Inside Petco...

[mommyoffive]

Originally Posted by chexxy

Has anyone else noticed a decrease in animals at Petco? I went to get the exact brand on a food dish I liked, and there were no Guinea Pigs. Not alot of other animals. But rabbits. Although, the rabbits are pretty well taken care of (or so it seems), with carefresh, food, and water. Not that I would buy one from there, I am just atleast happy they dint seem to be suffering. I know it still supports the breeding, dont worry,

I have. The last time I went in this same store about a ouple weeks ago I noticed no pigs, and hardley any hamsters, rats, or birds. Hopefully Petco is making a step towards not selling animals anymore. I wish I could say the same for Petsmart as well and all other stores.

[Ziggy&Herald]

All the Pet Co business' in my area thankfully went out of business. All we have is PetSmarts and unfortunately they are in every town. But, I did go into our local PetSmart the other day to find a cuddle cup, and there were no Guinea Pigs, no birds, and very few hamsters and gerbils. Maybe like 4 or 5 of each. They usually get their pigs in shipments, 5 or 6 at a time. Then they are normally out for about two weeks or so, so that wasn't unusual, but they are always overrun with birds. Parakeets especially. I was really surprised.

[guineapigluver1]

Originally Posted by rabbitsncavyluv

Both Petco and Petsmart are bad. They both sell animals. Any pet store that sells animals is bad news.

I know both are bad, and I know any one that sells animals is bad, but I want to know which treats their animals worse?? Because when we were in PetCo the tanks and such seemed cleaner to me, and bigger, though still teeny weeny.

[Cavy Carnage]

Originally Posted by mommyoffive

I have. The last time I went in this same store about a ouple weeks ago I noticed no pigs, and hardley any hamsters, rats, or birds. Hopefully Petco is making a step towards not selling animals anymore. I wish I could say the same for Petsmart as well and all other stores.

I was in Petco about 6 weeks ago looking to see what the Nutro dog food bags looked like to get for my rats and also noticed very few animals (probably 2 hamsters, one rabbit and a ferret). I wondered what was going on so I asked an employee and we got talking and whether she was supposed to tell me or not (as after our convo she said but but thats just between us) she told me in a lot of the less popular locations animals are slowly being 'phased out' the particular store I went to was just 'getting rid' of the remaining animals left and then concentrating on supplies. Fish will still be sold. Also she mentioned jobs were being cut and she didn't know whether she would have a job by the end of the month. I am not sure whether it was just this particular store or if they are all having financial problems.

[auburnmare5]

Originally Posted by pigsforlife

But that level of care should already be provided. All petstores that sell animals are bad, period. Regardless of how well the animals are kept.

I know- I was just making a point because someone said that many pigs were kept in a cage. I was only saying that at my local Pet Supplies Plus they carry one pig at a time.

Originally Posted by Percy's Mom

The small step would be NOT selling animals at all. Why should they be congratulated for doing what they should already be doing anyway if they insist on supporting breeders and selling animals?

Yes-That would be a better small step. As mentioned in the beginning of the post, I was saying they only keep one pig at a time. This is better than multiples. It prevents breeding before going into homes, and the spread of disease.

I am not saying they are doing a great job for having animals- I would prefer they did not hae any at all.

[Ly&Pigs]

But that one pig still comes from a breeding mill. It's still subjected to illness from other cavies while at the mill and during transport from the mill to the store because it's in a hot truck with tons of other animals. It's still irresponsible to sell any animals in a petstores.

[sparkyisnumber1]

I love how the stores claim to have so much knowledge on pets and then turn around and sell items (guinea pig wheels,cages with wire bottoms, treats) that could case injuries. My boyfriend wont allow me to say anything anymore since I brought it up to a sales clerk then some lady who was looking at the cage that if she bought it she was no better then this store. Needless to say I think she got that i was mad. I swear those stores only care about money. And it is a real shame they make so much...

[Leaflyn]

When I went to the Petco in my area, I didn't notice anything as horrible as that, but i'm betting that the animals aren't as healthy as they should be. Also, the pigs there were being sold for $33 each. When I found out about a ranch and rescue that rescues animals, and adopts them out in my area, and the few pigs they have, they adopt them out in pairs because of companionship. The two I'm really hoping to get are sisters, and for the pair, they are $25. I don't think that's bad at all considering. And they use that money to help with the costs of the other animals they take care of.

[GuineaAddict]

Originally Posted by crazywiggy

If the pet store was interviewing a potential employee I would like to think they would choose the animal lover over someone who doesn't care. But, take away the animal lover and the store will simply employ all their staff from the "don't care" group.

Actually, when I read this I had to shake my head in anger (not at you though). Back when I first moved here I applied at Petsmart and I am extremely enthusiastic about animals. I made this quite clear and that I had owned tons of different kinds of pets and still I didn't get hired. Quite frankly it shocks me that everytime I go into alot of these pet stores I know more than most of the employees. Half of them I talk to about guinea pigs know very little and don't even know enough to know how to sex them. Now this isn't with every deparment and every employee and I'm not trying to be all elitist like I know everything, but it's really quite sad. And what really makes me sad is these uneducated employees are turning around and selling pets and either not educating the buyer, educating them wrongly, or both.