would it be so wrong to...

get a job at a pet store? i am against them because of the whole puppy/kitty mills thing, but i need to start working to get experience for when i apply to the "big" jobs. there is a pet store near my home that sells fish, rodents, birds, hamsters and small animals like that. i think they also had a dog and two cats for sale but the main thing are small animals. would it be so wrong to work at this place? i don't want to promote puppy or kitty mills. just curious to see what you guys think, so please give me your opinion. thanks :)

That can be generlizing things alittle much, alot of breeders sell there pups to pet stores, not all are puppy mills, I dont think its wrong to work there, you have to start somewhere.....

If you work there, maybe you can make a difference! :) Not all pet stores get their animals from puppy/kitty/birdie mills. Some get them from breeders. I "would" work in a pet store with the intention of trying to make a difference. Good luck on you decision!

I got my dog from a pet store, and the lady said they get all there dogs from breeders, she gave me his papers and everything. But I think I would enjoy working in a pet store.

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Originally posted by popcornbird
If you work there, maybe you can make a difference! :) Not all pet stores get their animals from puppy/kitty/birdie mills. Some get them from breeders. I "would" work in a pet store with the intention of trying to make a difference. Good luck on you decision!

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Very True!

I do not think it would be bad to work there, as you love animals, and would care about the ones at the store. You should go into the store a few times before then to see if the staff seems to care about the animals, and if the small animals for sale are healthy, and in proper-sized space, not over-crowded, etc. If this is the case, why not work there? It is a place to start!

go with what your gut feels.

I have been working in the pet retail industry for nearly for years now.
One of the stores I worked for was a family owned and they had two stores, one that sold small animals and fish (no dogs or cats) and one that just sold the supplies. I was hired at the non-animal selling store, but, after being guilt tripped into it, I agreed to help out at the other store 2 days a week.
Needless to say after two weeks I was just so uncofortable I just couldn't do it anymore.
It made me sick to hear a little kid come in and say mommy mommy that bunny is so cute can we get it? And the mother or father giving the kid everything they want say okay, without even researching the requirements of what a bunny needs to survive.
It made me sick to hear people bring back these dead bunnies in a box, saying I don't know why my kids bunny died a week after we got it. Then I find out it was an easter or birthday present for a two year old OR they had a gazillion other pets (like big dogs and snales in the house)

I had to talk so many people out of buying pets spontaniously it was sick! I enjoy talking to people who love their pets and can get excited about their pets, not, DON"T BUY A PET FROM A PET STORE BECAUSE IT"S CUTE! It's a baby bunny of course it's cute! but what do you know about raising them?

Or the one that made me even sicker... which is a girl and which is a boy! I want to teach my child the miracle of birth and the value of a dollar and sell these bunnies! ::eep::

::vomit::

I couldn't do it, that was my gut. It made me sick.
But, some people are okay with it. And still love animals and support rescues.

So go with what your gut feels. And be prepared, you will have to deal with situations similar to mine. These things happen at every pet store. How would you handle them?

Just some things to think about.

thanks for your feeback everyone :)

the place is prganized like this. in the front, there is a cage with a dog inside. when you walk in, there are like 5 rows of all kinds of fish. then in the corner are cages of birds and then aquariums/tanks with rodents and rabbits. the place seems clean and not too crowded. on monday, i'm going to pass by afterschool with a friend. we'll find out if they need help. i just think this place would be great because its so close to home and involves animals. :D

and i didn't mean to say that all pet stores are known for puppy/kitty/birdie mills, but how do i know which are or aren't just by seeing the store?

thanks again :D

i don't see anything wrong with it, if like Karen said, they are treated ok, if you need work experieince you have to start somewhere, and it would probably be fun.

whereabouts in Canada are you again, prima?

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Originally posted by primabella
on monday, i'm going to pass by afterschool with a friend. we'll find out if they need help. i just think this place would be great because its so close to home and involves animals. :D

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Since I have been a hiring manager before and this is gonna be your first job, I wanna give you a tip...

Don't go in asking for employment with a friend. It looks horrible. Ask your friend to wait outside or walk around the store while you speak with the manager or owner.
And don't just leave an application with some employee. When you turn in an application ask for the manager or owner, introduce yourself, shake their hand and if you can get a conversation started about why your interested and how you feel you can help, do it, it's a great foot in the door to show you are responsible.
I know it's very nerve racking. even for adults going to interviews... oh, it can be so scary sometimes.

I have an interview Monday for a position at a local humane society. I am SO nervous, even now, friday night. I REALLY want this job, it would allow me to move, it's a lot better pay than my last position (medical insurance, oh to have it again would be wonderful)
And then to top it off, I have an interview on Tuesday for a doggy day care and that's just rattling me even more. AHHHHHH. I'm already shaking talking about it! :: okay, I'm done:: ;) ::breathe, just breathe:: :D ;)

lalania - i'm in quebec :)


brie - so it looks bad? i'm too nervous and shy to go in alone. maybe i'll get my friend to stand around in the back with the birds or something. i just want her in there with me! thanks for the tip. good luck at your interview! i'm sure it'll go fine :D

Oh, this is hard...I don't want to discourage you, BUT, as a few other here know, I am strongly opposed to ANY pet store that sells dogs or cats. Yes, many of these dogs and cats come from puppymills but many also come from so called "breeders," and NO reputable breeder would EVER sell their dogs/cats to a pet store...none! They care about their dogs, their puppies, who they go to and want to be assured that the dog is returned to them if the family no longer wants him/her. Disreputable, backyard breeders are no better than puppymills; just smaller in scale. And the fact that these dogs come with pedigree papers means nothing! One of the major issues dog lovers have with the AKC is that they promote and help to support puppymills by issuing "papers" to all pedigrees, even those from puppymills!! They are merely interested in the fees they obtain from issuing them. So many dogs and cats sold in petstores go home sick with untreated illnesses and are often returned to the store. Often these dogs are eunthanized by the pet store instead of treating them. I don't want to discourage you. I know you are the most responsible, caring, loving pet parent and animal lover and you have a heart of gold. Is there any possibility you could find a job in a pet store that does not sell dogs and cats? I'm not sure there is any way for you to find out truthfully where these dogs/cats come from. Perhaps by working there, in a sense "undercover," you can find out more, how they are obtained, see how they are cared for, what are the conditions attached at the time of sale, WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM WHEN THEY GROW TOO BIG AND OLD TO BE SOLD, and if you find them to be disreputable/if the conditions under which the animals are kept are unacceptable, you can leave. Up until recently, there were no pet stores here that sold dogs or cats. A Debbie's Petland (notorious for selling puppymill dogs) opened recently and it's been picketed/protested since it's opening. Do you have a Petco or PetSmart in your area? You'd be around a lot of smaller animals and you'd be there to see the great work they do in helping to adopt out dogs. Most of the Petco's and PetSmart's allow rescue groups to come in on weekends with their rescue dogs for adoption/"Meet the Dogs" days! Whatever you decide Prima, I wish you luck!!!:)

I agree in different ways with everyone who has posted.
My dad's friend was a GSD breeder (who passed away a few months ago:( ), and that is where we got Lady (Although please be aware I am against buying from breeders, if I was not three years old at the time I would have convinced them to adopt from a shelter). Anyway, he never sold to pet stores. I do not think many breeders do. Puppy and kitty mills sell to pet stores. I went to PetCo once to get treats for Lady, Sally, and Floppsy. Well I looked around at the Bettas, it was disgusting! The poor things were swimming in such dirty bowls! I know lots of people are all for PetCo, but I do not like the one near us at all, because they do not know how to care for their fish (My dad told me some fish were lying there dead, and the water was brown). Another BAD pet store was BJ's Jungle or something like that. It was the worst thing I had ever seen in my life. I swear to you, there was flies everywhere, even in the fish tanks! It was a very small store, about the size of my room, and sold fish, birds, and rodents. The rats were very skinny, and did not look healthy at all. Neither did much of the pets there. Fortunately, that store was closed down a few months ago. I hope they never go back in business, it was just horrible.
OK, back to you. As long as you see that the pets are healthy, and the other staff seems to be nice to them and care for them, I think you should go for it. I mean, it's not exactly promoting puppy/kitty/whatever mills, it's not like you are buying one. You are a teen, you need the experience. I would take it, as long as it was not one of the two places I talked about above (But I bet your PetCo is much better). (I've found that PetLand is a great place) But most importantly, I think you should do what you feel you want to do. Good luck.:)

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Originally posted by FloppsyLadySally89

I agree in different ways with everyone who has posted.
My dad's friend was a GSD breeder (who passed away a few months ago:( ), and that is where we got Lady (Although please be aware I am against buying from breeders, if I was not three years old at the time I would have convinced them to adopt from a shelter). Anyway, he never sold to pet stores. I do not think many breeders do. Puppy and kitty mills sell to pet stores, especially (shudder), PetCo. I went there once to get treats for Lady, Sally, and Floppsy. Well I looked around at the Betas, it was disgusting! The poor things were swimming in such dirty bowls! I know lots of people are all for PetCo, but I do not like them at all, because they do not know how to care for their fish (My dad told me some fish were lying there dead, and the water was brown). Another BAD pet store was BJ's Jungle or something like that. It was the worst thing I had ever seen in my life. I swear to you, there was flies everywhere, even in the fish tanks! It was a very small store, about the size of my room, and sold fish, birds, and rodents. The rats were very skinny, and did not look healthy at all. Neither did much of the pets there. Fortunately, that store was closed down a few months ago. I hope they never go back in business, it was just horrible.
OK, back to you. As long as you see that the pets are healthy, and the other staff seems to be nice to them and care for them, I think you should go for it. I mean, it's not exactly promoting puppy/kitty/whatever mills, it's not like you are buying one. You are a teen, you need the experience. I would take it, as long as it was not one of the two places I talked about above. (I've found that PetLand is a great place) But most importantly, I think you should do what you feel you want to do. Good luck.:)

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Actually, Petco doesn't sell dogs and cats at all! At least the one in our area doesn't. They only have adoption day every now and then and bring some kitties for adoption from shelters, but they don't sell their own. They do sell birds, hamsters, rats, fish, and other small animals, but the ones at our Petco are VERY well take care of. The fish section is SO beautiful. Nice and blue. I could stay there for hours watching the fish, and I've never seen a dirty tank. I don't know where all these bad Petco stories come from, but I guess our city just happened to have a good one. Out Petsmart is the one that I'm not too fond of though. The birds always look tired and I've never seen them active. I hope they're healthy. I did complain to a worker about them and he said he'll have them checked by a vet, but don't know if he did. I personally like Petco, but I like the one here. I don't have a clue about others. I did go to Petco in Nevada once, and that one was good too. I've only had good experience with Petco. With such a big chain store throughout the country, there is no doubt that there WILL be bad stories here and there, but I don't shudder at the thought of Petco. In fact, its my favorite store to go to! As long as the pets at our Petco are happy and well taken care of, I like to go there. It makes me happy. :)

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Originally posted by popcornbird


Actually, Petco doesn't sell dogs and cats at all! At least the one in our area doesn't. They only have adoption day every now and then and bring some kitties for adoption from shelters, but they don't sell their own. They do sell birds, hamsters, rats, fish, and other small animals, but the ones at our Petco are VERY well take care of. The fish section is SO beautiful. Nice and blue. I could stay there for hours watching the fish, and I've never seen a dirty tank. I don't know where all these bad Petco stories come from, but I guess our city just happened to have a good one. Out Petsmart is the one that I'm not too fond of though. The birds always look tired and I've never seen them active. I hope they're healthy. I did complain to a worker about them and he said he'll have them checked by a vet, but don't know if he did. I personally like Petco, but I like the one here. I don't have a clue about others. I did go to Petco in Nevada once, and that one was good too. I've only had good experience with Petco. With such a big chain store throughout the country, there is no doubt that there WILL be bad stories here and there, but I don't shudder at the thought of Petco. In fact, its my favorite store to go to! As long as the pets at our Petco are happy and well taken care of, I like to go there. It makes me happy. :)

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I love it at petco also. Its very clean and everyone their seems happy! No bad experience their for me!

primabella- I think you should go ahead and get the Job. Like they said, not all pet shops get their dogs from mills. A lot of the pet shops around here actully list which breeder they got each dog from!:)

good luck!

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I got my dog from a pet store, and the lady said they get all there dogs from breeders, she gave me his papers and everything.

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I'm sorry, but it does not matter one bit what the lady there said, or if you got papers. Papers mean nothing. Papers are simply a birth certificate. The names on the papers are simply what the "breeder" SAID the parents were. People can lie on their child's birth certificate, and put any father they want to down. The only way to prove it is with genetic testing. The same is true for dogs and cats.

The fact of the matter is that NO reputable breeder will EVER sell one of their puppies, kittens or birds to ANY pet store under any circumstances. NEVER. It does NOT happen. It's like dropping your new-born baby off at an orphanage, and letting the first person in the door with the right amount of cash take it home, with no background check, no application, nothing. Loving parents, be it of human babies, puppies, kitties or birds, would NOT do that, EVER.

Pet stores get their puppies, kittens and birds from ONLY one of two sources - a mill or a back-yard-breeder. Both are bad. A good, reputable breeder loves their babies, has invested thousands upon thousands of dollars in good animals, vet care, etc, and carefully screens the prospective owners of the babies. A good breeder's babies are pre-sold before they are ever born. A good breeder has a waiting list for the next litter.

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Originally posted by popcornbird


Actually, Petco doesn't sell dogs and cats at all! At least the one in our area doesn't. They only have adoption day every now and then and bring some kitties for adoption from shelters, but they don't sell their own. They do sell birds, hamsters, rats, fish, and other small animals, but the ones at our Petco are VERY well take care of. The fish section is SO beautiful. Nice and blue. I could stay there for hours watching the fish, and I've never seen a dirty tank. I don't know where all these bad Petco stories come from, but I guess our city just happened to have a good one. Out Petsmart is the one that I'm not too fond of though. The birds always look tired and I've never seen them active. I hope they're healthy. I did complain to a worker about them and he said he'll have them checked by a vet, but don't know if he did. I personally like Petco, but I like the one here. I don't have a clue about others. I did go to Petco in Nevada once, and that one was good too. I've only had good experience with Petco. With such a big chain store throughout the country, there is no doubt that there WILL be bad stories here and there, but I don't shudder at the thought of Petco. In fact, its my favorite store to go to! As long as the pets at our Petco are happy and well taken care of, I like to go there. It makes me happy. :)

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Hmm...perhaps I generalized my post a bit. I meant that the PetCo near us does not know how to take care of their fish. I did not mean all PetCos were bad, just the one in our area.:)

I've handed my resumes to both petstores near me,and even said I would volunteer! :) The experience is much more important to me than the money, and petcetera needs alooot of help...(sometimes i can swear the only take the stupid people lol) So I want to make a difference...plus it would be a great thing to have on my resume, and alot of places might like the fact that I even volunteered...
I think that if it's what you want to do, then go or it! Any job with animals has to be fun! (well not all jobs but u know what I mean lol)

thanks for your feedback. no, i don't have a petco or petsmart in my area. the closest thing i have is a j.e mondou store. they allow pets inside too, maybe i could check that place out to. they only sell birds and rabbits (and food, supplies) and seem pretty clean. there is one across the street. hmm...:) it would even be better :D

about the store i was first talking about, i am not even sure how they treat their pets. i know the last time i went, a mon working there would bring his GSD to work with him and it would just lay down or play with the man when he wasn't busy. the place seems overall friendly and pretty clean. i remember the fish tanks were all bright blue and large and the bird cages were clean and the rabbits were well fed. i guess i could ask at both stores and if one is looking for help, i would give in my resume and see what happens :) thanks :D

about the papers, yes i know they hardly mean anything. my breeder seems very reputable according to what you guys said. she put us on the waiting list for mickey, gave us papers, allowed us to see and spend time with the parents, i asked and she told me everything about their medical history, and we had to sign papers promising we'de never breed him. i'm very happy we found her :D

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I do not think many breeders do. Puppy and kitty mills sell to pet stores, especially (shudder), PetCo. I went there once to get treats for Lady, Sally, and Floppsy. Well I looked around at the Betas, it was disgusting!

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Petco does not sell dogs and cats. No, I haven't seen every Petco, but the one I work at....all of the animals appear very well taken care of. The cages are not crowded, and they are clean.

The bird room always looks spectacular I think. I, personally, find the conditions at Petco better then our Petsmart. The birds are in crowded cages there, and the fish don't look as well....somebody told me they always had to go to Petco to get fish because everytime they went to Petsmart, they'd get something bad in the tank and kill all their fish.

And we have adoption events. So does Petsmart, I've been to both many times. And both Petco and Petsmart have cats to adopt in the store all the time.

I applied to work at many Pet stores.......ones that sell puppies and everything. I just needed a job, and work experience. I do agree that no good breeder would let a pup go to a Pet Store, but I don't think there is any harm in Primabella working there. Maybe she can do some good. :)

OK, I worded my post all wrong. :rolleyes:
I know PetCo doesn't sell cats & dogs, I don't know why I put that there. I also meant that the PetCo near us was bad, not every PetCo. As Popcornbird said, it is a large chain, and there is likely to be at least one bad store.

I used to work at Petcetera, unfortunately, they made me a cashier instead of working in livestock or adoptions as I wanted to do. :(
I am in BC, prima. If you get a job at Petcetera feel free to pick my brains, though it's been 2 years or so since I worked there. :)

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Originally posted by Lalania
I used to work at Petcetera, unfortunately, they made me a cashier instead of working in livestock or adoptions as I wanted to do. :(
I am in BC, prima. If you get a job at Petcetera feel free to pick my brains, though it's been 2 years or so since I worked there. :)

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I'm trying to get a job at petcetera...they need a ton of help from what I can see lol...I put down on my resume that I ewant to work with the livestock...I could never work a cashier...money would go flying - :rolleyes:
And I desperatly want to socialize their pets...I got Icarus from there, and it took him months to finally trust me! :mad: You should have seen him run when I picked him out! I origanally wanted his brother because he had a white diamond on his forehead, but he was even more scared, and personality is more important to me :)

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Originally posted by wolf_Q


Petco does not sell dogs and cats. No, I haven't seen every Petco, but the one I work at....all of the animals appear very well taken care of. The cages are not crowded, and they are clean.

The bird room always looks spectacular I think. I, personally, find the conditions at Petco better then our Petsmart. The birds are in crowded cages there, and the fish don't look as well....somebody told me they always had to go to Petco to get fish because everytime they went to Petsmart, they'd get something bad in the tank and kill all their fish.

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I agree. The Petco in our area seems to be taking much better care of the animals than the Petsmart in our area. I don't know why so many horror stories about Petco are always being published. I mean, with hundreds, if not thousands of Petcos throughout the country you are definitely going to find bad ones and some bad stories. That doesn't mean the whole chain is bad. I personally like Petco MUCH better than Petsmart. Petsmart birds do not look healthy. My friend bought her parakeet from there. She wanted a green one but they all looked sick, so she got a blue one instead, when she already had another blue one. Now she can't tell the difference. I've never seen a sick looking bird at Petco though. They are all happy, healthy, very active, in clean HUGE cages, and there are only 2-4 birds in each cage (which is large enough to fit 20 comfortably). The hamsters at Petco are also very active, and so are the other animals. :) The employees are really nice too.