Jack is an animal lover and a mechanic. He writes that when he went to fix a habitat door at a local Petsmart store, he found a dead parakeet trapped inside a hollow part of the door. It wasn’t the dead bird that bothered him the most, though: it was the manager’s total lack of concern about the situation. He was upset enough to e-mail Consumerist. (Warning: post contains non-graphic dead pet photo.) [More]
pet stores
Man Sues Petsmart For $1 Million After Stepping In Dog Poop
By 4.1.10
When visiting a pet store that allows leashed pets to visit, is it unreasonable to keep an eye out for dog poop? Inside the store? The Virginian-Pilot reports that a man is suing Petsmart in federal court after slipping and falling on a pile of feces in a Norfolk, Va. store. He alleges that the fall exacerbated his existing back injury and knocked out four of his false teeth. [More]
West Hollywood To Ban Retail Sales Of Cats And Dogs
By 2.16.10
West Hollywood has a history of animal rights activism, culminating most recently in the 2003 ban on declawing cats. Tonight, the city council is expected to pass an ordinance that will ban pet stores from selling cats and dogs, reports the Los Angeles Times. If enacted, it will be the second place that bans such business after South Lake Tahoe, which is also in California but right up against the Nevada border. “Humanely bred, reared, or sheltered animals” would be exempt, notes the paper. Also worth noting: there are no pet stores within the city limits. [More]
Pet Store Takes Advantage Of Grocery Shrink Ray
By 11.16.09
Dan sent in this pic from a local pet store. It reads, “After January 1st, bag sizes will be decreased, and these new prices will stay the same. For the rest of 2009 you will save 12.5% on all big bags of Science Diet dog food!!” I like how they’re spinning the reduced packaging in a way that benefits them and the customer, while also making sure nobody is fooled come January 1st.
Tiny Turtles Spread Joy, Salmonella
By 10.19.09
Turtles remain a popular pet with kids. In 1975 the U.S. banned the sale of ones smaller than 4 inches, but the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) estimates almost 2 million were being kept as pets as of 2006. They’re also responsible for one of the slowest outbreaks of salmonella we’ve seen in recent years.
Petland Puppy Mill Lawsuit Smacked On Nose By Judge, Told To Refile
By 8.12.09
A class action lawsuit against alleged puppy-mill-patronizing petstore chain Petland was thrown out by a federal judge in Arizona last week, but the suit isn’t over yet. Lawyers representing the humans of six puppies from Petland have until the end of August to refile their suit, and they plan to do so.
Petland Employees Drowned Rabbits, Posted Photos on Facebook
By 8.5.09
We’ve written about pet store chain Petland before, due to their documented use of puppy mills and snarky response to groups that protested said use of puppy mills. Now PETA claims to have found photos on a Petland employee’s Facebook page that show her grinning while holding up the wet, lifeless bodies of two rabbits she had just drowned.
Should PetSmart Provide In-Home Services?
By 7.24.09
Would you hire your next dog-walker from PetSmart? RetailWire says the pet store chain is considering offering in-home services such as “dog walking, backyard clean-up and aquarium set-up,” to help differentiate it from retailers like Walmart (who offer steeply discounted fish).
Buy Your Dead Fish For Less At Walmart
By 6.1.09
A reader sent us the following pics of the neglected aquariums in her local Walmart in Carmi, Illinois. She complained to a manager, but when she checked back “several hours later,” the tanks remained untouched. Well, the dead fish were probably slightly smaller, since the remaining live fish were eating them.
US Airways Delivers Corpse To Pet Store
By 3.11.09
If you’re a pet store employee, probably the only thing worse than opening up a shipment of live tropical fish to find them dead is opening up a shipment of live tropical fish to find a human body intended for a research facility in a neighboring town. That’s what happened at a Pets Plus in Philadelphia yesterday, and US Airways says the mixup was caused by a “verbal miscommunication between a delivery driver and the cargo representative” and that they’re deeply sorry.
Petland Uses Puppy Mills
By 11.21.08
After an eight-month investigation, the Humane Society of the United States accused Petland, the national pet store chain, of selling dogs bred under appalling conditions at puppy mills around the country.
