Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A Gorgeous violet male budgie, bright dark eyes that when gazed upon you could see his spirit. He had it all, sweetness, charm, love, and the want to be someones friend. unfortunately I only knew buck for 10 minutes. You see he was a Petco budgie, kept in an unlit glass cage with a dozen or so other budgies. He was presumably the lowest in the flock and disposable to not only one of the other budgies, but also the Petco staff. He layed in the bottom of the cage for possibly a half hour being mauled to death by another male. Near death, the Petco staff couldn't have cared any less for him as they took nearly ten minutes to come to his aid, mean while the other male was still on his back biting him, with several children watching as Buck was being attacked. After an arguement with the clerk I purchased Buck hoping to at least give him comfort in his death. He died shortly there after.

Budgies aren't dispoable they require care and compassion. Buck didn't have to die like this.
Petco has been informed of the conditions and lack of care these birds are getting.

I'm glad you did. Those conditions are unacceptable.
Let us know what you hear from Petco.

So far I've only received the automatic response letting me know my email has been received. Probly wont hear from them til at least tomorrow.

We have complained repeatedly to our somewhat local Petco and written letters to no avail. They have left dead lizards in the cage for over 24 hours. They will let birds fight until one is injured (although I haven't seen them actually kill each other, sorry you had to witness that). One bird was so sick and weak it fell from it's single perch onto the floor and just lay there.

I really hope you have a different experience with this store and something actually happens to make the future "stock" of animals better cared for. We can only hope that with enough compaints, letters or messages that one day something will change.

I hate going in to the pet stores that carry birds and other live animals and only do so if I can't order food for the flock or buy it elsewhere.

I haven't heard back from the company yet. Someone on another forum who works at a Petco near to this one has contacted the regional animal coordinator about this. And if nothing is improved in a few days to a week I will be getting in touch with the SPCA.

I did take some pictures of his vent, the back of his head where the other budgie was biting him, his tail, and his keel, so if they want to argue that he was in good shape I have proof that shows otherwise.

this is what I received today from the company

"Thank you for contacting PETCO regarding your concern with our store. I am so very sorry to hear about your recent experience in this store, more specifically with the way the birds were being cared for at this store. We strive to give every customer a fun and friendly shopping experience every time they visit one of our stores. Anyone can go to any store they like, but they come to PETCO for the atmosphere and our dedication to assisting customer's and their pets' needs and I feel awful that you didn't have this experience.

I have documented your complaint and I have absolutely forwarded this on to the General Manager of this store as there is a clear opportunity for training here and additional Customer Service directives as well and you can bet that we will do all that we can to ensure that this matter is resolved in a timely manner. Please feel free to send us a photo of your purchase and I would be more then happy to forward this to the GM as well. I would like nothing more than to continue to see you in our store again. I’m hopeful that our responsiveness to you in the future helps to secure your patronage once again.

Please know that we care about our customers and what they think of us. By letting us know when we fall short of your expectations, we have the opportunity to address your concerns and to be better prepared to meet your expectations in the future. If we can be any further assistance, please feel free to reply to this email or call PETCO Customer Relations directly at 1-888-824-7257.

Thank you again for contacting PETCO.

Sincerely,

Aaron S.
Customer Relations Coordinator

At PETCO, Animals Always Come First... Our People Make it Happen! "

I sent them the photos of Buck I took after he passed on and a photo of the recipt, we'll see what happens.

Well at least they did respond and know how to kiss....up!

I will always hope that something happens to change the "bad" pet stores because I know there will always be some people who shop there or some supplies you can't find elsewhere when you need them. Maybe enough complaints to the right people enough times will at least help some of the stores and the animals being kept there. Keep trying and keep us posted on what happens.

I got a call this afternoon from the manager at Petco. He was slightly rude when I explained to him that it did not take the ten minutes that it took the staff to come to Buck's aid for him to get in the state he was. and in an attempt to shut me up on the matter they offered me a free bird.
He also said Buck should never have been sold to me, and I explained why I offered to buy him, and he didn't want to admit that they weren't going to take him to a vet(the clerk said they'd take him the following day, he would have been dead by then. The manager said the clerk would have called when he got Buck to the back room).
I told him, I dont want this to be shrugged off by them, he then ended the conversation.

we'll see what happens now.

This is such a sad story I used to shop at Petco a lot, then one day I was looking for a lizard. I went back to the little octagon "terrarium" where they had Gecko, chameleon, and some other funky looking lizards, and SNAKES! There had to have been 50 snakes in the same cage as all these lizards! What's one of the snakes favorite foods? You guessed it, Lizards! Looking around the cage i saw this sad skinny brown as the dirt lizard, looked like a sick iguana, but it wasn't, it was a Chinese water dragon, also known as the GREEN water dragon! I had one of the workers take him out and she was just mean ripping him off his perch, where he was obviously fearing for his life, and sort of tossed him into my arms. (I'm pretty sure she was afraid of him)
I complained about the snakes in with the lizards, explaining the natural fear of snakes, and the fact that there were lizards from all different climates being kept in the same cage. I bought the poor dragon, took him home and got him all fat and green like he was supposed to be, and fed him small mice and fish and things, even though they told me he only need 8-12 crickets a day! I went back after he died,(months after I bought him) and they hadn't changed a thing! I complained again, and got the response "they all seem to do fine together". Poor George didn't do so fine, and he later died on his top perch and fell dead to the cage floor I only had him a few months, but was so glad to have made him feel happier and safe for his last few months.

That was the day I boycotted Petco. I still go to PetSmart, still a conglomerate, but the one by me is clean, and so are the cages. And they seperate all lizards by species!

I'm sorry you had to see this same lack of care for animals that Petco has, but I'm glad at least you were there to help him out at the end. And this is how they treat a "rare" keet?!
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Dianne,
Mom to a 12 yr old human girl (still in obedience training!)
A 1 year old Aussie/Border Collie mix "Jack"
A 9 year old gray short-hair Korat-looking kitty "Timothy"
A 9 year old black 'n' white short hair kitty "Trouble"
4 parakeets "Salty" m 3yrs,"Skye" f 2.5 yrs, "Sea" f approx 1yr, "Pepper" m approx 1yr.

Thank you for posting this story and for your compassionate attempt to ensure that Buck passed peaceably.

Unfortunately like Mary from NY, I remain convinced that megaconglomerate corporate enterprises like PetCo will not alter their policies. I used to work in a family- and vet-owned pet store that prioritized taking care of its staff and its animals, and time and again, I only heard and saw inhumane and unacceptable treatment toward animals at Petco. In fact, the only thing I remember putting a crimp in their style was their losing a lawsuit and being forced to pay through the nose.

To that end, apart from contacting Petco, you absolutely should contact ASPCA, PETA, and other relevant organizations. Even if Petco changes the quality of that local store, the systemic problems will remain, and these larger advocacy groups have the resources to launch extensive campaigns and even legal action. Thank you for using your power as a consumer and as an empathetic individual to combat such an atrocity.

Can I just add, DON'T contact PETA please! They want to ban all pet keeping, this would only fuel their crusade!
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Dianne,
Mom to a 12 yr old human girl (still in obedience training!)
A 1 year old Aussie/Border Collie mix "Jack"
A 9 year old gray short-hair Korat-looking kitty "Timothy"
A 9 year old black 'n' white short hair kitty "Trouble"
4 parakeets "Salty" m 3yrs,"Skye" f 2.5 yrs, "Sea" f approx 1yr, "Pepper" m approx 1yr.