Let's All Hate Petco Together!

[Ginny Weasley]

Why should we hate Petco?, you may ask. Well, here's the answer:
They freeze baby hamsters alive
They neglect their animals
They laugh at dead/dying animals
Their employees are undertrained, and leave baby birds and such to die
WHAT WE WITNESSED:
My sister herself witnessed a parakeet bleeding from its nose, but the employee who picked her bird didn't seem to care
Dead fish in the tanks
Dead chinchillas pressed against the glass
Dead snakes
Dead geckos, left to rot in the water dish
Dirty bedding
Dead rats, mice, and hamsters

Their employees are too undertrained and irresponsible to take care of the animals. We alone can fight for the animals in Petco, who are surrounded by ignorant idiots.

If you work at Petco, I hope you take 200% offense in this (unless, of course, you're kind and care for the animals, then take 200% of my gratitude). We need employees in Petco, they alone can take care of the animals and insure proper treatment. Managers in Petco can be very helpful, writing up idiots who are more worried about their paycheck than the animals.

What can we civilians do? Boycott Petco is the answer. But, you've got to make it KNOWN. Write to Petco, put up signs at your local grocery store about Petco, and if you would like to protest outside of Petco with picket signs, that would be very much appreciated.

I can back myself up here. Please visit www.petcocruelty.com and you may find yourself properly horrified.

Spread the word to friends, family, and co-workers with a free Petco Action Pack that you can order from there. It's completely free, I've gotten one! It includes nice factsheets for you to back yourself up, some Petco stickers, a huge Petco poster saying "Don't buy into animal cruelty. Petno: Where the pets die."

Go ahead, disagree with me. I've got enough confidence, self-esteem, and visions of those suffering animals to back myself up. You can even think I'm trying to recruit you to some cult, I don't care.

NOTE: I AM NOT SAYING YOUR PETCO HAS ANIMAL CRUELTY. I'M JUST SAYING THAT 99.99999% OF PETCO STORES DO.

Petno: Where the pets die.

[Jorders5165]

OMG! I Went to a Petco the other day! I saw dead everything!, I saw TONS of dead fish, and they always freeze baby hamsters and all that! (mostly for snakes!) and yeah PetCo is a really disturbing place! I agree w/ you 100%!!!

[SexySevv]

Okay, I used to work at a pet store, and believe it or not, a lot of animals that appear to be "dead" are in some kind of deep sleep. I kid you not. You really should ask before you start a whole vendetta.

[Jorders5165]

oh, wow! I never knew Fishes slept at the top of their tanks-upside down! and birds, bleed when they sleep?? golly gee! You learn sumthing new everyday!!

[Ginny Weasley]

Wow! That's amazing! And little baby hamsters jump in freezers as soon as they're born and commit suicide! And dead ferrets somehow jump into the employee refridgerator! And geckos paint themselves pale and then draw blood on themselves and jump into the water dish! That's amazing! Petco should be on Animal Planet!

[grindylow]

Wow, I went to the Petco near where I live just before Xmas, and I saw one dead fish (which is understandable, as they don't have long life-spans, but it was alone in an empty bottom tank, and I don't understand why that was), but all the other animals seemed pretty healthy. I'm sure they did freeze the little hamsters and mice though, cuz that's what the snakes eat.

That web site's pretty disturbing, but as I have not witnessed any bad treatment at my local Petco, and I can't know for a fact that the web site was correct, I don't think I could speak out against them.

[Ginny Weasley]

If I wasn't so dang young I'd be leading protests at Petco... oooh, you wait till I move out of my parents' house... I'll be holding picket signs with my homies and handing out factsheets.

[grindylow]

Lol by then, either Petco probly will have straightened up, or it'll be closed. If not, then I'll join you!

[Ginny Weasley]

PETCO buys ferrets from Marshall Farms, a breeder of beagles and other animals sold to testing laboratories. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection reports reveal that Marshall Farms has consistently failed to meet the minimal standards of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Inspection reports disclose disturbing practices at Marshall Farms, including the spaying and castration of animals by technicians in an unsanitary environment. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has strongly condemned the performance of such invasive procedures by anyone other than a qualified veterinarian.

A grisly example of Marshall Farms' failure to provide animals with even the most basic protections was a 1998 fire that claimed the lives of 151 pregnant beagles and 449 beagle puppies. The installation of alarms or sprinkler systems could have prevented this incredible suffering and loss of life.

In 1992, Gary Marshall, the owner of Marshall Farms, was charged with 74 counts of cruelty, inhumane transport, and failure to provide proper care, food, and water for 74 dogs being shipped to Switzerland for toxicology experiments. Marshall avoided a $220,000 fine by agreeing to have his employees take a class on "safely" shipping dogs on airplanes.

If PETCO is unwilling to end its own sale of small animals such as ferrets, rats, and mice, then at the very least, it should not support a company that treats animals as nothing more than test tubes with whiskers.

[Ginny Weasley]

And for anyone who doesn't feel like visiting the site, or can't, I've included some pics:

= Dead Gecko

Amen Kids!

= Dead Gecko

[grindylow]

Would it be better to get Petco to stop selling small animals, or to find a way to make them treat the animals well?

Maybe I was just blind, but at the Petco where I went about a month ago, I didn't witness any inhumane treatment, so maybe it's the 1% of the good ones. In the complaints part of that website, there were some from Petco's in my state. I don't really know what my point is, so don't bother asking lol.

[Hermione Potter]

the petco where i live rocks! nothing is dead. and also, my dog get her hair cut there. dog massages- $5.00! man, my dog is sooo spoild.

[Ginny Weasley]

Well, Mrs. Potter, there have also been claims of abuse at the grooming salon of Petco... people throwing the little doggies around, burning them...

[elysium]

You guys, you cannot just start a huge vendetta over something you don't even know that much about. So you see a few mistreated animals at ONE Petco, and immediately jump on the bandwagon to protest? One website doesn't prove anything; believe it or not, posting something on a website doesn't automatically give it credibility. For those of us that haven't been to Petco, can you support your vendetta any better than a website?

[fantasyfan1]

my sister just got a job at Petco, and we go to Petco for all our pet needs. The employees we have worked with have been very helpful, especially in the fish department, where one of the employees even came over to our house to tell us if one of our sensitive but large ciclid (fish) was pregnant (we have a 55 gallon tank). He also sold us fish not from his store b/c they were a little bit rarer and expensive.

Also my puppy got sick and had to see a specialist, and his Petco groomer even sent us a card, telling us she hoped he got better really soon.

I don't know, maybe I too just have a really great Petco, or have met the best of the employees. But I honestly cannot say anything bad at all about my Petco experience.

Alright, with that said, you can continue your Petco bash lol.