-Gasp- A New PetSmart

There is no nice petstore that sells animals. Period!

Where do you live? There's a petsmart opening down the street from petco where I live too. I think it is stupid to have that many pet stores on the same street.

There is no petco here. there is a petsmart here though. I shop there every week, because I have to buy crickets for my frogs and geckos. Petsmart is the only petstore here that sells small crickets. So I have to shop there.
Plus I buy dog and cat food there because I buy nutro pet food and that is the only place they sell it here.

:guilty: The mall I work in is expanding and guess what one of the new stores will be "PETNOTSOSMART"

I know it sounds a little crazy :crazy: but the pet stores around here are pretty well kept. The guinea pigs actually have nice cages, and they are fed well, too. Sammy 1 died because it was my fault, and Sammy 2 & Fuzzie have been going strong for over 9 months (Their birthday was yesterday, October 13; I got them on January 13 of this year, but they were only about a month old) I realise this is a non-petstore site, but I got to admit, there are some nice petstores here. I'm not trying to start a argument, I'm just saying lol

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I am against petstores, irregardless of how they keep their pets in the actual storefront in full view of customers, and these are the behind the scenes reasons why others are too:

It does not matter how great they are up in the store front, you don't know what the back room is like. Often the cages for "restocking" are deplorable.

Even if the store some form of Piggy Paradise, they plain fact is, the mills and breeders they come from are usually pits from hell.

With Petsmart, they are supposed to return sick animals back to the breeder. What this in effect means, is into a freezer or some form of euthanisia chamber.

The biggest reason of all. As long as you have homeless unwanted pigs in your area, petstores are adding to the overpopulation problem, not solving it. I am within a 2 hour drive of 1/2 a dozen Petsmarts, probably 50 petstores that seel guineas, and easily 100 homeless guineas sitting in rescue and shelters, some since the beginning of this year. How does an area get so many unwanted guineas? From people buying at petstores without knowing what sort of commitment it is really going to mean. Why are we actively importing and selling pigs, when so many are in serious danger of euthanasia, simply for no longer being wanted?

I live in Maryland. The PetSmart is opening near a SuperFresh (Grocery (SP!) Store)

I bought my pigs because there is no shelter within a hour of my house. If there was, I would of adopted one.

I never thought petstores were THAT bad. I mean, I knew they were bad but not that bad.

I usually go to pet stores for food, and Walmart for the litter. 2.99 for a 15-ish pound bag of piggy litter, right?

I'm trying to figure out why everyone is so down on Petsmart & Petco.
Yes, I know they shouldn't sell small animals & keep them in poor conditions & they are deplorable for it. :weepy:

On the other hand, they have many wonderful things/food for all types of pets & you can take your pets with you when you go.:cheerful: I feel that Petsmart in particular has done a great deal to educate pet owners in general about upping their level of care & feeding, making premium pet foods available to the masses & helping to elevate more pets to the status of "member of the family". But that's just my opinion. ptimist: *Steps down from soap-box*

I bought my pigs because there is no shelter within a hour of my house. If there was, I would of adopted one.

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I don't know your individual story, but many people on here have driven way more then an hour to adopt a guinea pig in need. I drove an hour to get my first, and I have my eye on a girl 2 hours away that I am twisting DH's arm to get. The drive is not a reason to not go, it is a matter of if we have space for 3 pigs.

I never thought petstores were THAT bad. I mean, I knew they were bad but not that bad.

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It isn't even just if the animals they have are sick or not, or misstreated at the store or not, the problems are much deeper. Almost ALL small animals that go threw petstores came from diplorable conditions. Almost ALL petstores sell to who ever plonks the $$ down on the counter first, and in MOST situations, buying one from a petstore, instead of adopting one from a rescue or shelter is leaving one guinea out there to be euthanized and unwanted. Another arguement I hear a lot is "we are all no kill shelters and rescues around here, so what is the big deal". Well, why is it fair to buy one and leave the rescue and shelter with the burden of feeding and housing the pig for even longer?

On the other hand, they have many wonderful things/food for all types of pets & you can take your pets with you when you go.:cheerful:

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Every sale they get sends a clear message to them that the public does not have a problem with how they treat small animals. Every purchase says that it is ok to sell pigs as snake food, it is ok to stick sick pigs in freezers. It is ok to sell animals to people who have no intention of making a life long commitment or feeding and housing the pigs properly. It does not matter if this purchase is a ball for your dog, a bag of guinea pig food, or a small live pet itself. Some people have to shop at these stores, they can't get the things they need reasonably elsewhere, or their parents won't let them go elsewhere, but for those of us that can make the choice, I think the responsible thing to do is avoid stores that sell pets at all costs, and for all products.

I feel that Petsmart in particular has done a great deal to educate pet owners in general about upping their level of care & feeding, making premium pet foods available to the masses & helping to elevate more pets to the status of "member of the family". But that's just my opinion.

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Really? They sell cages that are too small, manufacture substandard guinea pig food, sell sick and pregnant pigs, (maybe not on purpose, but by supporting mills and breeders who show such little care repeatedly, I hold them accountable) They also frequently deliver bad information on basic guinea pig care and diet. Marketing is a powerful tool that gives the perception of caring, does not mean they do indeed, actually care.

These are just my opinions, take it or leave it, your choice.

Well C&K, I should preface my prior statement,

"I feel that Petsmart in particular has done a great deal to educate pet owners in general about upping their level of care & feeding, making premium pet foods available to the masses & helping to elevate more pets to the status of "member of the family".

with the fact that I am really coming from a dog & cat point of view. You see I have had them all my life(many years), and they have always been members of our family, but I remember how so many that other people owned, were not. So, I am glad to see how it has changed for them.

You see, I am a fairly new Cavy Slave, 1 1/2 years now, & am just recently getting truely educated about piggers, after finding this site. I am certainly glad to have learned about the "dark, backroom secrets" of the petstores though.:grumpy:

With Petsmart, they are supposed to return sick animals back to the breeder. What this in effect means, is into a freezer or some form of euthanisia chamber.

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Actually when I worked in the small animal department at Petsmart, we always took sick animals to our exotic animal certified vet. We never sent them back to the breeder. The only time we euthanized them was when they were deathly ill and were suffering. We even had one gerbil that got out of his cage, fell, and broke his leg. They put a splint on his leg, and when he was all better, they adopted him out to an employee. And I don't know how many times I brought home animals that needed extensive care and nursed many of them back to health. That's how it's suppose to be at all Petsmarts, but I can only speak definitely for the one I worked at. We also had this one guinea pig that some idiot released in our store when we told him we couldn't accept pets from anywhere but the breeder we get our animals through. We found him about an hour later and we realized that he had mites and a severe URI. They spent a good $800 to get that guinea pig healthy even though he wasn't our store's "stock," and the manager adopted him to put in a cage next to his female. He later had him neutered and he's now sharing a cage with her (a cavy cage per my persistance). But again, I can only speak certainly for that store.

I do agree that pet stores shouldn't sell animals. They should do their best to teach responsible pet ownership and be happy with that. I don't know how many times I talked people out of buying things that weren't the best for their pet such as over the counter flea preventative. And I talked at least a dozen people out of buying guinea pig cages and directed them to guineapigcages.com. I also gave out the guinealynx.com site and petfinder.com for those interested in getting a critter. I told them shelter pets need homes too and often times the adoption fee is cheaper and you sometimes get supplies with the pet.

Bless you lilchris.
I hope the petstores have more like you.

I was thinking about cloning myself...lol

Actually when I worked in the small animal department at Petsmart, we always took sick animals to our exotic animal certified vet. We never sent them back to the breeder.

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There is a girl on this site who currently works for a Petsmart, who accounted for sick Guinea Pig going back to breeder and not getting exotic vet care at the direction of Corporate Head Office. The store wanted to help, but had their hands tied. This breeder was known to kill the animals she had returned without a second thought.

I find Petsmart very frustrating in that they do not seem to have any sort of consistancy. Some are very caring, keep the pigs in very good conditions, and go that extra mile. Others just don't. But in the end, they all are supplied from the same cruel mills that backbreed until the sows die, and so often produce sick animals.

As for their wonderful work with Cats and Dogs, I am not willing to give it any praise when you see some of the stuff with small animals that they condone and even propagate. Hopefully public awareness can be a driving force of change, but this will only occur if people stand up and let them know it is not acceptable.

Pigaroo Mama said:

"I feel that Petsmart in particular has done a great deal to educate pet owners in general about upping their level of care & feeding, making premium pet foods available to the masses & helping to elevate more pets to the status of "member of the family

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They don't really educate very well. I have never seen a high quality Rabbit or Guinea pig food in a Petsmart. The best you can get is Kaytee Timothy Complete which isn't a very good food at all. Most of the foods have colored bits and seeds which are a choking hazard and not nutritionally balanced for rabbits or G.P.s.

They sell inadequate cages, dangerous "play balls" and harnesses, mineral wheels, poisonous OTC medicines and many other items which are dangerous if not downright deadly.

People get the idea through ads that "Petsmart Cares about Pets", they feel that items found in those stores are appropriate for their pet and are even duped to believe the bad advice the uneducated employees hand out.

I had to go into a Petsmart during my evacuation because I needed Guinea Pig and Rabbit food immediatly and didn't have the means to find another place to shop. All I could buy was crappy food to get by on, was advised by a teenage employee to get the food full of colored bits because "It's better for them, more nutritionally complete, and they like it better" (I educated his butt right out of my face) and had to loudly tell off the manager and employees about the hairless rat covered with scabs on display, the sick and huddled looking parakeet and the dead Anole Lizard floating in the water dish. When the employee took out the dead lizard she left the water for the other lizards to drink ,which really set me off! My husband had to drag me out.

Thank GOD I managed to find a rescue run feed store here in Baltimore that sells Oxbow and my dogs' and cats' brands of food. The only animals in the shop are cats from the rescue up for adoption. Before I found it I had bought my dogs' food at a Petsmart. I hadn't even taken that bag out of the car so I bought the dog food at the rescue store and returned the food back to Petsmart.

As I said, I cannot speak for any store other than the one I worked at. I still think that pet stores shouldn't sell pets, and I think it's horrible that any place would sell pets from someone who can so easily dismiss a life especially one that he/she created in the first place.

Ok this is the 4th time I've tried to post the SAME MESSAGE and it didn't post because there was this little error thingy. Here I go AGAIN:

I'm gonna stop my the new PetSmart soon, to check it out, and we are really low on food, so we are going to buy some crappy plain pellets to get my piggies by for a while.

VJ, how do you like Baltimore? Are you in the city or county? I hope you like it here, and I'm so glad you're ok! *Gives VJ a big squeaky hug*

I'm about to shoot this stupid computer. It's like from 1900.

Does it still have the wheel with the mouse running around inside? I think that's what my computer runs on.

I keep having to replace my mouse b/c it dies from overexertion...lol