lilipution1013
Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2004
- Posts
- 79
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2004
- Messages
- 79
I decided to post this here because I'm quite sure people are going to get mad about it.
Last week I started working at PetCo as a Small Animal Care Technician. My job is to feed and water all the small animals, keep their cages clean, socialize them, and check for health problems. I can tell that, before I got there, my coworkers were NOT doing their job correctly.
The hamster cage wasn't being cleaned regularly; the rats were cramped without enough hidey houses for comfort; the chinchillas were hardly ever dust-bathed; the guinea pigs... don't get me started on the poor guinea pigs. There was actual BLACK STUFF growing in some of their water bottles. One of them had pink eye, and my boss actually didn't want me to send him to the vet. Luckily the RCAC (regional companion animal caretaker or something like that) was in the store that day doing a check, so Albino Bob got the help he needed.
I've spoken to my bosses about the size of the animal enclosures, particularly the guinea pigs. There are 1-3 pigs placed in each 10 gallon tank. I clean them out nearly every day and make it a point to handle the poor creatures so they don't become sullen or antisocial.
The quality of life of these animals HAS improved since I've started working there. My boss is actually quite impressed.
And the reason I chose PetCo was because of their "Think Adoption First" program. Employees are supposedly required to refer customers to adoption agencies before they sell them a pet. When I was younger, I bought a few pets from them and never heard that. Now I make it a point to say it all the time. I give them Cavy Rescue and Cavy Cages links. I even give them a mini tutorial about how to build their own cage, quietly pointing out the inadequate sizes of the cages we sell. And I lecture my coworkers about mentioning adoptiong, too. It's working.
I guess I'm just trying to say that, if you want to help the animals at pet stores, DO something about it. Anyone can come in and talk to the managers about the living conditions of the animals. I did. And I got a job there so I could actually do something about it myself. Breeders are not going to stop breeding. The almighty dollar is too strong. But we can do something to help the poor animals that were unlucky enough to be born for sale. Don't let them suffer quietly in their petstore cages and then come bitch about it here. Do something. Get involved. Talk to store managers. Call the PetCo national hotline. Call PETA. DO SOMETHING.
*ducks to avoid the flames*
Last week I started working at PetCo as a Small Animal Care Technician. My job is to feed and water all the small animals, keep their cages clean, socialize them, and check for health problems. I can tell that, before I got there, my coworkers were NOT doing their job correctly.
The hamster cage wasn't being cleaned regularly; the rats were cramped without enough hidey houses for comfort; the chinchillas were hardly ever dust-bathed; the guinea pigs... don't get me started on the poor guinea pigs. There was actual BLACK STUFF growing in some of their water bottles. One of them had pink eye, and my boss actually didn't want me to send him to the vet. Luckily the RCAC (regional companion animal caretaker or something like that) was in the store that day doing a check, so Albino Bob got the help he needed.
I've spoken to my bosses about the size of the animal enclosures, particularly the guinea pigs. There are 1-3 pigs placed in each 10 gallon tank. I clean them out nearly every day and make it a point to handle the poor creatures so they don't become sullen or antisocial.
The quality of life of these animals HAS improved since I've started working there. My boss is actually quite impressed.
And the reason I chose PetCo was because of their "Think Adoption First" program. Employees are supposedly required to refer customers to adoption agencies before they sell them a pet. When I was younger, I bought a few pets from them and never heard that. Now I make it a point to say it all the time. I give them Cavy Rescue and Cavy Cages links. I even give them a mini tutorial about how to build their own cage, quietly pointing out the inadequate sizes of the cages we sell. And I lecture my coworkers about mentioning adoptiong, too. It's working.
I guess I'm just trying to say that, if you want to help the animals at pet stores, DO something about it. Anyone can come in and talk to the managers about the living conditions of the animals. I did. And I got a job there so I could actually do something about it myself. Breeders are not going to stop breeding. The almighty dollar is too strong. But we can do something to help the poor animals that were unlucky enough to be born for sale. Don't let them suffer quietly in their petstore cages and then come bitch about it here. Do something. Get involved. Talk to store managers. Call the PetCo national hotline. Call PETA. DO SOMETHING.
*ducks to avoid the flames*