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nutmeg

nutmeg

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Why is it that there seems to be as many threads from people buying guinea pigs from Pets at Home adoption section, as there is threads from people complaining about Pets at Home?
 
Now I'm probably not the best person to reply to this, but I'm going to anyway! As not only did I recently get a young pig from Pets at Home, I actually bought her.

I think everyone on here is guilty of purchasing a guinea pig at some point. Many of us did not know rescues exsited until we joined this forum (I didn't anyway), but I would hope that everyone on here now does know rescues exsist and are often overrun.

I think most people feel they should rescue (and rightly so) but it's easier to go into a local store - no home check, just around the corner, very accessable etc. etc. I also think that sometimes people get caught in the moment, fall for a sob story and a pair of sad eyes and that's it, adoption done.

I am as guilty now as the next person for acting on impluse (thankfully it was very out of character for me!) and do agree that impulse buys such as this are half of the reason we have such a problem of overrun Rescues in the first place.

I did not go out that day to add to our little family. Far from it! I was going to Halfords and Boots (and if the silly girl in Halfords hadn't dropped a canful of paint all over the place I wouldn't have gone in P@H at all...but that's another story!) If you'd have told me three weeks ago that I would have another pig I would have laughed, but I do have another pig and yes, she was bought on impulse, but yes she will have a happy home with me for all of her life. It's just a shame that not all impluse buyers can give that guarantee :(

However, if I was planning ahead I would 100% go to a rescue (and did with Boris) and would if I were to add any pigs to our family in the future.

I don't regret taking Marmite for one second, but I do appreciate the extreme frustration situations such as this much create for Rescues, as I'm sure it happens only too often.

In an ideal world we would only be able to add to our piggie families from good and caring breeders and there would be no need for Rescues at all but sadly I don't see that day ever happening :(

I hope this hasn't offended anyone, it's just my view on Pet shop adoption and, indeed, pet shops in general, although it did seem to go a little off topic

x>>
 
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Well I put up a complaint yesterday lol but I can honestly say that we were in that much of a rush on Sunday that I wouldn't normally look at the pets while we were there but after reading so many stories on here I wanted to see if there were any pigs for adoption and there was d'oh! Hindsight I should have taken that couple minutes more to speak to a member of staff and try and ensure that he was homed with another piggy - maybe if I go back and he's still there I will do it.

I agree with little piggles that people just aren't aware of the extent of rescues. As rescues are not profit making companies its not like they can advertise everywhere to let people know of their existence so rely largely on events, word of mouth or places like this forum. I found out about my local rescue last summer when me and OH went for a day out to Foxton Locks and they had a stall there. Thats when I fell in love with the piggies and decided I needed to convince OH that we needed to adopt a couple hehe

I think P@H and other pet stores are convenient for people. I know for a fact that as a cheap trip out my brother and sister in law will take my niece (18 months old) on the 10 minute walk to P@H so she can see all the animals cos she loves animals. Its a free trip out that keeps her entertained for a while but also if they didn't have a cat at home I know they would be tempted to get a rabbit and no doubt it would come from there.

I think its all about knowledge, I thought that all rescue pigs would be old and was naive enough to discuss with my OH how old was too old for being adopted as we wanted to have our piggies for a while and not take them on their deathbed. After visiting the rescue I now know that they have all ages from babies that are not yet ready to be separated from mum right through to the old dears! And the oldest ones are there for retirement and not rehoming... it certainly changed my opinions of rescues
 
I hold my hands up to the fact that I brought Eliza from Pets at home as a companion for Connie just over 3 years ago. I didn't realise that there were s many rescues around at the time as I was very new to guinea pigs.

I would never change Eliza for the world. My other 3 piggies are all rescue's though and I find it so rewarding.

I can honestly say though that I have never started a thread complaining about pets at home as I haven't had any problems with them so far xx
 
I think the problem with P@H is the inconsistency of care and customer service throughout their branches, hence the differences of opinion.

I've found myself drawn to P@H lately, since getting the puppy, they have some great stuff for dogs and luckily the dog stuff is at the front, I don't ever go to the back of the shop, I'm a sucker for a sob story.

I've found my local P@H quite a friendly place, and have seen customers returning animals, only to be told they can only take them back if they go in their adoption centre. I'm very sceptical about how their piggies come to be in the adoption centre and would rather go to a rescue. Which I may be doing sometime soon as I now have a bit of extra space.:))

I have bought a pet shop piggy from a smaller local pet shop because once again I avoid looking at the animals but I heard William as soon as I walked in the shop and made a decision without even seeing him.
 
I think some people think they are "saving" a piggy if they buy them from P@H or any other pet shop, when in reality they are just lining the stores pockets and making room for more stock (sorry to say it but for a lot of pet shops that's what the animals are.)

If you buy an ill piggy from a pet shop, sadly you are taking away any evidence the council might need to take away their license.

My gorgeous lovely Bailey was from P@H and I wouldn't change that for the world, I had almost five wonderful years with him and he started my love for piggies. However after the health problems I had with Tia bunny who we got at the same time, I vowed to never buy a pet from them again.
 
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It's hard to resist pets in pet shops . . . I keep trying to tell myself that it's better not to buy them, but I have bought ones when I couldn't find breeders or unwanted pigs. :red



But there are also lots of people on here who buy hay and food from pet shops that sell pets, which is almost the same really.


This is one of the reasons I honestly believe there needs to be good breeders, to take business away from the bad breeders and bad pet shops (if there are no rescues around).
 
Thanks for views everyone.
The question isn't really another about buying a pet shop guinea pig, originally, then finding out about rescues later. My concern is more that there are many many threads on here about this pet store and how bad people feel they are. Everyone then piles in and agrees how outrageous it is, but then people still go in, and buy adoption section guinea pigs from there, on a whim/impulse. Whereas in general, we would probably slate people who buy pets on impulse. Granted the people on here I believe, would provide excellent care, but why can't that excellent care be offered to a guinea pig from a rescue. It just seems like double standards. I know we have to buy food and hay and goodies etc., but all of these can be bought from animal feed suppliers, internet etc., even a good independent pet shop. We are lining the pockets of the big chains whether we buy pets or their accessories. I don't believe, sadly, that we will ever make pet shops not sell pets, but why groan about them on the one hand, they buy from them with the other? I would agree some are better than others, but whatever the individual store standards, you are still lining the corporate pocket. x
 
well I think they've been quite clever in being at the top of the market by selling pet products that make you go ahhhhh, hence my pretty pooch now sporting a high vis wooly coat when we're out on our night time walks. Total waste of money seeing as she'll be trebling in size in the next few months but she has the awww factor, hmm bit of an impulse buy, she doesn't really like it that much, and getting it on her is like dressing a wriggly snake.

It's mostly about presentation in the shop, it's good in the way that everything is at hand, clean and easily marked. My local feed supplies (where I go for everything else) don't have livestock, but also don't have the variety of pet products that P@H have, 9 out of 10 times though they are a heck of a lot cheaper than P@H.

I do think it's a terrible shame that they seem to be cornering the market in rescue animals too, by presenting them well and writing (in some cases) a totally fictitious story about them in order to find the animal a good home.

The thing to remember is that P@H are not the only pet product suppliers in most towns, but they will definately be the most expensive.
 
I've stopped going into Pets at Home now. My guinea pigs were from a different pet shop and my three legged hamster (not fit for purpose!) came from the adoption centre of a P @ H, but my views have moved on since then. I wouldn't change my lovelies for anything but will only have rescues in the future.
The feed suppliers where I buy my hay will order in the things I used to buy from P@H, and are very happy to do so. P@H have only recently opened a store in my town so would be more convenient now but I'd rather drive the extra 15 minutes out of town and feel comfortable with my purchases. I also find it unbearable to look at the animals for sale now. It makes me sad to think of where they may of come from, and the mums being used to churn out babies. I also worry about some of the people I see buying guinea pigs and other animals, where the animal is clearly being bought as another 'toy' for a young child.
The adoption centre always seems to have animals that either weren't considered 'cute enough' to be sold and are now too old, or animals that have been returned for being too viscious (probably due to being sold in un-bonded pairs or with too small accomodation), or animals that have been returned because they were sick and needed treatment. Stories that I've read on the forum only confirm my feelings.

So, I've voted with my feet and won't go to P@H or any other shops seliing animals anymore. It may not make a huge difference to their profits but I can live with myself. If more people do the same, maybe change will happen.
 
I have been noticing the same lately!

What I gather is that p@h generally seem to be pushing their adoption centres more lately. Many people feel that they are "rescuing" a poor piggy; some extreme cases obviously really deserve it where there is illness or old age involved. However, most of these adoptions are done on impulse as far as I can see.

However, it doesn't take away from the fact that what people think is a "rescue" they can do themselves is in effect still nothing more than a "buy with a feel good factor" (no home check or questions etc) and that those people are leaving equally deserving, likeable and gorgeous piggies with their own sad stories sitting in a rescue for months on end.

It takes a conscious effort to acquire a rescue piggy - and in the cold light of the day, most people will think twice about getting more piggies if they have time to think things through. Methinks that p@h are cornering the market really nicely here and are acquiring a good fig leaf for their activities!

It takes strength to walk away from a pair of sad eyes, and not everybody can. Sadly, with the growing number of factory bred piggies being put on the market, there is a growing number of unwanted/neglected piggies vying for a finite number of caring homes.

PS: I am very grateful that my local p@h has not much of an adoption section and that it is usually empty.
 
flips said:
I've stopped going into Pets at Home now. My guinea pigs were from a different pet shop and my three legged hamster (not fit for purpose!) came from the adoption centre of a P @ H, but my views have moved on since then. I wouldn't change my lovelies for anything but will only have rescues in the future.
The feed suppliers where I buy my hay will order in the things I used to buy from P@H, and are very happy to do so. P@H have only recently opened a store in my town so would be more convenient now but I'd rather drive the extra 15 minutes out of town and feel comfortable with my purchases. I also find it unbearable to look at the animals for sale now. It makes me sad to think of where they may of come from, and the mums being used to churn out babies. I also worry about some of the people I see buying guinea pigs and other animals, where the animal is clearly being bought as another 'toy' for a young child.
The adoption centre always seems to have animals that either weren't considered 'cute enough' to be sold and are now too old, or animals that have been returned for being too viscious (probably due to being sold in un-bonded pairs or with too small accomodation), or animals that have been returned because they were sick and needed treatment. Stories that I've read on the forum only confirm my feelings.

So, I've voted with my feet and won't go to P@H or any other shops seliing animals anymore. It may not make a huge difference to their profits but I can live with myself. If more people do the same, maybe change will happen.
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Ditto totally. I drive further to get my hay and a few bits but mostly I get stuff online.
 
I think this is a good thread, it gives people stuff to think about :) But isn't being judgemental.


Do pets in the adoption centre in P@H still cost money? It sounds like sometimes they use it as a way to get rid of pigs that won't sell . . . :(
 
I did buy Roy from pets at home in 2004, but I was 9 and didn't know there was anywhere else to get them from. There are so many people that think pets at home is the only/best place to get a new pet from when they really aren't. Because of bad breeding they are likely to die earlier (Amber was a pet shop guinea-pig and died last month at just 1 year old) Fortunately Roy will be 7 this April so has lived a long life so far despite being from Pets at Home. Last year I was going to go to pets at home (not to buy a guinea-pig) after not being there for years and I was so excited, and I went in and it was a big disappointment and all I bought was a wooden bridge thing for the guinea-pigs, so I don't go there anymore, and the pet shop I get my hay and food from doesn't sell hay. There have been times when I've bought a guinea-pig on impulse, like the time I went (not to a pet shop) to get one guinea-pig and came home with 2. I know I can take good care of my pets and can provide a home to them for all their lives, so I don't think that's really a problem, but the people that buy a guinea-pig on impulse if they don't know if they can care for the animal for the rest of its life annoy me.
Sorry, I kind of went off into a rant there :))
 
piggyme234 said:
Ditto totally. I drive further to get my hay and a few bits but mostly I get stuff online.
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Have you been to PJ's on Cleveland Street Rachel? They do a bale of hay bagged for £5.50. Though think you might have to wrestle it into your car if you still have the little one. Plus they have a decent selection of feed and toys for furries.
 
slackalice2k said:
Have you been to PJ's on Cleveland Street Rachel? They do a bale of hay bagged for £5.50. Though think you might have to wrestle it into your car if you still have the little one. Plus they have a decent selection of feed and toys for furries.
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Thanks. I go to Smiths in Cottingham. I can get a bale of hay for £4.50ish. They don't have a huge selection of stuff but what they do have is good. What kind of selection of toys and goodies does PJs have?
 
Whiskey and Noodles were, dare I say it, from the normal section of P@H 5 years ago...but as others have said, I had no idea you could get guineas from a rescue, I didn't even know there were many other dogs homes than Battersea and Dogs Trust!

Naive yes...BUT my local store is one of the minority who seem to do ok.

Now Dodge came from their adoption centre last year...They had only had it a week! And there was just something about him. What I applaud them for is they only let me have him once they had explained he could be paired with a young boar, but they couldn't let me buy just any one if theirs in case they didn't get on - I had to take him home and check his character first. Ideally though they advised me to get him snipped and find a nice girl, as male and female pairings are the most stable. I couldn't buy one of theirs tho til I took a vet bill in showing he had been done as they didn't want me to breed!

Yes ladies and gents, you are reading this right, they actually got it all right!

I do buy my pellets and other bit like water bottles from them. I think at the end of the day you can't tar them all with the same brush - some are appalling but some, luckily mine included, are good and have relatively intelligent staff. I would consider getting piggies from their adoption bit again but would want more info than is written on the card.

However I think my next piggies will be to keep Whiskey company in her old age as Noodles is a worry for us these days...and as such we will most certainly be going to find just the right piggie from a rescue.

Unless of course Honey has a boy, and he gets on with JoJo, and Honey stays with the girls, or Honey goes with JoJo and a baby girl goes with the girls...there are some complicated piggy logistics running through my mind constantly atm!
 
CiaraPatricia said:
I think this is a good thread, it gives people stuff to think about :) But isn't being judgemental.


Do pets in the adoption centre in P@H still cost money? It sounds like sometimes they use it as a way to get rid of pigs that won't sell . . . :(
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Yes they do cost money but its supposed to be funds that go directly to a local supported rescue not into P@H pocket
 
piggyme234 said:
Thanks. I go to Smiths in Cottingham. I can get a bale of hay for £4.50ish. They don't have a huge selection of stuff but what they do have is good. What kind of selection of toys and goodies does PJs have?
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Last time I looked they had the blue seats and beds, pigloos all sorts of excel hay and herbages, the hanging feed holders willow balls etc I've never been to Smith's might have to take a trip over to your side of the town to do a bit of investigating.:(|)
 
Doeylicious said:
I do buy my pellets and other bit like water bottles from them. I think at the end of the day you can't tar them all with the same brush
!
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They are the same brush, they are all part of the multi-million corporate giant that is Pets at Home. If you support one you're supporting them all.
 
Doeylicious said:
I do buy my pellets and other bit like water bottles from them. I think at the end of the day you can't tar them all with the same brush - some are appalling but some, luckily mine included, are good and have relatively intelligent staff. I would consider getting piggies from their adoption bit again but would want more info than is written on the card.
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Surely the point of what people are saying here is that Pets at Home is a large corporation out to make money from breeding and selling animals. They're all connected and so if you spend money in one shop because they treat their animals all right there it is still encouraging more shops to open and more pigs/animals to be bred and sold for profit by the fat cats.

Also, I dont believe that they give the money from the adoption centre to local rescues. Yes they do give local rescues some money but it's usually if they go in and promote them in store which again makes PAH look good.

I wont set foot in this store either. My blood boils when I go in there. The fact that they have an adoption centre is an absolute joke and I know for certain that the animals for adoption are old breeding stock or ill guineas or ones that didn't sell first time round. Its absolutely disgusting.

And yes I think that people on this forum, who care about the welfare of guinea pigs, should know better than to support PAH after reading awful story after story about this place that apparently puts pets first.
malletheadmallethead:{:)>>>grrrr:(

Come on people break that lethargy, get some principles!:(|)
 
My money for Dodge didn't go in their till, I wrote a cheque to the charity so mine at least went somewhere it should have.

I do have principles BUT I also have guineas who point blank refuse Burgess nuggets and leave some of their Gerty Guinea Pig, yet wolf down the P@H nuggets...so do I upset my own guineas for the sake of principles?

I see what you are saying I really do, but for me yes it is convenient to get to and the piggies like the food, the other alternative is the pet shop that keeps and sells bunnies and guineas together and has been reported to the council numerous times and even had the RSPCA in...! So I know it's not ideal but it's the better of two evils for me, sadly.
 
PiggiePal said:
Naughty fussy piggies :(|)
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I know, I tried explaining it to them but they just fell asleep!

I do make a point of saying things rather more loudly than is necessary about rescues when I am there...general consumers don't seem to listen though, bit of a case of 'well I came to get it now so I am getting it NOW!' I think.

And it's so easy to get one from a pet shop...I think some people worry about a homecheck etc. and see it as 'hassle' rather than a chance to do things right.
 
Doeylicious said:
My money for Dodge didn't go in their till, I wrote a cheque to the charity so mine at least went somewhere it should have.

I do have principles BUT I also have guineas who point blank refuse Burgess nuggets and leave some of their Gerty Guinea Pig, yet wolf down the P@H nuggets...so do I upset my own guineas for the sake of principles?

I see what you are saying I really do, but for me yes it is convenient to get to and the piggies like the food, the other alternative is the pet shop that keeps and sells bunnies and guineas together and has been reported to the council numerous times and even had the RSPCA in...! So I know it's not ideal but it's the better of two evils for me, sadly.
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Perhaps get some free sample feeds I emailed all the suppliers and got lots :), they may find one they like better that you can get elsewere.

I don't go in pet shops that sell animals atall, I do all my shopping online. For me it's not just Pets at Home, it's any petshop that is selling animals as regardless of how they fluff it up, they are doing it to make money. They are doing it on a smaller scale but its the same thing, just they aren't as big as Pets at Home so you hear less stories about them.
 
flintstones said:
Perhaps get some free sample feeds I emailed all the suppliers and got lots :), they may find one they like better that you can get elsewere.
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Ah good idea, I will go and go a google search!

There must be SOMETHING they will eat...!
 
I think there will always be a continuing argument over PAH, its a difficult topic and i think it upto personal choice whether people go for rescue, shop bought or breeder, now i think everyone should go rescue but we cant force that ideal onto people, however we can teach and help people realise about guinea pig rescues, like myself this forum has taught me alot i actually didnt know you could get rescues devoted to guinea pigs. :o ( i feel ashamed for saying that!)

Now i live in middlesbrough and when i first went to get my boys my local RSPCA didnt have any in (great ayton) they only had rabbits and I had never heard of NEGPR until i came onto this forum. So i thought naively that going to PAH adoption center where my pennies went towards a charity (blue cross of what i can remember), would be the best choice. However if i had know of the north east piggie rescue in newcastle i would of contacted them. But now i know for next time :)


I now actively tell my neighbours, family and friends that you can get rescues devoted to animals like rabbit rescues, guinea pig rescues reptile etc, i think if you can get more people talking the better for rescues! :))

Also, i have found that PAH is much cheaper and more easier for myself to get hold of hay...although i prefer to buy from an independant and local pet shop who only breeds and sells budgies with a wealth of knowledge, however when I'm short and its late PAH is the only store local and within reach for myself.

But yes, i think its a neverending circle the PAH debate :)

Anywhoos thats my thoughts :)
 
This thread was not started as just another moan thread about p@h, but as some have said it is more about principals. Basically people are complaining bitterly about this store, yet still 'adopting' from it and congratulating people on 'adopting' from there. There are seemingly equal numbers of threads about both. Double standards xx
 
nutmeg said:
This thread was not started as just another moan thread about p@h, but as some have said it is more about principals. Basically people are complaining bitterly about this store, yet still 'adopting' from it and congratulating people on 'adopting' from there. There are seemingly equal numbers of threads about both. Double standards xx
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Ohh i know it wasnt a moan, sorry if i came across that way! :) I just thought to say that the PAH debate is a heated one and i think they'll always be people buying from them and others not buying from them etc. But yes i do see the double standards coming across in a lot of posts. x
 
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