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]