Petco = pathetic

So me and my girlfriend were at petco (I know I know) to pick up some fake plants for my BP's enclosure. Whenever we go there, we like to check up on the animals and make sure they are all in good condition and whatnot and just see what new things they have in. My girlfriend noticed that the corn snake tank had its water dish emptied out and tipped over, and all of the hides and stuff were taken out of the tank (this is what petco does when the tank is empty) even though there was still a very alive corn snake in the tank....

This really upset me, so I walked up to an employee and said to her "excuse me, in the corn snake tank you guys tipped over the water dish and took everything out of the tank and there is still a corn snake alive in there."

The employee looked at me like I was on crack.... I just stood there and stared back, she quickly walked past me and over to the tank and said "Oh my god thank you so much for letting me know."

SHe turned the water dish back over, and filled it up with water. The corn snake IMMEDIATELY slithered up the dish and I saw the poor little guy start pounding tons of water. It made me wonder how long that poor little thing went without water. I am not a big fan of corn snakes, but this really made me angry.

I just wanted to post this and let all of you guys know that I saved this little corn snakes life, and petco is a complete joke. No one knows what they are doing and they are nothing but a big overprice pathetic corporation and dosn't care about hteir animals at all. I hope someday this lady gets kidnapped and forced to live without water for 48 hours so she can feel what its like.

Okay end rant.... lol

Bottom line = please don't support any places like petco. They don't care for animals at all. Buy your animals from a place with a good reputation that actually takes care of their animals and does not treat them like products.

I know you did a great thing but Petco will never ever change to them its like " Sweet we just sold another snake".

It really just depends on who they heir. Not all Petco or petsmart are like that. I actually don't think I have ever gone into a bad one. The ones that I have frequented actually had staff that where, surprisingly enough, quite knowledgeable. I have been to some that they at least new the bare minimums to get by.

It really depends on the individual store. All the Petcos around here are good. Yes, on occasion I will go in and there is something amiss but usually everything is well cared for and the employees are at least knowledgeable on the basics.

I'd have to agree. A few stores I've visited don't know how to take care of their reptiles. Or the people they hire just don't give a crap. Like you, my roommate and I always alert one of the employees to the status of bad looking reptiles (and small animals).

I hit up one Petco, where I got Sabbath, and the guy in charge of the reptiles definitely knew what he was doing. He was very knowledgeable about feeding, morphs, care and the like.

However, when it comes to getting an animal in the future, I will stick with a breeder :gj:

Kudos to ya for alerting one of the workers, though! :)

+1, nice job on helping out that corn snake

Well I think Petco and Petsmart are more directed to Cat and Dogs and they tend to neglect the needs of the reptiles. BUT i do have to say that it was Petco that got me into the whole hobby. I bought my first Normal BP at petco for 30 bucks. and it went downhill from there lol Pastel, pinstripe, spider, lesser , salmon boa, dumerils boa. lol

If you don't like it, don't go there.

Spending money at that place only keeps the doors open, and more animals in danger under poor management.

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Originally Posted by Soterios

If you don't like it, don't go there.

Spending money at that place only keeps the doors open, and more animals in danger under poor management.

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..... :confused:

yeah that was the whole point of me posting this....

To tell people how terrible they are and that I am not going there anymore and neither should they.

Bluntly put, a handful of people boycotting a national chain isn't going to do much good.

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Originally Posted by Raptor

Bluntly put, a handful of people boycotting a national chain isn't going to do much good.

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continuing to buy from places like this and not speak up and let people know how they treat their animals won't do much good either.... matter of fact it will only help this bad treatment continue to their animals if they continue to have tons of costumers. They will just assume that they are doing everything right and they can continue to treat their animals like crap and never suffer consequences.

if you guys dont agree with me and you think this thread was pointless then dont even post here. I don't see why your basically defending the place.

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Originally Posted by ajsnoopy

I'd have to agree. A few stores I've visited don't know how to take care of their reptiles. Or the people they hire just don't give a crap. Like you, my roommate and I always alert one of the employees to the status of bad looking reptiles (and small animals).

I hit up one Petco, where I got Sabbath, and the guy in charge of the reptiles definitely knew what he was doing. He was very knowledgeable about feeding, morphs, care and the like.

However, when it comes to getting an animal in the future, I will stick with a breeder :gj:

Kudos to ya for alerting one of the workers, though! :)

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yes, some of the employees just don't give a crap at all. and why would they; i'm sure petco doesn't pay very nicely. probably just like any other chain store getting away with VERY minimum wage. not everybody is as compassionate about animals as us snake lovers, and that's the sad truth. they SHOULD give a crap, but they don't.

Well as someone who keeps reptiles/small mammals/birds/lizards/etc AND is hopefully getting a job at Petsmart, I hope to bring that knowledge with me and inform people correctly. What those stores need are to hire people that actually know what they are doing and KNOW about the animals they sell. I would not boycott an entire company because of the practices of a few stores. All the Petsmarts and Petcos around here do very well and keep their animals clean and cared for. (Clean bedding, reptiles have hides, correct humidity/temps, etc)

Some of these pet shops treat the reptiles like crap

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

I hope someday this lady gets kidnapped and forced to live without water for 48 hours so she can feel what its like.

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Wow... She didn't know (for all you know, that snake was a return from earlier that day), and she corrected the situation immediately. Yeah, she definitely deserves to be kidnapped and deprived of water. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Tikall

Wow... She didn't know (for all you know, that snake was a return from earlier that day), and she corrected the situation immediately. Yeah, she definitely deserves to be kidnapped and deprived of water. :rolleyes:

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yeah i was totally being serious too :rolleyes:

and even if it was a return, do returned animals not drink water anymore?

Even as a joke, you were still faulting her for the situation. If it was a return from earlier that day, it is possible she was not even over at the reptiles yet to notice meaning it is in no way her fault. It could be someone else's mistake for being distracted (with enough customers, being distracted can be easy for young kids being paid minimum wage), but it is still a mistake. I doubt they flat out don't care about the snake; it was just temporarily forgotten by the employee who received it in indeed it was a return. There are a million scenarios that could have happened, but what is known is that it was a mistake and it was promptly corrected. Therefore I think you're being too harsh.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tikall

Even as a joke, you were still faulting her for the situation. If it was a return from earlier that day, it is possible she was not even over at the reptiles yet to notice meaning it is in no way her fault. It could be someone else's mistake for being distracted (with enough customers, being distracted can be easy for young kids being paid minimum wage), but it is still a mistake. I doubt they flat out don't care about the snake; it was just temporarily forgotten by the employee who received it in indeed it was a return. There are a million scenarios that could have happened, but what is known is that it was a mistake and it was promptly corrected. Therefore I think you're being too harsh.

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I wasn't putting her solely at fault for the situation. Honestly I was putting the entire company at fault. It doesnt matter what the reason was that the snake didnt have water, the FACT IS the snake didnt have water.

If the company dosn't pay enough, then why is she working there? If she has no options of other places to work then she should sitll do her job correctly (or whatever employee it was that took the water away from the snake).

And lets say the day it was forgotten was a very busy day, THERES LIKE 8 PEOPLE WORKING. No one noticed a corn snake in a 10 gallon tank slithering aorund without a water dish? How stupid is that?

I don't care what the reason was for the snake not having water, the bottom line is they are a petshop and they are supposed to be professional and know how to care for animals more than your average joe, and one of their animals for sale didnt even have water.

And thats not the only reason why I say dont go to these big stores like petco and petsmart. Want to know what their ball python setup is like?

Their ball python tank is about a 20 gallon L tank, with 10 ball pythons crammed into it. There are NO HIDES, and 1 small water dish.... REAL SMART people they have working there. REAL HAPPY animals are being sold also. I am sure some kid is going to buy a ball python and go home and throw it in a 10 gallon with a tiny water dish and no hide and think thats all it needs because of this pathetic place.

I once went in there and they had a redtail boa in a tank and the thermometer was reading 71 degrees.....

Its just a whole list of reasons why I absolutely hate that place. This last event with the corn snake not having water was the straw that broke the camels back. I am never going there again and I have already contacted the people that I needed to bring all of this garbage to their attention.

I always loved supporting small business more than big places like this anyways. Its too bad the only good breeder around me has a shop 30 minutes away. I guess I will be forced to drive that far just to get people that know more than DINK.

I agree with not supporting them~. Those are terrible conditions for those poor animals, and I was really only defending the one girl. It is also unlikely all 8 people were working in pet care, though. Those not in pet care likely can't even open the reptile enclosures, and they're probably too busy with their own departments to be baby sitting pet care. There was likely only 1-3 people working pet care, dealing with the animals and customers. You posted this on a Saturday, and if it happened that same day the weekends can be pretty insane.

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

Well as someone who keeps reptiles/small mammals/birds/lizards/etc AND is hopefully getting a job at Petsmart, I hope to bring that knowledge with me and inform people correctly. What those stores need are to hire people that actually know what they are doing and KNOW about the animals they sell. I would not boycott an entire company because of the practices of a few stores. All the Petsmarts and Petcos around here do very well and keep their animals clean and cared for. (Clean bedding, reptiles have hides, correct humidity/temps, etc)

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That's the exact reason why I would like to apply to the Petsmart here in Flagstaff ;). They do a pretty decent job with taking care of their herps, but I've noticed they've recently hired someone new for the herps/fish (when the fish guy isn't working). So! I would love to do my part to educate those searching for a new friend and also provide proper care for the animals.

My roommate has run into people on small animal forums that are attempting the same; getting hired on at Petsmart so they can apply their knowledge to the care of the animals.

I must admit, though...I'm not a fan of the Petco here in Flag :S we've alerted them to spoiled food being on the shelves and bad living conditions for reps and hammies alike. u.u I really wish they would hire people who cared about the animals at that store.

I think it may have been a case of, one employee was cleaning tanks and was in the process of finishing the corn snake's tank but had to leave (shift ended, sudden emergency in the store, etc) and did not get a chance to tell the next person on shift. Who knows, BUT she did sound like she was concerned and promptly fixed the error. With the ball pythons, while I don't agree with that practice, I can understand why so many would be in the same tank. These ball pythons are not meant to stay there for weeks and months. They are meant to be in for a few days at most and sold. Though I do think they should have hides and temperatures need to be checked several times a day.

If you want to see change in that store, go above them. Get in touch with someone higher than the store manager (district manager or even the top CEO if you can) and let them know about the conditions in the store. Let them know they will be losing you as a customer and you will be going to another local store for your pet needs and will be bringing several of your friends and family along with you. Tell them if they'd look into it and conditions in the store improve, then you will come back as a customer. I know that when I worked in retail, if someone went above us with a complaint you bet the store would have it fixed soon.

I'm not in Petco's favor, but I have been to many small independent stores, who took just as terrible care of (or even worse :() care of their reptiles than any Petco or PetSmart than I've ever been in. I think it depends on the individual store. I've been in big chain stores (like Petsmart) where the employee(s) in charge of the reptiles took excellent care of the animals, and knew exactly what they were doing, and I've been in small independent shops whose animal care was absolutely atrocious; the reptiles looked sickly, the small pets looked dirty and thin, and they didn't care when I mentioned it. So, not ALL chain stores are bad IMO.....it's not completley fair to the good emlployees who actually do care for and about the animals....even if they do got crappy pay.

I know I'm new here, and I may be biased, but my wife has worked for Petco for over 6 years. While she and I both will admit that buying from a reputable breeder is your best bet, Petco does try and give the animals what they need. Every Petco region has a specialized vet for reptiles. They do sometimes hire a dumb employee, but they are trained to know the information about the animals they carry, just sometimes the employee isn't enept enough to soak in that information. They do suffer from high prices, so I'm kind of baffled why you would go to Petco for fake plants where there is a much more abundant selection at most all hobby/art/craft stores as well as Wal-Mart.

Anyway, I unfortunately have experienced the same thing, at my wifes Petco. It was a Dumpy frog though. I walked up to the associate and asked him when they would get more in since they were out. He said "but we're not out" to which I replied, "but the hides are upside down and no water is in the cage." He opened the cage and we found one hiding in the corner. I did not even see it at first when looking in the enclosure. He appologised for the misshap and "re-opened" the enclosure.

Also, if you didn't know, most Petco's allow you to bring in your unwanted LARGE snakes in on weekends for adoption. It's an un-advertised thing, but the two Petco's in my area both do it. They had just recently stopped allowing people to bring in snakes over 6' to be dropped off for adoption. This is kind of their solution to that so people won't take them to the pound.

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Originally Posted by Soterios

If you don't like it, don't go there.

Spending money at that place only keeps the doors open, and more animals in danger under poor management.

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There are many local shops here that I refuse to even set foot into because of rude employees and mistreatment of animals.

In fact,

Last night I went to Petco to buy some feeders ( My regular was closed ) and I saw like 10 leopard geckos in a small tank, one of them was so starved. You could see it's joints sticking almost poking out of its poor little skin. He was think like a pencil!

I made a commitment to not shop at places where animals are mistreated under ANY circumstance. Even buying feeders at said shops is no longer an option.

My girlfriend and I saw a dead baby corn with a couple of crickets chewing on it in a tank with 5 other live corns, pretty sad.

Sometimes my balls tip over there water. I won't fins it until the next day. Then my snake drinks. I'm a hero two. I have saved numerous lives by doing this! Thanks for making people aware :-)

Honestly, to end this silliness, there should be government action and some regulations put in place when it comes to being employed at ANY pet store, pet supply retailers, or any such places.

It should be mandatory to take either a course of some sort (with a subliminal fee of about $20-$30 bucks, and you would be given a certificate upon passing) or a written test that the company or business (giants and mom & pops alike) are required to compile (this would ensure the person had some knowledge of the species they carry) if an employee is to be eligible to work there. It may slow the process down, but it would at least SHOW that the people applying actually have the knowledge, or took the time to learn and better themselves for the job.

I'm sure this idea will have tons of loopholes and whatnot (the course being the more sensible of the two) but this is the best I can come up with. Some kind of steps have to be taken to prevent animal cruelty, neglect AND false information given in these stores. I'm not naming or pinning ANY store in particular - this method should be applied to EVERY store. Yes, some DO take proper care and it is rare to hear of such extreme neglect, but the bottom line is, it still exists. It still happens. And that's a good enough reason.

In my opinion, pet retailers need to be kept on a "tighter leash" as to animal care and those they employ.

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Originally Posted by Moofins07

Honestly, to end this silliness, there should be government action and some regulations put in place when it comes to being employed at ANY pet store, pet supply retailers, or any such places.

It should be mandatory to take either a course of some sort (with a subliminal fee of about $20-$30 bucks, and you would be given a certificate upon passing) or a written test that the company or business (giants and mom & pops alike) are required to compile (this would ensure the person had some knowledge of the species they carry) if an employee is to be eligible to work there. It may slow the process down, but it would at least SHOW that the people applying actually have the knowledge, or took the time to learn and better themselves for the job.

I'm sure this idea will have tons of loopholes and whatnot (the course being the more sensible of the two) but this is the best I can come up with. Some kind of steps have to be taken to prevent animal cruelty, neglect AND false information given in these stores. I'm not naming or pinning ANY store in particular - this method should be applied to EVERY store. Yes, some DO take proper care and it is rare to hear of such extreme neglect, but the bottom line is, it still exists. It still happens. And that's a good enough reason.

In my opinion, pet retailers need to be kept on a "tighter leash" as to animal care and those they employ.

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What's a subliminal fee?

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Originally Posted by Jeremy78

Sometimes my balls tip over there water. I won't fins it until the next day. Then my snake drinks. I'm a hero two. I have saved numerous lives by doing this! Thanks for making people aware :-)

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A baby corn snake couldnt possibly have knocked over this water dish. It was one of those really thick hard dishes that has the fake rock look to it. And it wasn't "knocked over" it was turned upide down like there was not any animals in the tank. I enjoyed the sarcasm though. It was completely necessary, and it made you look reeaal cool. :rolleyes:

I "HATE" Petco! I went to the back once to see the ball pythons, the ball pythons encloser didnt have humidity what so ever! all of the baby baby ball pythons had stuck sheds and were rubbing on eachother to get it off, the hides were to small and they were wondering the cages as if they havent been fed in months. Words of advice.... "DO NOT BUY FROM PETCO!"

-Payson

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Originally Posted by Paysons Bps

I "HATE" Petco! I went to the back once to see the ball pythons, the ball pythons encloser didnt have humidity what so ever! all of the baby baby ball pythons had stuck sheds and were rubbing on eachother to get it off, the hides were to small and they were wondering the cages as if they havent been fed in months. Words of advice.... "DO NOT BUY FROM PETCO!"

-Payson

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It may just be your local store. Each store is ran differently.

I only like Petco for their dog, cat, bird & rodent needs, not so much for their pets. I go there to get aspen bedding for the snakes or to get a UTH or two, but nothing more than that.

I like Petsmart a lot more to get reptiles at. I got my first BP there and she's locked up with my male as we speak. I also got a Leopard gecko there that I don't have with me anymore (gave her to the sanctuary) and she was fat & healthy (also got a Corn snake there and sold him, he was pretty healthy though).

The Petsmart I go to I like a lot better to buy pets from, Petco has just disappointed me too much (every pet I bought from them died besides one that was extremely feisty).

You know what they say about assumptions don't you?

I agree this person should be locked in a room without water for 48 hours! (if you saw it didn't have water two days earlier why didn't you say something then?)
This employee promptly fixed the situation as soon as it was addressed. I'm pretty sure that there was more people in that store then just you. And I'm also sure that someone else would have said something aswell if it was seen.
I'm just saying that this is hardly a bad thing that happened at this chain store. Now a cricket eating ball python is bad.
But on the short, this person is horrible! They probably purposely flipped over the dish in an irate temper tantrum and removed it's hide to watch it suffer! (insert evil laugh)
You see the two sides of the coin now?
Option 1 - snake goes 48 hours with no water and hide due to employee enjoying the animals suffering
option 2 - return from earlier that day/ multi tasking and cleaning cages (happens all the time) and was distracted not getting a chance to flip the dish and set up the cage (yet).

(thought I'd give some more of that "reeeal cool" sarcasm.)

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Originally Posted by Jeremy78

You know what they say about assumptions don't you?

I agree this person should be locked in a room without water for 48 hours! (if you saw it didn't have water two days earlier why didn't you say something then?)
This employee promptly fixed the situation as soon as it was addressed. I'm pretty sure that there was more people in that store then just you. And I'm also sure that someone else would have said something aswell if it was seen.
I'm just saying that this is hardly a bad thing that happened at this chain store. Now a cricket eating ball python is bad.
But on the short, this person is horrible! They probably purposely flipped over the dish in an irate temper tantrum and removed it's hide to watch it suffer! (insert evil laugh)
You see the two sides of the coin now?
Option 1 - snake goes 48 hours with no water and hide due to employee enjoying the animals suffering
option 2 - return from earlier that day/ multi tasking and cleaning cages (happens all the time) and was distracted not getting a chance to flip the dish and set up the cage (yet).

(thought I'd give some more of that "reeeal cool" sarcasm.)

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even though I really didn't want to continue talking to you, because its annoying to explain the situation 1000 times in order for 1 person to understand it, I guess I will go ahead and explain it again. actually, I will break it down even more in detail so you MIGHT be able to understand it this time.

petco = has cage full of corn snakes when they get shipments.

petco = had one corn snake left out of the tank full.

petco = obviously didnt notice that 1 snake left.

petco = tooks everything out of the tank, and also took away the water and flipped the water dish upside down.... that is what they do when the tank is "empty"

it had nothing to do with people getting side tracked or forgetting.... they took the water out of a tank that still had a snake in it. I am not saying they did it on purpose to watch the snake suffer or anything, but they are a pet store and you would think they would check a tank more thoroughly before taking everything out of it wouldn't you? It's dosn't matter if the other customers didn't notice it. They arn't a major petstore that gets paid to do this job. And they arn't in charge of making sure these animals are cared for.

okay get the situation now? good. great. grand. wonderful.

and BTW, I think your the only one the "a-s-s-umptions" saying applies to here.

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Originally Posted by PurplePython

.............................

even though I really didn't want to continue talking to you, because its annoying to explain the situation 1000 times in order for 1 person to understand it, I guess I will go ahead and explain it again. actually, I will break it down even more in detail so you MIGHT be able to understand it this time.

petco = has cage full of corn snakes when they get shipments.

petco = had one corn snake left out of the tank full.

petco = obviously didnt notice that 1 snake left.

petco = tooks everything out of the tank, and also took away the water and flipped the water dish upside down.... that is what they do when the tank is "empty"

it had nothing to do with people getting side tracked or forgetting.... they took the water out of a tank that still had a snake in it. I am not saying they did it on purpose to watch the snake suffer or anything, but they are a pet store and you would think they would check a tank more thoroughly before taking everything out of it wouldn't you? It's dosn't matter if the other customers didn't notice it. They arn't a major petstore that gets paid to do this job. And they arn't in charge of making sure these animals are cared for.

okay get the situation now? good. great. grand. wonderful.

and BTW, I think your the only one the "a-s-s-umptions" saying applies to here.

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Perhaps your story is overexaggerated aswell? Nuff said :D

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Originally Posted by Moofins07

Honestly, to end this silliness, there should be government action and some regulations put in place when it comes to being employed at ANY pet store, pet supply retailers, or any such places.

It should be mandatory to take either a course of some sort (with a subliminal fee of about $20-$30 bucks, and you would be given a certificate upon passing) or a written test that the company or business (giants and mom & pops alike) are required to compile (this would ensure the person had some knowledge of the species they carry) if an employee is to be eligible to work there. It may slow the process down, but it would at least SHOW that the people applying actually have the knowledge, or took the time to learn and better themselves for the job.

I'm sure this idea will have tons of loopholes and whatnot (the course being the more sensible of the two) but this is the best I can come up with. Some kind of steps have to be taken to prevent animal cruelty, neglect AND false information given in these stores. I'm not naming or pinning ANY store in particular - this method should be applied to EVERY store. Yes, some DO take proper care and it is rare to hear of such extreme neglect, but the bottom line is, it still exists. It still happens. And that's a good enough reason.

In my opinion, pet retailers need to be kept on a "tighter leash" as to animal care and those they employ.

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I don't want my tax dollars going to pay to make sure petco properly trains all of it's employees.

We all know about the big pet stores like Petco..So what do you want a cookie, for saving a snakes life???