Pet Stores I saw some nice things at Petco

clb89 · Apr 9, 2013

oldnewie said:
In our town we used to have 3 petstores, 1 of which only sold accessories & supplies & is SPCA-affiliated. 1 store closed down, but the staff there were all experienced & knew their stuff, a few if them now in the other stores. 1 specialises in fish & birds, both only have a few animals at a time. All the animals, fish & birds are well looked after, housed in spacious cages which are kept clean with food & water, lots of bedding & hideys provided. Both stores have vets next door, & one is an 'exotic pets' vet who treats small animals like piggies, rats, mice,etc.
All that aside, does anyone know what would happen to the animals if noone ever took them in? Would the breeders be stopped? It's a genuine question, I don't support factory/mill/mass breeders.

The hope is that pet stores would stop selling pets due to lack of demand. Breeders would also take a huge hit to profit and I suspect many would stop breeding. I'm unsure if all breeders would stop as they may find other ways of selling, as some already have such as Craigslist. I do think more guinea pigs would be truly rescued via adoption versus bought at a store. May also be more educated pet owners due to rescues and shelters having more of a process to adopt. All in all many good things can come out of pet stores not selling animals.

nibnskip · Apr 9, 2013

I only deal with one pet store here in my city and they care for their animal. They have live in animals that walk around certain areas such as a huge turtle. all their cages are Always clean and use care fresh. The employees are only hired with animal experience. They own and foster and not for breeding. All guinea pigs and other small animals and reptiles are separated by gender after isolation period. They don't sell cats or dogs just fish, small animals, birds and reptiles. And they have their animals all bunched together. Also everytime i go there the guinea pigs if they have any have veggie or fruit with pellets and hay. I get all my oxbow products there and bedding. They are clean and u never smell pee or poop. They also do animal exhibits at schools and special events. My daughter is having a birthday soon and booked them to come to the party and they specifically stated indoor exhibit for safety of all animals. And also the piggies, chinchillas etc. are in cages not tanks. So you can't judge a book by its cover, their are some honest pet lovers that own petstores.

lunarminx · Apr 9, 2013

oldnewie said:
All that aside, does anyone know what would happen to the animals if noone ever took them in? Would the breeders be stopped? It's a genuine question, I don't support factory/mill/mass breeders.

Nope, they will be sold as food...... For which I see nothing wrong with it, many countries eat meat we wouldn't consider eating but times are changing. Even those that eat them, don't eat their pets.

More Americans eating guinea pigs?

PigPandemonium · Apr 10, 2013

Though I hate Pet Stores with a passion, I do have to give credit where credit is due. The one Pet Smart near me takes all sick animals to the vet that works there, no matter even if it's a small animal that need complicated surgery, they do it. Though again, I don't support shopping at pet stores or buying animals in any way shape or form.

SimbaDC650 · Apr 10, 2013

Sadly to say most big pet chains, just wanna push product.

acydrose · Apr 10, 2013

Sadly, not all petstores have amazing vets on call or caring staff. My first piggy was from PetSmart and he was a hyper little ball of fur, but a week after I got him he started developing symptoms of what I now know its URI and fungus on his face. I took him back because in my ignorance I thought they would take him to a vet or recommend one, but their first option was to give me a refund for my pig. I was shocked, this was a living breathing animal, a very cute one, and I'd bonded with him already, why would I just want to give him away like if it was a tshirt? Then they explained that they had to give me a refund, give me back my money, take him to a local vet 10 minutes away from the store and when and if he got better they would give him back to me. A week later, they told me they were giving him meds, another week, that he was fine but his hair hadn't grown back in, then two weeks after he was hospitalized and then nothing. They would not pick up my calls, I even went to the store a few times and the managers were always busy, out of the store or in a meeting. And that was it!

Months later, I'd done more research on piggies, wondering what went wrong, I was depressed and had to cover up the empty cage in my room. A few months ago, I had the oportunity to adopt my boys Neo and Smith, and when Neo got sick I started looking for a cavy savvy vet. I called vets and groomers I know of and they all recommended a vet that's about 45 minutes away from my house, the only licensed exotic vet in Puerto Rico. Not anywhere near those 10 minutes away from the PetStore and I realized that they probably took him to a dog/cat vet or actually didn't take him at all.

Sorry for the long post, but I do not support petstores that sell animals, specially PetSmart or PetCo but I have my reasons not to. Their policies on pet care are not trustworthy, they have sick animals housed with healthy ones and their staff isn't particularly nice a lot of the time.

pinky · Apr 10, 2013

My feeling is, when you adopt from a shelter or humane society, chances are, you're saving animals from being euthanized sot it's a win-win for all. I can't speak for all shelters, but the one in my county has a vet that checks the animals before adopting them out. They do mis-sex their guinea pigs on occasion so I know they really aren't cavy savvy, though. When you adopt from a reputable guinea pig rescue, you should be getting a healthy animal with a guarantee that you can return the pet. If the rescue is licensed, they probably require you return it if you no longer want it. You can find great pets on Craigslist from individuals that no longer want them or have situations where they can't afford to care for them anymore. I'd screen them carefully to be sure you aren't buying a guinea pig from someone who is intentionally breeding. Pet stores are completely different. It's a business for profit venture. You might or might not have employees who know anything about any breed of animals. The store gets in "stock" to sell. As the product is sold, more comes in to replace it. Years ago, I bought a Petsmart guinea pig that turned out to be sick. I returned it for treatment and when I went back they said they needed to keep it for an additional period of time because they forgot to treat it. It was kept in what looked like a large closet. I bought her after her treatment was done and she had convulsions a couple of days later and quickly died.... It was a real eye opener for me. This was a couple of years before I discovered the rescue I volunteer with. The employees at the pet store seemed nice and caring but that means little when they sell animals that are sick and they really don't know how to treat them. I avoid pet stores that sell any live animals now. I order online or shop at those that don't sell pets. If I need something that can't be purchased anywhere else, I only buy that and nothing else.

Wibbles · Apr 10, 2013

I purchased my 2 pigs from petco before I knew better. 1 of them got sick with in 2 weeks with a URI. I brought him back to petco and they did the whole refund thing and I was appalled by it. However, while chocolate was getting treated they did call me with updates every few days and aloud me to come visit him anytime he was back from the vet. After about 6 weeks they resold him to me and he has been in perfect health since. I understand this may not be typical and I hated the money return policy they have. However, I am grateful they healed my piggy.

ClemmyOddieIndy · Apr 10, 2013

acydrose said:
Sadly, not all petstores have amazing vets on call or caring staff. My first piggy was from PetSmart and he was a hyper little ball of fur, but a week after I got him he started developing symptoms of what I now know its URI and fungus on his face. I took him back because in my ignorance I thought they would take him to a vet or recommend one, but their first option was to give me a refund for my pig. I was shocked, this was a living breathing animal, a very cute one, and I'd bonded with him already, why would I just want to give him away like if it was a tshirt? Then they explained that they had to give me a refund, give me back my money, take him to a local vet 10 minutes away from the store and when and if he got better they would give him back to me. A week later, they told me they were giving him meds, another week, that he was fine but his hair hadn't grown back in, then two weeks after he was hospitalized and then nothing. They would not pick up my calls, I even went to the store a few times and the managers were always busy, out of the store or in a meeting. And that was it!

Months later, I'd done more research on piggies, wondering what went wrong, I was depressed and had to cover up the empty cage in my room. A few months ago, I had the oportunity to adopt my boys Neo and Smith, and when Neo got sick I started looking for a cavy savvy vet. I called vets and groomers I know of and they all recommended a vet that's about 45 minutes away from my house, the only licensed exotic vet in Puerto Rico. Not anywhere near those 10 minutes away from the PetStore and I realized that they probably took him to a dog/cat vet or actually didn't take him at all.

Sorry for the long post, but I do not support petstores that sell animals, specially PetSmart or PetCo but I have my reasons not to. Their policies on pet care are not trustworthy, they have sick animals housed with healthy ones and their staff isn't particularly nice a lot of the time.

Wow, I'm sorry about that. The policy is that you return the animal, and then PetSmart calls you when the animal is healthy enough to go back home. Then you repurchase the animal. I'm guessing that happened a while ago, but you might want to report that to the corporate headquarters as that is in violation of the policy. Animals are supposed to be QT'd to ensure there is no health problems. That doesn't mean some don't slip through the cracks, but almost all the ones I see come back are abscesses (it seems usually related to dominance fights in the new environment). I can't even think of a URI that has been returned in the time I've been there.

nibnskip · Apr 10, 2013

nibnskip said:
I only deal with one pet store here in my city and they care for their animal. They have live in animals that walk around certain areas such as a huge turtle. all their cages are Always clean and use care fresh. The employees are only hired with animal experience. They own and foster and not for breeding. All guinea pigs and other small animals and reptiles are separated by gender after isolation period. They don't sell cats or dogs just fish, small animals, birds and reptiles. And they have their animals all bunched together. Also everytime i go there the guinea pigs if they have any have veggie or fruit with pellets and hay. I get all my oxbow products there and bedding. They are clean and u never smell pee or poop. They also do animal exhibits at schools and special events. My daughter is having a birthday soon and booked them to come to the party and they specifically stated indoor exhibit for safety of all animals. And also the piggies, chinchillas etc. are in cages not tanks. So you can't judge a book by its cover, their are some honest pet lovers that own petstores.

correction: they don't have their animals
all bunched together.

Boogle · Apr 10, 2013

MrWhistles said:
BTW: Where did you get this:

In this thread. Last I checked(bare with me, haven't been too active) the users here are WELL aware that live small pet purchases means more pets being bred/purchased from horrid conditions. NOT what you stated. I haven't seen anyone here post that.(remember, I haven't been as active as I used to be)

oh it wasn't in this particular thread. it was on some other topic i was lurking before i joined when people were like discouraging people from buying pig food or pig products from stores because you're supporting the store and they will keep selling pigs because you buy the food.
even things like discouraging people from adopting from rescues that use the store's space to hold adoption events because you're given a coupon book from the store for the pig food and what not.

i mean i get it, there's a suspicion that some of the adoption fee that you pay might go back to the store... but you know i'd rather have corporate get the impression that they will profit more from adoption events than from supplying their store with small animals from mills.

I mean i could look for the thread again... but that would take a long time... i know what i read and I'm not too terribly worried if no one believes me, as long as this gets cleared up you know? Even if it was me who is mistaken.

Boogle · Apr 10, 2013

SophieBunny said:
I trust the advice of a lot of people on here, because they haven't had textbook training, they've had real life experience dealing with pigs and they really know what they are talking about. Not everyone, but many people.

No one here would ever have shunned you for where you work. Your pet store doesn't sell animals, that's what we are working towards, and that's great!
Many people on here have worked in pet stores that are so much worse that yours. You, on the other hand, know about proper pig care.

But, I'm not saying that all pet stores and all pet store employees are bad. The truth is exactly the opposite. There are exceptions, many of them.

Thanks. I'm sorry i come off so upset.

But its a shame that pet stores have such a bad reputation. I get really frustrated too, cause i see horrible living conditions of other animals in pet stores and working in one, i know its not difficult to just take care of it.
I love animals so much and its hard for me to deal with impulsive pet buyers, i try to educate them but a lot of people are more concerned about saving money.
There are situations where my coworkers have refused to sell a customer an animal before, and it gets REALLY ugly.

I had some lady get mad at me once because she wanted to buy a pet for her 3 year old but didn't want anything too high maintenance. i recommended a beta fish because you only had to clean the bowl once a week... that was too high maintenance for her that and she wanted a small animal that would be more "cuddly". I recommended a stuffed animal from build-a-bear or a pet rock because small animals are high maintenance ... you should have seen the look she gave me.

I hate how i tend to be stereotyped as uneducated (i mean right now i really am on some animals but I'm working hard on fixing that), however i do try to do as much research and have no problem telling a customer "i don't know, let me find someone who can answer that" or "I would talk to a vet about that issue because I'm not trained to diagnose or recommend treatments". I really hate it when employees just make something up because they are afraid to admit that they don't know.

anyway i am brainstorming on ideas of my own and proposals to make my store & the company more animal friendly. I'm working on ideas and writing a formal letter to corporate... meh, I don't know how much success i'll have but i guess i'll never know if i don't try!
I would love to make an effort to squash these stereotypes, i want to find a way to make both the company and animal lovers happy. There's gotta be an answer for this mess somewhere.

ClemmyOddieIndy · Apr 10, 2013

Boogle said:
T

I had some lady get mad at me once because she wanted to buy a pet for her 3 year old but didn't want anything too high maintenance. i recommended a beta fish because you only had to clean the bowl once a week... that was too high maintenance for her that and she wanted a small animal that would be more "cuddly". I recommended a stuffed animal from build-a-bear or a pet rock because small animals are high maintenance ... you should have seen the look she gave me.

That's not good advice on the betta. Unless the betta is in a 10 gallon tank, it needs to be cleaned multiple times a week. An average 1 gallon bowl should be cleaned at least every other day 50%, and once a week 100%. I clean my 2.5 g (which is minimum what a betta should be in) tanks every 2 days, and my 10 g tanks once a week. They do have a small bioload, but ammonia, nitrates and nitrites will build up in their tank. Cleaning only once a week can lead to fin rot or ammonia burns.

MrWhistles · Apr 11, 2013

Actually, bettas need a weekly water change in anything above 3 gallons. Please please PLEASE do your research. I'd also suggest cycling your aquarium before getting any fish. When your aquarium is cycled, you shouldn't have to do a water change more than once every 2 weeks. Water changes are performed to removed ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Nitrate can continue to show on tests until it reaches 20ppm. When it reaches 20ppm, do a water change until it reaches zero or a low number.

Betta Fish and Betta Fish Care
A Beginner's Guide to the Freshwater Aquarium Cycle

I have a fully cycled and fully planted 75 gallon/5.5 gallon. My tanks only get water changes once a month to remove dead plant matter. While I do have snails/shrimps who take care of this issue, I do still enjoy doing the water changes because it's an extra step in caring for my aquatic life forms and messing around inside my tanks is a relaxing chore.

Boogle · Apr 14, 2013

*sigh*
i'd like to thank both of you for your advice... even though its an odd back-handed way of going about it... I'm kind of offended? I'm not sure why i feel this way, probably because you guys are clearly mistaken on my level of knowledge.

I'm aware of how to properly take care of a betta fish and how to cycle an aquarium. I have a planted tank of my own (still a newbie though, my other coworkers have multiple planted tanks), and my boyfriend is super into fish tanks thanks to myself which i kind of regret because i never hear the end of it from him lol.

If someone came into my store and was like "OMG I LOVE BETTA FISH I WANT THE BEST HOME FOR IT" I'd probably recommend a 4-5 gallon aquarium and at the minimum I'd recommend something like the fluval 2 gal. desktop aquarium.

However, you need to keep in mind the person i was talking to.
Customer:
wants a pet (but really doesn't because she's an impulsive buyer)
in a hurry
thinks weekly maintenance is too high.
doesn't want to spend money
clearly has the same attention span as her 3 year old.

I gave her the MINIMUM (super minimum) housing & maintenence for a betta fish knowing that she wasn't going to take the bait and that out of all the fish in the store the hardy little dude will be able to take it... not be happy, but will be able to handle it.
I hate fish bowls, a lot. Making a fish live in a fish bowl is like Voldermort killing your parents and having to spend your childhood in a broom closet under the stairs of your horrible relatives house WITHOUT ever meeting Hagrid or getting into Hogwarts. oh yeah and its really hard to breathe all the time on top of smelling like poo.

Anyway if by the off chance she took the bait, thats where i'd lead her into far better and greater places into tropical fish land... if she was willing to spend the money (which I doubt) and pay attention while i try to explain to her the basics (which i also doubt).

of course you know I'm not going to sit here and tell you guys the whole back story (like i just did) in my first post because it seemed unnecessary (now my post is super long, no one will read this).

I deal with many different types of people. My favorite are the actual fish hobbyists who come in and we nerd out as long as possible. I get a lot of compliments on the quality of the fish and the tanks we keep them in, and even have people tell me that we're some of the most knowledgeable aquarium staff they have ever interacted with in a petstore.

Then there are the people who want to keep fish in a bowl because they don't want to spend money, they don't care that this will kill the fish. If they are smart enough to have an aquarium they completely ignore my warnings on stumping and overcrowding their tank.

Anyway, dealing with customers who are inconsiderate is really difficult... its pretty hard to keep positive when the impulsive buyers outnumber the hobbyist.
I don't even care if people are uneducated, its that they don't even want to learn is what kills me... really kills me. I love getting people into fish but there are people out there that just really don't care. :/

Boogle · Apr 14, 2013

oh yeah and kind of getting back on subject.

There are other types of hay out there like orchard grass, oat hay, botanical hay...

All I hear about guinea pigs is to feed them timothy hay and to feed the youngsters & preggers alfalfa hay.

Anyone know what the other stuff is for? are they just for other animal diets or are they just like a fun treat for pigs?

MrWhistles · Apr 14, 2013

I honestly wouldn't recommend any animal to someone who wants an animal with "low maintenance". I don't believe in "low maintenance" pets. Every animal is high maintenance, they get sick, they need food, they need care, etc etc. I think you gave the customer poor advice and that customer deserves the CORRECT advice. She's possibly going to find out that you gave her incorrect advice and likely won't seek advice from you again. Betta's do need heaters to keep their water at a min 77F and finding heaters for bowls is a bit difficult, they're out there, but a bit difficult to find. I've seen maybe 1 heater to fit a bowl in my local PetsMart. And unless the parent would be willing to accept full responsibility should the child get bored of the animal, I wouldn't recommend any animal for a child.(less than 12 years old)

ClemmyOddieIndy · Apr 14, 2013

Boogle said:
*sigh*
i'd like to thank both of you for your advice... even though its an odd back-handed way of going about it... I'm kind of offended? I'm not sure why i feel this way, probably because you guys are clearly mistaken on my level of knowledge.

I'm aware of how to properly take care of a betta fish and how to cycle an aquarium. I have a planted tank of my own (still a newbie though, my other coworkers have multiple planted tanks), and my boyfriend is super into fish tanks thanks to myself which i kind of regret because i never hear the end of it from him lol.

If someone came into my store and was like "OMG I LOVE BETTA FISH I WANT THE BEST HOME FOR IT" I'd probably recommend a 4-5 gallon aquarium and at the minimum I'd recommend something like the fluval 2 gal. desktop aquarium.

However, you need to keep in mind the person i was talking to.
Customer:
wants a pet (but really doesn't because she's an impulsive buyer)
in a hurry
thinks weekly maintenance is too high.
doesn't want to spend money
clearly has the same attention span as her 3 year old.

I gave her the MINIMUM (super minimum) housing & maintenence for a betta fish knowing that she wasn't going to take the bait and that out of all the fish in the store the hardy little dude will be able to take it... not be happy, but will be able to handle it.
I hate fish bowls, a lot. Making a fish live in a fish bowl is like Voldermort killing your parents and having to spend your childhood in a broom closet under the stairs of your horrible relatives house WITHOUT ever meeting Hagrid or getting into Hogwarts. oh yeah and its really hard to breathe all the time on top of smelling like poo.

Anyway if by the off chance she took the bait, thats where i'd lead her into far better and greater places into tropical fish land... if she was willing to spend the money (which I doubt) and pay attention while i try to explain to her the basics (which i also doubt).

of course you know I'm not going to sit here and tell you guys the whole back story (like i just did) in my first post because it seemed unnecessary (now my post is super long, no one will read this).

I deal with many different types of people. My favorite are the actual fish hobbyists who come in and we nerd out as long as possible. I get a lot of compliments on the quality of the fish and the tanks we keep them in, and even have people tell me that we're some of the most knowledgeable aquarium staff they have ever interacted with in a petstore.

Then there are the people who want to keep fish in a bowl because they don't want to spend money, they don't care that this will kill the fish. If they are smart enough to have an aquarium they completely ignore my warnings on stumping and overcrowding their tank.

Anyway, dealing with customers who are inconsiderate is really difficult... its pretty hard to keep positive when the impulsive buyers outnumber the hobbyist.
I don't even care if people are uneducated, its that they don't even want to learn is what kills me... really kills me. I love getting people into fish but there are people out there that just really don't care. :/

Even if you don't agree with the treatment of the fish in that situation, passing on information like that is detrimental. The goal needs to be to properly educate everyone who comes through your pet store doors on how to care for their pets 100%. I work at a pet store, it is a big chain store, and I refuse to sell a bowl to anyone coming through my line. You come through my line with a bowl you are getting a lecture on proper fish care. You ask why we sell bowls, I'll say ignorant customers who don't do their research. It sounds harsh, but I do it with a little more tact than it types out to sound like

. I've yet to have someone get mad at me, and I have an excellent sales record of 2.5 gallons. But, at the same time I can admit before I educated myself on betta's I told people awful information. I have always been a betta enthusiast, but I will admit I was one who fed them flakes, kept them in an unheated tank and frequently used bowls (always at least 1 g, but still a bowl). Now, I properly care for my fish, and happily lecture those interested about them.

I love planted tanks, but I will admit I've had awful luck with them. I'm great with animals, but I touch a plant and it dies on me.

Boogle · Apr 16, 2013

MrWhistles said:
I honestly wouldn't recommend any animal to someone who wants an animal with "low maintenance". I don't believe in "low maintenance" pets.

Thats why I recommended her a stuffed animal or pet rock. I think you missed the whole point of the story.

Boogle · Apr 16, 2013

ClemmyOddieIndy said:
Even if you don't agree with the treatment of the fish in that situation, passing on information like that is detrimental. The goal needs to be to properly educate everyone who comes through your pet store doors on how to care for their pets 100%. I work at a pet store, it is a big chain store, and I refuse to sell a bowl to anyone coming through my line. You come through my line with a bowl you are getting a lecture on proper fish care. You ask why we sell bowls, I'll say ignorant customers who don't do their research. It sounds harsh, but I do it with a little more tact than it types out to sound like . I've yet to have someone get mad at me, and I have an excellent sales record of 2.5 gallons. But, at the same time I can admit before I educated myself on betta's I told people awful information. I have always been a betta enthusiast, but I will admit I was one who fed them flakes, kept them in an unheated tank and frequently used bowls (always at least 1 g, but still a bowl). Now, I properly care for my fish, and happily lecture those interested about them.

I love planted tanks, but I will admit I've had awful luck with them. I'm great with animals, but I touch a plant and it dies on me.

Hah, yeah plants can be difficult. After I picked up a second job, I'm almost wishing I just stuck with gravel and plastic plants (regrets not investing in a better aquarium).

Ah well that gives me a little bit of hope,You should teach me how to deal with difficult people. I think since I'm kind of new at all of this (not just pet sales but retail in general) I can't handle customer rejection.

today i was talking to some customers who had a betta fish that was about two years old and it was sick with what sounded like pop eye.
I was like "oh sounds like he has pop eye, i can show you what medication we carry for that."
Customer: "well how long do betta's live?"
"About 2-3 years usually"
Customer: "oh so our betta is really old, its gonna die soon anyway. right?"
"you still have like another year left."
Customer: "Yeah i just think its REALLY old, it will be okay."

I like to make comparisons of crappy products with grocery stores/breakfast cereal. Like when I'm talking to a customer and I mention that guinea pig foods with sunflower seeds and extra bits in them can be harmful they always ask why we sell those bags then.
I just tell them same reason why a grocery store sells shredded wheat and lucky charms... kids want to eat lucky charms because it looks fun/like it would taste good even though its not the healthiest cereal for them.

Anywho, my busy life calls for me again. Thanks for the post.

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Pet Stores I saw some nice things at Petco

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