  Petco - The Place Where Pets Die |
Current EventsReviewing the material currently being offered by those concerned, it seems nothing has changed in the past six years at Petco’s across the country. What has changed in regards to the issues is public awareness. Today we find at least three major news sources have written stories regarding abuse of animals at Petco Stores.KPIX, Channel 5, San Francisco, Investigates September 24th report regarding Petco's abuse of animals in the San Francisco Bay Area details abuses similar to those well documented across the US. It is a followed up by a second 5 Investigates story the next day. The Washington Post also featured an article when Petco managers were cited for animal cruelty at a Virginia store. The San Francisco Chronicle ran a story in response to the lawsuit filed against Petco by San Francisco’s City Attorney Dennis Herrera. The city hopes to stop the sale of animals at Petco. Mr. Herrera told the San Diego Union Tribune in an interview, "What was most disturbing was the fact that the cruelty and pattern of brazen violations of San Francisco health and safety standards continued over three years." Many other web sites have documentation of abuse, some of which is written by Petco employees themselves. One of the best starting points is the Petno Website. Perhaps with all of this attention, we may start to see some results. But only if we continue to push. The question becomes; what do we push for? A recent article in Pet Business, a magazine for those in the pet trade, written by Debbie Ducommun, founder of the Rat Fan Club, presents an interesting alternative. The article, Exciting Trends in Small Pets, speaks of a Petco in Menlo Park California where adoptions have flourished to the point that the sale of small animals, except hamsters, have been halted by the store. Victoria Markey, the stores small animal manager states in the article, "Adopting the animals is easier than selling them because they attract a different customer, one that is more willing to care for an animal." Which also means that the stores sales of supplies are most likely favorably affected as those customers probably require larger habitats, high quality litter and toys for their companion animals. Would such a program work in SLO? Kind Planet and The Sanctuary are willing to give it a try. If no animals are sold at the store. So how do we get there? We have visited the new store. Small mammals will be sold in an area just beyond the entrance. We were glad to see that Carefresh was being used in most of the habitats. Not all. Apparently dwarf hamsters do not warrant humane treatment, pine shavings was placed in their enclosures. We did not check out the other areas. The manager was unavailable. We also learned that our Veterinarians were asked if they could perform some function at the store. It was thought that Petco wanted a vet to cosign the health of the animals being sold. It is unlikely that our Veterinarians will have time. They are the only vets qualified in the area to adequately treat small mammals and birds. >>next - What We Can Do Petco Where Pets Die History Repeats Itself |
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