I spent about an hour here, and while I appreciate having the ability to handle all of the small furry critters, I do think that some sort of time out period for the animals during store hours would be wise, like adding lids to the cages that can be easily closed by staff when they feel like a certain cage of animals is getting stressed.
However, the first thing that came to my mind was the lack of hand sanitizers. The only way to clean your hands while you are here is to go to the bathroom in the back and wash your hands. I feel like having hand sanitizer available will go a long way in preventing a spread in any sickness between animals and/or people. I watched a kid running over to pet the kittens (7 weeks to 5 months?) after holding the ferrets, picking up rabbit poop, and messing with the dwarf hamsters.
Speaking to the health of the animals, the puppies I saw were from the local humane society, and seemed perfectly healthy to me. The cats and kittens they had on hand appeared to also be from a humane society, or some other shelter (There is no sign saying where the cats come from. This is speculation based on my own experience with shelters, and knowing that this is kitten season, so momma cats and their kittens are typically in need of homes or foster care this time of year). One cage with about 6 kittens in it was zip-tied shut so customers couldn't open the door, I'm assuming the reasoning for this was a couple of fleas I saw running through the fur of a little orange and white one. This cage was right next to all the other wire cat cages though, so I will once again assume that they have some sort of flea treatment on the little ones to kill off the fleas they have and to prevent the spread of fleas, since no other cat in another cage had any on them.
In terms of staff, they were all high school age. I wouldn't guess the oldest was more than 20 years old. I do think they are in need of an older pet expert of some sort, at the very least to back them up if they get a difficult customer. (If you've worked retail you understand this type, the customer you call your manager over to deal with.) They seemed perfectly prepared for standard operations, when a puppy made a mess in his little play area, they were quick to clean it up. All the animals were fed in a timely manner and had access to clean water. They helped customers find products they were looking for with a helpful attitude. When they asked if I needed any help, I didn't get the feeling they were talking down to me or didn't want to be there.
Side Note:
I would not suggest bringing a dog with you into the store, because there is a little tan chihuahua (with no leash/collar that can walk around the store, though mostly hangs out behind the counter.) His name is Poppy, he seems very nice, and had no issue with the puppies that were there in the store, but since he isn't on a leash or in an enclosed area behind the counter, if you bring your dog in, and this dog takes offense to that, you put both animals at risk. read more
