A pet shop owner with their hearts in the right place....(warning upsetting story)

[AudioHeart]

Hello my lovies,

I haven't posted in...well a while and thought to tell you all of a really lovely pet shop experience i had the other day....

My 'local' pet shop is literally down the road, a quick five minute walk away, practical yes but about two years ago i found the pet shop truely awful. Cages flithy, rabbits living with guinea pigs, animal litter covering the floors and the animals were in very, very bad state! Needless to say, i didn't go back there and wanted nothing more to do with the place.

Well last week myself and my piggie friend decided to pop in, as it looked like it had been updated and what a change!

Gone were the tiny glass cages, replaced by shelving for food, and a large bird cages.

The lady who ran the pet shop is very very lovely, she explained to me and jen that three weeks before christmas the original owners locked the cages, took out whatever was worth anything and then locked the front door and walked away.

The animals were left for three weeks before the hardware store next door noticed funny smells and had a peek through the window. The RSPCA eventually were called in and broke down the door to the petshop.

Some of the rabbits had managed to chew themselves out of the cages,and chew through bags of rabbit muesli and the few small bags of straw left, as they had been all missexed quite a few had littered in those weeks. Sadly alot of the animals had died, including most of the birds, guinea pigs and hamsters.

The animals that were still alive were taken to the local rescue centre and now the new owners are picking up the pieces.

The lady is very, very lovely and they don't stock/breed any rodents or 'furry' types, as her husband is a bird enthusiast (they do have birds for sale though). Anyway the point I'm getting to is that they do have a couple of hamsters and a male piggie in, these were brought in by members of the public as unwanted pets. The best thing is that the lady wants to find a responsible home for them and was making up information leaflets for their new owners, they were really well looked after and she made sure Albert (the piggie) got his run and grass time at home (and the hamsters got enrichment and a good sized wheel/cage) The owners also do rodent/rabbit nail clipping free of charge for owners too.

Anyway we ended up chatting to the husband and wife team for a good half hour, (generally about irresponsible pet people!) and at the end of our trip around the pet store the owners offered to drop of a bale of hay at my house later on in the evening (with no delivery charge).

I'm not trying to 'big up' the pet shop industry I was just so amazed and a bit gobsmacked at a place that truely cared for the animals in their care it was just a wonderful sight to see and I just had to tell you the tale!



x

 

[helen105281]

They do sound very responsible and is lovely to hear of a pet shop like that.

The previous owners on the other hand, well I can't put what I feel they deserve on here.

 

[oOoshelleyoOo]

poor wee animals that didnt make it out but so glad to hear its been taken over by people with some positive energy and input our local pet shop is a nightmare breaks my heart goin near it and i know he breeds them at home as a friend used to work there unfortunatly when i complained to local council seems they are not fussed long as they get there tax n rent off him mallethead

 

[gogoguineas]

Thanks for sharing Laura, so nice to hear of a petshop owner who actually cares and wants to help educate the public as opposed to creaming off the profits

 

[PottyForPiggies]

What a positive story, I love small pet stores! I used to go to one near mine all the time, but when P@H opened nearby, they were run out of business It was such a shame

 

[Puzzlepigs]

How awful - first bit.

It is nice to hear about responsible, caring and knowlegable people out there. She seems really lovely and like she knows what she is doing. Shame there aren't more pet shops like that - with staff that actually care.

 

[piggyfan]

How awful the previous owners left the poor animals to die like that. How could anybody be so cruel. It is really nice that the new owners are caring people.

 

[Wiiiiieek!]

Thank you for posting, I so rarely hear about responsible pet shops and this one sounds very good indeed. I wish they were all like this!

The previous owners on the other hand, are not even worth the time it would take to put what I think of them! mallethead

 

[Bekki]

Audio could you PM me the shop name as I am always looking for great pet shops!

the only ones I know about in boro are intown pet store (near wilko) and place4pets (near psyche) Ive never thought much of either store but if either of them has gone good then great :-)

 

[Guinea pig slave]

What a sad story, those poor animals must have endured suffering beyond belief 8...
There are some nice small pet shops around, sadly, as someone mentioned, they are put out of business by places like Pratts@Home
I actually called into one on my way home from work a couple of weeks ago - been there for years and used to go in as a kid.
The guy who owns it didn't look any older (has to be 25 years since I last went in :...) it really was a walk down memory lane and we chatted for ages
Glad someone who cares has taken over now just so very sad about the animals that perished
Pity they couldn't trace the previous owners and prosecute them >>>