Ironic how Petsmart had their huge adoption day today yet still sell animals

[Sopher7132]

I was near a local Petsmart today and I saw there were animal shelters there, of course I had to go inside and look. There were bunnies, cats, dogs all up for adoption. I actually started tearing up seeing all their sad faces but I really had a hard time holding in my anger because I see all these poor animals for adoption and then I see they're still selling their guinea pigs, mice, rats, lizards, birds, fish, etc. Why aren't the animals they are selling up for adoption as well? I just find it extremely hypocritical.

I spoke with one of the volunteers at a shelter and I was talking about my rabbit and how he isn't caged and the cages I have for my guinea pigs and she was telling me how angry she is that pet stores are caging their animals the way they are and that they even sell cages that small.

It just makes me angry that those animals which the pet stores are selling will probably get sold and will probably end up in a shelter as well! Sorry, I just had to tell this to SOMEBODY who would understand where I'm coming from.

[Taboo]

I think its great that Petsmart does that adoption thing... think of all the animals that get adopted that way. I know my neighbor adopted a dog from the humane society through petsmart.

They can't give away there animals for adoption because they wouldnt make any money off of them but i see what you mean by them being hypocrital.

Im not taking up for Petsmart or anything by the way, just saying

[PrayerWarrior]

Is it hypocritical on PetSmart's end? Heck yes. I think it could go both ways: people could make the connection that dogs/cats/rabbits are in need of homes, so maybe there are some guinea pigs/rats/mice/gerbils/hamsters out there that need homes, as well? Or they could just see the cute guinea pigs/rats/mice/gerbils/hamsters and impulsively buy one, like we all fear.

I think it's good that they do it though, both of our dogs came from no-kill shelters through PetSmart.

I understand your anger though, and I don't think it's misplaced.

[PIGGYMAMMA495]

I think its awesome that they allow rescues to come in and have adoption days. My friends rescue StarFish to the Sea has quite a few days at Petco in my town. I have gone and it's really beneficial to the animals and getting the word on rescue out.
We took a rescue dog with a cute Adopt me vest on, and my daughter walked around with her in the store handing out flyers and business cards.
WE also sold magnets and a few other things.

I was told that PetNo made some sort of deal with PETA or someone like that to the affect that if they started letting adoptions thru rescues come in a fwe days a month the protests would be less. I am not sure if its true but it sounds about right.
And I know alot of people who never heard of Guinea pig rescues and have forgot about Piggies as pets, have been really upbeat and receptive to the whole idea.
It does stink though because I hate them stores because of the whole rainbow exotics breeder they get their piggies and small pets from. But its good to get the word out and a few animals adopted.

[Drawingwords]

I have a question about this. Is going to Petsmart or a chain pet store considered wrong to adopt a pet at one of these adoption things? Do the humane societies offer food and cages, etc? The people that adopt these animals are going to need supplies so then they are supporting pet stores by buying supplies.

Personally, I think it's a good thing to get adoptable pets out there as much as you can. But it's very hypocritical in some aspects. Can I have some feedback on this? I'm curious.

[Henle15]

The rescues and Humane Societies that hold the adoptions generally only have dogs/cats. If those places sold dogs/cats, you wouldn't see them in those stores. That is why many small animal rescues refuse. If they stopped selling the same animals those rescues are trying to help, then you would see the stores full of small animal rescues!

There are several threads about this and one of the most recent is http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...lly-great.html

Also Its called social cause marketing and that thread can be found on guineapighome.com.

"The people that adopt these animals are going to need supplies so then they are supporting pet stores by buying supplies."

That is what they are hoping for and why the petstores hold the adoption days!

[rabbitsncavyluv]

That is incorrect. Petno and Petstupid have had rescues and shelters come in for quite some time. They can't sell dogs or cats or there would be a big back lash so they have to have rescues come in.

These rescues overlook the fact that they sell animals to move their own, and the pet stores look good, meanwhile they make money off the foot traffic. You can read more here http://www.guineapighome.com/Pet_Trade/p2_articleid/3

Originally Posted by PIGGYMAMMA495

I think its awesome that they allow rescues to come in and have adoption days. My friends rescue StarFish to the Sea has quite a few days at Petco in my town. I have gone and it's really beneficial to the animals and getting the word on rescue out.
We took a rescue dog with a cute Adopt me vest on, and my daughter walked around with her in the store handing out flyers and business cards.
WE also sold magnets and a few other things.

I was told that PetNo made some sort of deal with PETA or someone like that to the affect that if they started letting adoptions thru rescues come in a fwe days a month the protests would be less. I am not sure if its true but it sounds about right.
And I know alot of people who never heard of Guinea pig rescues and have forgot about Piggies as pets, have been really upbeat and receptive to the whole idea.
It does stink though because I hate them stores because of the whole rainbow exotics breeder they get their piggies and small pets from. But its good to get the word out and a few animals adopted.

[khptown]

To Drawingwords, I find it completely acceptable to adopt a dog, or cat from a rescue that is having an event at a pet store. Many of those places rely on donations by means of money or supplies, which sadly they do not get enough of. With that being said, the animals are housed in moderately sized kenels/cages, and do not have the best food, but they are being fed, housed, and kept safe. Surprisingly enough, a dog can live a long and healthy life on a regular dog chow when given love, attention, and exercise. One sad thing about the adoption clinics is that I have never seen the local shelter there. Animals are euthanized there, and those animals need to find homes too. Participating in pet stores' adoption clinics would be a great way to adopt out more animals that would otherwise be euthanized.. Also, not everyone thinks the chain pet stores are bad. Before joining this site I knew about pet stores getting their puppies from mills, but I never realized it was the same breeding conditions for GPs, hampsters, gerbils... A lot of people do not make the connection that if they buy something from there, they are supporting the breeders. That is why we need to be animals' advocates, and let people know this stuff.

[samoews]

I originally asked about the Petco Sponsorship banner at the end of this thread, but got my question answered in a different thread.

[dra&pigs]

I adopted one of my pigs from an adoption center at Petsmart. The humane society had complete control over the pigs-the Petsmart people didn't even have permission or keys to open the cages. At the Petsmart that does the adoptions in our city has cats, ferrets and hamsters up for adoption regularly. The guinea pigs are mostly kept at the actual shelter, but they occasionally send one to Petsmart to put up for adoption there because they get full.

[Sopher7132]

I completely agree with the fact that it's great they hold adoptions since there are SO many people who go to these pet stores and it also helps get the word out about adopting and helps promote these animal shelters that many may have no even heard of but there is just a part of me that feels they're doing it to make themselves look good.

I could definitely be wrong but i just feel that even though they are trying to do something good and adopt out all these animals, they're still taking part in the over population of these animals by selling them. Even if they are not directly breeding the animal they're still selling it and as animals continue to be sold at pet stores there is always going to be animals that end up in shelters.

it really broke my heart to see these sad faces on these dogs, cats, and bunnies but i just couldn't help but think about the fact that many of the animals being sold will end up in shelters and will have those same sad faces. But again this is only my opinion and I could be completely wrong but ever since I've stepped foot in a shelter it has made me think twice about every buying an animal

[Sopher7132]

Originally Posted by Henle15

The rescues and Humane Societies that hold the adoptions generally only have dogs/cats. If those places sold dogs/cats, you wouldn't see them in those stores. That is why many small animal rescues refuse. If they stopped selling the same animals those rescues are trying to help, then you would see the stores full of small animal rescues!

There are several threads about this and one of the most recent is http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...lly-great.html

Also Its called social cause marketing and that thread can be found on guineapighome.com.

"The people that adopt these animals are going to need supplies so then they are supporting pet stores by buying supplies."

That is what they are hoping for and why the petstores hold the adoption days!

Henle15 thanks for sending this link, very good and interesting points were made

[Bennalaya]

I've actually never seen the local Humane Society holding adoption day at my local PetCo. It's a local rescue and one my sister has dealt with through her job as a veterinary technician. She's seen lots of sick animals adopted from this woman's "rescue", so I would never even consider going through them.

What I'm curious about is do these stores receive any sort of financial compensation or kick-backs from the adoption proceeds, or do all proceeds go toward the rescue? But I do see this from a marketing standpoint, because people will stop and adopt a dog or cat on a whim and go right into the pet store to buy supplies. I was just wondering if the adoption, itself, financially benefited the pet stores.

[Froggirl009]

I went into petsmart one day what they had an adoption and there were 3 puppies stuffed into a tiny cage and another dog that could hardly stand up all the way because of the cage it was in. Makes me sick.

[Bennalaya]

Originally Posted by Froggirl009

I went into petsmart one day what they had an adoption and there were 3 puppies stuffed into a tiny cage and another dog that could hardly stand up all the way because of the cage it was in. Makes me sick.

It is unfortunate. I would imagine the big problem is having a shelter too full with animals needing a home and inadequate supplies and staff. My mother adopted a dog from one of those PetSmart adoption days, and it had kennel cough.

[Butterscotch2]

I went to Petsmart on a Saturday and I saw that there was a rescue here. It was sad to see that hardly anyone wanted the older dogs and everybody adopted the little, young dogs. I do not like Petsmart at all and alot of people I know say, "I'm thinking about getting an animal soon, I am going to go check Petsmart today. (Or somthing like that) I always tell them to go to youtube and check out, Petsmart's Dirty Little Secerts and to adopt an animal. It's disgusting. I think Petsmart should think more about the animals and instead of breeding/buying animals to sell, they should put some up for adoption.