Pet Stores Pet Store Pigs

[Slipperytofu]

So i was thinking, on this forum there are a lot of people who say it's bad to buy a pet store pig because they can come with illnesses, and even die within the first few weeks of owning one. My thoughts are that these peoples heads are in the right place - not supporting the pet shops, though, i think they are missing the point of WHY not to buy a pet store pig. I believe that you shouldnt buy a pig from petco or petsmart because it supports people breeding new pigs, when there are so many in shelters already. The buying of sick pigs shouldnt be focused on just pet store piggies, because if you think about it, most pigs that will be at shelters or on craigslist could have the exact same problems as a pet store pig. I mean, most if not all of the pigs on craigslist and in shelters are most likely from your local petco or petsmart. I'm not really too sure on why i felt the need to post this, but i have it off my chest now. What're your guys' thoughts?

 

[LifeAsItMayBe]

I think most people who have been on the forum a while agree with your stance (or would if they thought about it), but some people are swayed to adoption more easily by the idea of low costs than the idea of helping animals. Also, some people just don't believe their choice has any impact on what pet stores do. So, it can be easier to lead with the line about sick pet store pigs (a subject with personal, short-term implications that can be observed) rather than explain breeding mills and supply and demand economics (which can be more difficult to see the cause-and-effect of, especially for younger members).

 

[mufasa]

I know firsthand that potential health issues are a MAJOR reason not to buy pet store pigs. These issues, such as URI, tend to show up very quickly. For example, I bought Mufasa from a pet store before I knew any better, and he came with a URI. 15 days later I'm crying my eyes out because he's dead, and of course I was already attached to him. He hid his symptoms well, so I had no idea until it was too late.

Not enough for you? Well, last Sunday I was in the local Petsmart and they had a dead guinea pig in the display case with two living ones. Yes, a DEAD pig right there in the display. I notified a worker, and as he removed it, he said, "Wow, these just came in three days ago." Yeah, that says a lot about the pig mill supplier they use.

When you adopt a pig or get it from Craigslist, it's usually past that danger zone of dying from a URI or other common pet store piggy problems. The people I got Amy from had her for almost a year, so I had reasonable assurance she was healthy. They got her with a missexed companion pig at a pet store, so she ended up pregnant, which is another common pet store issue and danger to the pig's health. Quinn came from someone who bought her for their kid and dumped her back at a pet store within a few weeks. Again, she was past the danger zone.

I hope this clarifies why I, and some of the others here, are always warning others of the health risks of pet store pigs vs. adoptions. I speak from personal experience.

 

[cavyqueeeen]

I know that it is not really the best idea to buy pigs from petstores as well but my first pig that I ever had was from Petsmart. I was little back then but every time I go to petsmart I can't control myself from going to look at the pigs they have. There have been a couple times when I have asked where they get there pigs from. Some of them are from rescues and others are from mills. It does seem sad but I have recently bought a guinea pig from petsmart that was from a shelter where they get their cats and dogs he was so little and I felt bad for him just sitting there all alone and in such a small area. So i bought him but knowing that he was from a shelter made me feel better. But i definatly recommend adopting I have adopted all but 2 of my pigs and they are just perfect. Also petstores make the common mistake putting missexed animals together and breeding the pigs... But at petsmart they only sell one gender...Just because I am saying some good things about petsmarts small animal selling program doesn't mean that it is the best option. Adopting is always the best and safest option because you really know what you are getting but if you cannot find a rescue near you ask the petstore lots of questions about where they came from and check the animal yourself for any health issues or signs that it could be sick.

 

[zaylea]

I got my first 2 pigs together from a pet store. Both had URI's. Oatmeal probably would have died if I didn't get her to the vet right away. Now she's better, but she's much smaller than my other pigs, as if her growth was stunted. I had to give her meds twice a day for weeks. My 3rd pig, Raisin, I got from my local county shelter, and yeah, she had mites, but it wasn't the sort of thing where I had to worry if she'd be alive the next morning. Just gave her some medicine and started feeding her a proper diet and it was no big deal. Those experiences alone would make me never buy another animal from a pet store, so I think the health argument is a good one.

 

[mufasa]

There have been a couple times when I have asked where they get there pigs from. Some of them are from rescues and others are from mills. It does seem sad but I have recently bought a guinea pig from petsmart that was from a shelter where they get their cats and dogs he was so little and I felt bad for him just sitting there all alone and in such a small area. So i bought him but knowing that he was from a shelter made me feel better.

There's a big distinction between adopting a pig at a pet store and buying one. In order to be an adoption, it must be an unwanted pig from a former owner, not part of the pet store's stock that they want to dump for some reason (too old, physical deformity, etc.). Also, the money must not go toward pet store profits, but rather to an adoption group or animal charity.

I don't think any of the Petsmarts around here adopt out pigs, but the local Petco takes unwanted pigs from owners and adopts them out (ironic because they sell pet mill pigs too). That's how I got Quinn, and the adoption fee was less than their usual pig purchase price, including the supplies she was left with (although I didn't take most of it because it was all bad stuff, including an aquarium "cage"), and the money went into the spay/neuter fund. Thus, even though she's technically from Petco, she's actually adopted.

 

[Colorado Cavies]

Another thing to think about is not even the illness of the pigs actually in the store but all the ones in the mill. People who were here a few months ago might remember Big Mama, a texel that I rescued from a wholesaler. She had week old babies at the time and was already pregnant again. That pig was my heart and I was devastated when she died due to her pregnancy. I will always wish that I had gone one week sooner, before the babies were born. We had her cremated and her ashes are sitting on the book shelf right next to my family pictures. We also took a teddy that died 3 days after she came home with us of unknown causes, she was just dead one morning. A silkie pig, Izzie was the youngest according to the vet and the only one that survived. She had 2 healthy babies and 1 still born.

Thing is that is we hadn't taken them out of there the Teddy would just died without anyone caring. And my beloved Big Mama would never have known love. She was terrified of us for the longest time, but when I made a clicking sounds she would come running to the bars because she knew that meant I was going to feed her. She was even letting me pet her the majority of the time. She was my baby, she loved me and I would have done anything for her. We drove halfway across the state to try and save her but she was too far gone and she died in my arms. At the breeder she would have died in a tub, alone, and unloved.

By supporting a pet store and buying their pigs you allow and support the lives that pigs like Mama were forced to live.

And I'm seriously crying now so I'll leave it there.

 

[lifesvr7]

but some people are swayed to adoption more easily by the idea of low costs than the idea of helping animals.

Im not sure where the people you refer to adopt, but I can tell you I spent probably 6 times the amount of money adopting than I would have if I bought from a pet store. Not to mention over a month of endless screening to make sure I was knowledgeable and prepared enough to be a piggy mom. I did not mind paying the amount I did because it was only a fraction of what it cost to care for my pig while they had it and it was going back in to help more animals. Many people would have gotten annoyed with the endless screenings and increased cost and just gotten a pet store pig but because I would rather support a rescue than a pet store, the wait and expense was well worth it.

 

[CavyMama]

I hope this clarifies why I, and some of the others here, are always warning others of the health risks of pet store pigs vs. adoptions. I speak from personal experience.

It sounds like the OP meant that the focus of why it's bad to buy from petstores should be less about illnesses and more big picture (about the breeding mills and backbreeding, etc).

 

[mufasa]

It sounds like the OP meant that the focus of why it's bad to buy from petstores should be less about illnesses and more big picture (about the breeding mills and backbreeding, etc).

True, but the two are so closely intertwined. Pet stores wouldn't be selling sick pigs if it weren't for the disgusting breeding mill conditions that lead to the illness. Sometimes people who have trouble understanding the big picture will "get it" more readily if you explain how it may affect them personally. Even if they can't wrap their head around the horrors of a mill (and I think many can't unless they've seen the hideous PETA videos), they can understand, "You might end up with a dying pig."

Personally I know both the big and small pictures all too well. Even though I adopted Borat, I ended up putting a fortune in vet bills into him and ultimately putting him to sleep because of a genetic defect, no doubt caused by pet mill practices like inbreeding or goodness only knows what else. I just find it easier to make people understand when I give them the story of Mufasa rather than trying to explain the whole horrible breeding mill scenario.

 

[MrWhistles]

but I can tell you I spent probably 6 times the amount of money adopting than I would have if I bought from a pet store.

I highly doubt that.
If you purchase a pig from a pet store you have a HIGH chance at getting a guinea pig that can have 1 or more illnesses. Adding up purchase cost and medical fees would be MUCH more than the adoption fee and gas for adopting a guinea pig. I was going to spend $80 all together(gas and adoption fee) on 2 boars from a rescue 2 hours away from me(but I found my girls). You could spend over $100 on a single pet store pig.

 

[MrWhistles]

That is actually "aprox $80". I'm watching TV at the same time xD

 

[madelineelaine]

I agree with whistles on this one, (as always).

I was in a petco the other day, and I saw not one ... not two ... but THREE sick pigs.

They have both sexes in stock. BOTH. So now there's a chance that they'll get mixed up and end up pregnant/breeding.

When you ~adopt~ from a rescue, it's almost a garuntee that the pig has recived medical care and been taken care of, if they're reputable. Craigslist not so much, but from a petstore? I've told emloyees more times then I can count that there's a sick pig, and the responses? They range from "I can do my job fine" to "Who cares?"

 

[MrWhistles]

If I EVER heard "Who cares?" I'd slap whomever said it. The animal cares! It has a heartbeat, it has feelings, it UNDERSTANDS pain! And it deserves excellent medical care. It deserves as much medical care as you get.

 

[CavyMama]

@mufasa - agreed. The two issues with pet stores go hand in hand. People should be made aware of the "closer-to-home" picture of sick pigs, missexed pigs, pregnant pigs as well as the bigger picture of breeding mills and the endless cycle it creates.

Guinea pigs cost money to own. To argue over which costs MORE - a petstore pig or an adopted pig, is moot. The money from an adoption fee goes toward the care and housing of the other pigs in need of a home. The purchase price of a petstore pig goes back to purchasing more stock from the breeding mills. So, point goes to adoption pigs.

I've had 11 pigs over my time as a guinea pig owner and I have spent a lot of money on medical. From multiple tumor removal surgeries to various medications. Such is the life of a pet owner.

 

[iMariaRainbowz]

Some pet stores are actually very good. I recently made a thread about it.
In my opinion, if an animal from a pet store can so easily be sick, than a pig from anywhere else could just as easily be sick also. If you buy a pig privately, then that pig might have been from a pet store originally. I agree with the original poster.

 

[lifesvr7]

I highly doubt that.
If you purchase a pig from a pet store you have a HIGH chance at getting a guinea pig that can have 1 or more illnesses. Adding up purchase cost and medical fees would be MUCH more than the adoption fee and gas for adopting a guinea pig. I was going to spend $80 all together(gas and adoption fee) on 2 boars from a rescue 2 hours away from me(but I found my girls). You could spend over $100 on a single pet store pig.

I was only referring to the rehoming fee. Maybe I misread but I thought the poster was implying that a rescue pig cost less than a pet store pig (discounting the Russian Roulette of whether it is sick or not). I was just saying I certainly didn't choose if adoption route because it was the cheap or easy way out.

I spent $70 on my spayed female and spent about two hours driving so Im not sure how much on gas.

 

[Agrimony]

Another thing to think about is not even the illness of the pigs actually in the store but all the ones in the mill. People who were here a few months ago might remember Big Mama, a texel that I rescued from a wholesaler. She had week old babies at the time and was already pregnant again. That pig was my heart and I was devastated when she died due to her pregnancy. I will always wish that I had gone one week sooner, before the babies were born. We had her cremated and her ashes are sitting on the book shelf right next to my family pictures. We also took a teddy that died 3 days after she came home with us of unknown causes, she was just dead one morning. A silkie pig, Izzie was the youngest according to the vet and the only one that survived. She had 2 healthy babies and 1 still born.

Thing is that is we hadn't taken them out of there the Teddy would just died without anyone caring. And my beloved Big Mama would never have known love. She was terrified of us for the longest time, but when I made a clicking sounds she would come running to the bars because she knew that meant I was going to feed her. She was even letting me pet her the majority of the time. She was my baby, she loved me and I would have done anything for her. We drove halfway across the state to try and save her but she was too far gone and she died in my arms. At the breeder she would have died in a tub, alone, and unloved.

By supporting a pet store and buying their pigs you allow and support the lives that pigs like Mama were forced to live.

And I'm seriously crying now so I'll leave it there.

Just want to say this had me tearing up as well, it is a very touching and horrifying story. I am so sorry for your loss, but so glad she knew love before passing away

 

[MrWhistles]

Some pet stores are actually very good. I recently made a thread about it.
In my opinion, if an animal from a pet store can so easily be sick, than a pig from anywhere else could just as easily be sick also. If you buy a pig privately, then that pig might have been from a pet store originally. I agree with the original poster.

Where does this pet store get its "stock"? Where a pet store gets it stock is where we draw the line on good or bad pet store. Not how they care for the animals. If they buy from a pet mill. Their just continuing the circle of animal abuse and neglect. Their "excellent" care doesnt make up for them feeding the pet mills.
T

 

[Agrimony]

Some pet stores are actually very good. I recently made a thread about it.
In my opinion, if an animal from a pet store can so easily be sick, than a pig from anywhere else could just as easily be sick also. If you buy a pig privately, then that pig might have been from a pet store originally. I agree with the original poster.

I don't believe the original poster was saying that in favor of pet stores. I believe he was saying that just to say the reason to not buy from pet stores is not only because of sickness. It was not in support of pet stores.
A quote from the original post, "I believe that you shouldnt buy a pig from petco or petsmart because it supports people breeding new pigs, when there are so many in shelters already."

That means regardless of the pigs health it is WHY it is there that's the issue. Please correct me if I am wrong but that is what I got out of this!