Pets at home adoption

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m_truett99@hotmail.com

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Hi all i went to my local pets at home today and they had 6 guinea pigs in the adoption centre. I asked about them and was told they were father and babies which looked about 3wks. They where all in the same pen I would of taken them if i had the hutch for them. I don't think pets at home should have the adoption centre as they don't know what is wrong with some of them and they say they get vet checked but i doubt that as i got a rabbit from the adoption centre and she had ear mites she also had a phantom pregnancy all at the same time we did not know her age or where she came from as she was dumbed in the shop. We had her for 3 1/2 years before she died of a big fit. R.I.P daisy. Does any else fill that pets at home should not have the adoption centre or is it just me because i get upset when i see the abounded animals i have also rescued 3 hamster from there as well.
 
The adoption scheme originally came about as all stores were going to stop selling small animals and provide members of the public with rescue centre details instead. To support the rescue centres they were going to have an adoption corner only. However, after public opinion, customers still wanted to be able to buy a pet and have more of a choice rather than only be able to choose from a selected few.
Due to rescue centres already having been signed up for support from Pets At Home they continued with the adoption scheme. All the money raised through this goes back to local rescue centres. I must admit that I am very grateful for their scheme and partnership with rescue centre schemes as they help my hedgehog rescue centre and guinea pig shelter time and time again.
 
I think it is a worthwhile part of the store if it done correctly - two of mine came from the adoption centre.

I really think it depends on the store - some are using there section to sell through older stock who have out grown their cute implus value. The two local stores to me are guilty of this

However I went to one on a big retail park in Manchester and they had a great section with lots and lots of information on the local rescues both small animals and cats and dogs.

If more were like this I think their reputation would not be as bad as it is - but i think it depends on the store manager and head office being really pro-active as pet shop licences change they will need to become more and more involved in rescue and rehoming work.
 
Hi i have to agree with the above posts , it is in the main a good idea but our local pets at home also does put the pets who are "To old to sell" in the adoption part , it mostly seems to be hamsters , who still look very young .

Though as we lost our little Meggie last week I phoned them to see if they had a lone sow to adopt and all they had was 2 sisters so wouldn't part them which is a good sign .

Also we adopted our dwarf hamster Betsy from them a year ago when she was 5 months old (her owner had her and her sister but they fought) , and she has just been (touching lots of wood!) totally full of life and health xx
 
[email protected] said:
Hi all i went to my local pets at home today and they had 6 guinea pigs in the adoption centre. I asked about them and was told they were father and babies which looked about 3wks. They where all in the same pen I would of taken them if i had the hutch for them. I don't think pets at home should have the adoption centre as they don't know what is wrong with some of them and they say they get vet checked but i doubt that as i got a rabbit from the adoption centre and she had ear mites she also had a phantom pregnancy all at the same time we did not know her age or where she came from as she was dumbed in the shop. We had her for 3 1/2 years before she died of a big fit. R.I.P daisy. Does any else fill that pets at home should not have the adoption centre or is it just me because i get upset when i see the abounded animals i have also rescued 3 hamster from there as well.
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I don't think they should have it either. I think that..

  • The vast majority of the adoptables are either returns or "too old to sell". In the past my local store have stated that animals were there because their owner couldn't look after them any more when in fact a week before they were apparently too old for the Bunny Village.
  • It encourages people to see pets as disposable - if you're bored of them just give them back to the shop.
  • It's social cause marketing - they are using the "tugging at heartstrings" factor to pull people into the shop and thus getting people to spend more money in the store via another channel.
  • If an animal comes into the adoption section pregnant the babies are put with the sales stock.
  • They cannot guarantee that 100% of your adoption fee goes to charities and that some is used as "administration costs" i.e. it gets swallowed up by their corporate pockets.
  • The quality of the housing in-store for the adoptables seems to be poorer than that of the sales stock.
 
I find that my local store order to many baby animals in and then can't sell them. I would like to rescue my animals but don't have the funds for all the hutches or cages for them. My kids love having animals and thinking for different things for the guineas and the hamster to do. I wouldn't know what to do with my time if i didn't have my pets they make a family complete.
 
I have 2 pets from the pets at home adoption centre Dave a rabbit (he was a children's pet, hardly handled and probably teased,he now is not very social) and Dennis(piggie) a lovely cheeky little chap (came in from breeder with ringworm cared for by staff -at 5 months old was put in with the piggies for sale he liked to chase them and was scaring them so was put in adoption centre ) they were both named by the same lady and you could tell they genuinely cared about the animals and they seemed happy to see him moving on to a new home but sad to see him go :) other p@h are probably different though.:) :) :)
 
daftscotslass said:
I don't think they should have it either. I think that..

  • The vast majority of the adoptables are either returns or "too old to sell". In the past my local store have stated that animals were there because their owner couldn't look after them any more when in fact a week before they were apparently too old for the Bunny Village.
  • It encourages people to see pets as disposable - if you're bored of them just give them back to the shop.
  • It's social cause marketing - they are using the "tugging at heartstrings" factor to pull people into the shop and thus getting people to spend more money in the store via another channel.
  • If an animal comes into the adoption section pregnant the babies are put with the sales stock.
  • They cannot guarantee that 100% of your adoption fee goes to charities and that some is used as "administration costs" i.e. it gets swallowed up by their corporate pockets.
  • The quality of the housing in-store for the adoptables seems to be poorer than that of the sales stock.
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i agree completely xx
 
daftscotslass said:
I don't think they should have it either. I think that..

  • The vast majority of the adoptables are either returns or "too old to sell". In the past my local store have stated that animals were there because their owner couldn't look after them any more when in fact a week before they were apparently too old for the Bunny Village.
  • It encourages people to see pets as disposable - if you're bored of them just give them back to the shop.
  • It's social cause marketing - they are using the "tugging at heartstrings" factor to pull people into the shop and thus getting people to spend more money in the store via another channel.
  • If an animal comes into the adoption section pregnant the babies are put with the sales stock.
  • They cannot guarantee that 100% of your adoption fee goes to charities and that some is used as "administration costs" i.e. it gets swallowed up by their corporate pockets.
  • The quality of the housing in-store for the adoptables seems to be poorer than that of the sales stock.
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As this is a pro rescue board may I point out that all animals whether in an adoption centre in pets at home or a rescue need or help!
 
There's a rescue centre at the p@h near me. They have one hamster, a pair and rats and a rabbit. They have information on why they were there and where to find other rescue centres in the area with a greater selection of animals
 
Well, I'd rather the "too old to sell" animals still had a chance in the rescue area rather than being put down or something.
 
Porcellus said:
Well, I'd rather the "too old to sell" animals still had a chance in the rescue area rather than being put down or something.
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I totally agree with you! It is a shame that some people are just anti "Pets at Home" for some reason which is a shame, as contrary to some people's beliefs, they do look after, and care for their animals in general.. :)p
 
I personally feel the adoption centre puts the message out there that there are rescues for guineas and rabbits, something a lot of people don't realise. I was asked to take on a recovering Sheltie, I couldn't as I'd just lost one at that time and I had to think about Eccles.

The adoption scheme allows rescues to go into pets at home and to speak with customers. I think this is an excellent idea. At the end of the day not everyone has rescues in their area. I certainly don't. If it wasn't for this forum and my ability to travel then I wouldn't have one half of my pigs nor Tika and Harvey.

I do think Pets at Home are making changes in a positive way. But like anything there are some bad petshops and some good ones. It is like rescue too, some good, some bad.
 
PetCook said:
As this is a pro rescue board may I point out that all animals whether in an adoption centre in pets at home or a rescue need or help!
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Are you having a laugh? :))

Do you support the fact that they make it easier for people to return their pets? Do you support the fact that these animals, some of whom have very specific needs, go to homes without a home check? Do you support the fact that these "adoptables" are sold for LESS money than the ones in-store and, as such, are much more accessible to people who are not willing to shell out for their pets? WHY can't they support rescues WITHOUT keeping the poor creatures in a tank at the back of their shop?

I would much rather the true cause of rescue you supposedly support were the ones to help these animals and they had their cause publicised in-store. Rather than this shambles of a multi-million pound business pretending to help and be the caring corporation that they are not. It's a bit like them breaking your leg at the front of the shop and them sticking a band-aid on it at the back. rolleyes
 
PetCook said:
I totally agree with you! It is a shame that some people are just anti "Pets at Home" for some reason which is a shame, as contrary to some people's beliefs, they do look after, and care for their animals in general.. :)p
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Come up any time and I'll show you round the 6 stores within an hour of me and point out in detail the room for improvement.
 
daftscotslass said:
Are you having a laugh? :))

Do you support the fact that they make it easier for people to return their pets? Do you support the fact that these animals, some of whom have very specific needs, go to homes without a home check? Do you support the fact that these "adoptables" are sold for LESS money than the ones in-store and, as such, are much more accessible to people who are not willing to shell out for their pets? WHY can't they support rescues WITHOUT keeping the poor creatures in a tank at the back of their shop?

I would much rather the true cause of rescue you supposedly support were the ones to help these animals and they had their cause publicised in-store. Rather than this shambles of a multi-million pound business pretending to help and be the caring corporation that they are not. It's a bit like them breaking your leg at the front of the shop and them sticking a band-aid on it at the back. rolleyes
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ohhh that a rant I see! As we have previously said, we have never encountered a problem in the Pets at home in the branches we have been in around the country! However it does not state that all are the same, and that does'nt make them bad as they do take unwanted pets in, which I think is good as I would rather they did that, than see a pet dumped in a bag on the side of the road and by chance having someone hopefully finding it, which usually does not happen.

:):):):)
 
PetCook said:
Rather than show me, try contacting their H/O if you feel they need improving :):):):)
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Wonder what makes you think I haven't? I have contacted them repeatedly in fact. By phone, email, letter and have met with management of a few local stores in person.

So essentially you agree with the store making money from homeless pets?
 
daftscotslass said:
Wonder what makes you think I haven't? I have contacted them repeatedly in fact. By phone, email, letter and have met with management of a few local stores in person.

So essentially you agree with the store making money from homeless pets?
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They only ask for a donation, as to care for the other adoption pets, they do not ask you to buy them! Essentially this is what rescues also do.. If you feel that the care required is not good enough, try the next step which would be the RSPCA or trading standards. I hope this helps! zzz
 
P@H's by me are really good, same ones as by pete. Not sure about the whole adoption thing but i'd rather they went to P@H than any other pet stores around here because some of them are awful. In that sense i'm pro P@H. Can't believe this debate still goes on though, I've been away about 6months and it's still going! People are never going to agree about it! xx
 
RSPCA do nothing if the animals have food and water. I've been rather disappointed with them in the last few years.

Saffron and Breanna are my two PAH Adoption pigs. "9-12 weeks old, unwanted in their previous home!" we were told.
Actually, at less than 300g each they were no more than 3 weeks old!
 
jnenbnb said:
P@H's by me are really good, same ones as by pete. Not sure about the whole adoption thing but i'd rather they went to P@H than any other pet stores around here because some of them are awful. In that sense i'm pro P@H. Can't believe this debate still goes on though, I've been away about 6months and it's still going! People are never going to agree about it! xx
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I agree ive been away for months and still the debate goes on, its just something animal lovers will never agree about 100%
 
The adoptables money goes to their "Support Adoption for Pets" charity. They cannot, however, guarantee that 100% of this money goes to rehoming charities nor into the care of the adoptables in store. It goes under the old addage of "administration costs" i.e. they cannot guarantee it is swallowed up by the company itself.

With regards to the alternative channels you stated above again you are making unfounded assumptions. Not to mention the fact the RSPCA do not operate in Scotland.

As a pro rescue forum (as you repeatedly state), I feel it is important for people to know that in this case they ARE lining the pockets of one of the main creators of homeless and unwanted animals in the UK, both directly and indirectly. It's great that people want to rescue via whatever means but unfortunately it takes the spotlight off the people who are doing the true hard work with regards to REAL animal rescue.
 
As Louise has stated, most local rescues do not post on the pets at home boards which is a shame and to be honest I do feel that pets at home would rather not see any unwated pigs at all. I'm not sure if anyone on this board has actually contacted Pets at home with regards to supporting local rescues.

The pet shop/rescue debate will forever continue as people do not realise that there are rescues out there as most do not advertise themselves well enough! With regards to our local Pets at Home which are Aintree and Widnes, I would recommend visits there to anyone as they are caring, and I agree with Emma 100% pro Pets at Home we indeed are...x)
 
daftscotslass said:
The adoptables money goes to their "Support Adoption for Pets" charity. They cannot, however, guarantee that 100% of this money goes to rehoming charities nor into the care of the adoptables in store. It goes under the old addage of "administration costs" i.e. they cannot guarantee it is swallowed up by the company itself.

With regards to the alternative channels you stated above again you are making unfounded assumptions. Not to mention the fact the RSPCA do not operate in Scotland.

As a pro rescue forum (as you repeatedly state), I feel it is important for people to know that in this case they ARE lining the pockets of one of the main creators of homeless and unwanted animals in the UK, both directly and indirectly. It's great that people want to rescue via whatever means but unfortunately it takes the spotlight off the people who are doing the true hard work with regards to REAL animal rescue.
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Oh so they are pro rescue themselves! I am shocked zzz
 
Well in Norfolk they do a fantastic job making sure the money goes to charities and voluntary organisations. Norwich Sprowston have just given PACT a £20,000 cheque to build a cattery in their rescue centre.
I'm not even one of their partnered charities yet they often provide me with vouchers, cages etc and allow me to do fundraising on store.

I rate them highly and am certainly all for their proceedures and policies when it comes to their adoption section. I often get calls from members of staff asking if I can clarify something directly to a customer in store about guinea pigs.

With relation to the sizes of space. Usually they only have 2 guinea pigs or rabbits available at any one time, for adoption, so their space isn't going to be as much as that allocated to the 8 or 9 guinea pigs they are selling from one pen.

They are not claiming to be a 'real' rescue centre they are simply proving the options.
 
PetCook said:
As Louise has stated, most local rescues do not post on the pets at home boards which is a shame and to be honest I do feel that pets at home would rather not see any unwated pigs at all. I'm not sure if anyone on this board has actually contacted Pets at home with regards to supporting local rescues.

The pet shop/rescue debate will forever continue as people do not realise that there are rescues out there as most do not advertise themselves well enough! With regards to our local Pets at Home which are Aintree and Widnes, I would recommend visits there to anyone as they are caring, and I agree with Emma 100% pro Pets at Home we indeed are...x)
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I did (more than once) and they never followed it up. I'm sure you did not know that our local one and the one just North of us won't advertise for rescues because they see it as competition? I'm sure you did rolleyes
 
Clare said:
I agree ive been away for months and still the debate goes on, its just something animal lovers will never agree about 100%
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I am Beginning to fill sorry i put this message on as it seams to be starting an argument i did not mean to upset anyone i just like seeing animals put in small cages and not allowed to run around and express themselves.
I was annoyed that my local pets at home thought it was OK to keep all 6guineas in 1 tank that is not even big enough for 1 guinea to be in and they have so many of their own stock run around in a pen that is no bigger than 3ft i could not tell how many where in it. Some of the staff if you ask them a question they don't know the answer or tell you to ask someone else. They keep all new adoptive pets out the back for 7 days in quarantine so i was told is this long enough.
 
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