So angry.

[ann]

wow you are lucky, it must have been hard to place them!

 

[roxynoodle]

Yes, thankfully there are science teachers in the world, and other kids at school who want a weird pet. A pregnant crayfish was certainly unexpected! One day when I picked her up though, there were all these eggs under her tail. I don't think I even told my mom until the babies had hatched. I figured then she was going to notice, lol!

 

[usamimi]

I hate people like this. I can understand being poor, trust me i'm a college student but not doing anything about it is awful. Take for instance a friend of mine, her dog got hurt she called every assistance program and every vet willing to work off the debt, there are ways to make it work.

I do hate the animals as gifts, I work at a rabbit rescue and almost 4 months to the day the easter bunnies start rolling in.

 

[roxynoodle]

Yeah, the Easter Bunny and chick thing is bad. Rabbits are not the easiest pets to own, and those little chicks will turn into chickens, which most people aren't able to keep.

 

[Ria]

people who buy pets need to understand health problems can arise just like that. My cat got kidney failure and we had to pay so much for his monthly prescriptions, he lived for two years on meds + he was old already. It's your duty of care towards that creature, people really do disgust me.

 

[roxynoodle]

Yes, my cat has been to the vet 3x in the past 2 weeks. She may end up needing more tests, and probably meds for life.

One of my Dalmatians needed people meds for life and they weren't cheap. Neither were all his surgeries and his prescription food.

 

[usamimi]

in the last two months my 2 cats that have colesi have each been back twice, my dog has been in twice, surgery yesterday, my birds went for bloodwork, my rabbit had to go twice for stasis.

When it rains it pours. While lately it;s been extreme, vet bills happen.

 

[roxynoodle]

Yep, I just spent over $300 today on Merlin. Right after getting a $700 medical bill for myself, plus the 3 cat visits. When it rains, it pours. And right after Christmas, too!

 

[Remy]

I'm so glad to read about everybody on here who cares so much about their pets. It gives me some faith in the human race.

 

[Helitorian]

Something I run into while working at a pet store is how annoyed people get when they call in and tell me their pet is sick and I say take it to the vet. They get really irritated "What do you mean take it to the vet? It's just a guinea pig. They don't need to go to the vet." "Ma'am if an animal gets sick, it needs vet care." "Whatever. I'll just get another when it dies." SERIOUSLY???

Another is when I'm face to face with the person and they give me this dumbfounded look like I'm suddenly speaking Russian or something. It happened today when I sold two guinea pigs to a lady and the family had done no research on them AT ALL! She didn't even know they could eat "real food" as she called it. And when I mentioned taking them to the vet when they're sick, it was like a deer in the headlights. "Huh? They need to go to the vet?! Really? Are you sure?" "Yes, all pets need vetcare at some point in their life." "But vets are only for dogs and cats." "No...all animals can go to a vet." She got snippy by this point, "Well it doesn't matter if it gets sick, it's just an animal." "It's a life, Ma'am."

I wish I hadn't sold those pigs to her but I did. I often get negative customer comments because I'm blunt and to the point about animals and am not afraid to say no to a sale if I don't think they can give the proper care. I'm a horrible Pet Care Associate.

 

[Anna]

I wish I hadn't sold those pigs to her but I did. I often get negative customer comments because I'm blunt and to the point about animals and am not afraid to say no to a sale if I don't think they can give the proper care. I'm a horrible Pet Care Associate.

That is why I no longer work in a pet store. I would be exactly the same. I would also tell customers if I thought products for animals were no good so I'm pretty sure I would lose sales.

 

[Mayden]

Something I run into while working at a pet store is how annoyed people get when they call in and tell me their pet is sick and I say take it to the vet. They get really irritated "What do you mean take it to the vet? It's just a guinea pig. They don't need to go to the vet." "Ma'am if an animal gets sick, it needs vet care." "Whatever. I'll just get another when it dies." SERIOUSLY???

Another is when I'm face to face with the person and they give me this dumbfounded look like I'm suddenly speaking Russian or something. It happened today when I sold two guinea pigs to a lady and the family had done no research on them AT ALL! She didn't even know they could eat "real food" as she called it. And when I mentioned taking them to the vet when they're sick, it was like a deer in the headlights. "Huh? They need to go to the vet?! Really? Are you sure?" "Yes, all pets need vetcare at some point in their life." "But vets are only for dogs and cats." "No...all animals can go to a vet." She got snippy by this point, "Well it doesn't matter if it gets sick, it's just an animal." "It's a life, Ma'am."

I wish I hadn't sold those pigs to her but I did. I often get negative customer comments because I'm blunt and to the point about animals and am not afraid to say no to a sale if I don't think they can give the proper care. I'm a horrible Pet Care Associate.

No, you do your best for the welfare of the animals, "pet care" it's kinda in the name!

 

[PiperAndRiosMommy]

Working with retired racehorses, I have seen MANY neglect cases. We have an older stallion that was found in a kill auction and he was severely underweight, is completely deaf and is blind in one eye. He won A LOT of money for his owner on the track and he gets repaid by getting shipped off for slaughter. Luckily we were able to step in and offer him a lifelong retirement home and he is one of the sweetest horses and he is loved by many. His fans actually sent him a birthday cake and he received more birthday cards in one year than I have in my 31 years together. I often see cases where the parents buy their kid a horse and then decide to get rid of it because "the kid lost interest" ..... I as a parent, will not buy my children any pets. Pets are good for children but parents need to realize it is their responsibility to care for said pet. We have animals but they are not disposable, once we commit to the animal .... it has a lifelong home and gets treated as if it were one of my human children (okay, maybe the animals get more treats, lol)

Also, I hate looking on craigslist around Easter and seeing people actually list their bunnies as "Great Easter Gifts" ..... just to look again in 2 weeks to see the same rabbit is looking for a new home AGAIN.

 

[roxynoodle]

I once bought a retired racehorse I saw in a field, starving to death. When I looked at his papers and saw how much money he had made on the track, I was even more appalled. More than enough to care for him for life! He did have a broken bone in his fetlock. It didn't hurt him, but he couldn't go on to a jumping or dressage career. I rehomed him with a man who did mounted police auxillary work, and he fit in great. He wasn't afraid of gunshots, or crowds or any of that.

 

[PiperAndRiosMommy]

I once bought a retired racehorse I saw in a field, starving to death. When I looked at his papers and saw how much money he had made on the track, I was even more appalled. More than enough to care for him for life! He did have a broken bone in his fetlock. It didn't hurt him, but he couldn't go on to a jumping or dressage career. I rehomed him with a man who did mounted police auxillary work, and he fit in great. He wasn't afraid of gunshots, or crowds or any of that.

Isn't it sad ? Clever made almost $320,000 on the track and his stupid owner/trainer couldn't even make sure he went to a good home. They tossed him like garbage. It's sad, the industry needs to improve in that area. I am so glad you found him a good home. I do rescue work myself and my most recent was a 3 year old AQHA mare that was the size of a yearling and nothing but skin & bones. The lady selling her told me that she was "crazy in the head" and that she was so thin because she was too active ...... I got that mare out of there so fast. I have an album on Facebook of her progress. That mare would let my young kids lead her around, brush her, etc. She gained all the weight back within 3 months of just feeding her a good quality hay and a scoop of feed 2x a day. They also tried to tell me that she had her feet done "3 months ago" so she should be okay for a few more months I'm guessing she was their first horse and they had no idea how to care for her. Of course she was crazy in the head with them, she was a VERY green horse that was a rack of bones and it probably hurt when they tried to saddle her on top of them probably confusing her ..... I don't blame her for being crazy, it would drive me crazy too. We named her Aries (her birth sign), got her healthy and I trained her 5 days a week. She is now a roping horse for a college team and looks amazing. And she is not crazy like they said, she was the most willing horse I have ever worked with .... she is an in your pocket type so I'm not sure if she scared them from being so "in your face" or what but she has a good head on her. I'm a sucker for the neglect cases, lol.

When we first got her

3 months later

 

[roxynoodle]

Too active, my butt! It's called you have to feed them! Some horses keep easier than others. Some smell food and gain weight, and others need quite a bit, especially growing ones. Not really any different than people.

I try these days not to do any rescue because I'm not physically capable of taking care of more animals than I already own. But, I have taken quite a few horses and got them back in good shape, and looked for an appropriate new owner. Or they stayed here until they died of natural causes.

That particular TB was such an easy to handle, gentle horse, he was going to be great with a beginner owner. But, he was also 17.2H! Intimidating for a lot of people. The man who bought him from me (for what I paid, which wasn't much) was a big man who needed a big, but gentle horse that could do police work. As soon as he got on the horse, he had a great big grin on his face, and I knew the horse was going on to the right new owner. I haven't been to the fair in his county for a couple of years, but I used to see them there every year.

 

[echoskybound]

PiperAndRiosMommy - wow, she's gorgeous! Look how beautiful her coat is now that you've taken such good care of her. Thank you for the pictures!

 

[PiperAndRiosMommy]

Thanks, she was a joy to have around. And she shined like a penny after she shed out. She was one of the harder ones to let go of, my kids bonded with her and she was clearly a great child's horse. Her new owner is nice enough to still send me updates on her and I am amazed at how well she is doing.

 

[Carpinslerk]

I work in a pet store, I see so much neglect and abuse from owners, especially with rodents. People think it's so cute to have a boy and a girl guinea pig/mouse and "OMG THE BABEZ R SO CUTE! I LOVE DE BABEZ!" And then comes the bucket loads of complications that arise from having babies, not to mention having more guinea pigs than you accounted for, then if you're really bad they end up inbreeding, then the babies come out with problems.. It happens to me every week, I'll have someone coming in saying they wanted the cute little bubbas and ended up with a big ugly vet bill.

 

[luvmytooo]

Who in their right mind ( just answered my own question there , but still ) buys a kitten !!!!!! There are millions of kittens around , shelters are overflowing right now with them , holy mother of all that is good , why would someone "buy" a kitty ?

I mean , unless you want a certain breed , then I understand it , but then you would or should have the money to care for it properly , right ?

Poor kitty to have suffered that long , it's a crime
Whoever was selling them just wante to make a fast buck , they really didnt care about them. JMO.