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Does this count as buying from a petstore?

Sweetywheety

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My parents bought my sister and I guinea pigs when we were 8 years old. That was WAY before I found this site. They went into petco and bought a cage, food, water bottle, ect. On their way out, an employee asked what animal they were looking for. So my parents told them that they were looking for guinea pigs. She said that a person had abandoned the pigs at the store and she had found them. If they bought the cage, she told them, then they could have the guinea pigs for free with the cage. So they got the cage and pigs. Does that count as buying pigs from the petstore?
 

Johanna

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If the petstore required you to buy a cage then you are supporting the pet store. Where I work in some cases I require someone to buy a cage in order to adopt a pig. This is only when I feel that the person is getting the pig only because it is free and wont provide the proper housing. This pet store might have just wanted the guinea pig to go to a home that was willing to provide housing for it.
 

VoodooJoint

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Yup, it counts as buying. I'm sure most of us have seen the sales of

"buy the Guinea Pig/rabbit/hamster/parakeet/etc started cage and supplies and get the animal free"

Petstores make more money off of the supplies then they do off the animal. As long as you have the animal you need the supplies so if they *give* you the animal they have you hooked.

If they really cared about adopting out these GPs there would be a background check, home check and perhaps an adoption fee. No "buy the cage and get the (disposable) animals free" deal.
 

laura220

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What about if a pet store gives you abandoned animals for nothing and your not buying anything either?
 

VoodooJoint

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I'm not certain how I feel about that. Even though it is free you are still helping out the petshop and they are the reason that GP is abandoned in the first place. I would rather people go the extra mile and try to find a rescue to help out. Besides, a free adandoned-at-a-petshop-animal is most likely ill. Unless the petshop is willing to pay the vet bills not only are you helping out the shop by saving them vet care cost you get stuck with the check.
 

LBKK

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I'd think that the actual "giving" of the animals without having to buy anything seems like you are not supporting them BUT if you take into consideration that the space you have freed up for the petstore means that it's one more spot for them to place a new animal for sale....thus, yes you would inadvertantly be supporting them....but hey, you were 8 right? I wouldnt think too badly upon yourself as you were just a kid and you know now and that is what counts!
 

Johanna

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At my petco you dont free up a space for them to sell an animal. The adoption animals have their own area and they can have unlimited amount of adoption animals. If petco has guinea pigs available for adoption then people are less likely to purchase one. Most people would rather adopt then buy.
 

LBKK

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So where do they get the "adoption" animals then? Are they the throw backs they sold to people a month or 2 before who no longer want them? Seems funny to me that they'd sell them on 1 side of the store and have so-called "adoptables" on the other side. Either you sell them or you dont. There's no justifying it by taking in a few strays and giving them away for free in my opinion. Either you are a problem, or a solution. You cant be both.
 

kittnkarr

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I too work at PetCo and we adopt animals that people no longer want to have or take care of. Most of the animals never even came from our store, meaning we did not sell them to the customer. All animals are cared for, feed and even taken to the vet should the animal be in need for medical attention. They are not treated any less different then our other animals in the store. Should any animal be sick we quarintine and seek out medical treatment.

When I work with people who want to adopt animal from us I find out what they know about the animal and get a general feeling about them. If you get a bad feeling you don't have to adopt that animal out to that family.

If the adoptees already have all the items at home that they need they are not required to buy additional items. They can adopt the animal and pay a donation amount for them. That donation is entered into the PetCo Foundation where all Rescue Groups that are affiliated with them can obtain grants and funds to care for sick animals.

I don't agree with that we are freeing up any more space to sell an animal statement at all. Also where would these GPs, hamsters, lizards, etc... that we take in go. At least they are warm, fed and taken care off. More so then what their previous owners probably did. Otherwise they would either end up out in the road or in a shelter that would most likely euth. them.

I am not trying to start anything here but this is just my opinion on the matter. :) Note.... please do not take offense to what I am writting.

People say they are against selling animals in a Pet Store. I can see the reasons why and I agree with most of the posts about them not be treating them correctly. But... Look at the flip side of the coin. You stop pet stores from selling animals then you promote more back yard breeders or just people who want to breed the animals to sell. In one way or another it still is not a win win situation. Rescue groups for all animals are always going to be out there because even if you elimante on source for people to obtain an animal they will find the resources and means to buy it else where.

Sorry sorry if I went off topic here... Ok... I am off my soapbox.:eek: Again so sorry, but this is just one topic that I feel strongly about. Just like everyone on this forum.
 

Kriket

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Every other weekend a rescue comes to the petco around here and brings Dogs, cats, and a couple of small animals and takes applications to adopt them out. There are also several other "rescue days" during the year when dog and cat rescues come in and take applications and sometimes even send animals home with the adopter as long as they can get ahold of the references. The most recent rescue I saw in Petco was for greyhounds. They had VERY specific criteria to meet, and from the time I was hanging around till I left, I saw them actually tear up several applications that weren't good enough or whatever.
 

LBKK

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Well it is a bit relieving to hear they at least screen their applicants...and by the way, no offense taken!! I think it is great that they are doing SOME part to help find homes for adoptables, but really when you think about it, it's a total contradiction! It's like saying you're a vegetarian but owning a slaughter house....or being a breeder and operating a rescue on the side. I think you catch my drift....in a perfect world, pet stores would house only rescued animals and not support breeders. They'd put them all in proper cages with proper bedding and feed them the right foods with regular vet check ups and screen all applicants and make them all take care courses before homing them - Obviously, NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Though it is a step in the right direction that they are finding good homes for rescues, I still dont agree with how pet stores operate. Just because they do a "good deed" homing a few rescues every couple of months, doesn't make what they do on a daily basis any better.
 

Johanna

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I would like you all to know that when I adopted my cat Doogie all I had to do was fill out a simple form. And when I adopted my cat Herbie I did the same thing. I adopted them from two different rescue groups. I did the same thing that I would have to do for a guinea pig at Petco. The screening process is no different. At least Petco doesnt euthanize healthy animals. I think the pigs are much better off being adopted out there. Anyone who takes in unwanted and homeless animals wants homes for them. It is no different if it is petco or the humane society.
 

Sweetywheety

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There was this lady there that "adopted" them herself when they were left there. Of course I wouldn't do that now, but at the time my parents didn't think about rescues, and petstores were the "accepted" thing at the time. Since then I've gotten my 4 pigs from the local shelters.
 

Sweetywheety

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Yeah, the lady came by our home to see where we were going to keep the pigs, and she gave us a high quality pellet that she fed her own pigs. It's kind of sad. she wouldn't give her pigs the food sold at her workplace because it was so cheap. (No offence to whoever works at petco/petsmart)
 

rabbitsncavyluv

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Those pigs were probably previously purchased ones and returned/ dumped there.

If you return a pig you bought at Petco within 30 days, they resell the pig. If it is after 30 days, they put them up for "adoption" by putting them on a table for free near the doors.

If they don't sell or no one takes them, they send them back to the pet mills and usually they go for snake food or put back in as breeders.

Meanwhile, there are usually pigs in shelters that are in danger of being put to sleep and rescues that need homes.
 

Sweetywheety

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Those pigs were probably previously purchased ones and returned/ dumped there.

If you return a pig you bought at Petco within 30 days, they resell the pig. If it is after 30 days, they put them up for "adoption" by putting them on a table for free near the doors.

If they don't sell or no one takes them, they send them back to the pet mills and usually they go for snake food or put back in as breeders.

Meanwhile, there are usually pigs in shelters that are in danger of being put to sleep and rescues that need homes.
That is horrible! I wish I could go back in time 6 years, but I can't. That is why I'm totally against petstores that sell animals, and I get my piggies from Wee Companions, a reputable Southern California Rescue. How can people feed sweet looking and wonderful little pigs to snakes??? Horrible! I saw a family friend feeding a poor, defensless mouse to a snake once, and it had to suffer before it died. It was so sad.....
 

Johanna

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rabbitsncavyluv: Where did you get that information about what Petco does with their guinea pigs??
I dont know how it is at other Petcos, but that isnt the case at mine. There is a 15 day guarantee, not 30 days. And only about half of the adoption pigs are from petco. The rest are from other pet stores and litters of babies from irresponsible owners. The only time a guine pig is "sent back" is when it comes in unhealthy and it is sent back that day. All adoption pigs are adopted out. If a pig is up for sale and doesnt sell it is put up for adoption, but this almost never happens.
Where did you get your information about using the pigs as snake food?? I have never heard of this. Have you seen a guinea pig mill that has snakes to feed?? Do the breeders also sell frozen pigs for snake food?? In five years working at Petco I have never seen a pig get sent back to the breeder if it didnt sell.
P.S. I do not agree with petco as a corporation and do not support their policies.
 

CavySpirit

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Johanna, I don't understand this statement: I do not agree with petco as a corporation and do not support their policies. What the heck does that mean? a) you work there and b) you work there!

How can you not 'agree with Petco as a corporation?' That makes no sense at all. If you don't 'support their policies' why are working there? And YES, there are plenty of guinea pig mills and distributors that have snakes to feed. And there are very public and documented cases of guinea pig mills that sell off or 'give' their unwanted guinea pigs to raptor farms or so-called 'zoo rescues' to be fed as food for the other animals. You don't have to look very far at all. Heck, go take a deep read of my Your Thoughts page on Cavy Spirit. It's there. Read some back issues of the ACBA Journal. It's there.
 

Sabriel

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I am a vegetarian but I worked at meat processing plant. Granted my position was one that took away from their profits (QA is an expense they'd rather do without. I also rejected more meat then any other QA there. But nothing I checked got sent back so they didn't complain too much) but at the end of the day it put food on my plate and in my animals' tummies.

Sometimes you don't always have a choice where you work. You work where you can find work. I am sure plenty of veg*ns work at the grocery store and McDonalds too. I know I wasn't the only one at the meat processing plant. There were also may Muslims who would not eat any products from the plant either as it was not Halal. heck out of the entire QA department only 1 person would willingly eat any products we tested.

I am lucky my husband makes enough for me to stay at home for now. I am lucky I have the luxury to wait for the right job. But my time is running out and I am having a harder time finding work then I did when I was in high school. I have to completely switch sectors as I cannot work in a cooler anymore due to medical reasons. If Petsmart is hiring and I need a job badly and they think my resume is good, then I have to do what I have to do.
 

Johanna

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I wasnt saying that I dont believe that it happens. It probably does. I have never heard of it happining with our petco or its distributers. I was just wondering where rabbitsncavyluv got that information. That was all. I didnt know if it was just said because it might happen, or if there was documented information that this does happen with Petco and its distributors.
I also made that comment on the end of my reply because i dont want people thinking that I'm defending petco in any way. I just know what goes on there and I'm trying to give the facts about what i know. This is just a job for me. I dont work there because I think petco is great. I get paid a lot and get good vacation. I also want to take the best care of the animals there that I can. These animals are going to be at petco and be sold whether or not I work there. The least I can do is try to give them the best care while they are there. I try to help inform customers to make the right decisions when it comes to the well being of their pets. I dont spend money there, they pay me.
 
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