What Should I Do?

[TheChinClique]

I am so sick of my local pet store. I was with a friend today, and we decided to go in to see what they have. I always cringe when I see that they have Chinchillas, but this was worse than I would have thought, even for this pet store. The poor thing was lying on its side in a 12 inch tall by 24 inch wide containment cubical with no ventilation or air conditioning. I think I saw him or her go into convulsions a few times, probably because it was over 70 degrees in there today. The dust bath was left in the cubical, in a plastic food dish that had been chewed. The food was a mixed food, in a plastic dish that had also been chewed. There was, thankfully, some water...but this guy/girl did not look like it was too interested in drinking anything. I opened the tiny slot and talked to him/her for a few minutes and it just lied there. I pet it, and again, it did not move. I am really worried that if I don't do anything that he/she will die. They are asking $119.00 for the Chin which looks to be a beige. I talked to the person at the register, calmly explaining what could happen if action wasn't taken. Well it turns out this Chin has been there for months, and if it is there into the summer, there is an even greater chance it could die of heat stroke. The people do not listen to me, and this poor animal is not recieving any of the proper care that I described to the workers for previous Chinchillas they had (two of which did die). If I had all the money I needed, of course I would take the poor baby in. He or she looks to be at least five months old, probably older. He or she also looked very skinny, with a humpback which would suggest calcium defficiency. I asked them if I could take the Chinnie into my care, or perhaps take him or her for a small fee. They said they will absolutely NOT budge on the price. I don't want to give them my business, but this Chin will probably die if I don't. I don't know what to do...any suggestions?

[Kelley]

12" x 24"!!!
I feel sick.
I'm so sad to hear you had to witness that.
Life throws curve balls. You'll have to do what ever you think is best. I'm imagining this is not the last time I'll hear of animal cruelty.
Did you talk to the store owner, or at least a manager? Do they have chinchilla books in there store? Maybe you could pull out the "care" part in a book and calmly show it to them. Do they have any empty cages in the store that might be more suitable? Maybe you could suggest they switch locations?
This is a sad state of affairs and it is truly upsetting that you had to see this.
I've seen children treated this way. A young girl (15) lived in the hallway of my apartment building, in the late winter, while her Mom, who also lived in the building, would not let her in.
Upsetting things happen all around us. How we choose to deal with them shapes who we are, it matures us.
I hope you come to a peaceful solution to your upset.
Good luck, my thoughts are with you.

[TheChinClique]

Perhaps they could put this Chinchilla in with the bigger cage with the dead and diseased rats and hamsters? Yes, that's right, hamsters and rats in the same cage. One of the rats in there looked like she had died giving birth. No workers were doing anything about the condition of the animals' health. I have spoken with the manager, and no they do not have books on Chinchillas. I told them about the appropriate care and even went so far as to give them supplies, yet they seem to completely ignore me. It just irks me that I am TELLING these people that this Chinchilla WILL almost CERTAINLY die, and they will not lower the price or give him or her to me for care. All they care about is making a quick buck. At the very least, this animal should NOT be for sale, because it is sick and someone may not know (although I don't know how you couldn't as it's pretty **** obvious), and then have a whole lot of heartbreak- especially after dropping $120 bucks. If this Chinchilla is still alive and still there in a month, I am going to consider trying to make more offers and give more help at that time. I am going to also make some calls tomorrow to see what I can do with the current state of the habitat he or she is in. It's really sad that people who WORK with animals can be so unconcerned with their well being. It makes me sick.

-Andrea


12" x 24"!!!
I feel sick.
I'm so sad to hear you had to witness that.
Life throws curve balls. You'll have to do what ever you think is best. I'm imagining this is not the last time I'll hear of animal cruelty.
Did you talk to the store owner, or at least a manager? Do they have chinchilla books in there store? Maybe you could pull out the "care" part in a book and calmly show it to them. Do they have any empty cages in the store that might be more suitable? Maybe you could suggest they switch locations?
This is a sad state of affairs and it is truly upsetting that you had to see this.
I've seen children treated this way. A young girl (15) lived in the hallway of my apartment building, in the late winter, while her Mom, who also lived in the building, would not let her in.
Upsetting things happen all around us. How we choose to deal with them shapes who we are, it matures us.
I hope you come to a peaceful solution to your upset.
Good luck, my thoughts are with you.

[HobbyGuy]

I assume if the conditions were this bad, you did report the store to your local Humane Society, or similar agency -- right? What did they say???

The store won't give away a chinchilla... and if you spend money, they will just replace the chinchilla.

[TheChinClique]

WELL, I actually happen to live in the county with one of the worst humane societies in America. The president is a psychotic cat killer who is obsessed with holding large amounts of money for herself instead of spending it on the care of these creatures. I will call, but in the past this has done NO good at ALL. The volunteers there, the only ones who have any compassion for animals, cannot do anything. They are in the same position as I am in. I have reported pet stores in the past, and like I said, either nothing happened OR the animals were put down. This is why I usually try to avoid pet stores, but my friend just HAD to go in. I think I also saw a few dead hamsters while I was there. The guinea pigs looked really healthy, but the fish were in TINY enclosures. There were a lot of dead fish in there. I am going in on Friday to have a one-on-one with some of the staff and the manager, giving everyone some information on not just the Chinchillas but other animals as well that are definetly NOT getting proper care. I just hope the Chinchilla is not dead by then. I thought that he or she was already on its way out when I was there. I think it must have suffered some sort of seizure, as it was on its side and completely unresponsive. Maybe it could have had a seizure due to too much junk food? The food mainly consisted of treats. I have gotten these people to give me animals before, after loads of *****ing. I don't expect them to give me "an exotic" for free, but if I can get them to lower the price to something reasonable, I will accept it and move that poor animal out of there, TELLING them why I am doing it, and telling them that if they do decide to get more "stock" that I will boycott their store and will not support them until they become supplies only. I have done this as has my mom, but it is harder and harder now with Chinchillas getting ever more popular. I think the only reason this poor Chin is still there is because it is one of those "ugly red-eyed ones". I personally think this little guy or gal is quite pretty, and I would love to have him or her here as pet only. It's amazing how ignorant people can be about the animals they are supposed to "care for". Also, the people there thought Chinchillas were dinural and were telling customers this.

-Andrea

I assume if the conditions were this bad, you did report the store to your local Humane Society, or similar agency -- right? What did they say???

The store won't give away a chinchilla... and if you spend money, they will just replace the chinchilla.

[K. May Li]

Here's the Rat and Mouse Club of America's page on what to do when you witness animal cruelty in a pet store:

http://www.rmca.org/Articles/petstore.htm

...there are a lot of good links there, so you can find out your local laws, and how to have them enforced on this awful store. Good luck!

[foxbite2]

Hope you have a LOT of money.. because if you go in and buy the mistreated chin they have there.. they will probably just replace it with another one.. and the cycle will continue... your best bet is to try and educate the manager of the store on how to treat chinnies in his/her care.

[renee]

ya it is hard, but I would turn around and LEAVE the store and NEVER go back! Make sure to spread the word, maybe even make signs. Buying the chinchilla won't make them change their ways, however taking their business away will! Noone wants to buy a sick pet and most people won't continue purchasing pet supplies from a store that treats pets so badly. The majority of people that buy food and toys are animal lovers and would gladly shop somewhere else. There are alot of petstore's to pick from in most areas.
I know that i wouldn't continue purchasing from a store that was so ignorant!
Go ahead and post the name on this forum! Tell people not to go there, it is your right afterall! The minute you start to mention the name of the store I bet they will fix things very quickly!
-renee

[luvothechase]

yes, i second that. No matter what, DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY $. all they will do is replace it with some other poor animal. there are good pet stores out there, but places like this make all of us look bad! my store that i work at and will hopefully own with the year is not the most gorgeous place in the world, but the animals are well cared for, and clean! I would definitely be taking such a place to the authorities, even if you have to call another county.

[Jules7533]

I agree that you should not purchase the chinnie, because they will get more. If you said two already died on them I am surprised they got a third. They can't make money like that. I also think you should contact the United States Humane Society if they are selling sick or diseased animals, if your local humane society will not do anything. Not much you can do alone, but if they get involved maybe they will have to change their ways or get shut down.