Petco to Pay $900,000 to Settle California Lawsuits

[Bci Joe]

May 28 --------------- Petco Animal Supplies Inc., the No. 2
U.S. pet-supply chain, will pay more than $900,000 to settle two
California lawsuits that claimed the company mistreated animals
and overcharged customers, the Associated Press reported.
Petco didn't admit wrongdoing. It agreed to pay $600,000 in
fines, $200,000 to install equipment at its California stores to
ensure pricing accuracy and $101,000 to cover investigation
costs. The settlement resolves suits filed by the district
attorneys of Los Angeles, Marin, San Mateo and San Diego counties
and one by the San Francisco city attorney, AP said.
San Francisco's investigation of Petco found sick and dying
animals kept in freezers, untreated animals with contagious
diseases and animals in unclean enclosures with no water, San
Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera told AP. The counties
alleged that San Diego-based Petco kept animals in unclean cages
without proper care and overcharged customers by $1.19 on average.
``We are pleased to have resolved these matters on terms
that are consistent with comprehensive policies and practices
already utilized by Petco to serve the best interests of our
customers and companion animals in our care,'' Darragh Davis, a
Petco vice president and corporate counsel, told AP.


Should've been more like 9,000,000 ... IMO


Take care - Joe

 

[Brian Oakley]

And does this suprise anyone? I think it is just a decade late or so.

 

[elevation24]

I'm surprised about the overcharging. Here at the Petcos in the Sacramento area I am usually severely undercharged -- usually with live feeder rodents. Once I went in and bought 10 live adult mice (at a sales prices of $.99 each) and they charged me for 10 adult crickets instead. I had purchased a number of other things at the same time and didn't even notice the huge price difference until I checked my receipt later that day.

That was one of the more severe cases, but almost every time I go I am charged wrongly for animals (always less, never more). Sometimes I will go and buy frozen adult mice and I am charged for pinkies instead. Once I bought the largest size rats they had (which I think were about $6 each) and they charged me for the smaller rats (something like $2 each). I don't know if the employees just don't care since I don't see how the managers can tell who did the wrong pricing or if they just don't notice that they aren't ringing me up correctly.

 

[Brian Oakley]

Fair arguement, but this MIGHT be an isolated incident, but is in your favor that is for sure.

I have seen few week old boas and balls, skin sagging and obviously not fed often (if ever if they are newborn) and severly dehydrated for $219 (boas) and $149 (balls), sometimes lower as well. Backbones that are so visible it is sickening due to the lack of nutrients (food and water).
I can swallow the price if the animal was healthy, but come on.
I have also brought it to the Managers attention, in more than one store, about the severe mites that have been found by me (not on all animals, but enough) and they pass it off as 'normal'.

Personally, I would not buy ANYTHING live from there. In fact, I was in one the other night to get water bowls to put on a kennel for shipping a dog and that was the first time I have bought anything other than aquarium supplies for my son's fish tank in YEARS.

The place needs help, no doubt about it.

 

[evansnakes]

We have a different situation here. Due to this areas high concentration of reptile specialty stores, they sell reptiles at very very low prices. And now they are opening more stores here. The care of animals and knowledge of staff is very minimal and should be address by the corporation. Even if they only see animals as money they should realize that they will not make money on dead ones.

 

[sputnik]

Petco

Well, I do know of one petco employee who management wouldn't let go to hospital because she was sick. She is also pregnant!

Her husband went and took her to the hospital regardless, where she was diagnosed with I believe, a viral infection that DID need treatment. No harm has come to the baby.

This gives you an idea of the mentality of some petco management people who care more about money then anything else.

 

[Wilomn]

We have a different situation here. Due to this areas high concentration of reptile specialty stores, they sell reptiles at very very low prices. And now they are opening more stores here. The care of animals and knowledge of staff is very minimal and should be address by the corporation. Even if they only see animals as money they should realize that they will not make money on dead ones.

Actually Even, they don't NEED every store to make money. In fact, I've often thought that they opened some up knowing in advance that they would fail. I guess it makes sense on a corporate level.

We had a bunch of them and petsmarts open up near me about 10 years ago. They came in, lowered prices on EVERYTHING and drove at least 8 long time Mom and Pop shops out of business. Then prices went up until they, the petcos and petsmarts figured out that the neighborhoods they were in would NOT support superstores. Then they closed. Poof. Just gone.

Now some of the mom and pop's are coming back. There are still a few of the big guys but less than half of what there were 10 years ago in my area. They've learned and now seem to target the more afluent nieghborhoods instead of densly populated but poor neighborhoods.

They do still suck though. They are still selling iguanas for 12.99 and nile monitors as great pets. They're getting 7.00 for green anoles too. I was just in one last night to buy dogfood, the only thing I buy from them and was amazed.

Oh well. When you're that big it REALLY DOESN'T matter if one or two or a dozen stores don't make it. Just close em up, take the corporate write off and open up 20 more someplace else.

Wes Pollock

 

[Gargoyle420]

I heard that on the radio yesterday.Great.

They need to raid our petco here in Peoria Il.They could also raid our superpets also.I saw a labyrinth burmese for 395$ and it had a ri was dehydrated and starved.I told the owner and he blew me off.Petstores just make me <font color=red>[**censored**]</font>in ill....Paul Yancick

 

[sputnik]

?

What is the point of the boa pic attached?

I would also suggest you tone your language down a little or you may not be a member for long!

 

[Mark and Aimee]

They are still selling iguanas for 12.99

I've NEVER seen a green iguana at a Petco for that cheap.

FWIW, our local Petco has exactly ONE Green Iguana left in the store, and I've been informed by people in the right places that it is the LAST iguana they will sell. Green Iguanas are no longer on their auto ship list.

Sometimes, Petco cannot be blamed for the condition of the animals they recieve. Blame Lasco, blame Tropaquatics, blame Gourmet Rodent. These are the companies that are supplying thousands and thousands of animals to Petco.

Bottom line - make sure you know the whole story before you point fingers. Or at least point ENOUGH fingers...

 

[Wilomn]

Let's see, green all over, spikes down the back, dewlap under the chin, big eyes, long tail with orangey/brown rings on it...........I STILL say they were iguanas. There was also this little sign with a picture of them that had written on it in English, one language I am fluent in, Iguana.

So, mark, just because you have never seen it does NOT mean it can't happen.

I didn't bother to talk to anyone in the store, I knew where to go for my dogfood. At this particular petco the reptiles are right up front and every six weeks or so, when I go in to get my dogfood, I take a pass by the reptiles to see what they have. The cage with the iguanas in it is a BIG six sided monster that always has iguanas or at least the sign for them on it.

The reason I don't bother talking to anyone at the store about the reptiles is because no one listens and even if they did listen the turnover there is real high. I have rarely seen the same people in there two trips in a row. I used to try to explain to them the proper diets for the snakes and lizards they had. Now unless there is something near death I just let them do their thing their own way.

Of course this is Cal. and we are known for having things somewhat different than the rest of the country.

If the animals are not taken care of once they get to the store it has NOTHING to do with where they came from. It's either ignorance of the store employees or policy of the chain.

No pointed fingers here, just open eyes.

Wes Pollock

 

[Mark and Aimee]

Let's see, green all over, spikes down the back, dewlap under the chin, big eyes, long tail with orangey/brown rings on it...........I STILL say they were iguanas. There was also this little sign with a picture of them that had written on it in English, one language I am fluent in, Iguana.

Wow, I didn't realize I said you were mistaken in identifying the species. I said I had never seen an Iguana offered at a Petco for $12.99. I've been to Petcos in Colorado, Minnesota, North Dakota, Missouri, California, and Florida.

The rest of my post wasn't about you, and wasn't in reference to anything you said.

Merely observations.

 

[Wilomn]

No problem mark.

Perhaps they were on special. I don't go in often enough to know if that was the regular price or not.

It is amazing how cheap the iguanas are out here. I saw some in a store in a part of So. Cal. that is mostly populated by Asians, and I'm not being racist here it's just the way it is down here, and they had some almost dead ones for 7.99.

The guy behind the counter didn't speak english so there was nothing I could do about them. The same shop had an emaciated savannah that they wanted 129.99 for. It may have already been dead, it was that skinny. I think, not positive about it ,but he was also selling obviously imported adult ball pythons for 139.99. Go figure. I do not think the balls had eaten at all as they too were VERY skinny and the only rodents in the shop were some small mice and some hamsters.

Now petco on the other hand, had balls the same length but somewhat fatter for only 69.99, I think. It may have been 89.99.

I have made it a habit to go into petshops for a long time just to see what they have and how they keep things. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised and sometimes I am horrified.

Last year I got a ball python that was almost as big around as a soda can for 30.00. She sucked up a large mouse right in front of me at the shop and hasn't missed a meal since. Of course, these guys also had about 10 nile monitors in a 10 gallon tank and none of them looked real good.

There's a guy out here that breeds his own bearded dragons. The ones he doesn't kill in his shop he sells really cheap. Last year he offered me 200 at 10.00 each. Having seen the condition of his breeders and the rest of his reptiles and birds, I passed. That and the fact that he had dead babies in with the for sale babies. This guy did speak english and I did try to talk to him about feeding and how to keep them, but I suspect it didn't work.

This is a thread about petco and I have digressed far enough. Petshops are about a quarter a dozen out here. Many of them only last a few months though. I see all kinds of crap.

Anyway, no problems mark.

Wes Pollock

 

[evansnakes]

To whichever Berger posted last, I know what you are saying and from time to time that may be the case, but I hope you understand that this is a company that staffs it's stores with 16-20 year old kids who have no background and no training. There have been many very common animals at these stores that are mislabeled. I have heard employees tell people how the central american ball python is much different than the african boa, baby burmese pythons eat pinkie mice, full grown iguanas are 2-3' long, etc., as an example. The company has very poor training programs, they do not support the stores with enough or good info and the management is retail managers that have previous experience at a drugstore, restaurant or other chain, hired for their management training and not knowledgable on reptiles. I have been at shows in Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh and other cities in this part of the country and many many times have had employees wearing there partsmart or petco shirts come into the shows. Some ask me for advice on husbandry while others have purchased animals from me saying that the animals at the store are so poorly cared for that they would not purchase them.

 

[Ken Foose]

I personaly love Petco, and Petsmart also. There are about 6 of each of them here in Vegas, and each and every day, one or more of them send customers to me. Want to identify a herp, "go to Exotic Pets". Want to know proper husbandry "go to Exotic Pets". I sell a lot of the Petco stores mice when they run out, and wood and decorations for thier store displays. The cricket traffic they send me is terrific, as they almost always seem to be out of them. I'm sure that the corperate honchos would not care at all for this, but everyone at the stores, from the clerks up to the managers sends business my way. The only thing I seriously regret is that Petco or Petsmart does not have a store next door to me. And Petco is not a cheap place to buy from as some people assume a big box store is. In fact, my prices beat Petco by about 20%, and I pretty much match up with Petsmart. Petcos philosophy has changed over the past few years. They are now seeking more upscale customers, as pretty much stated by the CEO and founder in a recent interview in Pet Age magazine, a trade publication for the pet trade. Essentially, they are blowing off the lower middle class and concentrating on the upper middle and wealthy customers. Hence, they plan on increasing thier margins over the next few years, effectively raising prices. The plan is to have customers pay more for the service the customer gets, both convienence wise and knowledge wise. However, anyone that has ever gone into a Petco knows that the staff, for the most part, is pretty much lacking in knowledge, and the staff that do have some smarts are shackled by Petcos own policies of conformity. Which is, once again, why I love them so much. As long as the beasts that are the "Super Stores" trudge along aimlessly like a big dinosaur with a very small brain, trampling everything in thier way, us little scavanger specialty stores will thrive underfoot, succeeding where they fail, and making a pretty good living to boot. Did I mention that I love Petland too?

 

[Double "D" Reptiles]

Perhaps we're lucky?

FWIW, I feel very lucky with the PetCo in Ft. Smith. The young man who supervises the reptile department also keeps a number of various snakes and lizards at home and is pretty familiar with the care of even the odd stuff they occassionally get in there. If they get something real strange, he doesn't take more than a day or 2 to have things under control and have a fairly good idea of how to care for them well. In the last couple of years he's even gotten pretty darned picky about what he'll let out to be displayed and is quick to nix any attempt at purchasing known problem critters such as imported SI boas. The only low point is that they do still have Igs, usually, but last few times I've been there it has appeared as if they're severely cutting down on the numbers they get in. Maybe it's a slow step in the right direction.

David

 

[Seamus Haley]

I disagree with anyone who has called this a positive action.

Big chain stores are no more or less likely to be neglecting animals than small chains and the majority of BOTH do a passable if not perfect job in my experience. Sure, the crapholes need to be shut down, but this kind of lawsuit and the results sets a very bad precident. Local animal law enforcement does have the power to close petshops and confiscate animals if there's any abuse, neglect or obvious health issues going on and when there truly is justification for it... It happens.

In this situation, local animal control had been called first, assesed the situation, noted that some changes needed to be made and dictated what they were. They did not feel it was warranted to remove the animals or fine the store... To me that says no fine was deserved and the animals were being taken care of in an acceptable if not perfect manner.

The push for the lawsuit was supported by a number of blatant herp hobby haters... PeTA and the HSUS supported this lawsuit, Kaplan helped organize the Petno petition and the animal rights nutcases who are anti-pet trade (rather than pro-healthy animals) crawled out of the woodwork. It had already promted some really stupid state laws (caresheets are required legally for feeder crickets in California the way the law is written) and while I think Petco managed to put a decent spin on it by voluntarily putting money towards care standards, it's dangerous... very dangerous... Just this big fat "Look what happened in California" waiting to fall on the heads of retail shops, breeders, dealers and hobbiests all over the country.

Heck, there are BOI posts from the time the lawsuit originated detailing some of the negative organizations and individuals who were supporting it... Before cheering over a victory, think about who REALLY won and who REALLY lost here.

 

[Steph Scranton]

Ok just gotta put my two cents in here. I am but a run of very bad luck, a Petco employee. Please don't hold it against me. I have a B.S. In Fisheries Biology and can't find a job in this darn economy. I will not defend Petco but let me give you some insite.

I have been working with aquarium fish for about 15 years. I have been working with reptiles for about 5 years. I worked at a small Mom and pop Petstore for two years. I was hired as a "Companion Animal Specialist" about 8 months ago at Petco. It was supposed to be "part-time". Then the fish person quit, the day I started. The boss asked me if I was willing to take over the job. I (stupidly) said yes. Wanna know what my training was? "Here's your keys, go to work".

I bust my butt to take care of the animals that we get in. If a reptile comes in thin/not eating/sick. It is not displayed. Trust me I get ALOT of slack about the number of animals that are in the infirmary getting some extra TLC. There are some animals that I refuse to bring in but sometimes I have no say and they ship them anyway. I hate having water dragons. I know we can not care for them in our enclosures, so I never order them. Friday, they sent me a "push" order of EIGHT! All 8 cam in looking like crap. There wasn't a one that doesn't have it's hip bones showing. I am not sure if ANY much less ALL will make it.

My last reptile order.......the iguanas were hatchlings right out of the egg; the ball pythons who were supposed to be a year old-looked like three months old max; the flying geckos-both were covered in mites(lost one right away); the african fat-tails were fresh imports,( I lost both DESPITE vet care and hand feeding), the tree frogs-one was DOA, the other two had redleg

Shall I go on?

Every once in awhile we get a call from our supplier, my boss fields these call now because I let them have a piece of my mind, one time when they called and they had sent me two emaciated Savannah Monitors among other things. hehehee, the person on the other end was speachless.

I am not defending Petco but some of the blame needs to fall on our suppliers. Not every store (very very few infact) actually has people that give a darn about the animals. Most of the kids they have working there, can't tell a sick gecko from a healthy one. They can't tell a lizard mite, from a spot. Heck half the managers can't. So when sick animals are sent in to begin with, they really don't stand a chance.

Yes, we need more extensive training classes. But to tell corporate america that they need to spend MONEY, is like talking to a wall. Every person who comes in to work all gun-ho and think they will change things, gets a really rude awakening. It doesn't take too long before they stop caring and burn out.

I could go on but why bother?