[Gpdd] CARE---Awful pet store

[anifair]

I tried---I really tried. Yesterday I was in the mall and thought I'd stop
into "Kritters", a small, grim, horrible pet store. I would never buy
ANYTHING in there, and only went in to see if they had The Guinea Pig
Magazine. I have had no luck finding this at Petco or Petsmart; every time I
ask they tell me they have a Hamster Magazine. Isn't that the same
thing?Needless to say, Kritters didn't have it either, but I happened to
overhear a conversation between a prospective customer and a salesgirl. A
woman with a small child wanted information on guinea pig cages; she was
apparently going to purchase a pig there. The salesgirl was showing her
RABBIT cages, and explaining that you put Carefresh in the bottom and then
just pull out the tray for cleaning. Well, I am by nature a quiet and
retiring sort, but I just couldn't let this go by. I said, "Excuse me for
butting in, but you do NOT want that cage for a guinea pig. That's a RABBIT
cage, and guinea pigs can hurt their feet on a grid." The woman looked at me
like perhaps I had something to offer, but the salesgirl ignored me and went
right on about how you don't want them sitting in their URINE. The woman
nodded as if this made sense, so again I said, "You want a FLAT-bottomed
cage for a guinea pig, that's a rabbit cage, pigs can seriously hurt their
feet on it." But the woman obviously thought that since the salesgirl
actually WORKED in the pet store, she MUST know what she's talking about.
They both ignored me. I considered raising my voice and hurling insults
about their no-nothing sales help which I can't print here, but I figured
they would just call Mall Security (which is made up of teenagers right out
of high school, but that's another matter). So I just shook my head at the
woman and left. Now I feel guilty that not only did the woman purchase an
animal in that crummy store, she also bought the wrong kind of cage for it.
Today I am going to call the store and ask to speak to the manager. I don't
think that it will do a bit of good because I think that the health and
welfare of the animals they sell is the last thing on their tiny minds. This
place makes my neighborhood Petco look like Animal Heaven.
Thanks for listening!
Anita