>When I asked the manager if he would mind if I fed them and gave them
>water before I left and that I wouldn't mind doing it for him, he acted
>offended and said "we just opened, I'll take care of it in a few minutes."
>A guy in the store told me he was told by that same manager that the live
>animals there contribute to only about 2% of their business, their care is
>not a priority apparently.  It's terrible that they should be allowed to
>sell animals that they are not prepared or willing to care for until they
>are sold.  They should just sell pet supplies if that's the case!
 
I had a similar experience last weekend at the Petco in Cambridge, MA: 3 MF
ferrets all licking at a bone dry water bottle.  One of the big ones--and
even with 3 ferrets it takes more than 24 hours to empty one, I know.  So
this bottle is totally dry, which means, hmm, when was it last filled?
When I told the girl who was cleaning the mice cages that the ferrets'
bottle was empty and they seemed very thirsty, she just gave me a hostile
look and said "ok."
 
This got me thinking: what is the wholesale cost of a ferret?  I mean, even
if a store doesn't expect to do much business (i.e. make lots of money)
selling an animal, don't they lose money by neglecting their animals?  It's
basically destroying inventory.  Considering the fact that, unlike the mice
I saw at Petco who had just given birth in their cage, ferret inventory
doesn't restock itself, you'd think that these stupid stores would be more
careful with the animals, just from a *financial* point of view.
 
Maybe I'm a cynic and think too much about the "bottom line" but I think
one way of dealing with these awful pet stores is to approach the staff
from that angle.  In order to make a profit, or even at least recoup their
expenses, they have to sell the animal first.  ANd you can't sell a dead
one.  And if you sell a sick one, you lose the customer--even if the animal
recovers, you've ruined that customer's trust.
 
But of course, if ferrets can be got dirt cheap wholesale, then maybe the
store doesn't have as much incentive to protect its investment, the ferret
is seen as "disposable."
[Posted in FML issue 2729]