stuff like that.

[envisionary333]

Honestly, I think actually working in a pet store could be the best and most convincing way for her to learn the abuse that it encourages. Ask her to check the back room and see how the sick pets are cared for. Ask her to observe how the "shipments" of animals are brought into the store, what the specific conditions they travel in are and how many of them actually survive the journey. Ask her how often customers come back because their pet was sick, or was missexed and they ended up with babies. Ask her how much training did the store give, and how much of it was actually accurate? Do they put the animals first, or the money? How do they control who can buy what, and how many irresponsible people walk out with pets every single day? How many kids come in and beg their mommies to buy them a pet that they can't possibly care for? Ask her where she thinks the guinea pigs come from, and what their life is like before they arrive at the store? If she chooses to open her eyes and have a hard look around her, being at that pet store will be more than enough to convince her.

If you want to avoid confronting her without being too offensive, perhaps you could ask her to volunteer at a shelter with you for a day, or to try to examine firsthand the breeding mills that supply the pet store she works at. Some people never believe what they don't want to until they see it with their own eyes. If you can print out some information- and pictures especially- of abused, abandoned piggies in the back of pet stores, that would help a lot. I know PETA has some heartbreaking tales on their site, and a little searching around on the internet might help you find more examples.

Is your mom working for the joy of being with animals, or is she pressed to find more money? (This is a very personal questions so you don't need to answer it- I just want you to consider the implications of either situation) Pet stores usually pay minimum wage and there are many, many entry-level jobs that pay much better. Waiting tables can help you earn a phenomenal amount of money, I used to get over $20 an hour! There are also some very good companies out there that provide high wages to start, such as Costco- they start you at $10/hour and have mandatory raises! If she does not need the money and just wants to help animals, working in a shelter or assisting at a vet's office would be a more sensible solution.

I hope some of this information helps, and good luck! I know it must be a very, very hard position for you to be in, and hopefully you will find a solution that makes both you, and your mother, happy in the end.

[I<3MyBabies]

Thanks Envisionary,
You always seem to have excellent advice, said in just the right way, and I appreciate that.

You are right. If she can see what really goes on "behind the scenes" as you might say, and where these animals are coming from, how they are cared for, how many are sick...maybe she will see for herself what I have been trying to say. I guess sometimes that saying "a picture says a thousand words" is kinda true, even more so when its a real-life experience versus someone's "oppinion".

Again' thanks for everyone's kind responses. I have gotten a bit upset a few times when people have jumped to conclusions about other people. But you guys have been great :-)

Heidi

[mommyoffive]

Well, i've been off of here for several months, but i've still been checking in from time to time and I came across this thread.

Well I do work at petsmart...there came a time when I wanted to quit...to get the hell out of the place, but then I discovered the gift of something else...the gift of giving people knowledge about animals. I am now manager of the Petcare Deptment and I have taught everyone else in my deptment how they should educate people. People just dont come walking into petsmart and expect to be handed an animal and sent on their way. We spend at least 30-45 minutes with them explaining what their getting into and uh....other options might you add. I've had plenty of people now-a-days walk away cause they realize that they simple cannot handle getting a small pet. Trust me there have been plenty of tears from children, but its for the best.

So after my ramble, I think you mom has been givin a great opportunity to not only get educated herself but also the opportunity to educate other people. Working at a petstore is a iffy sitution...but if you handle it the right way, it can change many lifes.

[TwoOfaKind]

Originally Posted by jilovecavies

Think of this as an opportunity for her to educate people that have their hearts set on buying a guinea pig about what pigs REALLY need, although some of that might go against Petsmart rules. I wish she could refer people to rescues, though. Anyway, as long as she knows how you feel, it's out of your hands. She can make a difference, even if it's not on a grand scale.

I agree whole heartedly with this !! I know people who work at petshops (Petsmart, Petco, and others) - and while I may not personally support that, really they contribute something that may not otherwise be contributed, which is knowledge and compassion from not just a company/money standpoint.

Your mom is an adult, I would speak your mind and then let it go. Let her approach any further conversations specifically in regards to this.

It'll be okay hon (( Hugs ))

[wickedrodent]

I agree with some of the posts..

I actually considered working for petsmart. They would pay me, and honestly, as long as I didnt buy anything from them.. I would see that as helping the cause. By working there, she could educate the people as she is helping them.

I go into petsmart all the time actually, although I never buy anything. Recently, I pursuaded someone to go to a shelter instead of buying from there, and educated them about C&C cages (gave them the site address).

If you can pursuade her to help the cause- it could be a really great thing for the pigs and the other animals.. The more people that go into the places, (kinda undercover survailence in the heart of the problem) the more it would help.

[envisionary333]

I have mixed feelings about working in a pet store to try to help support piggies in rescues and equip buyers with accurate information. On one hand, it does replace someone who would probably be less knowledgeable, and could discourage a lot of people from making impulse buys and encourage them to provide proper care. If possible, working there for a short time and taking photos of the mistreatment, then reporting the store would be a fantastic idea.

On the other hand, someone who works in a pet store and encourages proper care would basically discourage customers from buying almost anything the store sells, including the piggies. An employee like that is not going to stick around for long, managers want to hire people who push shoppers into buying everything, whether on impulsive or not, and whether it's good for the animal or not.

There is also the moral dilemma of supporting a company whose policies you so thoroughly disagree with. While in the larger picture it seems to make no difference since it would just be someone else in your place if it wasn't you, doesn't the principle of the matter mean that you shouldn't do it anyway? I mean, you could rationalize buying a piggy from a pet store with the same reasoning- everyone else does it, so my one purchase doesn't make a difference. But I would never buy from a pet store again, and I know most of you wouldn't either- because we want to make a difference, slowly but surely. I don't know if the same principles apply to working for a pet store, but it does make you think, doesn't it?

Anyway, those are just my musings on the matter. It's a difficult issue.

[amm59]

Heidi,
I worked at PetSmart for four years. At the time I began, I was too young and naive to understand the problems that pet stores create. However, if it had not been for working there, I would have never found the two loves of my life, my guinea pigs. The longer I worked there, and especially after I got my guinea pigs and learned more about them and about the whole overbreeding and overpopulating situations, the more I tried to make a difference within my store. I would edcuate people on not only guinea pigs, but all animals; tell them to make a C&C cage, adopt, etc. This made me feel loads better about working for a company that sold animals (although I knew that it was still wrong anyway). I resigned after four years for different reasons like school and such; but now, I rarely shop there anymore because of what they promote. PetSmart does do good things, such as their cat adoption center and they let the local SPCA set up on weekends. But until they stop selling animals altogether, they are contradicting themselves. One person may not be able to make a difference in the company itself, but your mother can surely educate those who need it-- and that may make all the difference in the world.

[MCR_Rox]

This really isn't one-sided. Two goods things that can come out of it is she'll be able to teach people how to really care about guinea pigs and other animals, and she can learn all about pet store abuse. She may not be able to change the whole corporation, but she'll be able to try to change one store. A bad thing about it is that she is supporting them by working for them. If they have a lack of employees, they might have trouble running the store.


She can secretly tell the customers about C&C cages, about how pellets mixes are bad, and more. She may be at risk of getting fired, though.

Maybe you could ask her what she's doing. You could see whether she is helping animals, or just helping the store. If you feel what she is doing is bad, maybe you could convince her to work for a pet supply store ( a pet store that only sells supplies, and not animals.)