[Gpdd] [MISC] Petstore cruelty

DebJonSara at aol.com DebJonSara at aol.com
Wed Nov 12 10:42:09 EST 2003


Grrr, my dandelion-gathering walk with the dogs in the drizzle yesterday 
afternoon was ruined by thoughts of those poor little Petsmart piggies - and all 
the others offered for sale in pet stores. One of my biggest concerns was (and 
yes, I know it sounds silly) - these little creatures miss out twice, because 
no one ever gets to love them during their short little miserable period this 
side of the Bridge, and then, when they cross the Rainbow Bridge, they see all 
the other little piggies rushing periodically off to be joyfully reunited 
with their erstwhile slaves, and no one ever comes to make THEIR happiness 
complete. That thought is too terribly, terribly sad to bear. So then I decided that 
it must be the case that the most loved piggies, those whose slaves regularly 
post to this digest, those whose slaves buy their piggies the best of 
everything, and whose slaves shed a daily tear at the loss of each .... THOSE piggies 
MUST take these poor little abandonned ones under their paws over The Bridge, 
don't you think? They must tell these poor little ones about their own 
slaves, and when they see their slaves crossing the bridge, I am sure each brings a 
new little, previously unwanted and unloved piggie soul, to be welcomed and 
loved by their own beloved slave. So when I eventually cross that bridge, I am 
expecting to see Cherub, and Etincelle, Etoile, Huppé, Ourson, Cayenne, Bâfreur 
and anyone else who goes on ahead, accompanied by a little crowd of waifs who 
never made it past the petstores and the laboratories - so I can share my 
love with them as well. Aren't you all just sure that that MUST be the way it 
is??

I have signed that petition, looked at the PETA site, cried over the little 
three-legged guinea pig mascot .... so now what do we do? Stop our piggies 
breeding, that must be one thing. Campaign for all petstores to stop selling live 
animals - let them instead hand out details of all the local adoption centres. 
The idea of their letting local rescues have "stands" within their stores 
where they can offer rescues for adoption sounds great - would rescue centres 
have the manpower to make this possible? That way, people who go to the pet store 
wanting to buy an animal are not disappointed, the petstore gets positive 
publicity, and all the animals offered for sale are healthy, have already 
experienced love, and will be sold with sensible care instructions and the address of 
a guinea pig knowledgeable vet. 

Oh, how I wish I could set up a rescue centre here in Northwest France! I 
have the space, but I don't have an exotics vet - and I could not do rescue 
without a vet who could help sick piggies. I've never seen sick piggies on sale 
here in the pet stores - but I am quite sure that will be because any that are 
not perfect are allowed to die long before they reach the stores. I do see them 
on sale in street markets - and that is even harder to put a stop to than the 
big American chainstores. At least the chainstores have a reputation to 
upkeep, and they know enough Americans will care as to make a difference to their 
profits if they get themselves a reputation for cruelty. These market traders 
just do as the others do - they know they are no worse than any of the others. 
And I can't imagine there being enough French people who care enough about 
guinea pigs to make a petition or boycott work - though I would LOVE to be proved 
wrong on that score.

I always think of you being streets ahead of the French in terms of guinea 
pig care over there in the States - so come on, put an end to this cruelty over 
there. Set a good example for your colleagues across the Pond. 

The idea of gpdd-ers becoming lay-inspectors sounds good - get out there, all 
of you, unearth all the cases of petstore cruelty you can find, report it to 
the authorities and make a difference - I can't be there to help you in 
person, but I am with each and every one of you in spirit!

Special kisses to all your piggies

Debbie and her 13 "Dolly Mixtures"



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