Anyone have positive things to say about Petland?

Question

I might work for one. No negatives, I have read enough of those for a lifetime

Answer 1

You'll have the opportunity to learn how NOT to involve yourself in the pet industry. I learned about the ugly side of the business but also met some great, like minded people who joined me in a mass-exodus from the company.

When I was working as a "vet tech" (no qualifications or compassion necessary, seriously), we got our puppies from a puppy mill in the US, from backyard breeders and from farms who had little to no information on the puppies or their parents. Part of my job was to GUESS what breed they were. No joke.



All is all, it was not worth the sleepless nights and extreme stress.

Answer 2

It's a pay check.  Lots of people are out of work right now, so you can consider yourself lucky that way.

You can try to make a difference.  Both in the lives of the animals at the store, (try to make them more comfortable and reduce stress, etc) and do your best to educate new pet owners about the animals they're getting.

Owner education can also go into the products folks are buying.  You can direct them to the safest, most humane products, and tell them why to avoid other alternatives.

Petland itself, well, I don't have anything good to say specifically.

If I were being brutally honest, I'd say any support you give them is supporting animal abuse, but that would really cost me 10 points.  Oh well, try to make a difference for the good.  That's all we can do.

Answer 3

No, they sell animals from pet mills. Esp. dogs and cats which is gross. They also house their rabbits and guinea pigs together.

Answer 4

Unlike Petsmart, PetLand treats their pets really good.

I was actually there today (and now im getting a hamster soon!)

All the pets look so happy! And they all look in good conditions.

You should definately work there. good luck!

Answer 5

Since it's a franchise, every one is going to be different.  The best thing you can do is go look around the one you plan to work at a lot.  

I had a friend that worked at a Petland while at the same time I worked at a PETCO.  We had completely different experiences... at PETCO we weren't allowed to take the birds out pretty much ever, for fear they would get "attached" to us and then not like their new homes.  Whoever decided that c**p obviously knows NOTHING about birds... you're much worse off having a bird who has lived in a cage and never been touched for a year than a bird who misses someone... they can get over that much easier than a fear of humans.  At Petland, however, their birds were out all the time, constantly being handled by both customers and workers... which is really the way it should be.   Also, at PETCO, our reptiles' UV lights were at least three years old, which any reptile owner can tell you means they don't emit UV anymore (must be changed every 6 months) and none of the other employees knew what anything should eat--they put crickets in every habitat (definitely a no for tortises and iguanas)  and when they did get vegetables they gave iceberg lettuce and sometimes zucchini (pretty much nutrient empty).   Also, every habitat was pretty much a solid 40% humidity, despite the fact that the water dragons and chameleons needed at least twice that.  Many, many fatalities.  At my friends' Petland, they set up individual habitats for the reptiles, using products the store sells, and every single employee was interested in and knew a lot about animals... not true for PETCO.

Even though my friend's Petland store was a lot better than the PETCO I worked at, she quit because they were definitely getting their puppies (not all of them, but I think like half?) from puppy mills.  Now, ironically, she works for a PETCO (different than mine).  But, her store is brand new and has a lot of her former Petland workers, and it seems like an ideal situation.  The animals are really getting treated well, and she and a lot of other people are responsible for it.

Long story short, pet stores are only as good as the employees.  The pet trade is kind of sick, imo, because they sell say, rats, excellent pets, for only five dollars and its habitat alone should run about $50... ten times the cost of the rat.  Because of the low price of animals we devalue their health and well being because "it's just a five dollar rat".  Vet care in pet shops all comes down to whether they can pay for vet care and still make money on the animal, and the answer is usually no.

So, check out your prospective store, and hopefully you'll be in with a lot of other good workers who work together to make the best out of what's pretty much a bad idea.  I always felt better about working at PETCO every time I changed an animal's substrate or gave it new water, or even brought good veggies from home... as well as every time I properly educated a new owner.  If I hadn't been there, that person may have still bought the animal but gave it the wrong things until it died... just think of it that way.

Good luck, I hope it's a good experience

Answer 6

oh gosh dont listen to people who say that the animals appear happy there so therefore they treat the animals well.

i worked for petland last summer and i will NEVER have anything good to say about them. i ended up quiting after taking home 2 rabbits. one had a clouded over eye that apparently had been caused by an ulcer petland never took care of and the other had a severe upper respiratory infection that turned into a lifelong, very debilitating disease, pasturella, because it was never taken care of.

one of the girls who worked there told me of her dog which she got from there. she took him home after he was stuck in the back with a cut on its paw pad. he was sitting in his own waste. his leg ended up becoming infected and it had to be removed. it's a yellow lab who is now missing one of his front legs (a tough leg to miss considering all the weight is put on the front legs)

ive seen rabbits be euthanized due to small cuts- AFTER they knowingly stuck rabbits together. rabbits are very very territorial and unless they are super young, they cannot be just put together.

many dogs they get come in sick. some dont make it. i went there recently and played with a puppy who was coughing. i brought this to their attention and they said to not worry about it.

they tell you that they hand pick the dogs from USDA approved breeders. this isnt the case. ive seen many animals come in from random people who had animals that had babies.

also!! they ONLY care about selling the animals. you have goals you have to meet each month (such as 10,000 dollars in sales) and if you do not meet them, they WILL fire you.

if you love animals. dont work there. i made a huge mistake doing so. and i love my rabbits, but it breaks my heart that my one cannot see and the other is stuck with a disease that can not only eat away at the bone in his nasal cavity but cause neurological symptoms that can lead to death