I'm so confused!?

Question

I know that Petsmart is very, very bad, after looking at this video:

http://www.peta.org/feat-petsmart-video.asp

My question is, considering the fact that I have a dog, 2 gerbils, and a betta fish, where do I buy supplies now? I don't want to buy from Petsmart, knowing how bad there conditions are. So how do I not buy from the pet store, but still keep my animals alive?
btw- I have another pet store in my town, and that's it. B&B Pet Stop, in Mobile. They told us that they also have a "backroom", so I know that can't be good. I don't know what pet stores to trust, I don't know where to buy my pet supplies now. I mean what if my gerbils run out of food? I've pledged not to buy from Petsmart, but they need food!! Petsmart, and B&B are bad places, and i don't want to shop there, but I have no choice! I don't have any other pet stores in Mobile, except Bark Avenue Pets, but that place is strictly about dogs.

does this make since to anybody?

Before I watched that video, I always went to Petsmart, for my Pet supplies needs. Now where do I turn too?

Answer 1

I work at Petsmart. We do have two "backrooms" - one is for new arrivals, to keep them quarantined from the other animals until we're sure they vet out okay. The other is the "sick room," where animals go to recover AFTER THEY HAVE SEEN OUR IN-HOUSE VET. EVERY Petsmart has a Banfield Animal Hospital on the grounds, and any animal that shows signs of sickness is IMMEDIATELY taken to a doctor there. The "backrooms" are quiet, undisturbed rooms where each animal can have its own roomy cage and is fed, looked after, and cared for as often as the animals out on the floor. In my 6+ months at Petsmart, I have seen only a couple small animals die, and they died at Banfield, not in some shady refridgerator in a backroom. Considering the number of animals that go in and out at our store, we lose very few to death or sickness.
Petsmart is a national chain. There are THOUSANDS of petsmarts across the country. You just watched a HIGHLY exagerrated, inaccurate, staged video you found on PETA'S website and decided all Petsmarts are evil?! The Petsmart corporation has very good intentions at heart, and not one employee I've worked with during my time at the store has had anything but a love and understanding of animals. Believe me, I have personally seen everything that goes on in every square inch of our store. The only thing that ever horrifies me are some of the questions I get from customers! I would keep shopping at PetSmart and make your own judgment on how they run things. You're about to risk starving your animals over some perceived case of animal injustice!

Answer 2

You can try to order food and supplies online. This may become very expensive though. Shipping charges can sometimes be more than the product itself. Also, I work for a veterinarian, and the local PetSmart here actually does bring in pets that are sick or injured for treatment. I don't think that all PetSmart stores are bad, just maybe some people that work in them. If you have to break down and buy from there, don't beat yourself up over it. Maybe you could make a donation to the humane society or something to kind of make amends.

Answer 3

We have a Petsmart in our area but we also have a Petco and a Pet Supplies Store. I mostly shop at the Pet Supplies store. You can do an internet search to see if either of these places have a location near you.

Answer 4

Thank you for the link and yes, it is very upsetting.
Years ago I worked in the pet department, at a Walmart during the time when they still sold animals. Trust me, things like this happen at almost every store that sells fish and small creatures.
It was part of our daily job to scoop dead fish out and log it in a book. There is also the fact that male employees would get BB guns from the sporting goods and shoot down any birds that happen to get out of the cages. (saw it with my own eyes)
This is "part" of the reason Walmart no longer sells anything live but fish. (the released story is that a bird got loose and dove at a customer causing her to fall and hit her head on a shelf)
There are not enough "qualified" people in the world to handle the demand of "pet store" animals.
Sadly....The ONLY way to stop the cruelty in pet stores is to not sell ANY small animals!!!! If your concern is over Petsmart, you should be more concerned over ANY AND ALL pet stores that buy puppies from puppy mills.
They ALL do it, to include mom and pop pet shops!!!!!!

Answer 5

When it comes to any live animal sales you will all ways find some kind of upsetting situation. It may be just this particular store that had a bad record. Don't beat yourself up over it, if you need to get your pet food, then get it for them, Pets-mart is a huge corporation, and they will be there whether you shop there or not. If you feel very strongly about it maybe get your pets food at wall-mart if there is one in your area. The grocery stores like Safeway and kingsoopers also sell gerbil food. Good luck! PETA uses a lot of propaganda type tactics to get to people and i don't think they are a very good representation of what animal rights are truly supposed to be.

Answer 6

After the baby is born have the paternity test regardless. If the baby is yours then it's yours. Now that was simple. BUT, if the baby isn't yours then two things can happen, you can accept the child or reject the child. Either way the baby deserves to have a medical history of his biological father and that side of the family. Adopted children are sometimes scoffed at but they are chosen, sometimes fought for and always wanted. That is more than some natural children can say. So what ever you do, what ever you decide, get the kid a medical history of his biological father no matter who that might be.

Answer 7

At most Walmarts there is a pet section. I don't know if you will agree with the ethics of walmart any more than you do for PetSmart, but maybe give it a try, I know they have dog, cat, fish, and bird products...

Also, maybe try buying online from Amazon.com. They have all kinds of pet supplies and you can buy in bulk, they ship fast too.

Good luck!

Answer 8

i have just watched the video and i am appalled. you could buy your supplys online as there are a lot of websites that will supply you with what you need. i would go on a search engine such as google or yahoo search and have a look for a website that you trust to send you the supplys. i can't think of any other way for you to get your pet supplys unless you drive around for miles and search for a pet shop. i hope my info helps.

Answer 9

I would look for locally owned pet stores around your area. You may have to drive a few more miles but its worth it. Thanks for the video, I had no idea. Thats just plain lazy and sick.

Answer 10

our petsmart here doesn't have a back room like they do. check out where your nearest petcetera is. they are a little more expensive but they don't keep animals in abck room either.