Reading an article someone posted on a Yahoo Group I belong to, I was really offended by it.

Why is it that a few bad apples have to ruin it for everyone? Pet Stores have such a bad reputation.. but honestly, in all the pet stores I have ever been in/worked in, I have only seen 2 with absolutley deplorable conditions. But still everyone thinks that pet stores do not care for their animals, there stock is starved, sick, mistreated, and overbred. It's just not true! I am sorry.. but for working in 2 pet stores and opening my own in a couple years, I just can't take this sterotyping. Yes, everyone has their own horror story of a pet store.. but compared to how many you have seen.. honestly were they all bad? There is always going to be someone out there who doesn't care.. but what about us people who do? We take the bad rap as well.

We have a pet store down the road which I just love. The man who owns it, and his "business partner" breed most of the animals in their store. They however do buy a lot of stock from local breeders. These animals are well looked after.. they always have food and never look sick. They are handled every day. Their animals are never overbred or mistreated. They hand out care sheets with every sale, go over with the new owners the basic care that the animal needs, and help them pick out the equiptment they will need to get started.

You can't tell me this person is a bad person for owning a pet store can you? If so I guess I am a bad person too, because I am opening my own pet store in a couple years and I plan on basing it on their own standards. So when people talk about how people hate pet store owners.. it hurts me because I know I am nothing like their bad experiences. But there will always be bad apples out there.. no matter how much bashing that is going on.

I don't know how y'all feel.. maybe I am too emotional on the subject.. I don't know. I know there are people who are 100% against pet stores and will never change.. it's too bad though.

I see nothing wrong with petstores like the one you described. Unfortunately, there just aren't many out there like that. Most of the petstores I've gone into don't have horrible conditions but they do some things that I don't agree with. The petstore here doesn't seperate their rodents by sex and I when I get gerbils I always pick the older ones because the poor females are having litter after litter. The rest of the animals, including rabbits, they simply give out bad/incorrect info. This isn't a chain store either, it's just a little pet store in the middle of nowhere (the ONLY one in our town *grumbles*)

The nice, well-managed pet stores are a rarity, although I wish they weren't...the majority of pet stores are the chain pet stores like Pet Land and PetCo (I've had very good experiences with PETsMART but I know some people have had bad ones) Pet Land is simply disgusting, no matter where you go...PetCo seems to depend on the area.

I think the main reason why people are against pet stores is the puppymill issue. Because Pet Land and other chain pet stores sell puppies which almost always come from puppymills (PETsMART has shelter dogs which is another thing I like) and many people won't buy anything from any pet store that sells puppies. Rabbits are usually a similar situation...very few reputable breeders will sell baby bunnies to a pet store, knowing that the owners probably are getting bad info/buying on whim/for a very small child/snake food, and that the babies will be very stressed...but in a good pet store that wouldn't happen...good pet stores are so rare though, that most reputable breeders won't consider a pet store in the first place. It's a vicious circle. :(

I think running a nice pet store would be an awesome job. Knowledgeable employees, a clean, well-managed pet store, a knowledgeable owner, and pets from reliable sources = a very nice pet store! I wish there were more out there like that. My first bunny Mickey was from a pet store like that. They told me all about snuffles and other diseases to watch for, and how to take care of him. They also hand raised their baby birds and seemed very informed on all their animals. Also not a chain pet store.

Lol probably the stop the chain link I posted at rabbitclassifieds. Ive pretty much summed it up there. :) The petstores around my area do have a bad reputation. But its not just that to consider too. the main consideration would be where your animal ends up. Alot of petstore animals end up in places like shelters. Although they might not seem bad, sometimes its the animal that comes out on the short end of the stick. :) Im not against all petstores. I like the more responsible ones, that are catually educated on their animals. :) Plus with alot, you dont where the animals come from, or where they buy them from. i posted about the auctions and gflea markets on there because i have seen that happen. :) Not saying that everyone does it, but have seen it alot around here. Actually that link wasnt posted to offend anyone, but to give some definition on doing things responsibly. Anyone who pretty much screens pet owners when it comes to small animal sales is doing tings responsibly. Unfortunately, not all petstores work that way. Like I said over there, out of four in the area, only 1 of them is good when it comes to rabbit education.

I agree with kismet... not all pet stores are bad, but the majority are... The store i bought pepper from is a nice little store, the owner even owns some rabbits. The only problem i have is that they don't try to educate new owners... (when i got Pep, there were only kids working there, noone told me what breed pep was, or even tried to sex him...) There's a new pet store near my house, i went there once to check it out.. the buns he was selling he said he gets them from 'random breeders' ::cricket::...uhhh... not buying those buns. Not to mention, the litter he had in their box was cat litter AND he picked up the babies by the ears, the EARS!!!

It's not a steteotype of all pet stores, I happen to like one here called Super Pet and the Petsmart isn't bad. But I have seen some in horrible conditions and my vet has told me that they starve their animals during the day to make them friendlier and come up to people.

If that's not bad enough, they always have the rabbits mismarked (eg. a Holland Lop that was being called a Netherland Dwarf). And everytime I go in, I see babies that can't be older than 4 weeks.

Yes their cages are clean, but they have way to many in one cage. I can't tell what kind of shavings they're using but it's very possible it's Cedar. Their care guides advertise their brand of food, which is not very good a lot of times.

Those are the pet stores that I'm against, and there are way more of those than the good ones.

after living in a couple states and when hubby and i take litle day trips we often check out any new pet store we find just to see if they have goodies for our critters, i have to say out of a good 50 pet shops i have visited in in about 7 states, 3-4 of them made the cut to good the rest were not up to standards.
one the good ones had seperate cages for all their rabbits, and they never carried to many if they run out too bad people have to wait they wont over crowd their animals and i like that.

another runs a cat and bird adoption, with much info given out.. but i have to say they were far and few between

Our pet supplies plus isnt too bad. Its actually alot cleaner then most of the other ones around here. but I dont consider it all that great when it comes to animal care. They separate the rodents by sexes. but they also breed them like crazy as feeder animals and pets. Not really against it cause a reptile has to eat. But I would think it would encourage new owners to backyard breed the rodents. I once ran into one of their customers that had bought rabbits from them. He told me he let the rabbits run loose in his garage. He had no clue on what sort of water dishes they needed. Or what they needed in general. When I asked him what he was gonna do if they bred, he said "I dont care." I got frustrated and pawned him off on an employee.

I have to shop at that store for my guinea pig and cat and bird foods. cheaper then any other place, and i can it in bulk.

They get their rabbits from a vender mill breeder that flys them into them from another state. However at one point they did bring in rabbits from a local 4-her that was looking into getting rid of all of her rabbits. Thats how I got my rex doe. She was ill. And I thought she was pregnant at the time. She was in with adult bucks, and babies that were from a litter of hers. She was also ill too.

And my himi cal mix I picked up from the farm store when he was 4 weeks old, and ill with coccidia, and M.E.

There's a small pet store by me that sells baby rabbits that must be 4-5 weeks old on a regular basis. I was in there once looking around and one of the employees was telling a mother and her young son that they could keep two rabbits in a 3x2 ft cage comfortably...I was like, "Uhh, no." Could you imagine two full-grown rabbits living in a cage that tiny? :(

I'm keeping 2 rabbits in a 30" by 5' hutch! Only in the winter though. In the summer they'll be in an 8' by 2' hutch.

a 36x24 isnt all that small.

It depends largely on the breed I guess. I mean, you could keep 2 Netherland dwarfs in a cage like that without a problem.

Whoops! Sorry, you're right. The cage was actually smaller, I'd say about 24x18. I'm really horrible about estimating measurements without actually having a ruler, LOL. I had to find a measuring tape to correct myself.


Dookie's cage was a little bigger than the one the employee recommended, and when he's stretched out in it by himself, it really looks too small. Luckily, most of his time is spent outside of his cage so it's not really a huge issue, but Russ and I are planning on building him a larger home.

I really can't imagine someone trying to house two full grown bunnies in a cage that size, though. Especially people who are relatively inexperienced with bunnies and think they're perfectly happy spending 99% of their time in the cage. It really makes me sad to think about all the animals who are being inadvertently mistreated because an uneducated employee at a pet store gave them poor advice. Everytime I handle or feed Sybil, I wonder what she would be like if her former home wasn't so negligent.

That said, I think there are some really good pet stores out there. I do really like Petsmart, as they have constantly have animal adoptions staffed by people who know what they're doing. HRS does adoptions through them on a regular basis I think.

Taken from Centralpets.com

Thanks MBB! I know HRS also says that the rabbit should have the minimum amount of space it requires to fully stretch out in each direction, at least.

So in that 2'x3' cage you can have up to 8 lbs of rabbit(s). But remember, that's a minimum, bigger is better in this case.

As mostly everyone is saying, I like some pet stores, hate others.

PetsMart, I like. The local one does not even sell rabbits ever, and an adoption event is held for dogs every Sunday.They are always cooperative in doing things in little ways to help out the humane society I volunteer at - like putting out donation cups in the check-outs. Also, the critters are kept on Carefresh bedding and the cages are always nice and clean.

I hate Petland...absolutely despise the place. They sell puppies, and I do not think a pet store should ever sell a puppy unless it is through a rescue. The puppies are kept in the tiniest cages where they can barely turn around and have to drink through larger sized water bottles like rabbits drink out of. The pups are kept on wire floors. I counted about thirty baby (about 6 wks/o) rabbits in one cage/tank type thing, you know what I'm talking about...the enclosure that lets people reach in and grab any animal.

This just shows how you can go to one petstore and be very impressed, then head to one two blocks away and it's despicable.

If I had it my way, pet stores would just sell supplies and fish (no fish breeders really, so it would be hard to find those) and possibly very small animals like gerbils, hamsters, mice, rats, (and also lizards as they are hard to find) etc. but no rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, degus should be in pet stores.

Heck, at the local humane society rabbit adoption goes as quickly as grass grows, but pet store bunnies are probably being sold weekly if not daily.

I don't agree with selling dogs/cats in pet stores. In my opinion all cats and dogs should be bought from reputable breeders which breed for show.. or the humane society. Yeah.. you have to fork out a little more money.. but when your puppy mill bred dog gets sick and runs up a $1,000+ vet bill.. it will be worth it.

But then again.. not all humane societies are better than pet stores. One of my cats was adopted from the local humane society where my mom lives, and less than a week after we got him he fell dealthy ill and had to be in the vets emergency room for 2 weeks. It cost us a good $700+ to get him healthy again, along with hand feeding for a month. Apparently the humane society knew they were sick and were still adopting them out.

Anyway.. getting off subject.. I know there are good and bad pet stores.. but to sterotype ALL pet stores as bad is just stupid. That is where my problem lies. When someone says "I would never, ever buy/sell to a pet store because they are all just horrible" that is what really gets me.

I am opening my own pet store in 3 years, my parents are going to co-own it until it's up and running to help me pay finances, and then sell their share to me. I am planning on having small animals only.. yes I will probably be breeding most of my own animals, and my pet quality rabbits will go there. It will be just like anyone buying from me now.. if I don't like the person it's my right to turn them away. All the other animals I plan on buying locally from breeders that I do not have myself. If it means forking out a few extra hundred bucks to get the safefully shipped here.. well.. that's what it will take. Care sheets will be handed out, and the time to explain care will be given to each customer. Animals will be bred for quality, not quantity.. just like it is now. If I run out.. too bad, they can wait until I have some more. For me it's more about education than money.

Kinda something I dont understand either. i wish we had more responsible pet stores around here, other then tsc tractor supply. But we dont. :( and there good ones. Just good ones are few and far between. i dont think the thing i posted was gainst all petstores. Just the big chain ones. Hence the name stop the chain. ;)

That's a huge reason many of the better stores have quit selling puppies and kittens.

Still, some of the conditions that smaller pets are in or have come from is definitely the reason people are funny about the stores.

I personally have a couple of stores I worry about but most larger scale (petsmart, Pet Supplies Plus, and now that they have cleaned up their act, Petco) but it's the family owned, little guys that aren't great. I have seen 30 rat babies in a small fishtank..... that's the stuff I hate.

It's getting better, Nichole, but it's what has been the history that people are leary of.

Hi guys.. I actually work at PETSMART part time. I work in the PETHOTEL doing doggie day care but its in the store and the store is kept IMMACULATE. its so clean and they are SO on top of everything. They never sell dogs or cats. They wont even get buns in. My store only has birds, mice, piggies, hamsters and the fish section. They guy who is in charge of the small animals is incredibly knowledgeable about all the pets and they are very well cared for.
they have a cat rescue and like someone else said, my store does dog and cat rescue adoptions every sunday. A few times a year they also have Greyhound rescues and the Animal shelters come in for pet appreciation weekends. They lines are enormous for adoptions.(which makes me so happy)

From what i have seen PETCO stinks cause the staff their is totally brain dead and knows nothing about the animals. youll be lucky if you get someone who really knows. And PETLAND is just horrendous. they hire 15 year olds to run the store that need the extra cash. They dont know what they are doing, nor do they care about anything. especially keeping the place clean. i would never go in there.

There are a bunch of petstores that are not chains around here(NY) that are pretty good but again there are others that are just run poorly and are not well kept. Animals are alot of work.. and they make a mess and need constant cleaning up after. Some people just dont realize that or care i guess. Really sad. :(

Your idea sounds great though and i wish you luck with opening up your own store. :clap:

depends on the pet store, we got our rabbits from one, but we live in a small town, all pets come from locals not puppy-mills or anything. And I find it very hard to accept this. I know the only way to stop puppy milling is to stop the demand for puppies from their. So thats when you dhouldnt buy from pet stores, but that means many dogs must suffer and be unsold untill something changes.

But I did hear soemthing horrible, when my mother went looking for our bnnies, their was a 5 months old RABBIT THAT HADN"T BEEN SOLD. meaning it had had no love, family or proper excercise most likely in 5 months :mad: makes me angry.

Thistle has been trying to type for a while now so ill let her have her say here.

5

lol, thats it from her