Courageous Pip: A Testament to the Cruelty of Petland
In December of 2005, I went looking for a cage mate for one of my younger rats, Cerul. Due to complications as a very small baby, his growth was stunted and other rats his age had begun picking on him. After one of them seriously injured his hand, I decided it was too dangerous for him to stay in his current group. I seperated him, and went looking for a younger, smaller friend to keep him company.
If I had more time, I would have gone to a rescue or breeder, but that would have resulted in Cerul having to be alone for a couple of months: the time it would take to find an adoptable rat of a suitable age, combined with the quarantine period. I decided instead to look at local pet stores, to at least cut out the whole adoption process, saving considerable time. Because I happened to be in the area, I decided to have a look at Petland. I didn't intend to buy anything- Petland sells puppies and is notorious for the lack of care they give their animals. I just went in on a whim. I never expected things would be as bad as they were when I got inside.
The store was a small one, and it was packed from the door to the back wall with people. There was literally nowhere to move inside- and everyone was looking at the puppies. Petland prides itself on its puppies, which it touts as nothing short of super dogs. They claim their puppies are from "good" breeders, many of them having "champions" in their background (usually, this is a blatant lie) that they all come from loving families and wonderful breeders and are guaranteed health and behavior problem free.
In reality, these puppies are mill dogs. Those who do not come from backyard breeders out to make a quick buck come from puppy mills; battery farms for dogs. Often confined to rabbit cages, they are denied medical care, fed rotten food, starved, forced to live in their own waste, and breed until they can't anymore. Those who live until they stop producing are shot, starved, or abandoned to die - these animals are in hell. The puppies of these miserable dogs supply Petland and stores like it- though no one in the store at the time seemed to know or care. They were there to get a Petland puppy, the newest fad in my area.
The puppies were behind glass against a wall, in tiny white cages with wire floors. They had no food, water, beds, or toys in these cages. Some of them didn't even have others to keep them company- their only stimulation being the constant tapping on the glass from obnoxious customers.
Towards the front of the store were glass bins. They housed rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, ferrets, guinea pigs, and parakeets. They were all housed on pine bedding (the phenols of which cause respiratory illness and liver disease) and all had either unsuitable food or no food at all. Though few had been given small plastic igloos, most had nowhere to burrow or hide. The ferrets were extremely overcrowded, with about fifteen to twenty of them occupying a space suitable for one or two.
These bins were open, to allow "bonding" (as they put it) with the customers. The idea is that the customers are able to reach into the bins, pick up the animals, hold them, and then make an impulse buy based on how "cute" they are. This results in a miserable experience for the animal: they are constantly picked up, poked, prodded, harrassed, and tormented by complete strangers, day in and day out, with no escape. Children carry them around the store, squeezing them and tossing them into the air. They stick their hands into piles of sleeping hamsters and scatter them, terrifying them, and then laugh and run back to their negligent parents. This goes on all day, every day. Many of the animals looked exhausted, and ill.
The rats were housed at the back, away from the "pet" animals. They were feeders- hardly considered to have any more value than a bag of dog food. They were housed mixed sex in two ten gallon tanks, on damp pine bedding. The store was hot, and all of them were lying pressed against the glass, many of them on their backs, panting, sweating, and stressed. Their water bowl was lying empty, filled with wet bedding. The smell was unbearable- and I decided right then to leave- until I saw Pip.
Just as I was turning to go, one of the babies rolled over, exposing the right side of his face- and a huge, horrible abscess.
I wasn't going to buy him. It would just put money in the pockets of this awful place, and I couldn't be responsible for supporting them. I decided to tell an employee, and then leave. After spending a good 30 minutes trying to pull one of the employees away from trying to talk everyone they saw into a sick puppy, I took her over to the rat tanks. I pointed out the sick baby, telling her there was something on his neck. Her response:
"Aww, he's got food in his little pouches!"
This is wrong for many reasons. A) Rats do not have cheek pouches. B) Petland prides itself on the fact that they "educate" all of their employees. Why then, did she not know that rats didn't have cheek pouches? It's a pretty basic fact. There is no excuse for this level of ignorance when working directly with animals.
I stifled the urge to strangle her, and calmly explained the above facts to her. I told her that it was likely a tumor or an abscess, and that he would need medical care. She said they would "Take care of it."
I asked her if he would get to see a vet, and she said "No, we'll probably just feed him off." (To a reptile)
Now, Petland takes their puppies to the vet at the slightest sneeze. They have a guarantee stating that if you buy a hamster from them and it becomes ill, they will provide veterinary care. However, when a rat becomes sick in the store, they don't realize it, and when it's finally pointed out, they don't care. Not only that, but they were planning on feeding a rat with a massive infection to a reptile- indicating that she obviously didn't have any reptile knowledge, either. This also means that they feed their reptiles live food- which is dangerous for the reptiles as well as terrifying for the prey, and this is common knowledge among even the most casual reptile owner.
I mentioned the gurantee to her- "Well, you have a guarantee on your hamsters saying that if one becomes ill, you'll pay for their veterinary bills- why not this rat?"
Her reply was an offer to get the manager. I accepted.
So the manager comes, looking very bored and annoyed that I'm taking his time, and explains to me in an extremely patronizing, condescending manner that they do not supply vet care to feeders, as they are not "worth" the cost of seeing a vet. Feeders die. They are easily replaced.
I responded with choice words and an explanation as to why he was wrong. He still looked bored.
Seeing that I was getting nowhere, I asked to see him. I knew that if it was a tumor I'd have to leave him behind- money was tight and I wasn't prepared to pay for a tumor removal on a rat that wasn't my own at the time. The manager took him out, by the tip of his tail, and handed him to me. He was scared, but handleable. The growth on his neck looked like a tumor at first- until I saw the tiny bite mark underneath it. It was an abscess.
So, still glaring at him like I wanted him to fall down dead right there, I told him I'd take him- saying that he should just give him to me or at least discount him since he was injured- not because I really cared about a discount, but becaause I wanted to make a point.
He giggled at me like I was joking and said "Heh, you're not getting a discount."
I tossed 4 dollars at him and walked out without my change, stating very loudly ( very loudly, people were staring at this point) that if this rat didn't make a full recovery (and at that time, I wasn't sure that he would) I would call the newspaper, ASPCA, PETA, and anyone else who would listen. He giggled again and said "You do what you have to do." as I left.
He was so dehydrated and thirsty that I stopped at a fast food place and got him some water- and he drank for the entire 15 minute ride home.
Because it was New Year's Eve, and a weekend, I was not able to get him to a vet until Monday. This occurred on a Friday. When I got him home, I tried to drain the abscess. No luck. A syringe resulted in a small amoutn of pus, and then blood.
He was feeling terrible, and I honestly wasn't sure he was going to make it. I began dosing him with Children's Motrin to reduce the inflamation and help the pain, and he began to perk up. He was severly malnourished, and with the pain receding he began eating and putting on weight. I had hope.
He made it through the weekend, and to the vet Monday morning. The vet informed me that some abscesses are more inflamation that actual pus, which explained why we were unable to drain the thing. He gave me some Cefa drops to fight the infection and told me to keep him on the Motrin.
Slowly, Pip began to feel better. it was a long battle, and he was in constant pain. The one abscess turned out to be many, and this became apparent once the swelling went down.
It took nearly a month, and we had more than one close call, but they finally drained and healed and Pip is now a happy 4 month old, though his abscesses persist. They come and go, though these don't seem to bother him and cause him excessive pain like the first ones did. He will soon be undergoing surgery to remove the scar tissue causing the continuous abscessing.
This was Pip the morning after I got him:
Begining to Recover:
And today:
--
Though this story seems like it has a happy ending, what about the millions like Pip who were not so lucky? For every one who makes it, who finds a loving home and recieves the medical care and love that they deserve, countless more suffer unnoticed, and die alone. As long as we ignore this fact, their suffering will continue. Petland, and other stores who treat their animals similarly, will continue to thrive as long as people shop there. So what can you do?
Make noise. Tell everyone you know Pip's story, and educate them on the existance of puppy mills and rodent mills.
Boycott Petland and other chain stores who sell mill animals and deny them proper care, and tell everyone you know to do so too. Hit them where it hurts- in their bank accounts.
Write letters. I wrote a letter detailing Pip's story to the Petland corporate offices, and I recieved no response- but they can't ignore all of us. Flood them with letters, and force them to change. Let them know how you feel about their practices and tell them that until things change, you'll take your money elsewhere, and tell everyone you know to do the same.
bravenet.com