Pet store victim

[Kaleen]

I was so upset this afternoon as I was wondering around a Petco.. I knew I shouldn't have gone in, everytime I do I end up getting super angry. Against my better judgement I decided to go in. I was purposefully staying away from the reptile area and browsing the cat and dog section. Suddenly I came around a corner and was staring the reptiles right in the face. My eyes went directly to a baby Pacman Frog in a large display cage with sand!!!! Not only was he/she in sand, but thrown about with no rhyme or reason was moss. I was frantically scanning the cage praying there was no frog actually inside, to my dismay there he/she was, trapped in the moss, stuck to the sand in the back corner looking scared and sick. Without hesitation I literally yelled for an associate. The manager came over and in his car salesman slimy voice he said," Isn't he just the cutest frog?!" I cut him off in mid sentence and told him I am absolutely disgusted with the condition you have this poor animal in. You have sentenced him or her to death and you have the nerve to ask me if the horror I am staring at is cute. He then told me "the frog is housed according to Petco guidelines and amphibian specialists who work for Petco set these guidelines." I wrote down the link for the caresheet on this forum and told him to please do some research for himself and actually take care of these animals instead of killing them. It took everything in me to walk away without purchasing that poor little Pacman Frog, but if I did it would just give the company money to replace it with another poor little Pacman Frog. Sorry for venting but it just gets the best of me when I see the abuse running rampant through these corporations and no regulations in place to stop it.

[maxQ]

Good for you, nice job. Not all PETCO's are bad though, my local PETCO does a wonderful job in taking care of their livestock. I am literally in there every single day, I watch them close and have become close with the Reptile manager, I commend mine on doing a great job but I admit I have seen some other stores do terrible jobs, but its up to folks like us to speak up and throw the flag when we see neglect.

[Kaleen]

I agree with you, not all Petcos and PetSmarts are bad. Some chains are lucky enough to actually have a reptile expert working in the reptile department, and they take excellent care of the livestock. Unfortunately in my area it is quite the opposite. I am blessed with two local exotics pet shops that are not just in it for the money and truly care about the well being of their animals. I support both shops and frequent them almost daily. I wish the standards you speak of happening in your local Petco were upheld in every chain.. Ahhhh some day, some day....