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Petco Rescue: Could Not Say No To This Little One.

Siukie

Siukie

~ Serpent Master ~
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Well we all know how bad pet stores can be with selling sick or unhealthy animals. :ack2: Least in this part of the US most pet stores don't know jack about snakes or care what condition it's selling in. (I am not saying ALL Petco's are bad, but the ones here have always been a let down to their animals) Anyhow, I was in Petco tonight getting dog food, and ya being a snake person I DO end up by the live reptiles lol. :rolleyes: Browsing is always my intention of course. Noticed they had normal ball pythons 60% off. As I leaned closer to take a peek, I quickly noticed mites and the lack of humidity was affecting the snakes. After noticing the mites I checked all the live snake displays, and sure enough, filled with mites. :ack2: I brought the manager over explaining the issues that were visible, however he quite literally just ignored my concern and said if I needed to look at one he'd be over by the dog food. So he walked off and I stood there staring at these baby balls. Thinking to myself that it was upsetting how Petco has all these signs that they care so much about the well being of their live animals, yet won't give them the time of day to treat mites and adjust the cage settings. While I don't have a whole lot of use for a normal unsexed ball, I ended up taking one home. And if I wasn't short on cash this week, I might of got all 3. But I feel better knowing I was able to lend a hand to at least one of them. If it was a dog or cat people would of been all over them, I know snakes tend to be a shrug off as they are hated by non-reptile individuals often. I can never seem to walk away when a reptile needs help though. :shootfoot I have not sexed it yet, but I attached some pics of the new little girl/boy. :D First pic is before she had a bath and such. Currently she is relaxing in a warm cage and looking much happier. :thumbsup:

Mission accomplished!

(P.S I liked the side patterns on this one, looks like little alien heads ha.)​
 

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Buying it only puts money in their pockets and now they will order more to replace the old sold and nothing changes.
 
Sadly, what Steve said is true. I guarantee if you purchase all three there will be three more to replace them next week, put in the same mite infested cage with zero quarantine or care.
 
SPJ said:
Buying it only puts money in their pockets and now they will order more to replace the old sold and nothing changes.
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I am aware of that. However i'm not the type of person to say oh well if an animal ends up in a bad situation. They will order more whether I bought it or not, so if I was able to provide the ball python with a little more comfort, then that's what counts in the end in my opinion. I've rescued a lot of animals over the years from pet stores, and I don't regret it one bit. It's enjoyable when you see an animal happy and thriving, when they were previously having a difficult time due to circumstances they could not control.​
 
Siukie said:
Mission accomplished!
Click to expand...

Petco's thoughts exactly.

Please forgive my exasperation, I know your thoughts are in the right place and I respect that, but...

If you pay money for an animal it's not a rescue. To me your actions have a positive effect on only a proximate level (One, sub-feeder quality BP). Ultimately, you informed the manager that the conditions were deplorable yet still made a purchase. In doing so, you demonstrated to him that regardless of conditions, even informed buyers will buy the snakes (and maybe all three, yikes!).
 
Siukie said:


I am aware of that. However i'm not the type of person to say oh well if an animal ends up in a bad situation. They will order more whether I bought it or not, so if I was able to provide the ball python with a little more comfort, then that's what counts in the end in my opinion. I've rescued a lot of animals over the years from pet stores, and I don't regret it one bit. It's enjoyable when you see an animal happy and thriving, when they were previously having a difficult time due to circumstances they could not control.​
Click to expand...

:D:D If you're interested in buying more BP's, I have some healthy ones for sale that I could stage in some really deplorable looking conditions. Could even sprinkle some pepper on them for that mite-loaded effect. :D:D
 
Seems I posted in the section that was mislabeled "General Herp Talk". Seems to be the "Business Critics" section. :ack2: If you want to debate how Petco will/won't be shut down or reprimanded for it's actions, you might want to make a new thread? Yeah? :rolleyes:

I was not requesting a debate on my actions, only showing you the little ball I picked up tonight. I just don't think individuals need to go out of their way to point out someone made a stupid choice in a very indirect manner. As I said, Petco is always going to be around like any other chain pet store. It's perfectly alright if you would prefer to leave animals in distress, to each their own. :thumbsup: Simply saying I don't disregard animal life to balance a purchase war between stores and their customers.​
 
Siukie said:
As I said, Petco is always going to be around like any other chain pet store. It's perfectly alright if you would prefer to leave animals in distress, to each their own. :thumbsup: Simply saying I don't disregard animal life to balance a purchase war between stores and their customers.​
Click to expand...

The Petco by me went out of business. It was bad inside, like you describe. It can be eliminated if it's known as a dump.

I can't speak for the others, but I'm not trying to reprimand you or call you stupid, just generally describe how, in my view, you're indirectly but effectively increasing the suffering of animals, which is obviously not your intended effect. We can hopefully comfortably agree to disagree, as I'm sure will happen. In my genetic code, I have two copies of a SNP (DNA marker) that has been associated with a lack of empathy, so I think we just disagree on a biological level =D. Your compassion is definitely commendable though and the ball python you purchased will likely have a long healthy life because of your actions.
 
Occidentalis said:
Petco's thoughts exactly.

Please forgive my exasperation, I know your thoughts are in the right place and I respect that, but...

If you pay money for an animal it's not a rescue. To me your actions have a positive effect on only a proximate level (One, sub-feeder quality BP). Ultimately, you informed the manager that the conditions were deplorable yet still made a purchase. In doing so, you demonstrated to him that regardless of conditions, even informed buyers will buy the snakes (and maybe all three, yikes!).
Click to expand...
Don't know if you've ever been to an animal shelter to adopt a pet, but even there you have to pay an adoption fee, and its still considered a rescue. Maybe find a better argument? If an animal is taken and put into a better environment its a rescue. Nothing in life is free.
 
Congrats on your new BP!

If you were just excited to show of your new pet, why label it as a rescue, tell us where it came from and describe it's horrible conditions in the first place? Why not just a: "Behold my new pet, I love it so!"

I'm pretty sure I would get a similar response if I bought a scruffy poodle at the dog store in the mall and said: "look at the puppy I just 'rescued' from the pet store!" Just my two cents. :)
 
Ericka said:
Don't know if you've ever been to an animal shelter to adopt a pet, but even there you have to pay an adoption fee, and its still considered a rescue. Maybe find a better argument? If an animal is taken and put into a better environment its a rescue. Nothing in life is free.
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If it's a legit shelter, that adoption fee should be a 501c tax deductible donation, which is different than a taxable sales of livestock.
 
Siukie said:
Seems I posted in the section that was mislabeled "General Herp Talk". Seems to be the "Business Critics" section. :ack2: If you want to debate how Petco will/won't be shut down or reprimanded for it's actions, you might want to make a new thread? Yeah? :rolleyes:

I was not requesting a debate on my actions, only showing you the little ball I picked up tonight. I just don't think individuals need to go out of their way to point out someone made a stupid choice in a very indirect manner. As I said, Petco is always going to be around like any other chain pet store. It's perfectly alright if you would prefer to leave animals in distress, to each their own. :thumbsup: Simply saying I don't disregard animal life to balance a purchase war between stores and their customers.​
Click to expand...

It's not necessarily your action that has frustrated us, it's your attitude. We all care for animals here. No one will disagree that the snake was improperly cared for. By saying "It's perfectly alright if you would prefer to leave animals in distress, to each their own," you are essentially trying to smear the characters of people who disagree with your actions on very solid ethical grounds. This is an immature, defensive behavior to try and defend what you did.

Think about it from the store manager's perspective. You just taught him that he can sell more snakes if he keeps them in deplorable conditions because he will always make a pity-sale. Even worse, you've probably encouraged him to keep the snakes in such poor conditions, because it would cost money in terms of training employees, enforcing proper quarantine, and providing veterinary care for affected animals.

The better way to go about this is to complain to the corporate office, write a letter to the editor to your local newspaper, just make noise in general. You saved one snake, and doomed many others to death. The road to hell is paved with the best of intentions. You made a mistake and this is okay, but ONLY if you learn from it.
 
Ericka said:
Don't know if you've ever been to an animal shelter to adopt a pet, but even there you have to pay an adoption fee, and its still considered a rescue. Maybe find a better argument? If an animal is taken and put into a better environment its a rescue. Nothing in life is free.
Click to expand...

The shelter where I got my current cat doesn't charge for adult animals. They charge an adoption fee for kittens, which is a charitable donation as outlined by Agoralyx.

Where I'm from we call that an "adoption", and like you said, it's often accompanied by a fee. The only people I hear calling that process a "rescue" are people in it for the positive attention that word brings them. Someone at the shelter already did the "rescuing", to whatever degree.
 
Occidentalis said:
The only people I hear calling that process a "rescue" are people in it for the positive attention that word brings them. Someone at the shelter already did the "rescuing", to whatever degree.
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You may be onto something. Kinda hard to take this chick's word very seriously, since she's done the mite song and dance before. Oddly enough, she decided to disappear when some discrepancies were pointed out.

www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1629831
 
If you're on FB there's a post now about a BP at the Bravo Ft Wayne, IN Petco in similar shape - dehydrated, thin, stuck shed, RI, and mouth rot. OP didn't buy it, but Petco corporate will have a lot of emails from PO'ed people from around the country tomorrow morning.

I understand the sentiment of wanting to get an animal out of a bad situation like that, but the seller shouldn't be rewarded. Either get the store nailed for neglect by the authorities, or raise such a stink right there in front of the customers that they just give you the poor thing to make you shut up and go away.
 
Ericka said:
Don't know if you've ever been to an animal shelter to adopt a pet, but even there you have to pay an adoption fee, and its still considered a rescue.
Click to expand...
Usually those fees cover vet care such as vaccinations and spay/neuter. The rescue isn't profiting from the adoption.
 
That snake looks pretty healthy to me. Doesn't look like it's suffered too much nor been neglected, starved or otherwise abused. Sorry, but I have to concur; that pretty little Ball did not come from a shelter or true rescue. You walked into a retail store and purchased a snake at retail cost. Not exactly a "rescue", IMO.
 
Fangthane said:
You may be onto something. Kinda hard to take this chick's word very seriously, since she's done the mite song and dance before. Oddly enough, she decided to disappear when some discrepancies were pointed out.

www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1629831
Click to expand...

Well, being around Fauna long enough you do realize people like to nit-pick. I make my statement and set the facts of how things happened, what others choose to do from there is not really in my hands. Same as this thread, the simple idea of getting a new snake and sharing it with the current forum might seem like a harmless thing to do, but people like to put in their 2 cents and look for flaws in everything. That is just how mankind is sadly. :ack2: As far as my word goes, pretty sure you won't find anyone on Fauna that has ever found me to be anything but trustworthy and honest. But again, that being said i'm sure people would try to find anyone they "could" to hold my statement against me, as that is part of the games on the forums.

I don't participate in cat fights. So if threads get too out of hand I do not participate in them at that point. I was not looking to create drama with this thread, but it seems to have done so regardless. :rofl:
​
 
Siukie said:
As far as my word goes, pretty sure you won't find anyone on Fauna that has ever found me to be anything but trustworthy and honest.
Click to expand...

You mean other than Cameron Alexander and those who asked you to back up your claims with the proof you claimed to have?

Siukie said:
I don't participate in cat fights.
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Yeah, I kinda got that about you. You're more the qickly-scurry-off-after-getting-caugh-in-a-lie type. :rofl:
 
Fangthane said:
You mean other than Cameron Alexander and those who asked you to back up your claims with the proof you claimed to have?


Yeah, I kinda got that about you. You're more the qickly-scurry-off-after-getting-caugh-in-a-lie type. :rofl:
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I don't have any catnip for ya friend.:eatpointe
 
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