After working at Jack's Aquarium & Pets, I realized corporate greed at its worst. I'll start with the poor animals that are kept at the Beavercreek store. First, the store does not inform its employees of the proper care for the animals. The birds are stuck in their cage for months at a time. They are not allowed out and their cages are covered in waste.
The small birds are often forgotten about and do not receive food and water. There was a handful found dead one day. Some of the reptiles are in dirty cages without the proper care; some even died during my employment. Employees are not informed on how to take proper care of these creatures. The hamsters are stuck in small plastic bins with only a water bottle and hard chow food. They are trapped in these small bins for months with nothing to play with or exercise on which is essential to their health. Some cages have quite a few hamsters in them when the cage is too small to begin with.
They receive no exercise, no human interaction and no nutritious food. I even found a skeleton in one of the cages one day! I found five dead decaying mice in a single bin! I do understand that there will be deaths in a pet store, but there are too many at this pet store that does not need to happen. There are green algae growing in the water bottles of the small animals. The dogs are stuck in a small cage for months at a time without being let out! They will sit there with no toys day in and day out for months.
One dog was in a cage for two in a half months 24/7! No walks, no toys and many times the bottom of the cage had a puddle of pee standing in it. I took the poor thing for a walk one day and he broke his leg stepping three inches down off of the sidewalk! This was the first time he received any exercise for those two in a half months, no wonder he broke his leg! When I picked him up from the vet, management made me hide the animal under my coat and run to the back of the store so no customers would see me. The personality of these dogs changes when they are stuck in these small cages. Some of the cages are way too small for the dogs. Some times the dogs lay in their own waste for hours! Bunnies have died due to malnutrition because employees were not informed that bunnies and baby guinea pigs need alfalfa hay to live. When they did not receive this, a couple of them died.
Now for the employees that work at the store. Employees are to give the animals shots, wormings, medication, and vaccinations. No employee in that store is properly trained to do this. Some employees don't even care and the animals are not properly medicated. Used needles are kept in an open milk jug. They don't know how to clean the animal habitats, give proper medications, or what to feed an animal. Further, the customers are given false information. When an animal is sick, it is hidden from the consumer.
For employees, breaks are far and few between. Working a nine to five shift, you're lucky to receive a lunch break. Further, there was no place to sit down and eat your lunch. I was afraid to pack a lunch, because all of the medications, vaccinations, and refrigerated animal foods were kept in the refrigerator. There is no room to move around in the back of the store and it is hard to work your way to the restroom. The restroom is used to keep some of the animals' food! Some of the sick animals are kept in the back room, but it is hard to get to them due to all of the supplies blocking their cages!
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