That is how our store use to be.  I was the Reptile Specialist when I was
hired, moved to Team Leader then was up for advancement to Ops Manager.
 
I loved working for Petco, don't get me wrong.  Petco does have the
potential to be a great store.  The people at our store take great care
of the ferrets, besides that incident, which was very upsetting to the
people who take good care of them.  Petco does pay for vet bills, which
is something we fought for and won with our first manager, he was forced
out.  However, when we wanted to litter train our ferrets, we had to
personally buy the litter pan, which I think is stupid.  But that could
have been something our manager did, because when they buy more store use
stuff, it cuts into their bonuses.  There was alot more that went on in
our store (including stolen money etc), so alot of my bitter feelings
were directly the new management problems and not company wide.
 
They are great for letting people do fundraisers, I will give it to them.
They also raise a hell of alot of money for rescue during their drives.
And yes, I do miss my job there greatly.  If they would get rid of the
merchandise manager at our store, there are several really good employees
that would go back in a heartbeat, including myself.
 
The suppliers for the animals leave alot to be desired.  This is where I
think most of the problems arose from.  This is why I think Pet stores
should not carry animals.  Anyone can clean cages, that does not take
a rocket scientist, however with the shear number of animals they deal
over the year, there is alot of sick animals and dead animals.  That is
normal.  However, the average person is not trained right to handle sick
animals.  At one time, the infirmary was a full time job there.  They
needed someone to take care of that area and put 8 hours in.  But they
did not want to do that.  Our store was also losing money (due to the
poor management towards the time I resigned), and that had an effect on
the scheduling, and hours being cut.
 
Having Dealt with Marshall's and Path Valley, I prefer Path Valley.
Path Valley does not breed for research, so they breed out alot of the
problems or try to.  (There are other issues here, including, early
spay/neutering which does a number on a ferret's body and causes or helps
to cause alot of the common problems we see in ferrets-pet store ferrets.
Both Marshall's and Path Valley spay/neuter at a very young age, way to
young for my liking).  Marshall's have great ferrets as far a temperament
goes, however, they breed for research and don't breed out alot of the
problems.  This way, they can research on them.  Now, Research, as bad as
it sounds, is much needed and needs to be done, in my opinion.  ( I have
a degree in Applied Science and am a vet tech, which I got when I decided
to breed my dogs).  The best way to research on a disease is using a
living things.  This is not pretty and not nice to think about, however,
it needs to be done.  For every ferret they send to research, they could
save 10's of 1000's just by finding a cure.  Now deaf ferrets are always
more bitey then other ferrets, and in my opinion should not be discounted
due to that.  It is something that comes with a deaf ferret and they do
outgrow it with love and attention.  I agree, they must go to only a
ferret experienced home.
 
That is where lies another problem: Working at the pet store and being
able to screen people.  Choosing people who know what they are doing,
have done research on the new pet and are prepared to take care of that
pet (Expenses and all).  Not impulse buying.  And it is hard to say no
to someone, when you are working at a pet store like Petco.  Our manager
did say, and she did do this (Same manager that did the thing with the
ferret-so she does have a good side) that if we rejected a customer
for any reason, she would stand behind us.  We did this alot with the
ferrets, and higher priced pets.
 
Personally, I own both Path Valley ferrets and Marshall's ferrets, both
rescue and store bought.  I like them both.  I think the main problem
with any pet store ferret is the early spay/neutering.  With my dogs, I
do not push it, and make them wait until the puppy is 9 month of age at
the earliest.  This way they pretty much done growing (Shih Tzu breed by
the way-large breed dogs are later to mature).  When you spay/neuter the
hormonal system changes greatly.  This causes many problems with animals.
But there is where the problem comes in.  Can you trust someone to take a
unaltered/spayed animal and get them fixed.  Pet store don't want to deal
with all the contract problems.  People who just want a pet and want it
quick, get the petstore ones.  People who research, go to breeders.
 
Well.........off my soap box.  Like I said, I do think Petco does have
alot of great qualities, and I miss my job there very much.  Just be
aware of some of the things that go on, however, some of them are
uncontrollable due to the amount of animals they deal with.  But for
the most part, and looking at all the petcos, they are a good company
with good intentions.  If you get out the microscope to look at them,
you will find problems.  It was probably the best job I had so far in
my life.  I was able to deal with animals, which I love dearly and the
public (because man, I like to talk!).
 
Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!
 
Marguerite
TinyPrints Shih Tzu and Rescue TinyPrints Ferret Rescue
http://www.tinyprintsferrets.com
http://www.tinyprints-shihtzu.com
 
TinyPrints Ferret Rescue Auctions On Ebay
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&include=0
&userid=alohaferrets&sort=3&rows=25&since=-1&rd=1
[Posted in FML issue 4341]