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Pet Company - Insider's Report

dawn of boston, MA October 26, 2009

Friends don't buy a pet or shop at this store. They must smoke in store...My kitten's dry food bag smells like smoke. This woman in charge should be at a prison instead of at a pet store.My husband overheard her speak to a register gal with no respect. Then she was awful to a young gentleman who was sweating as he unloaded heavy bags or products. Why would Petco put someone like this person in charge of people. Would she abuse animals too. My husband said the store should close or remove present management

K. of Chattanooga, TN October 23, 2009

Okay, so I work at the Pet Company. I am not proud of that. I am a pre-vet major and I needed a job badly. Let me tell you all that all of your alligations are correct. These animals are NOT taken care of in the least. There are roaches everywhere and a whole lot of un-caring staff. I am the only one at my location that cares anything about the puppies. I bought a pekingese from the pet company and he was allergy ridden, had an eye disease, kennel cough, and worms. this is a decrepid place. I work there only to ensure that on my watch the puppies get a little love and proper care.

Kristina of Milford, CT October 21, 2009

Pet Stores.....What do we knows about them, besides of going there and look at the puppies and/or other animals that they sell there. Well, I have been working for one of those stores, and I am going to tell you people the real truth of where the puppies coming from and how they being treated there. When I started I was very excited, I am a huge dog's fan and working in the pet store sounded like fun to me.....The excitment ended after the very first day of working there.

How the puppies is being delivered: Well, there was a guy, who would drive to some of the close states, like PA, DE, NY, NJ and CT itself, he would already know the location of where he is going to get the puppy from.All of the puppies, by the way, would come from a puppy mill. All the bull s**t that sales people would tell you about professional breeders is a lie!...Professional breeder Never sell a pure breed healthy puppy to a pet store!...So they guy would pay as much as 200 or 300 for a pup, put them in a tiny cage in his truck and drive to the store.

At the store: As soon as puppies delivered, sales people put them in to another tiny metal cages in a back room, where puppies would stay for several days, without excersises or even being let out for at least a few minutes!...Sales people would tell you that they have their own Vet. that comes once a week and check all of the puppies, it's another bull shit. Yes, they do have a vet. but he would come only once a month and check only new puppies, not all of them! Althought, after puppies being arrived, sales people start "making up" their own prices for puppies, so the price which the store itself payed for a pup, goes from 200 to 2,000 or even 3,000!!...Now, they will tell you that puppy is AKC and is coming with a waranty, and waranty would cover all the vet expenses and if dog dies you would get a new one for the same price you have paid.....Well, everyone can buy AKC online, if they want....And about waranties, if you will go on www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/pet_company.htm and read the complaints from actual customers, you'll find out, that waranties are although a bull shit, most of the people that have purchased their dogs from the pet stores, have paid more on a vet bills then the actual cost of the dog!!...And nothing have been refunded.

If puppy gets sick while being in a store: And yes they do get sick there!...Most of the puppies that have been arrived to the store get a kennel cought of canine flu, which can grow into pneumania if not treated right.And guess what they do with a sick dog?....They bring them in to back room, where they have another room, that is smaller than a bathroom with a metal cages, that look like a prison and put the dog in to the cage.And keep them there untill the dog either dies or gets better, then they sell it, without letting the customers know that the dog has been or is still sick!

Puppies being kept in a store untill they sold, so imagine a dog is 6 months old and is still didn't get sold!?....And if it gets lucky and gets sold, then it scared of it's own shadow once it leave it's cage. The sales people would tell you "Oh, he so cute, he is my favorite!!"....Don't listen to them, it's all bull s**t!...As soon as customer leaves they would say "That dog is f***** ugly!...And it's already under 1,000, so it doesn't matter if it gets sold, I won't make any comission out of it anyway." The puppy get's lucky if it's being let out of it's cage at least once a week!!.....Puppies there don't see a sun, grass or anything!!..They being treated like a prisoners!! People, if you're looking to buy a puppy, please, do not go to the pet stores, yes, puppies there look cute, but they are not healthy.Buy puppies only from a professional breeders, not from puppy mills!! I quit that job shortly, because I just couldn't watch those people treating dog just like that and there was nothing I could do alone.

Ashlee of Lawrenceville, GA July 17, 2009

My mother just quit her job from this store due to the DM. She will call offices and anyone she needs to and scream and curse in front of the customers. She has been taking her child to the store along with her dogs. And now there are dogs that are sick(she says it's the workers fault). She will make the cut the people when she feels like it. She doesn't do anything her new workers she won't even help. And today she fired every black person that works there. She only kept Mexican people because they speak Spanish or she would have fired them too. She is the meanest distict manager ever. And the offices don't see it.She is really mean to her works also.

Wayne of Villa Rica, GA January 1, 2009

Wayne of Villa Rica GA (01/01/09)
Hi my name is wayne and i work at one of these pet stores in georgia, although i cannot defend the other pet companies i sure as heck will defend mines. I work at arbor place mall and if you enter our store not only will you get customer statisfaction but believe you me, our store is kept in tip top shape. It seems like everone here complaining would rather find a pet in the street, pick it up (with all of its unknown diseases) take it home, spend hundreds of dollars for shot, med's etc and then claim they resuced a dog thats all admiral and all, but have you ever took a step back from your own world and see that we keep them warm, safe, with there shots, and nice bath and human interaction and love.

no all yall see is a cage and bars, and some poop. everyone poops ladies and gentleman, and we damn near try our hardest to attend to that situation asap. We push these puppies so hard to get them a home. I work hard to get them out of those so called jail cells to a nice home. if your so despertly concerned for them....BUY THEM!!! and the price, by god, where else can u find a register dog, microchipped, ALL shots up to date, ped. papers and a LIFE TIME WARRANTY all in one.

its more than safe to say...we keep you guys insured, yes fine you had a bad experience, but tell me you havent faced a bad exp. at a shoe store or grocery, how bout if your ever in douglasville you stop by, ask for wayne and i bet you, i can show you a happy dog!! My Store takes action and takes great care of our dogs....and one more thing...if you so called did ur research...OUR PUPPIES ARE NOT PUPPY MILL!!! ITS CALLED PRIVATE BREEDERS SO YOU SURE AS HECK WONT FIND IT ON ANY WEB SITES PEOPLE!!!! that's all i have to say...do not bash until you actually know what your talking about

Kate of New Paltz, NY December 30, 2008

Kate of New Paltz NY (12/30/08)
I work at a Pet Company as the animal care technician. Everyone that works at this store loves and respects every single puppy that comes here. We have two shifts of animal care: morning shift that takes care of the pups from 8-1. The afternoon shift comes in from 5-9. During this time, we feed, bathe, clean the cages and play with the puppies. Seeing that there are about 30 puppies under our control, it is impossible to give each puppy a bath everyday. Whenever I work I ask the sales people which puppies need a bath that day. They tell me which one smells or has a bit of feces on it. I can personally tell you that NONE of our puppies are ever covered in feces or urine like some of these stories say. We take care of these puppies as well as we can, with the resources we are given.

In an ideal situation, of course all the puppies would have blankets and bigger cages, but it is not a perfect world. The company built the cages like that and there is nothing we can do to change it. I have complained a bunch of times about how the puppies have to stand on the grates all day, but the president and others in charge don't seem to care. Blankets are not aloud because they hold germs. I would just like to end by repeating the fact that us workers do our best (generally speaking), and if anyone has a problem with how the puppies are being treated, don't hesitate to notify officials. When going into a pet store, you have to be prepared. The puppies may not always look as comfortable or happy as they can be, but we are certainly trying our best. Hopefully one day pet shops will have to be redesigned with better cages.

Elle of Mays Landing, NJ November 9, 2008

Elle of Mays Landing NJ (11/09/08)
I was employed by The Pet Company for several years and witnessed not only neglect and abuse of the animals, but also SERIOUS abuse of the employees. The company is run on a system of fear based management, harassment and intimidation( especially by the executive vp Chris and his sidekick Bonny). The former manager of the store I worked in was even hospitalized because of the abuse and torment he endured while working there. The employees are grossly under paid and have absolutely no training whatsoever. Employees are expected to vaccinate and medicate dogs without having any experience. During my time of employment I saw a countless number of animals die simply because the company didn't want to put out the money to help them- and in most cases the treatment was something that would have been simple and inexpensive.

The Pet Company is built on lies-in one meeting they held we were told by the vp that the dogs DO come from puppy mills but that we are not to tell customers that. We were told to say that all the dogs come from USDA certified private breeders, but that is hardly the case. After doing some investigation on my own of these private breeders I found that many of these breeders house thousands of dogs in deplorable conditions AND actually have charges lodged against them by the USDA, Health Dept, etc.

As far as the SEVERE abuse of employees, I could go on for days about it. One employee that worked with me was not paid for over a month! Many employees often receive paychecks which have been shorted. My DM would often make derogitory comments about other employees (calling them white trash, fat disgusting slobs...). I was once pulled aside by the vp and his sidekick and told that the company was taking out the trash...getting rid of the men holding them back... and replacing them with strong, independent women who don't need a man.... Being that I am married AND a strong independant woman I found that personally offensive. On a regular basis employees are threatened with being fired if they converse with ex-employees (as the vp says- you are an at will employee and you can be fired at any time for any reason. A GROSS misuse of Nj employment laws).

Many other ex-employees I have spoken with have evidence on the company of payroll fraud, sexual harassment, non-compliance with Nj minor laws, etc but ALL of them fear that retaliation will be taken if they come forth. None of the ex-employees who I have spoken with have ever been able to leave the company without some form of recourse being taken by Chris or Bonny. A former manager was even paid several extra weeks pay to keep quiet and NOT go to authorities with incriminating evidence she had on them. Another former manager was accused of stealing AFTER he had notified Bonny that he suspected a sales person of stealing (and he had evidence to support his suspicions too).

To anyone thinking of working for The Pet Company: working for this company is far more trouble than it's worth. Even if you want to work there for your love of animals(like I did), you will quickly learn that you are only employed to push sick animals on people and coverup the injustices and abuse that that company puts those poor animals through. The bullying that takes place in that company is not worth ANY amount of money and cannot make up for the lasting effects the abuse will leave you with. Please take my advice, steer clear of The Pet Company if you're looking for employment.

To anyone looking to buy a puppy: Do your research on this company before purchasing anything. Don't believe the lies they will tell you about the puppies being healthy or from good reputable breeders. Also, read ALL your paperwork VERY thoroughly if you do buy a dog from them-they say they will reimburse your vet bills but that may take months, they will fight you on paying most of your bill and there's absolutely nothing they can do to repair the heartache you will feel if your dog dies because they sold it to you sick. If you do buy a puppy and it is sick, your best bet is to bypass going to the company and go straight to the proper authorities (believe me you will not be the first or the only one). My best advice to you- just stay away from The Pet Company...as far away as you can!

I have been diagnosed by my doctor as having anxiety issues and stress related health issues that only developed once I had been with The Pet Company for some time. My doctor believes that these issues are directly related to psychological trauma and bullying I was subjected to by Chris and Bonny during my time of employment. I am, at present, unable to work because of the effects of this abuse.

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