Would you "rescue" a pet from the pet store?

More than once I have heard "I bought that betta (a fish) because it was dying in that cup with only half inch of water". That is basically how stores display their betta fish. Of course, no fish can last long in such condition, but that is not the point here. The point of today is, quite a few people buy animals from pet stores just because they see the horrible conditions the animals are in. They decide that buying the animal would be saving their lives.

Sometimes the people who rescued these animals know exactly what they are doing, and they are totally capable and prepared to take care of the pets. For example when someone who already have a lot of fish tanks and fish at home with extra tanks to spare, he or she would have no problem taking care of one more fish. In that case, the animals being brought home from the pet stores are saved.

Equally as often, many people who have no idea what they are doing still bought the pets in an attempt to save them. Sometimes what I read is more like "I just saved a betta from the pet store, now what do I do?" it usually does not end well for the pets because their new owners lack of the capability and preparedness to take care of them correctly.

What I think about the whole thing is, if you buy animals in poor conditions from the pet stores, you are encouraging the practice of not taking care of the animals properly. It doesn't matter how many animals you "save" from the pet stores, there will always be more to take their places in the same cages, fish tank, shelves. I see no point to "rescue" poor animals from the pet stores as it will only bring the pet stores profit by continue doing what they are doing.

What does everyone think? Would you rescue a pet from the pet store if you see it's in poor conditioner, and perhaps already sick?

Same here. I see no reason to rescue a pet from a pet store. If they are mistreating the pets, the proper procedure would be to report them to the authorities and let the authorities do the rescuing. If anyone is interested in doing any rescuing, I would strongly recommend going to the nearest animal shelter. There are plenty of pets waiting to be rescued there. In many cases, the rescue is a very real thing because if the pets in the animal shelter are not adopted, they will be put down.

There is no chance for authority to intervene in the case of betta fish being kept in cups. It is the same way how betta fish are treated everywhere in stores. Most people don't even know this is wrong because they have misinformation about how betta fish can survive. It is only cruel in the eyes who know how to keep fish, because no betta fish can survive for long in a cup with no filtration and heater. Reporting such incidents will not have any result but having authority laughing at you.

No, we are not talking about shelters here. Just pets from pet stores.

I wouldn't "rescue" a pet from the pet store. They're not in good conditions there, but neither are dogs in the pound or cats in a cat shelter either. I find it baffling that people who work in pet stores and are supposed to be pet lovers too, allow this to happen.

Incidentally, when I went to the pound to rescue my oldest dog, I wasn't even there to get her. I was there to get another dog that my friends aunt had dropped off - because she too "couldn't take care of it any more". It was a golden retriever puppy, had all its shots, and was fixed and ready to go. My friend called me up frantic and said "you've been talking about getting a dog, this is perfect for you" so we hurried up there. However as we were walking from cage to cage, I saw this little coon mix puppy and picked her up and petted her for a bit, but that wasn't the dog so I put her back. Well when we finally found the golden retriever puppy, as soon as I picked him up the other one started wailing and howling. I totally melted, and put the golden retriever back and took her home instead, lol. But at the same time I was thinking, that retriever is gonna get snatched up by someone, as popular as they are.

There are a few aquarium fish shops where I used to live. There's nothing to rescue there. Everything is kept very clean. The fish were all very well taken care of. In fact, the aquariums in the shops were models for us to emulate at home.

As for dogs, very often they pick us as much as we pick them. I remember adopting an old dog once. It was probably about ten years old. It's owner was an old lady who had gone back to her village leaving the dog to her niece who couldn't look after the dog too well because she was busy. The old dog just took one look at me and followed me home without any questions asked.

Sorry people, I was only asking if you would buy a pet from a pet store when you see that pet is under poor care in order to save a life.
Please do not go off-topic saying you adopt pets elsewhere.

I don't know if I would be propelled to buy the fish or any other pet I see being mistreated in a pet shop to be honest. I might ask to see the store manager and inform them of the mistreatment. I would hope that would be enough to ensure that the fish would be better cared for. I don't think I would buy a pet that I really have never had and know nothing about caring for because I see it mistreated, but I guess some may feel that way, and there is really nothing wrong with that.

There is but one reason I would buy a pet store animal, & that is if they were having a Going Out Of Business Sale! I would like to rescue the remaining pets as long as the store was done for good. Other than that, no way would I buy a pet store pet.

My daughter applied to work at a pet store because she is a dog lover, like me. She didn't get the job even though she had a long resume of working with dogs, a member of a 4H Dog Club for many years, volunteering at a rescue center, etc. She did not have sales experience, that is why she didn't get the job. They wanted someone who had the experience to SELL to the customers - such things as pet toys, brushes, dog shampoo, and you name it. They wanted someone who could sell all the 'bells and whistles' to the customers. Not necessarily someone who cares about animals. She was dismayed after that and now refuses to buy anything from that store.

It is no wonder that animals are not treated properly at pet stores. They are mainly interested in profit.

If I had the space and money, I know definitely my wife and I would rescue pets if they're in horrid conditions. Betas are one example as to how badly the stores treat these little guys, who, according to my research, have sublime personalities.

We've seen dogs sleep in urine and feces and it's disgusting to see. We see cats in boxes, who look very sad and miserable. It's awful to watch. So, as I answered in your poll, it would be a maybe depending on the animal and my situation.

I actually did that 14 years ago. I was looking for a kitten. I wanted to get one at the Humane Society, but I hadn't gotten there yet. My husband, kids and I were driving around town doing some shopping. The pet store was right next to the office store we had just been in. My girls begged us to please go in so they could see the animals. We ended up going in. We looked at every single animal, fish, rodent, etc. that was in the store upon the girls insistence. The last thing we looked at was this tiny little orange and white kitten. It was the only kitten in the store. They said they had a litter of kittens that someone had dropped off there that they found on the side of the road. I know you all probably think I'm naive, but I did and still do believe this story. This happens a lot around here. It's how we got our last cat too.

My oldest daughter found a litter of kittens on the side of the road on a foggy night. They didn't have the heart to leave them there. But, anyway, this little kitten was the only one left. We bought everything we needed for our kitty and went home. We were all in love with him right away. Two days later, he was crying and could barely walk. My husband picked him up and felt that his belly was hanging down. We knew something wasn't right so we brought him to the vet right away. The vet examined him and found his insides were coming out through a hole in his belly. The vet said he was born that way. We have no idea how we didn't notice this right away. He had a $600 surgery to save his life. The next day, we called the pet shop to tell them what happened. We told them we wanted some kind of compensation for this since it was a birth defect which they should have known about before putting him for sale. They refused to do anything. We fought this for a few weeks before giving up. We weren't surprised when 2 weeks after that, they had an Out of Business sign on the window.

We still have this cat. He's been through 3 surgeries. The last two were for urinary stones. He nearly died on us last Christmas time. We still don't exactly know what happened. He was vomiting and losing weight. The tests didn't show anything. The vet gave him a few syringes of fluid under his skin and he was better a few days after that. That cat sure is a fighter!

While I do see your point, I would rescue the animal if I felt it were suffering too much. Sure, the pet store will profit, and they'll just buy another fish to put in that half cup of water. But honestly, they are probably going to do that anyway. So, the fish I see dies, and so does the next one, and on and on.

But, if I buy that one fish, at least he will get to have a chance. Helping one fish is better than helping none.

Also, if this were the case, I wouldn't just buy the fish and go home and live my life. First off, I'd buy the fish, and then let the owner/manager, or even clerk have a piece of my mind. I guarantee you, they'd throw me out of the store. Then, I'd go home, get online, and spread the word as much as possible, and let everyone know that this store doesn't care about it's animals.

Save the fish, hurt the store. Who cares about the 0.50c in profit they made off me? I'll cost them more than that after I hurt their reputation.

(12-12-2012, 03:39 AM)Molly Wrote: My daughter applied to work at a pet store because she is a dog lover, like me. She didn't get the job even though she had a long resume of working with dogs, a member of a 4H Dog Club for many years, volunteering at a rescue center, etc. She did not have sales experience, that is why she didn't get the job. They wanted someone who had the experience to SELL to the customers - such things as pet toys, brushes, dog shampoo, and you name it. They wanted someone who could sell all the 'bells and whistles' to the customers. Not necessarily someone who cares about animals. She was dismayed after that and now refuses to buy anything from that store.

It is no wonder that animals are not treated properly at pet stores. They are mainly interested in profit.

Molly, I'm sorry she didn't get the job, yet, this experience has given her a little insight to what it's all about. And I am very impressed she is boycotting them, for their practices - good for her !

Of course, the other ugly side to many pet stores are the mills, & those are truly a horrible way for an animal to live & many times, die.

I long for the day Molly, when all pet stores sell are supplies & food; no live animals. Sadly, on sites as Craigslist & others, many of these family pets people give away to strangers, end up in mills or worse, research labs as there are "people" that will take free pets, or pay nominal cost, then in turn, sell them to labs & mills.

Sorry for the rant! But proud of your daughter!

(12-15-2012, 02:36 PM)themdno Wrote: While I do see your point, I would rescue the animal if I felt it were suffering too much. Sure, the pet store will profit, and they'll just buy another fish to put in that half cup of water. But honestly, they are probably going to do that anyway. So, the fish I see dies, and so does the next one, and on and on.

But, if I buy that one fish, at least he will get to have a chance. Helping one fish is better than helping none.

Also, if this were the case, I wouldn't just buy the fish and go home and live my life. First off, I'd buy the fish, and then let the owner/manager, or even clerk have a piece of my mind. I guarantee you, they'd throw me out of the store. Then, I'd go home, get online, and spread the word as much as possible, and let everyone know that this store doesn't care about it's animals.

Save the fish, hurt the store. Who cares about the 0.50c in profit they made off me? I'll cost them more than that after I hurt their reputation.

I also speak to management when I see the poor Beta fish - I ask them " isn't that abuse to house a fish where he can't even swim, & barely turn?" They say " they are used to it! So I say," but does that make it right?!" They usually have no answer but will say, they turn around so fast that people take them home & put into their tanks! I said" not always! See that dust on that jar & this small piece of tape on the back ? Yea, I put it there a week ago!" & one of them actually replied he would make sure they rotae the jars more often, but I said " they are not cheese will pull dates!", them I walked away...grrrrrrrr !!!!

This would be a real tough choice. The ideal option would be to save the animal + be able to report the pet store and see something done about it. The animals there can be in a lot worse conditions then in shelters, but saving them makes profit for the pet store and a new animal will surely take the saved one's place. It's a really sad circle. I can relate this to the saying "Saving just one dog won't change the world, but surely it will change the world for that one dog", that one animal will live a nicer life for sure. If it died there it would still be replaced. Sometimes I just want to come at night and trash the pet shop, saving all of the animals.

It would depend on the animal at the pet store. I have bad luck with healthy fish so I would hesitate taking on a sick fish. But if it was a cat or a dog, and I thought it was just because they were in the glass cage. Sometimes, even in a normal pet store, perfectly healthy animals loose body mass because they are only walked for a couple minutes a day. So if the animals just look like they would get better with some basic TLC, walking, and food, I would do it. I probably wouldn't do it if I thought they had something serious like an ulcer of something. Pet stores have insurance for that.

Answering to impulsivity and being a hero should only come at a time when one knows what he or she is capable of. Your mercy will always come with a price once you took a life under your wing. Think about it first if you will be able to care for it. If you suddenly got into rescuing, research and make efforts into caring for the animal. If you really have no time to care for it, learn how until you've found someone willing to take it off your hands.