I felt that I had to respond to the comments posted about PetSmart.  I
realize that there are probably good stores and bad stores.  Actually, their
ideas about running their company are good ones.  But I know of at least one
store that really really does not live up to any expectations.
 
I worked at a particular PetSmart in a fairly large city (pop. around
300,000) for five months.  I sometimes go there now to get good prices on
certain supplies, but I would never go there for any other service.  I am
providing this information in the hope that people will research, research,
and do some more research, on any business before entrusting them with your
pets.
 
I worked in Grooming, and I can tell you without any doubt whatsoever that
the groomers did not care about the animals.  Perhaps they did at one time,
before the animals turned into dollar signs to them- then it became "pump
them out as fast as you can go".  In order to accomplish this, the animals
would be traumatized in any way necessary in order to go faster.  I saw many
dogs cut or burned by the groomers; these were taken to the vet next door
to have the injuries treated, and sometimes the owners were never informed
(the groomers would try to comb the hair to cover up the injury).  Cats were
completely traumatized!  They were routinely muzzled and had their feet
wrapped in bandage so that they couldn't claw; this also meant that they
couldn't grip anything to stand on.  They would have a rope tied around
their neck to tie them in the tub.  Sometimes they would jump out of the
tub and hang by the neck for up to thirty seconds at a time, until they were
almost 'choked down'- then it was easier to bathe them.  I've also seen dogs
left unattended in the tubs jump out and almost choke to death.  The
groomers were all incredibly rough.  They would jerk the animals around
violently, sometimes shake them, and sometimes scream in their face (they
could do this without being heard because, if an animal was particularly
uncooperative, they would take it into the back room with the cages to groom
it, and people outside would not be able to hear- the rooms are somewhat
soundproofed so that customers in the store don't have to hear so much
barking).  They were all also placed under dryers that were much too hot,
inside metal cages that reflect heat.  In a case that made local news here,
two elderly poodles were placed inside upper (above head level) cages to
dry, and the groomers forgot about them!  They were left in the cages with
the dryer on 'high' until they both died.  The groomers were understandably
reluctant to discuss it with me, the newcomer, but one of the floor workers
told me that the vets said the poor dogs 'brains were cooked'.  And, they
were filthy on top of it all.  The cages were never disinfected between
dogs, only rinsed lightly with a hose at the end of the days, and most of
them were still full of hair and some would even be left with old feces.  I
also know of at least two cases where untrained personnel gave flea dips to
dogs at full strength, instead of diluted, and although we never heard about
the dogs getting sick from it, it could have killed them.
 
The personnel were treated just as poorly.  I was a bather, the lowest of
the low according to the other groomers, and I was treated accordingly.
Bathers were not allowed breaks; maybe three times a week you could eat
lunch if it was fast, but the groomers would hound you during it to get
back.  Likewise, although the temperature approached 85 degrees in the
bathing room each day, bathers were discouraged from walking back into the
supply room (all of five feet away) to get a drink of water, because that
was "taking time away from bathing" (i.e., cutting the groomers profit
slightly).  Going to the bathroom was just a ridiculous thing to propose!
Of course you couldn't do that!!  You'd have to walk all the way out of the
grooming area to do it!!  Just think of all the time you'd be wasting!!  And
this was during five or six days a week, usually 9 or 10 hour days.  And,
the chemicals used on the animals were murder on skin; my hands would crack
open and bleed daily, and I developed red streak going up my arms that
worried me.  I went to my supervisor, who wouldn't even talk to me.  I
went over her head to management; they also refused to record my physical
problems.  Likewise when I was bitten on the lip by a dog.  They refused to
record that, also.  And when I went to the doctor with dizzy spells, I was
told that it was from the chemical fumes at work; PetSmart wouldn't
acknowledge that, either.
 
You're probably wondering why, after this horror story, I stayed as long as
I did.  It's because my husband was unemployed and this was our only means
of income, with a small daughter depending on me.  I couldn't leave until I
had another job.  That took five months.  That's also why I didn't report
them, although I wanted to (daily!).  I knew that the repurcussions would
rain down on my head, and I had a family to support.
 
After I left, I just never went to any authorities.  I probably should have.
I still think about sometimes and think that I should have done more.  Maybe
this is a first step, by letting others know of my experiences there.
 
[LK]
[Posted in FML issue 2376]