Pet Store Piggies - so sad

[GotPigs?]

I stopped at a pet store today, there was a cage of a dozen tiny baby piggies. Not separated by sex, they looked to be 3-4 weeks old. They have two little hidey's and a water bottle and that's it! Their food bowl was empty, absolutely no hay available and zero enrichment I felt so bad for those little guys, knowing they're stuck in that mess until they go to homes with people who are not educated about the proper care and requirements of guinea pigs. Makes you think how fortunate our pets are to be in loving homes, laying on their soft fleece in their gigantic C&C cages, with fresh veggies every day and all the hay they could ever want. I kindly told the employee there that those little pigs needed pellets and hay and he said he'd get right on it. I wish there were more I could do, I just needed to vent. Bah humbug!

[MaryGoodnight]

Really puts things into perspective doesn't it? My heart breaks for these animals every time I see them, it's hard to remind myself that bringing them home is supporting the whole process. Calvin is from Petsmart originally (I adopted him off Craigslist) he had never had a big enough hidey or eaten hay. His owner would have gladly given him these things if she knew he needed them. She thought she was feeding him high quality food, had him in a big cage and gave him plenty to chew on and plenty of vitamin C drops. When I think about what Petsmart must have told her she needed it makes me really mad. He didn't need that stuff but they needed to "sell-up" to her. I'll always be grateful to her for giving Calvin veggies and out of the cage time everyday, he came to me in great shape thanks to her and not what Petsmart sold her.

[Ash-Ro060708]

I used to work at a large pet store(for 6 months 5 years ago) and in most cases there is really nothing we could do about it. We were only required to make sure all the animals got food and water at least once a day. Cages were kept to the bare minimum to make cleaning easier and faster. The sad fact is the animals in the quarantine/sick rooms didn't even get any thing besides bedding, food and water, no houses, no toys, no running wheels. There was no hay and definitely no veggies for any animal.

We were not allowed to cage or sell animals by sex so there were babies being born in the store all the time and babies coming back to the store after the mother was sold pregnant. I tried to do everything I could to sex and separate all the animals but since I wasn't even allowed to label the male and female cages(even from the back) so most of my efforts were for nothing. I even printed out sheets on how to sex each animal for the other workers to learn but the boss would not allow me to put them up in the back.

The worst was when a shipment of mice came in, there was like 30-40 mice, 2 of them males... the rest female, needless to say in a couple weeks there was 250-300 baby mice in cages in the back room stacked from floor to ceiling. Since both the males were black almost all the babies ended up being black, unfortunately for them the black and brown coloured mice were least bought by people that wanted them as pets, my boss often sold the unwanted mice/rats to his friends who were snake owners.

I would never work in a large pet store again, it was too hard to see the poor animals knowing there was nothing I could do.

[Doxie]

I totally understand what you mean. At the moment I'm pig-less, I'm waiting to adopt that perfect piggie that may come my way. But knowing that I have a loving, animal friendly home for a homeless pig makes it even harder when I go to pet stores and see them all sad and sick.

I use to also work at a pet store for a little more then a year. I ended up leaving because I couldn't stand the animal neglect. It became very hard on me because I would work so hard to pick up the slack of everyone else that wasn't taking their job serious. I was always cleaning, feeding and even loving the pets when no one else would. I'll never forget this time the State came in to check everything and my boss called me to the office after they left. He was so happy that I opened that morning because we ended up passing. He told me that the store had never passed inspection before but since I started working there we passed each time.

Never mind all the pets I ended up adopting from the store because the pets got in fights or where sick and we couldn't sell anymore. I had hamsters everywhere! I would take them home, fix them up then hopefully finds home for them, it was that or they got put down for no good reason. I have a friend that still works there so I still adopt a pet every now and then (Like my one eyed gerbil, my hamster with 3 feet and the anole with 3 legs) The store use to joke and make fun at me because I would adopt all the misfits that couldn't sell. They use to tell me I could open a traveling side show.

Sorry to have such a long rant. Once that door opens all these memories of working there come flooding out. I could write a book with all the stories from there. But yeah, you just have to keep reminding yourself of what's better in the long run and we all know that it's adoption.

[MissFormosa]

The simplest thing you can do to help is to support pet stores that do not sell live animals.

Do not give that pet store any additional profits and do not purchase an animal from there. Find an alternative source of supplies and support local rescues, not pet stores that get their animals from horrendous breeders, the store's back room, or profit-minded animal suppliers. Just spreading the word to others who may be interested in an animal may help.

This is the very least you could do. It's a sad situation, I know, but it doesn't help to sit back and say so. It's amazing what one person can do to enrich the lives of animals if they are proactive and make conscientious choices.

[utsarah]

There aren't any pet stores around us that don't sell animals. So I just buy our food and supplies online. Easier for me because I don't even have to leave the house.

We got our first 2 pigs from the pet store, but didn't know any better. One of our boys recently passed away. We knew we wanted another cage mate for our remaining pig and I found a great pig on Craigslist from someone who was NOT a breeder. I did feel so much better to just provide a good home to a pig who was in need.

[Raine Summerfly]

I go to a PetsMart near my house to pick up the Oxbow pellets and what not. They sell it at the vet I take my guineas to also but they charge a lot more for it. Living in Canada too, it's just harder to get things shipped aswell.

Anyway, I've actually seen them feed the guineas veggies at that PetsMart.