depressing pet store rant...

[summer_jackel]

crossposted to parrot_lovers.
Ok, so I went to downtown Santa Rosa (CA) today to get my new truck smogged (more on that later, but suffice to say that it is a Toyota 4runner, holds 3 people and their bikes and backpacks, five dogs, the dogsled, the scooter and the boat, though probably not simultaniously, and is better on gas than my VW bus such that I don't have TOO much eco-guilt...). While I was waiting, Pryde and I visited the 'Super Pets' chain (?) petstore next door.

I was dismayed.

I was pretty surprised to see them selling purebred puppies of unknown origin from tiny kennels; I haven't seen pups *sold* at pet stores in CA since I was a kid, and I was under the impression that doing so had been made illegal here. Gotta go look at the relevant statutes, I guess. They were selling at prices significantly higher than one could find a comperable pup in the papers from a local breeder if one spent some time doing it, but that is no guarantee against either impulse buying or vouchsafeing that they did not come from some awful puppy mill somewhere. Which they most likely did.

Equally upsetting if not moreso were the 'budgie kits' they were selling, which consisted of the bird, a cage, some food and a toy. The cage was literally 1 foot square and barely more than that tall, far too small even for a tiny bird and smaller than the 'budgie cage' I use as a carrier for my cockatiel and senegal (and would never house a budgie in). They had two of these 'kits' set up, each containing a small, cheap toy and a rather quiet-looking, hunched-over budgeriar. With a cup of seed, of course; do any pet stores besides the one illucian works at actually feed the birds appropriately? No suggesting that anyone was going to educate potential bird owners about the needs of these little guys, which includes not being housed in that cage. :P

It was hard even to get Pryde some doggie treats at the place. I doubt that there's anything I could do about the situation, but denizens of CA, don't shop at Super Pets.

Comments

[alex-garg.livejournal.com]

more on that later, but suffice to say that it is a Toyota 4runner, holds 3 people and their bikes and backpacks, five dogs, the dogsled, the scooter and the boat, though probably not simultaniously, and is better on gas than my VW bus such that I don't have TOO much eco-guilt...

At least you're going to use it for off-roading 'n the like, contrary to the folks who buy 'em for the status and to "compensate."

Sucks about the pet store, but then not many chain stores I've been to seem to take care of their pets.

[ironbadger.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, this does not surprise me much....

Chain stores, especially big ones make their profit on the concept of high volume and minimal outlay of cash for what they sell- and that attitude carries over to live animals as well.
The people they hire are hired because they will apply- not because they know anything about caring for animals, or can give intelligent answers to care questions.
Selling puppies at pet shops in CA is indeed stilllegal- though I think they have to have some paperwork that proves the animals were not just puppy mill produce.
(And I could easily be very wrong on that as I have not confirmed it.)

Many states have laws requiring veterenarian issud health certificates to legally sell puppies; but most of those laws also have loopholes, and pet shop owners generally know every single one and use them ruthlessly.

Best advice I can give is to adopt from shelters, or if you want a specific breed, get to know a breeder for some months befoe you buy so you know they are legit. That will also assure the breeder that you are serious about taking care of the puppy they sell you.

I've worked in pet shops, and I'm happy to say all the ones I worked in would not sell puppies or kittens; and were really big on making sure new hires knew how to give good advice on taking care of what they did sell.

(I was the ferret master at the one in Tucson- none of the other employees liked handling the little darlngs; and I adored taking care of them.)



I would put one in the pouch of my apron and carry him or her around for an hour or two as socialisation while I worked- stealing a few moments here and there to play with them.
My ferrets were happy and friendly, and I sold more of them than anyone else working there as a result.
But it was also a family run shop.



-Badger-

[aquariusfire.livejournal.com]

The people they hire are hired because they will apply- not because they know anything about caring for animals, or can give intelligent answers to care questions.

Oh, I can tell you horror stories on this. Our local chain store feeds guinea pigs rabbit food even though it's poison to them. They know NOTHING about guinea pigs care, behavior, or the fact that they PURR WHEN PETTED! That last one really upset me because it meant that they never socialized with them.

This store also donates space for a local cat rescue group to display a few cats. When I was filling out the paperwork to adopt one, the manager tried to tell me she wouldn't forward my paperwork because I was pregnant and cats give unborn babies cancer.

[demonvaska.livejournal.com]

I fucking hate pet stores, no one should be allowed to sell pets unless they go through a hellish certification process and have random inspections every month.

[aquariusfire.livejournal.com]

The Boy and I hated getting our guinea pigs from a chain store, but the nearest guinea pig rescure is up in Ft. Lauderdale (way too far). They keep them with rabbits and feed them all rabbit food even though rabbit food is poison to guinea pigs. They also try to sell you aquariums as appropriate containers for rabbits and guinea pigs.

Luckly, they cats they have there aren't maintained or handled by the staff. It's run by a local cat rescue group and they have a HUGE area and screen people. I adopted Katrina (the white kitty) from there and they ran a criminal check on me.

[(Anonymous)]

*hugs*

Did you ask if the so called purebred pups came with papers? Without registration papers, they can't really prove those are purebred puppies, and if there are reg papers, then the breeders registry would be listed.

It could very well be small in house breeders selling their extra pups. There are quite a lot of "hobby" breeders, who aren't fussy about who they sell their litters to. If it's not a recognizable "mill" there is little that can be done to shut them down.

I am sad about the budgie and guinea pig situations. I once applied at Pet Smart locally, and didn't get asked any of the questions dealing with food or space for animals. Until reading it here, I didn't know about rabbit food being bad for guinea pigs. Why/how is it poison to guinea pigs?

mcx

adoption of animals

[alexandria24.livejournal.com]

Okay, while reading this it just hit me again, like it always does. There are all these rules for adopting an animal from a shelter, but anyone can have a kid. There is no screening to that.

Where are our priorities? People seem to encourage everyone to reproduce from a young age, and yet many people never should.

I know this isn't exactly what you are bitching about, but they are linked in my mind.

Alexandria

Re: adoption of animals

[the-twf.livejournal.com]

[sarcasm]Because it's a God-given RIGHT to have kids. You don't want to take away someone's God-given RIGHTS do you? [/sarcasm]