Pet Stores Petland Employee

[PancakesWaffles]

When I first became a member of this website, I had no problem purchasing an animal from a pet store. In fact, 2 of my five guinea pigs are from pet stores and I have bought two hamsters from a pet store. As I started researching and reading on the forums here, I started to think twice about it.

But recently, I was looking for a job. I met with the manager of the Petland near my house, handed in a resume, had two interviews and got hired. Now I am a Pet Counselor. Today was my first day.

At first I did not know what to expect, but in the end I learned SO much. I wanted to share a few things with everybody here.

- We have our own vet. that looks over the animals etc..
- If a cat or dog is sick (even if it's something small like a single runny poop), they cannot be "pulled" out of their kennel to stop the spread of disease and illness. EVEN if a guest requests to see the animal, you are unable to.. essentially losing a potential sale.
-All of the small animals, for example guinea pigs and ferrets are ALL females so that nobody takes home a pregnant pet. The other Petland in the city has all male small animals.
-They call a purchase an "adoption" so that they have the right to refuse. Today my boss refused to sell a sketchy man a hamster because he smelled of pot and told one of the employees he was going to use the hamster as food.
-They get cats and dogs from local breeders. We even have lady that goes to the breeder's houses to check the conditions and environment of the animals. My boss said I can volunteer my time and go on "breeder check" with her, which I will most definitely do.
-In two weeks I will be attending a "class" on parrots and birds. They hold these every two or three months on different animals. They want their counselors to be knowledgeable
-When purchasing a cat or a dog there is a $50 deposit on the spaying or neutering. If they get the animal fixed, they get the $50 back. If they do not get the animal spayed or neutered, the money goes to a local NO KILL shelter.
-You can donate X amount of money off of every check to the same shelter.
-You get a free bag of cat or dog food every month. I do not have a cat or a dog, so likely I will also donate this food. I was told that many of the employees do the same.
-They have a 100% adoption rate. Wait... what?! Yeah, if an animal does not sell in one store, it will be taken to another store, and then another, and then another until it is sold.

These are just a few things that I learned today during my orientation. Obviously I cannot speak for every pet store but I support the Petlands in my city. And now I am an employee that will be able to share my knowledge about guinea pigs, and enjoy my job!

 

[GPigsRSweet]

Not sure if I missed this, but where does the store get it's small animals? From a breeder?

That's too bad they sell dogs and cats. Because there are so many animals, ESPECIALLY dogs and cats, in shelters.

I know it sounds like a "good pet-store" in some ways but they're still selling pets from breeders.

 

[PancakesWaffles]

You know what, that's a very good question. I just assumed they would get them from breeders as well, but maybe they don't? I will definitely ask my manager.

I know there are many animals in shelters, I have rescued dogs and cats from a rescue in my city. But to each their own.

 

[Feeorin215]

I agree with GPigs..It's still very unfortunate that they sell animals from breeders. I want to see a store out in the community taking in dogs and cats and everything else from the kill shelters, getting them the proper vet care and giving them a second chance at life. That would be awesome.

But no...They still breed these animals even though the same breed of the same cat/dog/guinea/rat/hamster/parakeet/mouse is in a shelter right this second on the kill list...for money. That's all. Do they really care about the animals?

I can go on and on...

But..I wont.


Pancakes- It seems as if they are taking a small step in the right direction of how all stores should be But it's still not that huge step everyone is waiting for...By the way, dont take any of this the wrong way...I'm not trying to start anything with you. I'm just saying what's on my mind.

 

[CavyMama]

Also something to consider - where does the money go from these "adoptions"? If they get their animals from breeders and some of the "adoption" money goes back to the breeders, it's no better than your average pet store that perpetuates the breeding cycle.

 

[blackarrow]

There are about a million things wrong with the premise that this is an improvement.

The store is still selling animals without screening the homes. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that if someone is stupid enough to actually tell an employee he's going to use it as a feeder, someone might think to turn him down, but it's not exactly the same thing as a screening.

It will do little or nothing to stop the spread of disease or illness for dogs to stay in a kennel right next to the other dogs in the kennel. Unless the place is willing to spend serious money - far more than the animal is worth - to fix problems or humanely euthanize, having a vet take a look is not particularly helpful.

The backyard breeders they're getting their dogs and cats from are breeding their animals repetitively for the money. You can bet they're not good breeders or they would be screening their puppy/kitten buyers themselves, and not breeding a litter until they had a lineup of well-screened, educated homes committed to purchasing them. You can also bet that the animals being bred are not screened for inheritable genetic defects and that no consideration has been given to temperament or soundness, just looks, if even that. They're just being cranked out for money. Such practices also contribute to the perception shelters also have to fight that the only animal worth getting is a baby animal.

When a group sells a dog for $900 and requires a $50 s/n fee, the person paying the deposit has a much more powerful incentive to try to recoup their money by breeding a litter or two him or herself and peddling the pups than to regain the $50. When they sell only animals of one sex and the store across town sells only animals of the other (even assuming whoever sexed them knew what they were doing) it's still incredibly easy for virtually any customer to obtain a pair to breed. And it only keeps you from actually taking home a pregnant pet if the store kept the animals for longer than the gestation period of the animal, because who knows how the animal was housed at the small animal breeding mill before it came to the pet store?

There is no such thing as a 100% adoption rate. Shuffling the animals from store to store spreads disease and means more stress for the animal, and it means that if one store actually is screening their applicants and turning down inappropriate purchasers, pretty soon, the animal will make its way to a store which won't be careful.

It's nice that they're donating a bag of food a month per employee to a shelter. It doesn't even make a dent toward feeding the number of animals they're contributing to the shelter via impulse purchasers.

 

[pinky]

We have a Petland near us and, having heard the horror stories about the conditions, decided to go in that store last summer. I walked into a confrontation between an employee and some customers who were complaining about the conditions of some of the dogs. A few of them looked really sick. They were just laying there and their eyes were runny. The spaces they were in were small with a glass front. The employee didn't have a clue about what to do. Someone was calling animal control to ask about what could be done. It reinforced what I had heard about the place. I would never buy an animal from there. There are way too many homeless animals to encourage anyone to put animals in that type of place. I understand that there are probably caring employees at some of the stores, but it's a huge chain with a bad reputation.

 

[Cavymaniac]

Yes, some of the petstore's actions may sound like a step in the right direction, but it seems like advertising to me. They want good impressions, they are encouraging everyone who adopted an animal to buy supplies from them, etc. Their efforts to help animals are being erased by the issues they are already creating.

 

[VoodooJoint]

Man! Petland does a great job at brainwashing their employees! I find it amazing that despite the overwhelming proof and reports of their horrid practices that, otherwise educated people, fall for their nonsense.

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Puppy Mills: Frequently Asked Questions : The Humane Society of the United States
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Consumer complaints about Petland
Petland: The HSUS Investigations : The Humane Society of the United States

 

[ingrid]

I agree with VJ! Petland is one of the worst offenders. I used to go to the Petland in a neighboring town just to absorb the cuteness of the puppies and give them some exercise...but it is too depressing. The dogs and cats in those small cages, in addition to where they came from, is horrifying. There is a well known puppy mill in WI that these dogs are coming from and it seems like the consumers are completely unaware!

Not to mention the dozens of "hand tame" birds in a small glass (for that number of birds!) container with kids pounding on the glass and chasing them around the cage. Same goes for the other animals.

It is deplorable and VJ is right, it is a marketing scheme and unfortunately it is working on the employees also. I'm guessing that the more time passes the more aware this poster will become of the realities of the store.

All the GPs are males at one store and females at the other store? That kind of gave me a chuckle. That will do NOTHING to prevent GPs breeding, especially given the inaccuracy of pet store sexing. There are so many things wrong with the original post. Breeding is breeding and other animals are dying as a result. Period.

 

[CavyMama]

- We have our own vet. that looks over the animals etc..

So does Petco/Petsmart. It doesn't mean much for the small animals as most of these pet store vets aren't cavy-savvy. Also, we've heard the stories about how Petco didn't do much for the small animals with the URIs and other infections, except stick them in a drawer in the back.

- If a cat or dog is sick (even if it's something small like a single runny poop), they cannot be "pulled" out of their kennel to stop the spread of disease and illness. EVEN if a guest requests to see the animal, you are unable to.. essentially losing a potential sale.

I don't understand this. Why wouldn't it be quarantined from the other animals to prevent the others from catching the illness? I fail to see how "essentially losing a potential sale" qualifies as ethical behavior. Nice to see they have their priorities straight.

-All of the small animals, for example guinea pigs and ferrets are ALL females so that nobody takes home a pregnant pet. The other Petland in the city has all male small animals.

It seems that it would be easier to just house them in separate cages and educate employees on how to sex them to prevent pregnancy.

-They call a purchase an "adoption" so that they have the right to refuse. Today my boss refused to sell a sketchy man a hamster because he smelled of pot and told one of the employees he was going to use the hamster as food.

Just calling it an adoption doesn't make it adoption. Pet stores always have the right to refuse. They probably also call it an adoption to seem more humanitarian so customers can be like, "Oh look, we're not buying, we're adopting". Thus, they have a better image and people feel better about the store and will likely return.

-They get cats and dogs from local breeders. We even have lady that goes to the breeder's houses to check the conditions and environment of the animals. My boss said I can volunteer my time and go on "breeder check" with her, which I will most definitely do.

Checking on breeders doesn't change the fact that they get their animals from breeders, and perpetuate the cycle of breeding.

-When purchasing a cat or a dog there is a $50 deposit on the spaying or neutering. If they get the animal fixed, they get the $50 back. If they do not get the animal spayed or neutered, the money goes to a local NO KILL shelter.

My brain hurts from the hypocrisy. If they really want to support adoption and no-kill shelters, how about they stop supporting breeders?

-They have a 100% adoption rate. Wait... what?! Yeah, if an animal does not sell in one store, it will be taken to another store, and then another, and then another until it is sold.

Again, calling it adoption, doesn't make it adoption. And calling it "adoption" and "sale" in the same sentence doesn't do much for their image. I'm sure they boast to customers about their "adoption rate" because it sounds good and it's good PR for them.

 

[Paula]

I'm just a little mystified as to how you could think that a pet store that still sells not only small pets, but dogs and cats, in this day and age, is somehow even decent, let alone making progress.

Everyone's got to work, there's no shame in that, but man, I'm not sure how you can really think it's doing anything positive or remotely beneficial for any animals anywhere.

 

[GPigsRSweet]

I'm just a little mystified as to how you could think that a pet store that still sells not only small pets, but dogs and cats, in this day and age, is somehow even decent, let alone making progress.

Everyone's got to work, there's no shame in that, but man, I'm not sure how you can really think it's doing anything positive or remotely beneficial for any animals anywhere.

This was exactly what I was thinking! Nowadays, it seems that the some of the "worst" petstores are the ones that sell dogs and cats. It's horrible. Imagine the life a dog/puppy needs - you won't find it in a petstore.

 

[SFailed186]

So does Petco/Petsmart. It doesn't mean much for the small animals as most of these pet store vets aren't cavy-savvy. Also, we've heard the stories about how Petco didn't do much for the small animals with the URIs and other infections, except stick them in a drawer in the back.

Thank you.

My grandfather bought a beautiful Maltese puppy from a Petland once and she was incredibly ill. You could hold her up and she would not wake up. You could gently roll her onto her back, and she would still be a dead sleep because she was so sick. The Petland staff stated at the time of purchase that she was checked by the vet, but it problems arose, then they would cover the vet bills. They did not cover the vet bills at all.

After literal thousands of dollars in vet bills, she was back up to health. Then, her allergies became a problem. She lost ALL of her hair and had sores on her feet from where she'd try and chew at an itch. She was treated instantly for this as well, but Petland definitely could not help.

They could not help because a month after my grandfather purchased this puppy, they got shut down by animal cops for selling deathly ill dogs from puppy mills. It was disgusting to hear the stories of all of the problems in that store.

They cleaned up their act and re-opened some time later, but with MUCH less business. They began doing the same thing again and got shut down once more. Then, they re-opened. Now they are in the process of being closed, permanently. Each time they closed, a lot of animals went to the Humane Society, and each time they re-opened, they bought new animals from puppy mills and other breeders. Just imagine how full those shelters were then...

Petland is one of the more disgusting pet stores that I have ever been in! They do not care for their animals at all. And it's not just that one store that I described above, I've been in several Petland's all over Ohio.

One closer to me sells dwarf hamsters (the size of a large strawberry) in a short, open cage so that children can get to them easier. I cannot tell you how many times a kid has been bitten by the animal and then dropped it to the floor, killing it. They house tons of large rabbits and baby guinea pigs in one cage. In fact, I talked to the manager about this and she had no idea that rabbits and guinea pigs couldn't even eat the same food. She even HANDED ME THE KEYS so that I could get out any animal that I wanted and "have fun" because they felt bad.

I used the keys to my advantage and looked at some of the guinea pigs, both males and females. This particular area of Ohio is only supposed to sell female small animals. I cannot sex a rabbit, but I guarantee that they were both males and females. I still cannot believe that they handed me the keys to all of the cages, and did not supervise me. Imagine what would happen if they did that to a kid...

Petland will do whatever they can to not cause an uproar with their employees (especially new ones), even if it means lying to them, to keep their business afloat. You cannot believe everything they tell you, because it is more than likely BS. You have no idea what is going on behind the scenes when you are not their. You are not "in the know" as to how they are getting their animals and what-not.

Don't even get me started on Jack's Aquarium, because that place is so much worse, it just hasn't received the negative attention, yet.

 

[maynards pigs]

A friend of my daughter(her mom) just recently purchased a male rabbit from a breeder through Petco and the manager of Petco tried to sell her a guinea pig claiming that they could be housed togather and would be great friends. I talked to her mom and told her she needed to research that because I thought they could not be housed togather. So she has now decided against getting a piggy friend for her bunny. But I have come to realize these places will do anyting to make a buck without regard to the animals they are caring for or the problems they cause in the future.

 

[sdpiggylvr]

- We have our own vet. that looks over the animals etc..

Petsmart and Petco do, too. But one day when I was in Petsmart, I noticed a guinea pig with what looked to be URI. I notified the "vet" and he couldn't have cared less. Another time, when I was looking again at the pigs, I noticed yet another one with URI and told an employee. She pulled the pig out of the cage and looked at him and took him somewhere in the back, but I have no idea where the pig went.

Which just goes to show, just because they have their own vet doesn't mean they're any better. In fact, they're often worse because of the knowledge and compassion the majority of the employees seem to lack.

They don't care about the wellbeing of their animals, all they are looking for is money. And if you're willing to agree with that, then go ahead. But I don't know what you wanted to accomplish out of posting this. Like Paula said, they're just brainwashing you.

- If a cat or dog is sick (even if it's something small like a single runny poop), they cannot be "pulled" out of their kennel to stop the spread of disease and illness. EVEN if a guest requests to see the animal, you are unable to.. essentially losing a potential sale.

And how is that remotely good? They won't bother to stop the spread of disease and illness, that's all you're telling me. In my opinion, that's not a positive thing at all.

-All of the small animals, for example guinea pigs and ferrets are ALL females so that nobody takes home a pregnant pet. The other Petland in the city has all male small animals.

That's funny, 'cause that's what my Petsmart says. Yet, they frequently mis-sex. And it also frequently occurs that they do send home pregnant pets.

-They call a purchase an "adoption" so that they have the right to refuse. Today my boss refused to sell a sketchy man a hamster because he smelled of pot and told one of the employees he was going to use the hamster as food.

That's not adoption. That's the right to refuse service to people, which doesn't qualify as adoption. Adoption is where the person "adopting" the animal signs a contract and is screened. There's a significant difference.

-They get cats and dogs from local breeders. We even have lady that goes to the breeder's houses to check the conditions and environment of the animals. My boss said I can volunteer my time and go on "breeder check" with her, which I will most definitely do.

You're missing the point--they still get their animals from a breeder. I don't care if it's local or long-distance, if they check or don't check. It's still a breeder, and that's something I can't support.

-In two weeks I will be attending a "class" on parrots and birds. They hold these every two or three months on different animals. They want their counselors to be knowledgeable.

I'll bet you whatever information they teach you, it won't be correct.

-When purchasing a cat or a dog there is a $50 deposit on the spaying or neutering. If they get the animal fixed, they get the $50 back. If they do not get the animal spayed or neutered, the money goes to a local NO KILL shelter.

The problem is that it's a choice. A choice that some people won't make. And so this little "$50 deposit" essentially does nothing.

-You can donate X amount of money off of every check to the same shelter.

You could also just go volunteer your time or donate straight to them. Even better, you could adopt.

Can you hardly call this a "benefit"? I'm sure the quality of this "free food" isn't where it should be.

-They have a 100% adoption rate. Wait... what?! Yeah, if an animal does not sell in one store, it will be taken to another store, and then another, and then another until it is sold.

The key is "sell" and "buy," when it should be "adopt". And a 100% adoption rate--whatever. That's hardly possible, and what you're saying isn't the equivalent. It's just shuffling an animal around till it's sold, which you can hardly count as an 100% adoption rate.

Obviously I cannot speak for every pet store but I support the Petlands in my city.

Why? Do you support the idea of just burdening animal shelters even more? Do you support the idea of breeding? Do you support treating animals--living, breathing animals--as merchandise?

I can speak for myself, I certainly do not.

 

[Feeorin215]

Man! Petland does a great job at brainwashing their employees! I find it amazing that despite the overwhelming proof and reports of their horrid practices that, otherwise educated people, fall for their nonsense.

Brainwashing is key to success for these stores. You have to have everyone thinking about the same great fantasy world so no one throws a fit and leaves because of the horrid conditions these poor animals are being brought into. :eye-poppi

 

[Feeorin215]

I also forgot to add that--The intro post by maynards pigs states that her pigs from petland were pregnant when she bought them..

 

[Katie_Kutthroat]

Petlands the worst pet store I can think of! The one near me was in the news for a woman drowning "sick" rabbits and posting pictures on facebook. The last time I was in there before that happened when I was buying my prom dress, a poor Himalayan was so matted and covered in feces, I told the woman working there and she said that thats hard to avoid since it's a long haired cat. All the small animals, and some birds are kept in open aquariums so kids can reach in and grab them without supervision and are mixed sex. Petland has been in the news many times for buying from disgusting backyard breeders and animal abuse. They are known nation wide for selling sick animals, there's nothing positive to say about Petland. Oh yay, they donate to rescues where half there unsellable animals wind up! Every time they have to close down, which is VERY often they dump all the animals off at the pound or humane society.

 

[PancakesWaffles]

I have no idea how to quote in a reply, so I will just do it my way.

"It will do little or nothing to stop the spread of disease or illness for dogs to stay in a kennel right next to the other dogs in the kennel" -Posted by blackarrow

Are you saying that illness and diseases aren't spread in a shelter/rescue/SPCA? That's news to me. Also, I am so sorry that they are trying to prevent people from getting pregnant pets, and trying to add incentive for people to spay/neuter their animal. They must be terrible.

"There is no such thing as a 100% adoption rate. Shuffling the animals from store to store spreads disease and means more stress for the animal, and it means that if one store actually is screening their applicants and turning down inappropriate purchasers, pretty soon, the animal will make its way to a store which won't be careful." Posted by blackarrow

Better than them being shuffled to a shelter that will put them to sleep when they run out of room.

"It's nice that they're donating a bag of food a month per employee to a shelter. It doesn't even make a dent toward feeding the number of animals they're contributing to the shelter via impulse purchasers." posted by blackarrow

Better than nothing.

"Yes, some of the petstore's actions may sound like a step in the right direction, but it seems like advertising to me. They want good impressions, they are encouraging everyone who adopted an animal to buy supplies from them, etc." posted by cavymaniac

They must have other motives.

I realize they support breeders, and are part of the over-population problem. But I also realize THIS STORE, I can't speak for all of them, are trying to do things to change that horrid pet store reputation.

"So does Petco/Petsmart. It doesn't mean much for the small animals as most of these pet store vets aren't cavy-savvy. Also, we've heard the stories about how Petco didn't do much for the small animals with the URIs and other infections, except stick them in a drawer in the back." posted by Cavymama

They are animal-savy. There are no drawers of animals in the back, no animals in the back either.

"I don't understand this. Why wouldn't it be quarantined from the other animals to prevent the others from catching the illness? I fail to see how "essentially losing a potential sale" qualifies as ethical behavior. Nice to see they have their priorities straight. " posted by Cavymama

They are quarantined. That is why they cannot be "pulled" from their kennel to go in the play pen, be seen by customers, cannot be adopted, and cannot interact with the other animals. The reason I added the bit about losing a sale is because everybody on here rages about how they're only in it to make a buck, if that were the case they'd send the sick animal home with a new owner.

"Checking on breeders doesn't change the fact that they get their animals from breeders, and perpetuate the cycle of breeding." posted by Cavymama


Better than mills, right? Also, I don't remember denying that they are part of the breeding problem.

To Sfailed186- Sorry those employees are idiots.

"And how is that remotely good? They won't bother to stop the spread of disease and illness, that's all you're telling me. In my opinion, that's not a positive thing at all." posted by sdpiggylvr

They cannot be "pulled" IN ORDER to prevent the spread. Essentially they are quarantined. Did you misunderstand?

"I'll bet you whatever information they teach you, it won't be correct." posted by sdpiggylvr

Oh right, they are involved with a pet store. They must be idiots. They would NEVER want employees to be knowledgeable and informed.

"The problem is that it's a choice. A choice that some people won't make. And so this little "$50 deposit" essentially does nothing." posted by sdpiggylvr

It's not a choice. It's part of the price of the dog or cat.

"Can you hardly call this a "benefit"? I'm sure the quality of this "free food" isn't where it should be. " posted by sdpiggylvr.

Oh right, the brands of food they sell must suck. It's where I buy my Oxbow food and hay for my guinea pigs and hamster.

"Every time they have to close down, which is VERY often they dump all the animals off at the pound or humane society." posted by Katie_Kutthroat

If an animal is not selling, the animal goes to a different petland. Usually one in the province. If a Petland closed down, likely the same would be done.

You people are so closed minded