Note this location is now called "Petculture".
Lets see where to start. I am not going to mention the year, the type of animal purchased, or the staff involved with this purchase.
At the time the store was undergoing an ear-mite infestation which was not advertised clearly. The animal that was purchased was so uncared for that his back legs were not working. Therefore he was unable to lift himself up enough to defecate without getting his faeces and urine all over himself. When I asked to pick him up I was immediately covered in his excrement. I was not looking to purchase an animal this day but after seeing the sad state this animal was in I decided to purchase him on the spot. The staff were professional and polite and even provided a discount for the animal due to his condition.
After this I mediately contacted a vet to determine what was wrong with him. The vet informed me the his leg issues were simply the result of being locked into a cage for too long and not being allowed to move around. Also it was found out on that same visit that he had a ear mite infection. Which in the interim, spread to my other two animals of the same species. In total the vet bills for this purchase cost 286.18. On top of the cost of the purchase of the animal for 150 dollars. These prices do not include the charges acquired from treating the other two animals, but I will not count these as to be fair to the business since they were not purchased from this location.
The cage they were kept in was a fairly decent size and unfortunately was kept very dirty. Basically the excrement was not being cleaned on a timely fashion. Also older animals were mixed in with younger animals which can contribute to stress and lessen the well being of the older animals having to deal with the high energy levels of the younger animals.
My perception of this situation is that when a company that is built on the capitalist model of profit and exploitation the welfare of the animals is only a concern when it affects profit margins. To the people working at these locations I feel sorry for you having to work for minimum wage while having to watch some of the animal stock get sick and possibly die due to the practices of the company itself.
PetCulture and PJ's Pets are subsidiaries of Pets Unlimited. Companies such as these should be ashamed for their business practices. Other pet stores that only sell pet supplies are much less harmful to animals in general. My best advice is to stay away from this store. Not due to bad employees but due to bad business practices that basically leave many animals suffering or dying at such locations.
I feel sorry for your employees that genuinely care for the animals at your locations but I am sure there are many other employees that do not care for the welfare of the animals housed within walls of these stores. With that said I hope the SPCA eventually catches some of these practices but this is not likely to happen due to legalities and the limited funds of such organizations.
If you visit these stores to view the animals remember that looks can be deceiving and what you are being told and what is actually true may contradict each other.
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