PETCO Being Sued

[Aspen and Misty]

Anyone beleave any of this??? Our Petco is the cleanest Pet store I've ever been in to. Plus all of there pets seem to be well taken care of and I've never found a sick animal in there tanks.

(It is a PETA website)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/2373/

Ash

[popcornbird]

Peta's insane. Of ALL the pet stores in our area, Petco is by FAR the best. The animals are always all very healthy, the stores clean, and the employees knowledgable. I love Petco, just love it. The Petsmart in my area, on the otherhand, has the most sickly looking animals on the planet. :( I guess it depends on each individual store, but still. I am SO not cutting up my Petco P.A.L.S. card and sending it to them! :eek:

[Kfamr]

PETA IS insane.

I'm not sure if I believe it. It could be possible, but, Amy (wolf_q) works there and i'm not sure she'd work at such a place if it was like that.

[aly]

I've heard a ton of stuff about Petco mistreating their animals. I actually believe it because I don't see why I'd hear about it from all different sources if it was made up.

Looks can be deceiving. You never know what is going on behind the scenes.

[Amber]

That could be true Aly.

I've never been to Petco, but I heard it's a good clean place. PETA, can sometimes go overboard with things.

Now, If you wanna talk a dirty petstore. yeesh, we have this petstore uptown called "PET ROUND UP" and everything on that list fits it. Its drives me insane why it isn't closed down. its a really dirty place, and the animals have to live in smoke. (sorry to get off topic)

[ramanth]

This is just one store too that they are sueing, correct?

Perhaps there were problems at THAT particular PetCo...the one in East Lansing...I've never seen any of the stuff they listed.

[Kona & Oreo's mom]

It was in the news here that Petco settled out of court, without admitting guilt, for both animal mistreatment and over charging customers.

Here's a link to the whole article: http://www.thesandiegochannel.com/money/3354645/detail.html

"SAN DIEGO -- Petco Animal Supplies, Inc., the nation's No. 2 pet supply chain, will pay more than $900,000 to settle two lawsuits that accused the company of mistreating animals and overcharging customers."

[luckies4me]

I work at Petco, and while our store is clean I have seen MANY that are not. I cannot tell you how bad the animals in one Whittier Petco are kept. I have seen rats with intestines hanging out and have recieved no treatment. They are constantly fighting and wounding eachother and many are just left to die in the cage. The ferrets are just filthy etc. But the thing to remember is there are good petshops and bad petshops and each store is different. Our animals are very well taken care of, and I know for a fact they recieve vet care as before I worked at Petco I worked at Santa Clara Animal Clinic, and they would always bring their sick animals to us. They also adopt our their "non-adoptables" to various rescue groups instead of disposing of them or euthanizing them. I always hated Petco until I came here to Oregon and actually saw one that took care of their animals.

[Uabassoon]

I peronsally think it depends on each individual store. I worked at Petco a few years ago and all of our animals were well taken care of. The only thing I didn't like about it was that they bought ferrets from Marshall Farms. However the last few times I've gone to that petco I haven't seen any ferrets so they must have stopped purchasing them.

[catnapper]

I've been hearing this story for years about Petco. I've never seen any bad things in Petco - not even one dead fish and goodness knows how fast a goldfish can die! ;)

For years I went to PetSmart because of this story but when we moved, there's not a Petsmart within an hour's drive. no thabnks, Petco's ten minutes away! :D

[aly]

and over charging customers.



I do know that there is a significant price difference between Petco and Petsmart. I have compared prices of the exact same items at each store and Petco is usually on average $2+ over Petsmart prices.

[Kfamr]

Originally posted by aly
I do know that there is a significant price difference between Petco and Petsmart. I have compared prices of the exact same items at each store and Petco is usually on average $2+ over Petsmart prices.


That's why I shop at Wal-mart for toys.

Can't beat 88 cents a peice, for fair quality toys!

[Uabassoon]

They also adopt our their "non-adoptables" to various rescue groups instead of disposing of them or euthanizing them.

The one I used to work at did that as well. I remember one time someone returned a hamster that was missing one eye, they said it was like that when they brought it home. But we know that we didn't sell it like that. We glady took it back, and kept him in his own space and played with him everyday. Then we ended up giving him to one of our regualr customers who worked with special needs children. The kids loved him because he was a special needs hamster just like they were special needs kids.

I agree with Aly that the prices are a little more expensive which is why I rarely shop there, but I do think that in the end it balances out since you get every 10th bag of food for free.

[CatMama78]

Hmmm, I agree that it's going to vary form store to store, and depending on who the manager is and what their sensitivity and compassion is for animals. I shop at both Petco and PetsMart and while it always hurts me to see a kitty in his or her cage waiting for adoption, they have never looked abused. I've always wondered what happens when the kitty is not adopted, how these stores deal with it.......

[aly]

Originally posted by Uabassoon

I agree with Aly that the prices are a little more expensive which is why I rarely shop there, but I do think that in the end it balances out since you get every 10th bag of food for free.

You get every 10th bag free at Petsmart too :)

[popcornbird]

Originally posted by aly
I do know that there is a significant price difference between Petco and Petsmart. I have compared prices of the exact same items at each store and Petco is usually on average $2+ over Petsmart prices.

Wierd.......I've always seen Petco and Petsmart prices to be exactly the same. I still choose to shop at Petco over Petsmart. I have seen unweaned birds for sale at Petsmart, as well as many animals looking ill. Not once have I seen ANYTHING like that at Petco. I have complained to Petsmart about the condition of their animals at numerous times, but never felt the need to do the same at Petco. Their animals are always healthy and very active.

[DJFyrewolf36]

I worked at PetSmart here and good lord the manager was a TOTAL idiot. He cared more about facing shelves than caring for the animals...once he told us to kill about 200 feeder goldfish *they were deseased or something but nothing treatment wouldn't fix if given time* and told us NOT to warn the customers who wanted to buy the ones that were alive. I warned the cusomers anyway, cause Im not going to be responsable for someones oscar or something die because of my managers idiocy. I got fired btw for many reasons, that being one of them. The petsmart here has admittedly improved since they fired that bonehead. Now as far as clenliness the two stores are just about the same. Petco here is a really clean store and actually is cheaper for some things than Petsmart. My only complaint with them is my little Cleo rat was alergic to the bedding they used and had some lung issues that needed treatment, although petsmart is the SAME exact way. Even at Petsmarts WORST I never saw what PETA is describing and nothing even came close to that at Petco
Ugh, I'd complain if I saw it though. Although if those stores weren't that bad, why did PetCo settle?

[Uabassoon]

I shop at both Petco and PetsMart and while it always hurts me to see a kitty in his or her cage waiting for adoption, they have never looked abused. I've always wondered what happens when the kitty is not adopted, how these stores deal with it.......


Petco and Petsmart to not sell puppies and kittens. These animals come from the Humane Society or another rescue group, PetSmart just allows the animals to be shown and adopted there but they still belong to the rescue group and not to PetSmart.

Aly, since when do you get a free bag at PetSmart? Did it start when they started issuing out those new cards? I've never heard anything about getting a free bag of food.

[Lady's Human]

If the stores really weren't that bad why did PETCO settle? Very simple. Freqently it is cheaper to settle out of court than to fight the case. Legal and court costs for a major Corp like PETCO fighting a case tooth and nail can often run into the millions of dollars.

[NoahsMommy]

I tend to agree with this lawsuit. I've only been to three or four PETCO stores, all in California and they all seem pretty gross.

Our local one is probably the worst because its an older store. The shelves are almost ALWAYS dusty and every time I go get the cat's Royal Canin there are a ton of bags with holes in them. I'm sure they have rats in there...and not they kind they want to sell... :eek:

When we get our frozen fish food, it seems like its been refrozen...which is gross! No wonder we've lost four fish in the last month!

I would also tend to agree that they over charge. I'm with Aly...I compare the prices of food, litter and toys between them and PetSmart. Petco is always more expensive and they tend to have a crappy selection.

Example: Fresh Step, 40 (? or 30) lb litter tub is $9.99 at PetSmart and $12.99 at PetCo. I can get it for $10.99 at Target!

The ONLY reason I buy the Royal Canin at Petco is because they have that buy 10, get 1 free thing. My cats have been on Royal Canin for almost a year and I haven't gotten 1 free bag yet!! I show my card every time too. :( With 8 cats, I go through a 7lb bag each week...

Petsmart has a card??? I need to check that out!

[DJFyrewolf36]

Originally posted by Lady's Human
If the stores really weren't that bad why did PETCO settle? Very simple. Freqently it is cheaper to settle out of court than to fight the case. Legal and court costs for a major Corp like PETCO fighting a case tooth and nail can often run into the millions of dollars.

This is true...but they settled for a LOT of money though...

[K9soul]

There is both a PetsMart and PetCo here. Both seem about the same in cleanliness, I've never noticed them to seem dirty. PetCo's birds and fish look better than the PetsMart here. PetCo's prices used to seem higher than PetsMart but within the last couple years, seem very comparitive.

I end up shopping at PetCo the majority of the time because PetsMart doesn't offer the food I get for my dogs (Royal Canin Natural Blend). I've never seen any animals that were injured, dead or looked to be dying at the PetCo here. I have occasionally seen a few dead fish at PetSmart, and their birds don't always look as healthy or well kept as PetCo's.

I believe it solely depends on the management of each store.

[aly]

Originally posted by Uabassoon


Aly, since when do you get a free bag at PetSmart? Did it start when they started issuing out those new cards? I've never heard anything about getting a free bag of food.

Yeah I've been getting it with my card for a few years. They also give the 10th grooming free.

[guster girl]

The Petcos around me are my "last resort" pet store. They're not clean, and, the people are never helpful. I've seen many little animals dead in the tanks or cages (mostly hamsters and mice). I definitely prefer Petsmart, but, I know when I lived in Seattle, there were really nice Petcos. It's most definitely different from store to store.

[Lady's Human]

$900,000 compared to what some juries would award, then appeals....etc......that $900K is cheap money

[nibblets]

Beta fish were kept in tiny cups in which they couldn't move

Since when is this unusual? I've seen Betas in cups since I was a child. They come from tiny stillwater pools...it is their nature to live in this manner. I have had Betas and in researching them it said they do best in small containers without flowing water.

The Petco I go to is always clean and from what I have seen all species are well tended. The rodents are active and in clean cages, Unless of course they are piled up snoozing. The Ferrets are playful and have a nice enclosure for them to live.

The new fish are quarantined until they are determined to be healthy. These tanks are marked 'not for sale'
The only problem I ever encountered was getting a few small snails in my tank from some live plants I bought.

I guess a lot of this depends on the ethics of the store managers and whether they are in the business because they care for pets or for the money.