Petsmart Animal Cruelty ***WARNING*** maybe be disturbing

[emysbreeder]

Wake up. The biggest enemy for animals and their owner is the HSUS (Humane society United States) and PETA. Their late night TV commercials are a scam and there officers are getting super rich. Their power hungry people who take money from uninformed people ($100,000,000+ yr.) like some of you and take it to Washington to lobby to take away our rights to own animals. (they donate less than 1 to 3%) Look up Humane Watch and learn what these evil people are doing. If you see a blatant case of cruelty report it to local Humane societies or Police do not gripe about it here. When you do it here you become "A useful idiot." for HSUS, PETA and more so called Animal Rights people. emysbreeder

 

[BonesEx]

I 100% agree! And even petsmart gets animals from private breeders that can still get WC animals instead of a CB.

I work for the place that Petsmart gets a lot of their ball pythons from. They are all wild caught, and shipped from Africa. If we can get them to eat twice, we sell to them. If they won't eat, they end up starving to death, or put in the freezer to die a painful death that way. It's "not worth the money" to waste food on them, according to our manager, because we only make about $5 per animal we sell to them. So why am I still working there? Because they're one of the biggest names in reptile breeding and sales, and it will look good on a resume later. I don't agree with the treatment of animals (or employees) there, and it kills me inside to watch it, but I feel trapped in it. It's not just ball pythons either. Iguanas, bearded dragons, hermit crabs, tortoises, turtles, you name it. Yea, they breed some animals, but they've been buying a lot more the last few years to keep up with demand.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

"A useful idiot." emysbreeder

Careful, no one ever said I was useful!

 

[yillt]

That's horrible. I want to go and buy all those animals and take care of them all. I wish I could.

 

[KevinGG]

I work for the place that Petsmart gets a lot of their ball pythons from. They are all wild caught, and shipped from Africa. If we can get them to eat twice, we sell to them. If they won't eat, they end up starving to death, or put in the freezer to die a painful death that way. It's "not worth the money" to waste food on them, according to our manager, because we only make about $5 per animal we sell to them. So why am I still working there? Because they're one of the biggest names in reptile breeding and sales, and it will look good on a resume later. I don't agree with the treatment of animals (or employees) there, and it kills me inside to watch it, but I feel trapped in it. It's not just ball pythons either. Iguanas, bearded dragons, hermit crabs, tortoises, turtles, you name it. Yea, they breed some animals, but they've been buying a lot more the last few years to keep up with demand.

Well I think you need to look at what values are really important to you and see if you are living based on those values right now. Is making your resume look good more important then thousands of animals lives? Are you happy being in a place surrounded by death and pain for profit? Thee are all questions to really contemplate on. A place known for animal cruelty only looks good on a resume to someone who is running an operation based on an animal cruelty. If and when you decide to leave, don't feel guilty that you participated in that operation, just know that you got some experience on certain things and now you know what type of places you don't want to work at. Good luck.

 

[BonesEx]

Well I think you need to look at what values are really important to you and see if you are living based on those values right now. Is making your resume look good more important then thousands of animals lives? Are you happy being in a place surrounded by death and pain for profit? Thee are all questions to really contemplate on. A place known for animal cruelty only looks good on a resume to someone who is running an operation based on an animal cruelty. If and when you decide to leave, don't feel guilty that you participated in that operation, just know that you got some experience on certain things and now you know what type of places you don't want to work at. Good luck.

You know what? I've been hating this job the whole time. I loathe how we treat animals, and I know it's not right. I came home today and there was even worse news from there. Apparently the mice we pack/ship were carrying salmonella, and it sounds like the office people are flat out denying it. I've decided to quit. I don't want to be a part of it anymore, and it IS wrong. I don't care if I have to go work somewhere not around reptiles for a while, as long as I'm not hurting anyone. Thanks for the little pep talk, even if you just said what I already knew in the back of my mind, it helped me a lot to see that someone else feels the same.

 

[KevinGG]

You know what? I've been hating this job the whole time. I loathe how we treat animals, and I know it's not right. I came home today and there was even worse news from there. Apparently the mice we pack/ship were carrying salmonella, and it sounds like the office people are flat out denying it. I've decided to quit. I don't want to be a part of it anymore, and it IS wrong. I don't care if I have to go work somewhere not around reptiles for a while, as long as I'm not hurting anyone. Thanks for the little pep talk, even if you just said what I already knew in the back of my mind, it helped me a lot to see that someone else feels the same.

Wow. Really glad to hear that. You will be great. You can do whatever you set your mind to. I don't even know you, but I feel proud of you! Good luck in finding a job you love and can be proud of!

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Fun story along the same lines. My local Petsmart had a need for a reptile specialist at the store. Karen and I thought it would be a good outlet for me on a part time basis. So I was the president of the Oregon Herpetological Society for 5-6 yrs. until I moved and could no longer fulfill the duties of the seat. I've got some fairly good reptile references that are local. I figured I could slowly introduce them to a better standard of keeping for the reptiles that would prove to be less expensive in the long run. I manager and I discussed that you can teach someone ten key cash registers but it's pretty hard to teach people skills. Well guess what? The district manager and manager decided to go a different direction and as it turns out, this new direction meant, although they would continue to sell reptiles, they no longer were going to need someone that had reptile knowledge. Wow. So to you, I say good job and hold your head high.

 

[verda]

It's so sad I barely watched the beginning and had to stop. That video will give me haunt me for a long time.

 

[tryme]

Jesus my palms are sweaty from watching that.

 

[JasonMcKeownSr]

We all know, that petsmart or petco, isn't the "Smartest" idea, for purchasing a furry, or scaley friend. I'm not sure if watching this video encourages others to rescue them, or to shop somewhere else. I found a animal forum online. This person bought a bird by the sounds of it, and was not pleased about the "Sudden death"
If you want to skip to the video here is the link (I DO NOT OWN THE WEBSITE)
http://www.petsmartcruelty.com/video.asp
********

"I think this is the best place for this. This was a post from a friend on another form. Her new budgie, max, who she got from petco recently died after an extremely heartfelt fight. It was the sweetest bird, and she was just hoping that one day, 10 years from now, she could look at him and say "Remember when I first got you and you almost died?" Petco has made sure that she can never do that. She told them and they offered to take him back and give her a new bird. She obviously said no, knowing he would be thrown away. She threatened to sue them if they did not pay for his vet care. They agreed and she got it in writing. The bill was for over $2,000. Then, after he died they said that they never agreed to pay for his vet care and that she could get a refund to cut a deal. First, he cost $12. Second, that shows how that to them he is just as important as a book. People need to know about this."

Oh my God!! That's terrible. That's where I bought my red ear slider. Glad I rescued her. Ide like to nuder him with a dull knife and see if he keeps kicking!! Absolutely terrible!

 

[Lyles]

I don't take any PETAganda seriously, the fact is chain stores (like Petsmart and Petco, which are joint companies) tend to have much higher standards of animal care than your standard ma and pa pet store. When an animal becomes too sick to be treated by level 1 medical care they are sent back to be euthanized.

As what has been stated before, pet stores are generally bad on the basis of selling animals for profit. This means that the purchase and maintenance of an animal must be significantly lower than the selling price in order to make a profit. There are some bad chain stores out there. There is very little effort in correcting these however when discrepancies are brought attention to the right people.

Regarding Russian tortoises and Petsmart/Petco, they are all wild caught.

 

[Rachel Zent]

Something that needs to be noted is that the PETA investigation occurred at the supplier to PetSmart, not PetSmart itself. While I have seen soe awful things both at PetSmarts and Petcos, I have also worked at two different PetSmarts and they both HATED rainbow exotics, and actually took a lot of heart and care with the animals. I understand the concerns but also need everyone to know that you cannot judge each individual store because the CEO has decided to continue doing business with rainbow exotics.

 

[Rachel Zent]

That's horrible. I want to go and buy all those animals and take care of them all. I wish I could.

I promise that once they get to the store, they often receive wonderful care! I worked for a PetSmart that would spends hundreds and hundreds on even a $6 dollar anole if it was sick!

 

[Rachel Zent]

I don't take any PETAganda seriously, the fact is chain stores (like Petsmart and Petco, which are joint companies) tend to have much higher standards of animal care than your standard ma and pa pet store. When an animal becomes too sick to be treated by level 1 medical care they are sent back to be euthanized.

As what has been stated before, pet stores are generally bad on the basis of selling animals for profit. This means that the purchase and maintenance of an animal must be significantly lower than the selling price in order to make a profit. There are some bad chain stores out there. There is very little effort in correcting these however when discrepancies are brought attention to the right people.

Regarding Russian tortoises and Petsmart/Petco, they are all wild caught.

PetSmart doesn't send them back to be euthanized they take them to the vet and medicate in a special hospital room in store until they recover or unfortunately pass away

 

[Lyles]

PetSmart doesn't send them back to be euthanized they take them to the vet and medicate in a special hospital room in store until they recover or unfortunately pass away

Anything beyond level 1 treatment generally gets euthanization. Petsmart / Petco are joint owned and both are supposed to have a contracted vet per store. This is not the case, however, as I know 4 stores just in my area alone that do not have vets contracted. Regardless, these contracted vets only conduct simple treatments, like administering anti-biotics, treating wounds, abcesses, ect. Any higher level care (broken bones, genetic, surgery, ect.) is not profitable, and like any business, profit takes precedence. Petsmart themselves do not conduct the euthanization, but are rather sent back to the middleman suppliers, who will either euthanize them (if requiring medical care) or sell them to labs at discount (if they become too old or temperament problem).

 

[Rachel Zent]

Anything beyond level 1 treatment generally gets euthanization. Petsmart / Petco are joint owned and both are supposed to have a contracted vet per store. This is not the case, however, as I know 4 stores just in my area alone that do not have vets contracted. Regardless, these contracted vets only conduct simple treatments, like administering anti-biotics, treating wounds, abcesses, ect. Any higher level care (broken bones, genetic, surgery, ect.) is not profitable, and like any business, profit takes precedence. Petsmart themselves do not conduct the euthanization, but are rather sent back to the middleman suppliers, who will either euthanize them (if requiring medical care) or sell them to labs at discount (if they become too old or temperament problem).

That is absolutely untrue. I have worked at multiple PetSmarts. It is EXTREMELY against policy to sell or adopt pets for lab or feeder purposes. The only time that euthanization is an option is if the pet is suffering and cannot be helped. The last store that I worked at spent $560 on a guinea pig surgery, and then adopted the pet to a loving family PER POLICY. Profit does not take precedence over pet care. We also never send pets back to the supplier. We can reject them at receiving if they are ill as to protect the rest of the animals that were in our care. I was with the company for 6 years and this was always the policy. Sometimes there were managers who didn't like to spend money on such things but all you had to do was call the district manager and it was taken care of.

 

[Rachel Zent]

Anything beyond level 1 treatment generally gets euthanization. Petsmart / Petco are joint owned and both are supposed to have a contracted vet per store. This is not the case, however, as I know 4 stores just in my area alone that do not have vets contracted. Regardless, these contracted vets only conduct simple treatments, like administering anti-biotics, treating wounds, abcesses, ect. Any higher level care (broken bones, genetic, surgery, ect.) is not profitable, and like any business, profit takes precedence. Petsmart themselves do not conduct the euthanization, but are rather sent back to the middleman suppliers, who will either euthanize them (if requiring medical care) or sell them to labs at discount (if they become too old or temperament problem).

Also they are not joint owned. There was discussion of PetSmart being bought out by Petco but it never happened. PetSmart is still it's own individual company.

 

[Randi]

My tortoise was acquired from Petsmart on July 21st. The tortoise was adopted out to me because the store was going to euthanize her. They no longer felt that the vet attention was working. S(he) had been in the store since December of last year, in quarantine. The tortoise had been seeing a vet since she was brought into the store. She had a severe case of fungus. She was housed in a five gallon tank, with an inch of soaked, molded soil. She was no longer eating at the store (all they offered was kale).

I set up my tank and picked her up. She is quarantined in my basement. The first night she was home, she ate for almost four hours straight. She was starving. I continued to feed her three times daily using a variety of veg. She went from 48 grams to now being 54.

The fungus was quite severe. I used Betadine the first two days, then Chlorhexidine Gluconate scrubs for a week. The fungus is gone, she's just got lots of pits and dents left.

I also adopted out a gecko whose tail was mangled, a gecko whose ribs and entire arm were broken, impaction, etc.. all of these were going to be placed in a freezer or have their heads hammered in. I've worked in Vet Clinics and to see places like this taking it upon themselves to end a life and to end it so cruelly disturbed me. All of these problems with their animals were cases of negligence. I no longer shop and support places like this.

 

[Magilla504]

I am not a major supporter of chain per stores. I will say however, it only takes one( or many) to screw it up for the rest. To some people I'm sure it's a job but others do work in per stores because they love animals! In my area of northern Virginia, the petsmart employees as a whole seem to love and care for the animals very well! Many of times I have asked questions just to test their knowledge about different animals and most of them know the correct answer. Now the petcos in my region are just flat out horrible! I'm sure a lot of it has to do with district or regional management . Let's not forget that some of our most wonderful friends on the TFO may work at one of the stores. Just my two cents
Jason