Petco Where The Pets Die....

[shaybabixo]

http://www.petcosucks.com

[Desert Arabian]

Everyone on Pet Talk is aware of this and PETA...you don't have to post all of their websites and information....

[PJ's Mom]

I wasn't aware of it. It's horrible! I'm glad I don't shop at Petco.

[carole]

Obviously not everyone was aware of this, it never hurts to double up on something as important as this.

[Uabassoon]

Keep in mind that every PetCo is different. Sometimes PetCo will get stuck with a crappy manager and things go wrong, and you can tell when you walk into the store that the small animals look unkept. Other stores however, are in great condition all the animals are well cared for and they have excellent staff. We have a few Pet Talkers that work for PetCo, I highly doubt that they would work for them if the conditions were as horrible as PETA claims them to be.

[Kfamr]

A few members here work at PETCO.
I'm sure not EVERY Petco is horrible or "sucks"

[PJ's Mom]

True, and the only reason I haven't shopped there up until now is because they're way too expensive...not because of anything like this.

[popcornbird]

The Petco I go to is awesome. Animals are very healthy and all on a good nutritious diet, with spacious cages, etc.

Petco is a HUGE chain store throught the country. With this many stores, there are bound to be a few bad ones. That doesn't mean Petco's always bad. The Petsmart in my area is a lot worse in their animal care than Petco.

[Karen]

Every Petco is run by different people, and has different policies. PETA targets an entire chain, buy I do shop the PETCO near us. Their animals always look healthy and happy, even the fish which a lot of chian stores don't seem to care about. The cages are aways clean and the animals, as I said, look healthy. The PETCO near us also has adoption events on most Saturdays, letting Greyhound Rescue, the House Rabbit Society, local shelters and other nonprofits - all good, animal-related causes - bring animals in for adoption. The employees - even the "lowly cashiers" - seem to really love animals, and ask good questions of people considering buying even the small pets, like mice. And they let a local cat rescue bring in a Santa for the cat folks' own "pictures with Santa" fundraiser. The PETCOs in my area seem to be good corporate citizens.

Does this, then, mean all PETCOs are good? No! Does it mean you have to be a good and coscientious consumer, and be aware of things around you? Yes.

What are my other choices? A local pet store that sells puppy mill dogs - no, "dogs from breeders in Pennsylvania and the Midwest" and while the pups are always cute, and bring people in to the store, I do not want to give them my money. Other choices? None.

[tatsxxx11]

I'm sure not everyone is aware of PETA or of the neglect some pet stores are guilty of. Thank you for sharing that with us.

The PetCo by me is very clean and well run and all the animals are well cared for, appear healthy and happy and the staff in charge of the animals are very knowledgable! They also co-sponsor terrific adoption day events. Pet Co is one of the stores that we use for our rescue group's "Meet the Dogs" (available for adoption) that we hold each weekend. There are also Greyhound rescue events and cat adoption days.

I agree, as with any large chain of stores, standards may vary from location to location; especially sad when you consider pet stores deal with living creatures.

[Aspen and Misty]

Agreed. The petco in State College PA has VERY well kept birds. They are intertained by 5 to 10 toys depending on cage size and the bird. They always have food, water and a clean cage. There small animals also have wonderful set ups with at least 2 toys in them.

Also - Rats, mice and hamsters get old or get sick and die all the time, it's sad but they do. Animals get eye infections (as stated in a report) and even after tratment is given they may still apear as bad as when they firs saw it untill a few days later.

Ashley

[puppyluvs]

I was no where near aware of this thanks so much for sharing..........................................

[wolf_Q]

How many times must this exact same thing be posted on here?

I work at Petco. Although I do not actually deal with the small animals (I work in grooming) they appear to be very well cared for. They hold adoption events every Saturday. They are starting a huge "think adoption first" program which is supposed to encourage customers to adopt before buying, even types of animals that Petco sells.

I haven't been to any Petcos outside of this state so I don't know anything about what conditions there may be. I have a hard time believing everything coming from PETA though.

[Desert Arabian]

Originally posted by wolf_Q
How many times must this exact same thing be posted on here?

Amen.

I have a hard time believing everything coming from PETA though.

Double Amen.

[micki76]

I live just outside of Dallas, so I've been to a number of Petcos & Petsmarts.

It has EVERYTHING to with the stores management. I can go to one store (of either national chain) here in one area, and it's great, perfect. If I go to another area, there are sick, dying animals, dirty cages, and floating fish. I depends on store personnel and whether they actually give a crap.

I also worked as a groomer for years, and there will ALWAYS be abusive groomers mixed in with the good ones. It's just a fact. There are abusive parents, abusive child care workers, abusive pet owners, and abusive spouses. There are plenty of mean people out there and Petco can't avoid them, and can only try to stop groomer abuse if the manager and district manager give a crap.

Whenever you're dealing with live creatures that can't speak for themselves and there's a profit to be made, there is going to be abuse.