I just want everyone to know that I stand in defense of what I said about
PETCO.  As I said, maybe all the stores aren't like that, but from what
I've heard, the majority are.  I have seen things there that are too
grisly to even post on this website; it would literally make people sick
to their stomachs.  Just think of what the poison put down would do to
the insides of a pregnant hamster.  You may think and say what you wish,
but you didn't have to watch the poor mother give birth to what should
have been babies as she hemmorhaged and shook for a good 20 minutes
because at that point, nothing could be done for her.  You see something
like that and than try to defend PETCO.  Tell me all the good they've
done for animals.
 
Just to let the girl know who is "thinking" about becoming a vet tech;
I am currently in school to become a vet tech.  I do not "bitch" about
conditions, but do strive to make a difference.  I currently volunteer
at a local animal shelter, foster abandoned kittens (some as young as
10 hours old), and have had many animals, including orphaned squirrels,
raccoons, birds, etc. in and out of my house until they were old enough
and well enough to live in the wild.  Besides all of this, I own 2 dogs
and 5 cats.  I also want you, and everyone else who had a problem with
my post to keep in mind, when I worked in PETCO it was 3 years ago.  I
worked there before there were changes implemented due to the inundation
of complaints and reports about the negative conditions the animals were
kept in.  PETA started the wheel of change by telling everyone what a
horrible place PETCO was for the animals they sell.  Furthermore,
celebrities such as Pink wrote letters personally to PETCO telling them
she and her famous friends would ban the chain if things didn't improve.
When PETCO realized that their bottom line was in serious trouble, they
started implementing new standards of care for the animals.  Before this,
however, the big-wigs at PETCO didn't give a crap,<mailto:s*@!t> nor
pretend to care about the animals.  I am not saying that they care now,
or that things have changed really, because they haven't.  If you doubt
me, take a look at PETA's website or make a donation and receive their
monthly newsletter.  Instead of using PETCO's slogan, "PETCO, where the
pets go", they use the slogan "PET NO, where the pets die." (I would like
to say although I don't always agree with PETA, I feel very strongly
about their plight against PETCO)
 
I also wanted to tell you that if I could've done anything more, I
would've.  I, like you, thought that I could truly make a difference.
I was, unfortunately, wrong.  I tried my best; I put in overtime and
would stay after my shift ended so I could care for the animals.  I
took pictures of the horrendous conditions and sent them to PETA.  I
made complaint after complaint to the higher-ups voicing my concern.
On top of that, our district and regional managers did come in and
do walk-throughs.  Their main concerns were that the end-caps and
promotional displays were being used to optimize selling potential, not
that the animals were suffering.  If things changed now at all, which I
seriously doubt they did, it was because their bottom line was put in
jeopardy due to their irresponsibility and inaction.  It had nothing to
do with the animals.
 
I firmly stand behind what I've said.  If you truly cared about the
animals, you wouldn't berate me for voicing my opinions.  It seems to me
like you care more about defending PETCO's name than doing something to
try to make them live up to your claims about them.  If your store, or
any other PETCO store, truly does care about the animals, than I think
that's wonderful!  However, 1 or 2 stores in a chain of 2000 doesn't make
that big of a dent.  It is a start, but it's not enough.  If you do care
about the animals, wouldn't you want people to know about what's going on
in the other 1998 stores?  Wouldn't you want to join them in a fight
against this giant and speak for those poor creatures that have no voice?
 
I apologize to anyone I offended with the graphic nature of the 4th and
5th sentences of my post; I get very passionate and angry when I think
of what was done either intentionally or unintentionally to animals that
were supposed to be safe in our care.
[Posted in FML issue 4814]