My experience is that this is the rule, rather than the exception. I agree there is a lot that can be said about the evils of pet stores, but viewing it from the other end, a lot of pet owners don’t have much to be proud of either.
Relying upon anyone to do your footwork for you, is going to get mixed results at best. I understand shopping on a budget, but when the first words out of a potential pet owner’s mouth is, “What’s the cheapest…”, chances are the cheaper pets probably aren’t for you either. Vet bills on any animal can become expensive, and if you haven’t taken that into consideration, you’re probably better off with a Gund (stuffed animal).
The reasons people don’t want to read the caresheets being handed out, are the same reasons they don’t want to follow good advice. It’s not easy. Taking care of most animals properly involves daily maintenance, and there’s really no way around it, no matter what someone may tell you. People don’t want to hear that a rabbit/guinea pig/small animal, needs its enclosure cleaned daily. You can explain it’s so much easier to clean out the potty corner, rather than smell the lovely ammonia wafting from their urine until you get around to it.
I had a mother and daughter I explained this to about a guinea pig. I guessed the daughter’s age around 5, and said while there were some advantages to having a pet that size, as opposed to a hamster that could be more easily damaged by squeezing from less honed motor-skills of said 5 yo., there was also a considerable amount of daily cleaning involved. The mother assured me that she would enjoy this task, and since the animal’s enclosure would be in the daughter’s room, it would be difficult to ignore. Cut to 2 months later and a scowling father, with 5 yo. He asks me what he should do, since his daughter hasn’t been cleaning the cage, and the guinea pig seems unhappy. You bet the guinea pig was unhappy, what kind of hell hole must that cage have been, since the guinea pig had maggots coming out of its anus? You know, maybe taking it to the vet? Maybe actually cleaning the cage somewhere near the daily regimen you said would not be a problem for you to adhere to?
The pet stores that sell kittens and puppies, are a bad idea in my experience, though I did work in a store where we had the humane society in on most weekends, with animals ready for adoption. Too bad the number of stores that sell puppies and kittens, doesn’t even begin to compare with the number of pet owners not spaying or neutering their animals. Then coming down to the pet stores and trying to give them away, often not even weaned. When asked to leave the premises, it’s the sob story of how the husband or wife is going to kill the litter and get rid of the “offending” pet that had the gall to become pregnant in the first place. Your problem is not with the pet store or the animal, it’s you and your fool of a spouse, for thinking you could actually take care of an animal in the first place. They don’t want to hear it though, not even when you have a list of clinics who can provide the operation for around $30.
“What’s the cheapest bird you carry?” :::eyeballing finches and parakeets::: Yes, they are initially inexpensive, but they really are happiest in a good sized cage, like this one. Customer begins eyeing the travel cages, just about the size PetSmart and PetCo tell them is a good starter cage. At this point they are sure you are trying to rip them off, nevermind the cage is just big enough for one parakeet to take three hops sideways in. You guessed it, if I were a bird, I’d want to live in that small cage as well. Once you get those food and water dishes in there, a toy, perhaps a cuttle bone or some gravel, that place is going to be so cozy! It doesn’t matter that I keep disagreeing with you, eventually you will leave, and run to another pet store that will agree with you and buy the pet there. Good for you, and when you begin to have problems and come to me, don’t think I won’t remember you’re one of the “cheaper” people, and so will take all the wonderful things you did for your pet and you just can’t understand what happened, it was so awful, with a grain of salt.
Same thing with fish, no it doesn’t matter that there’s no way you should buy that catfish, it will outgrow your tank in less than a year. No feeding hamburger or bread is not okay in a pinch, yes, no matter what that product is the other pet store carries, you really do need to change your water more often than once every 6 months. The fish waste will be broken down no doubt, but it only breaks down so far, eh? Where is it going after that? Fairies are not scooping the stuff up and leaving quarters in the gravel, last I checked. Replacing water as it evaporates does not count as a water change either.
Reptiles are the worst. Here’s the ego pet, if ever there was one. Ever wonder why you don’t see breeders walking around with snakes wrapped around their necks? It’s plain not a good idea. There’s a reason people feed pre-killed food, there’s a reason c.b. on an animal for sale makes it more expensive. Sure, they’re relatively easy to care for, but running to the pet store on a regular basis for crickets or other food items proves too much for most people. Breeding food items at home lasts almost as long as the interest in the pet. Once again, no, I will not tell you it’s okay to just give them a hot rock, no matter what you saw another store or friend doing. No, hamburger is still not a good idea, you’ll have to touch a cricket in all likelihood, sorry to break it to you.
“My dog barks all day long, what should I do?” Hey look, it’s a lab chained up in the back yard 24/7. How about giving the thing some attention. How about a walk. One girl I worked with, after having all of her suggestions shot down, actually told the owner to shoot it. Of course she wasn’t serious, but I actually understood her frustration, and wondered if I’d rather be put out of my misery than have the person as an owner.
“My cat looks like it’s having a horrible time urinating, what should I do?” Why are you asking me? Why were you not on the phone with a vet the minute you noticed this? Why, now that I’m telling you to call the vet, are you still looking for ways to avoid doing this? I don’t mind discussing the better brand cat foods, and ways some of these problems might be avoided, like not letting your cat eat the grocery store brand dog food “cuz he lurves it.”, but guess what, you still need to spend some money and take it to the vet.
I have tons of horror stories of abused and neglected animals, more involving maggots - Whee!, and just plain grisly deaths. Feathers and feet chewed off from being left alone day after day. Stories that came up about once a month at least. The two above paragraphs are often a daily occurence. There is no magic bullet, you have to do the work yourself. Some things will make it easier, but you still have to get in there and use some old-fashioned elbow grease. People blame it on the pet stores, but they want the quick and easy way, and keep asking, until someone agrees with them, that their way is best. The animal suffers for it, and the responsibilty is placed upon the pet store worker. Where does their responsibility end and yours begin?
