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PETCO Customers Speak
Complaints Received From Customers.
March 25, 2005
Store #643
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding malnourished animals on display. Nearly a third of the toads for sale in an overcrowded tank were obviously ill. The remains of several fish were on display.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
March 23, 2005
Unknown store location
A complainant contacted PETA to report having found a dead rat on display at this PETCO store. An employee who was notified of the situation was unresponsive.
March 22, 2005
Store #1739
Morrow, Ga.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after seeing hamsters cannibalizing the remains of a tankmate on display. An employee who was notified of the situation only covered up the animal’s remains and did not remove them from the tank.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
March 21, 2005
Store #834
Eastpointe, Mich.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after seeing bloody, sore-covered hamsters on display in a filthy enclosure. The enclosure had “almost no bedding,” and food provided for the animals was contaminated with feces.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #184
Chula Vista, Calif.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding fish cannibalizing the remains of their tankmates on display in an overcrowded tank.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
March 18, 2005
Unknown store location
A complainant contacted PETA after finding the ant-covered remains of mice stuck to glue traps on a PETCO store’s floor. An obviously ill hamster was on display.
Unknown store location
A complainant contacted PETA to report having seen rats on display in a filthy enclosure in this PETCO store. The animals’ water bottle was nearly empty and food provided for them had been dumped into the bedding. An employee who was asked to address the situation responded “that’s not my job.”
March 16, 2005
Store #683
Moline, Ill.
A complainant contacted PETA to report having seen this store’s manager place live, sick animals into a freezer to die.
The store manager used glue traps to catch mice who were loose in the store. Trapped animals were placed into a freezer alive or left to die on the trap. In response to concerns about such practices, the store manager laughed and suggested that the animals deserved their fates for defecating in the store.
Obviously ill gerbils were routinely found on display.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Stores # 557 and #936
Tustin and Irvine, Calif.
A complainant contacted PETA to report that guinea pigs purchased from each of these stores died within two weeks.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
March 15, 2005
Store #887
Easton, Pa.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA after finding 50 rats of various ages on display in an overcrowded enclosure. Larger rats were seen climbing over smaller animals.
An employee who was asked to separate the animals by size responded that it would cost “too much money” to house the animals in different enclosures.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #1103
Santa Fe, N.M.
A complainant contacted PETA after finding many obviously stressed, depressed, and unhealthy birds on display at this store, where records suggested they had been for more than a year.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Austin, Texas
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report having seen more than 20 mice on display and deprived of water in an overcrowded enclosure with both males and females together.
Store #259
Bremerton, Wash.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report having found many parasite-ridden rats on display suffering from labored breathing.
An employee who was notified of the situation stated that the animals were “always like that” and told the complainant not to worry about them.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
March 11, 2005
Unknown store number
Pittsburgh, Pa.
A complainant contacted PETA to report that a guinea pig purchased from this store died two days later.
The animal had been housed with a “very thin” tankmate. The guinea pig “went limp” and had “violent” seizures before dying.
The store manager who was notified of the guinea pig’s death and possible illness of the former tankmate in the store responded that he could do “nothing” about that.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
March 09, 2005
Store #1702
Commack, N.Y.
A complainant contacted PETA to report that a hamster purchased from this store became ill and died the next day.
The hamster had been housed next to a tank of animals suffering from wet tail. Within hours of leaving the store, the hamster was found to have wet tail, too.
The next day, the store manager who was notified of the situation told the customer that PETCO’s policy allowed only the company-selected veterinarian to see the hamster. The complainant “watched in disgust” as the store manager took the sick hamster to a back room.
“Later that afternoon the manager telephoned [the complainant] to say that [the] hamster didn’t make it” and offered him or her another hamster.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
March 08, 2005
Store #773
Arlington, Va.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA after finding a dead leopard gecko and many “extremely thin” tankmates on display.
The store manager who was notified of the situation was unresponsive.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #1752
Orlando, Fla.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report having found reptiles and fish on display in overcrowded tanks and small animals cannibalizing the remains of their cagemates.
After the complainant contacted PETCO’s corporate office, the store manager called him or her and was “very rude.” The store manager reportedly called the complainant a liar.
After two weeks of follow-up visits by the complainant, “not one” of the problems for animals reported to PETCO had changed.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #1932
Downers Grove, Ill.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report having seen a hamster on display being attacked by cagemates.
An employee who was asked about the situation admitted that the animal was not going to receive veterinary care and “would probably die” in the store.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #745
Norwood, Mass.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report having found dead frogs and a dead gecko on display.
A severely wounded hamster was found for sale.
Geckos on display were deprived of adequate food.
An employee who was notified of the situation was unresponsive.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #621
Oshkosh, Wis.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA after finding hamsters, birds, fish, and frogs on display in filthy enclosures and deprived of proper food and water and toys.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
March 07, 2005
Store #1411
Broomfield, Colo.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA after repeatedly seeing an obviously ill ferret on display.
The lethargic, thin, and weak animal was for sale for nearly a week before being taken to the store’s back room.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
March 03, 2005
Store #742
Manchester, N.H.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA after 10 of the 12 fish (s)he had purchased there died within the following week.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
March 02, 2005
Store #869
Chicago, Ill.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report having routinely found dead mice and gerbils on display.
Dead fish were repeatedly found stuck to filters in tanks full of obviously ill tankmates.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
March 01, 2005
Store #211
Midvale, Utah
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report that numerous hamsters and guinea pigs had died within days of being purchased. “Almost all” of the hamsters died “the very next day,” and the only survivor was soon found to be pregnant.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #1111
Albuquerque, N.M.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report having found an obviously ill rat left to suffer on display.
The animal was seen having a seizure. An employee who was notified of the situation “assured [the complainants] that [the animal] would be taken care of.”
An hour later, the same animal was found lying in the same enclosure, “barely able to move or breathe.”
A second employee who was notified of the animal’s condition took the rat to a back room.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
February 25, 2005
Store #930
Encinitas, Calif.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA to report having found a dead betta fish on display. An employee who was notified of the situation “didn’t seem to care” and was unresponsive.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #729
Allentown, Pa.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding 17 dead fish on display. One animal’s remains were being cannibalized by tankmates. A rat suffering from a “very large red growth” was also on display.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
February 24, 2005
Store #1605
St. Peters, Mo.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after seeing hamsters who were deprived of food and water on display in a filthy, overcrowded enclosure.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #1312
Paso Robles, Calif.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after seeing several birds on display engaging in self-mutilation behaviors and fighting with one another. Several dead fish and others who were attacking tankmates were on display in severely overcrowded tanks. A tortoise and several lizards were without any water. A gecko suffering from an infected eye was on display. Rats who were deprived of adequate water and fresh food were on display in a feces-filled enclosure. The complainant stated that (s)he was “greatly disappointed to find such mistreatment within a store that claims to love animals and treat them with great care.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #778
New York, N.Y.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA to report having seen an employee who was “harshly” handling mice. The employee “rolled her eyes” and ignored a customer’s request that she be gentler when handling the animals. A mouse who was suffering from an eye infection died soon after leaving the store.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
February 23, 2005
Store #1780
Oakland Park, Fla.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding two dead turtles and several dead fish left in tanks with survivors for sale. A finch was loose in the store. A rat suffering from two wounds was on display.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #646
Omaha, Neb.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after seeing “listless” birds on display in “absolutely filthy” cages in which the water was full of food and feces. The complainant was unable to find a single employee to notify. (S)he stated that (s)he “can’t bring myself to set foot in [the] store again.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #1113
Phoenix, Ariz.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after seeing rats and two overcrowded tanks of mice on display without any food. Many fish tanks were overcrowded. Hermit crabs were on display in improperly dry enclosures without clean water or empty shells to take shelter in.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #591
Phoenix, Ariz.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding that six dead or dying animals—seen on display the day before—were still for sale. A gecko was covered in blood and feces. Dead hermit crabs had not been removed and were found in surviving tankmates’ water dish. Dead fish were found at the bottom of a tank. Anoles and toads were found in overcrowded tanks. Nearly 150 mice, including one missing fur and another with a lump on his or her side, were found crammed into two enclosures. Almost 30 birds, some of whom were obviously ill, were found in a single cage. Several finches who were missing many feathers were on sale.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #575
Phoenix, Ariz.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding several obviously ill birds with “fluffed up feathers”—including one who could not keep his balance—on display. Hermit crabs were being kept in inappropriate conditions and housed with the remains of tankmates.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
February 22, 2005
Portland, Ore.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA because (s)he was “sickened” to find small animals and reptiles who were on display next to dead tankmates and deprived of food and water in overcrowded enclosures. Several species of reptiles—who required different living conditions—were housed together in one tank.
February 21, 2005
Store #373
Roseville, Calif.
A complainant contacted PETA after his or her dog was injured while being groomed at this PETCO store. The dog was left with a cut behind her ear and required veterinary care, including staples to close the wound and medications. The examining veterinarian reportedly found the animal to be “fearful” when she was brought in. Hours later, the dog had to be taken to an emergency veterinary clinic, where she was found to be suffering from “traumatic stress” and a second, similar wound.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #575
Phoenix, Ariz.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after seeing many dead hermit crabs on display in an enclosure filled with improper substrate and dry air.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #1739
Morrow, Ga.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after seeing a fish who was “being eaten alive” by tankmates on display. The fish was suffering from “several gaping, bloody” wounds. A dead fish was at the bottom of the tank. An employee who was notified of the situation “just sighed” and stated that “they do this. That’s another … fish down the drain.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
February 20, 2005
Store #2808
Glen Cove, N.Y.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA because (s)he was “very disturbed” to find that young customers were being allowed to bang on the walls of a ferret enclosure. Three employees who were notified of the situation were unresponsive. Another customer was seen throwing objects at cats on display. “No one did anything” to stop the abuse.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
February 19, 2005
Store #1705
Bel Air, Md.
A complainant contacted PETA after a mouse began to cough and sneeze and died a day after being purchased from this PETCO store’s overcrowded and unsexed enclosures. Mice were found fighting with tankmates on display.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #306
Santa Rosa, Calif.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding a parrot on display in a “tiny” cage.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
February 18, 2005
Store #883
Pittsfield, Mass.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA to report having routinely found neglected hamsters and mice suffering from wet tail on display.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
February 17, 2005
Store #1104
Gilbert, Ariz.
A visitor to this PETCO store told PETA that (s)he “will never buy anything from PETCO again” after finding fish “jam packed” in a filthy tank in which dead fish were “clogging the filter.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #485
Albuquerque, N.M.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding ferrets on display in a filthy enclosure amid “an extreme amount of feces.” An employee who was notified of the situation was unresponsive. A ferret was found to be ill after being purchased.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #1766
Jacksonville, Fla.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA to report having seen hamsters on display cannibalizing a tankmate’s litter.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
February 15, 2005
Store #573
Las Vegas, Nev.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA to report having found an obviously ill snake loose on the sales floor near the front door. An employee who was notified of the situation stated that the snake escaped from an enclosure “all the time.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #241
Spokane, Wash.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after watching four mice struggle for at least 10 minutes after becoming caught between an exercise wheel and the wall of an enclosure.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #1712
Hanover, Pa.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted to report that (s)he routinely found neglected animals on display. The complainant found sore-covered fish suffering from ich in “atrocious” tanks.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
February 14, 2005
Store #697
Geneva, Ill.
A complainant contacted PETA after adopting an injured ferret who had escaped and suffered for days in this PETCO store. The ferret was found to be suffering from a hematoma, and his ears were bloodied. The ferret had lost the use of his hind legs.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
Store #734
Freehold, N.J.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA to report that fish who were improperly housed together were cannibalizing one another. Many dead fish, “torn to pieces” by tankmates, were on display. Ich-covered fish were found stuck to filters in an overcrowded, filthy tank. An employee who was notified of the situation admitted that the store “didn’t know how to care for” the fish.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
February 12, 2005
Store #1904
Elmhurst, Ill.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding dead fish on display in at least three tanks. Freshwater fish were seen cannibalizing the remains of tankmates. Hundreds of goldfish were “crammed” into a small tank full of dead fish. At least 60 mice were found in an overcrowded enclosure next to dead tankmates.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
Store #204
Bellevue, Wash.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after at least nine animals, including frogs, fish, anoles, and hamsters, died after being purchased. “Very skinny” reptiles and frogs were on display in overcrowded tanks. Both dead and live fish were found stuck to filters in a tank.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
February 11, 2005
Store #722
Montgomeryville, Pa.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA because (s)he was “disgusted” to find more than 20 dead fish on display.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #570
Mesa, Ariz.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding an obviously ill and lethargic canary on display. Fish and mice were kept in overcrowded enclosures. Geckos were on display in tanks where humidity levels were too low for the species.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
February 10, 2005
Store #1708
Douglasville, Ga.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding a “very skinny” rat who was being deprived of food and water.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #793
Natick, Mass.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding a mouse caught in a trap on the sales floor.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
February 09, 2005
Store #261
Salem, Ore.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding an obviously ill gecko on display in an enclosure that was too cold for the species. The animal was breathing “irregularly.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #867
Columbus, Ohio
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding hamsters “caked” in their own waste and on display in filthy enclosures.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
Store #241
Spokane, Wash.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding that the temperature exceeded 90°F in all rodent enclosures. An employee who was notified of the situation was unresponsive. The next day, “most” of the animals were found “on their backs, dead.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
February 08, 2005
Unknown location
A complainant contacted PETA to report that (s)he was disturbed by the conditions in which betta fish were forced to endure in a PETCO store. The animals were “in tiny cups” and “could hardly move.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
February 07, 2005
Unknown location
A PETCO employee contacted PETA to report that young, dehydrated, malnourished ferrets arrived at his or her store regularly.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #562
Palm Desert, Calif.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after seeing birds who had escaped enclosures months earlier flying around. Birds and mice were on display in overcrowded enclosures. Chinchillas were found in a tank that was exposed to customers and light with no structure for them to hide and sleep in. A tortoise was left in a box near a cash register.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
Store #1704
Rockville, Md.
A visitor this PETCO store contacted PETA to report that (s)he repeatedly found sick and dead animals on display. Rodents who had been injured by improper exercise wheels in enclosures were found. An employee who was notified of the situation told the complainant to speak with the store manager. The store manager told the complainant to call a PETCO hotline. A PETCO representative promised that changes would be made “soon.” A year later, the same wheels and injured animals were again found in enclosures. The complainant believes that “the best thing … would be for [PETCO] to stop selling animals.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
February 06, 2005
Store #1628
Cordova, Tenn.
A complainant contacted PETA after mites were found on a gerbil purchased from this PETCO store. An employee who was notified of the situation and possible threat to other animals in the store was rude and hung up on the complainant. “Since then,” (s)he wrote, “I have not been back to PETCO, not even for food or bedding.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
January 31, 2005
Store #1419
Boulder, Colo.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding hundreds of goldfish on display in an overcrowded tank full of dead tankmates. The store manager who was notified of the situation told the complainant that the store only had one tank for goldfish.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
Store #1311
Brentwood, Calif.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding goldfish on display in an overcrowded tank full of dead tankmates. An employee who was notified of the situation told the complainant to express his or her concerns to the store manager, who was not on duty at the time. When the complainant called the store the following day, (s)he was told that the tank “simply needed to be cleaned” and was reportedly hung up on.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
Store #824
Florissant, Mo.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report that seeing a PETCO employee abuse a mouse who had escaped from an enclosure. The employee was seen attempting to “stomp” and throw objects at the animal before kicking him out the front door. When asked about his actions, the employee reportedly stated that he “hate[s] those little [expletive]s.” The complainant has not “been back [to PETCO] since because [(s)he] can’t believe a store that sells [animals]” could treat them so poorly.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
January 30, 2005
Store #787
Hartsdale, N.Y.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding an obviously ill guinea pig on display. One of the animal’s eyes was “crusted closed.” The guinea pig was lethargic, and his breathing “appeared labored.” Two employees who were notified of the situation were unresponsive. Repeated attempts to speak to a PETCO representative via the company’s hotline were unsuccessful.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
January 29, 2005
Store #796
Wallingford, Conn.
A second complainant contacted PETA after finding frogs trapped by a tank filter next to the remains of a tankmate at this PETCO store. An employee who was asked how a concerned customer could contact PETCO only answered that aquatics was “not [his or her] department.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
January 28, 2005
Store #1745
Baltimore, Md.
A “distressed” complainant contacted PETA after his or her dog was injured by a groomer at this PETCO store. The dog’s nails were bleeding heavily after being cut too short by the groomer, and the animal required emergency veterinary care.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
January 27, 2005
Store #582
Santa Clarita, Calif.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding a severely injured rat on display. The animal’s exposed tail bone had been broken in a fight with a cagemate and had broken through the animal’s skin.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
Store #721
Eatontown, N.J.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA to report that (s)he saw several customers toss and kick a rat before reaching the cash register, where the customers slammed the box with the rat inside against a counter. The “disturbed” complainant notified two employees, both of whom were unresponsive and failed to notify the store manager. A PETCO district manager told the complainant that the employees involved would be “dealt with” and offered a coupon to him or her. Several weeks later, at least one of the employees was seen still working in the store.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
January 26, 2005
Store #1728
Orlando, Fla.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA because (s)he was “sickened” to find approximately 100 fish on display in an overcrowded tank.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
Unknown store number
New York
A complainant contacted PETA after finding a “chewed up and mutilated” fish on display at a PETCO store.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
January 25, 2005
Store #485
Albuquerque, N.M.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding a hamster on display who appeared to be heavily pregnant or suffering from an enlarged anal gland. An employee who was notified of the situation left the animal on display.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
January 23, 2005
Store #496
South Portland, Maine
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA to report having found three love birds on display in a tiny cage. One bird, apparently rejected by the other two birds, appeared “depressed.” An employee who was notified of the situation and told that the birds should not be kept in odd numbers stated that no other cages were available in the store and “that will have to do.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
Store #1907
Rockford, Ill.
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after finding “inactive” goldfish next to the remains of tankmates on display. A food dish in an overcrowded rabbit enclosure was full of feces.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
January 22, 2005
Store #498
Riverdale, Utah
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report that the two ferrets (s)he had purchased became ill—and one died—one day later. The surviving animal was diagnosed with pneumonia by a veterinarian.
When the complainant called PETCO store officials to inform them of the potential risk to ferrets still there, they “immediately” and stated that (s)he had voided a warranty by taking the ferret to the vet and they were “totally disregarding the danger other ferrets … were in.”
The complainant wrote that (s)he “will never purchase another animal from” PETCO.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
Store #301
Elk Grove, Calif.
A complainant contacted PETA after witnessing a 16-year-old boy repeatedly throw and kick two mice outside this store, from which he had purchased the animals just minutes earlier.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
January 20, 2005
Store #520
Lake Forest, Calif.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA after witnessing an employee—wearing a “Bird Specialist” name tag—“screaming at and slapping” a bird on display.
“Needless to say,” the complaint wrote, “I abandoned my purchases and I will never shop at a PETCO again.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
January 19, 2005
Store #1818
Enfield, Conn.
A complainant contacted PETA after cat food purchased at this store by an animal shelter was found to contain worms or maggots and apparently left 20 cats vomiting and suffering from diarrhea.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
January 18, 2005
Unknown location
A complainant contacted PETA to report having seen crabs killing a frog on display.
An employee who was notified of the situation admitted that the animals were not supposed to be housed together.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
January 15, 2005
Unknown location
A complainant contacted PETA to report that three guinea pigs had died while being housed with red cedar bedding purchased from PETCO. An employee reportedly admitted that the product is “extremely toxic” and can kill animals.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint; we hope to make PETCO’s response available online soon.
January 13, 2005
Store #859
Fayetteville, Ark.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report having found a dead parakeet in the bottom of a cage and on display.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
Store #124
San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report having found a dead rat and a dead mouse on display in filthy enclosures.
An employee who was notified of the “terrible conditions” was unresponsive.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
January 12, 2005
Store #769
Fairfax, Va.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report having repeatedly found stressed birds on display in filthy cages that were exposed to customers and their dogs.
The enclosures were “littered with feathers the birds had ripped from their own tails and wings.” The birds’ “shrieking,” presumably caused by dogs near the enclosures, was “distressing.”
The store temperature was “uncomfortably cold,” so that tropical birds “visibly shivered” and “fluffed out for warmth,” hunching together.
Parakeets and canaries were “packed so densely” in a cage that they climbed over one another to access food, water, and perches.
A conure whose closely clipped wing left him struggling for balance was on display in a “barren little cage” with no toys.
An employee who was notified of the situation “laughed off” the complainant’s concerns.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
Store #761
Plaistow, N.H.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report having found a gecko on display with the remains of two dead cagemates. The surviving animal had inadequate food.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
Store #1504
Palmdale, Calif.
A complainant contacted PETA after a mouse was found to be pregnant and sick after being purchased. The animal was returned and died in the store. A second mouse escaped from an employee’s hand, prompting a store manager to order the employee to “go get a … trap.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
January 10, 2005
Store #747
Marietta, Ga.
A visitor to this store contacted PETA to report having seen the stomach of a rat who was on display “explode” in an enclosure full of tumor-covered rats.
An employee who was notified of the animal’s condition stated that “it happens all the time.”
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
Store #937
Lakewood, Calif.
A complainant contacted PETA after finding dead fish on display in every tank at this store.
One tank was full of ich-infected fish and at least two who died during the complainant’s visit.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
January 09, 2005
Store #631
Des Moines, Iowa
A visitor to this PETCO store contacted PETA after repeatedly finding mice who were attacking one another in the store’s overcrowded enclosures. Dead fish were found floating in tanks, and toads and snakes appeared to be malnourished.
Note: PETCO has been made aware of this complaint. View PETCO's response.
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