Petsmart vs. Petco

[C&K]

Excuse me, but the Kitchen is a forum for a heated discussion, and the name of this post is Petco vs. Petsmart

"If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen."

I am perfectly toasty, perhaps it is you that is getting a little too warm?

P.S. Cavies-and-Kids Not Polite!

:crackup: Honestly, you crack me up!

Look, I don't know if you are a troll, or a very brainwashed petstore employee, who honestly loves his job, but does not fully understand the implications that pet stores have on the small animal world. I am going to give you a benifit of a doubt.

Read this thread: https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=27879&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=27879&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=100

It is about pigs in CA, that are in a really really bad situation. It will show you all the hours that are spent trying desperately to save a never ending tide of unwanted guinea pigs. This is just one shelter, out of many many many. I am in Canada, I just got an email, and it looks like I am going to be fostering for two girls that have run out of time at my local A/C. Their previous owner died when they where 3 months. They are now 10 months old, and have lived in a tiny tiny cage at Animal Control for 7 of their first 10 months. Now, 11 more pigs have come in, and there is only room for 3.

When you work with this everyday, not the selling cute furry hairballs to happy customers, but the other end of it, the taking in the worlds unwanted and abandoned pets. And you see the pigs you can't take, and hear the stories from lots of others who are doing the same as you, it makes you think "why is this happening?" And the answer is, "because pigs are being handed out without enough care or screening or good advice at the pet store level, (along with breeder dumps) So in 3 months, or 6 months, when the pig is not the family novelty anymore, and the kids are arguing over who cleans it up, and mom is tired of it all, and the pet has not been picked up in weeks and weeks, just sitting in its poo ignored, mom or dad packs up the pigs, and dumps them at a local SPCA / humane society, rescue, Animal Control center. It is at this point, that the pig that was your pride and joy and happy story at the pet store, becomes "our problem".

You will want to get a coffee or a beverage of choice to read the thread I gave you. It truely is an epic tale that leaves you feeling good inside knowing their are such kind people in this world. The rescue that comes up in it, "Cavyspirit" pays for this message board.

So, this is me, giving you the benifit of a doubt. If you honestly did not just come here to upset us, you will take a look at what I am talking about, I mean a real hard look at it. Read all 14 pages to that thread I gave you. However, if you continue to hammer on about the joys of Petco, the truth shall be known, that you really are a :troll1: .

 

[daftscotslass]

Would also be nice if you could provide some actual evidence that Petco in general are great. Not just some little anecdotes that make you feel better. Failing that...

 

[C&K]

Well if you go in to a Petco store thats all of the evidence you need.

:dontfeed:

 

[VoodooJoint]

Well if you go in to a Petco store thats all of the evidence you need.

A few months ago while I was on my forced tour of the country I had to stop into both Petco and Petsmart stores several times to get supplies as I was not in a position to find alternative animal supply sources.

This is what I found in both stores.

-dead animals
-sick animals
-A huge variety of crappy brands of small animal foods
-a huge supply of mostly crappy hay. I had to really dig through the bags to find anything decent.
-employees handing out downright wrong information about pet care.
-cages for sale that were woafully small and inadequate.
-animals housed in the stores in suffocating aquariums
-animals overcrowded in said aquariums which were too small for even one animal

I certainly did get all the evidence I needed.

 

[C&K]

I don't care if the pigs at Petco are treated with the upmost best possible care, which even you agree they are not.

The plain fact is, Petco directly contributes to the overpopulation of pigs, gives out bad advice at the customer level (Such as telling someone the pigs are neutered,) and encourages the breeding of pigs in mills, where they are housed in absolutely deplorable conditions. This is evidenced over and over again with all the new members that arrive here and at GL and other message boards with Petco and Petsmart pigs infested with mites, lice, and fungal infections like ringworm.

These are all facts that you cannot dispute. What you offer is tiresome unsubstantiated retoric about being "Pro Pet Store" with no reasons of "why".

You are a troll. You know you are a troll. Either step up to the plate with some real evidence to support your "Petco supporting notions", or kindly go away.

 

[BabyGrl]

Okay daft where are the smilies coming from? I stink at googling.

 

[nonamian_girl]

Whatever happened to not feeding the troll? Well I'm also going to jump on the band-wagon.

Wagner, next time you're in a pet store, go to the guinea pig section and take a GOOD look. Let's say that this particular pet store is lucky enough not to have sick and dead animals on display. Let's say that somewhere in the middle of the store, they even have a nice big pen full of baby pigs.

However if you look around some more, especially in the back, you will find
-pigs living in aquariums, which prevents the flow of air, causes the build-up of ammonia, and causes illness (not to mention the SERIOUS lack of space)
-take a look at the food they're being fed. If they are lucky enough to be fed a plain pellet, ask the employees which one it is. I bet it'll not only be alfalfa based, but full of animal by-products, and cancer-causing chemicals. Check the label.
-check to see if they pigs have any hay. Chances are, they don't.
-Check to see if they have water of any kind. Chances are, they don't, or at the very least, it's not fresh.
-Ask them what kind of bedding they're using. The chances of using expensive ones like carefresh or Aspen is pretty slim.
-Check to see if they have veggies of any kind. I am willing to bet my life on it that they don't.
-Finally, note that pet store pigs are very often mis-sexed, infested with mites, ill and sometimes pregnant.

Naturally, you are going to argue that there are always exceptions to the rule, etc etc. Perhaps YOUR Petco miraculously does provide the pigs with ample space, fresh water, good pellets and lots of hay and veggies, but somehow I doubt it. The problem is that while there are exceptions to the rule, the MAJORITY of pet stores ARE the rule.

If you still think pet stores are fine, consider this:
-that nice big pen full of pigs encourages impulse buying, buying animals as gifts, and buying pigs as "starter pets" for children. Where do all three ultimately end up? The shelter, or worse, because the majority of people who buy their animals there have not done any research and don't know anything about what they're buying.
-In turn, all those purchases as gifts, impulse buys and toys encourage the pet stores to go out and buy more pigs from breeders, which in turn makes the overpopulation problem worse.

Here's more: Aside from the animals, check out the products they sell. If these people cared about animals at all, why would they sell mixed pellets which cause choking hazards, pellets with cancer-causing chemicals, or things such as wheels for guinea pigs, which could break their spines?

Finally, if you're still not convinced, print out a pamphlet from https://www.guinealynx.info/pamphlet.html and read it carefully (it's not long). Go to your Petco, and ask a random small-animal employee various questions about guinea pigs, such as how much space do they need, what do they eat, how long do they live, etc. Then, compare their answers to the care guide, and see how wrong they are. And that's another thing, if pet stores are so great, how come their employees don't know ANYTHING and give out such wrong info?

If you care about animals at all, you should accept the fact that pet stores that sell them are BAD news.

 

[C&K]

Whatever happened to not feeding the troll?

It is just so hard not to feed the troll! LoL! I have an over zealous large mouth, it just falls out!

So, is this the Petco you are proud of?

Lady gets pig from Petco, it has mites, and ringworm, tells store manager about it, gets money back and assured sick cage "buddy" will be removed for sale. (not even going to comment on what that means). Returns, finds cage mate not only on floor, but reduced to 1/2 off!
https://guineapigcages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10302

This is the Neuter story:
https://guineapigcages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14756&highlight=petco+died

Trammatized child story: Pig they had wanted dead in tank with other pigs running around it.
https://guineapigcages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9541&highlight=petco+died

Yes, you definately have lots to be proud of!

 

[daftscotslass]

Well if you go in to a Petco store thats all of the evidence you need.

Well...

The kind people of the US of A on this board have given me plenty evidence to suggest that the conditions and policies in many Petcos are deplorable (see VJ's post).

I don't plan to fly across the atlantic to check so if you could provide me with the evidence that would be great.

 

[daftscotslass]

Well, the Petco i do my shopping at only has the most of three baby pigs in a cage at a time, and why would you sneek into the back and see what they have. Its there store they can choose what they do with there animals, they arn't forcing people to shop there.

I would say that what you can't see can't hurt you. But you are making it worse by effectively stating you know and accept what is going on, but because you can't see it that makes everything OK. Great attitude.

 

[C&K]

Well, the Petco i do my shopping at only has the most of three baby pigs in a cage at a time, and why would you sneek into the back and see what they have. Its there store they can choose what they do with there animals, they arn't forcing people to shop there.

So I think we got the bottom of it all. It does not matter what the mills do to them before they get them, because you feel they take good care of them.

It does not matter that they are directly responsible for the overpopulation problems with small animals, because they are nice and friendly, and have everything you need; but indeed, if they are mean and nasty in their stock rooms, that is just none of our business, because they are nice to them for the duration of the stay, while they are healthy, on the sales floor, and again, they have everything you need.

So, your conviniance, completely trumps any bad thing they may support, (Mills) do themselves, (Backroom) or cause? (Overpopulation).

You really are a very nice person!
Welcome to the Board!:sarcastic

 

[PiggieMom]

I did try to give you the benifit of the doubt Wagner, and still am. Maybe you are jsut not very good at conveying what you mean. Maybe you really don't understand what we are saying. Either way, you are portraying youself in a very negative light.

If you really wish to become part of the community on this board, I suggest you stop posts such as this. I say this in the most serious and considerate way I can think of.

You're really making yourself appear to be a bad person, and I'm trying to help you out before this goes any further.

But so far, you haven't taken any of my advice... *shrug*

 

[Susan9608]

Well, the Petco i do my shopping at only has the most of three baby pigs in a cage at a time, and why would you sneek into the back and see what they have. Its there store they can choose what they do with there animals, they arn't forcing people to shop there.

Oh please - what a load of absolute crap. Where in the world do you think those baby pigs come from? Do you think the Petco manager simply snaps his/her fingers and POOF! baby guinea pigs magically appear? No one could be that naive.

Some where there is a sow (female guinea pig) being bred to produce those 3 baby guinea pigs in the Petco store. Do you understand the risks involved with pregnancy? Do you understand the horrible problem with overpopulation? Obviously not. A female guinea pig has a 10%-20% of *dying* during pregnancy/birth. And if she dies, what do you think happens to the babies? Do you really think a breeder is going to take the time to hand-rear those babies, if they manage to survive the pregnancy/birth itself?

In Dallas, my city, there are currently over 200 guinea pigs in a shelter. And why? Because some where out there, some careless, callous person is happily breeding away, to supply pet stores with those cute little babies.

As far as it being "their" store, meaning they can do what they want with the animals, that's the biggest cop out I've ever heard. People used to say that out women - it was okay for a man to beat his wife because it was *his* wife, his property. People used to say the same thing about slaves - it was okay for someone to beat his slave because it was *his* property. Just because the animals technically belong to the store does not make it okay for a store to torment and abuse them.

 

[nonamian_girl]

Why would the stores hurt and abuse the animals, i'm sure mostly every one who touches the animals at least like animals.

Gee, I dunno, maybe because they are running a business for profit and don't give a damn about the animals themselves? I love how you're not even reading a single thing anyone has said.

Just becasue you shop at a pet store doesn't mean you are the problem of overpopulation of G-pigs.

Actually, yes it does. Perhaps indirectly, but it still does.

WHY hasn't this person been banned yet?

 

[C&K]

This is the same arguement you have provided over and over again. You have 4 pages of proof to show you the contrary, you refuse to listen or explore other ideas. I am going to say that you are indeed, someone who does not care at all about animal welfare, and in most peoples minds around here at least, that makes you a bad person.

However, everyone has their own opinions. If enabling the torchure, abuse and abandonment of animals is ok in your books, I suppose you have nothing further to say here. Please respect that it is not in ours.

 

[CavySpirit]

You know, the hard part about these kinds of conversations is that those of us who are intelligent, experienced adults kind of assume we are talking to other intelligent, experienced adults. On a guinea pig forum, this is why we try so hard to keep the spelling, grammar, content and messaging on an intelligent, adult level. Kids are welcome when they can communicate on that level. We have a lot of great kids on this forum. However, some children are just not mature enough to handle this kind of information. For example, we know what the word profit means, but I'm pretty sure there are a lot of kids who don't really have a clue. The business world is just a phrase with no real meaning. Then of course we get the adults with a child's level of maturity, understanding and ignorance. Not much we can really do about that either.

In any case, be it child or dense or ignorant adult, if they were in my home or I were face-to-face with such a person, I would NOT engage them in any kind of serious discussion once I determined that we could not communicate because our frames of references are so completely incompatible.

So, because Wagner09 appears to be a child, I am removing her ability to post in the Kitchen. She's free to post in other forums.

 

[nonamian_girl]

Good point.