A chinny in need

[ann1]

HEY EVERYONE.
I HAVE A PROBLEM AND I HOPE SOMEONE CAN HELP.
I POSTED A LONG THREAD EXPLAINING IT IN DETAIL AND THEN LOST POWER BEFORE I COULD SUBMIT IT AND AFTER RE BOOTING MY COMPUTER IT WAS LOST SO I AM GONNA ONE SHORTEN THIS ONE FOR I AM TIRED OF TYPING NOW AND IF I DIDNT THINK THE SITUATION WAS CRITICAL I WOULDVE WAITED.
ANYHOW THERE IS A PET STORE HERE IN TOWN WHO IS ABUSIVE AND NEGLECTFUL OF THEIR ANIMALS.
THEY RECENTLY STARTED SELLING CHINNIES (WELL THEY HAVE 1) AND IT IS HOUSED IN A PLASTIC SQUARE BOX LIKE CAGE. IT IS SOLID PLASTIC WITH A PLASTIC LID WITH SMALL GRATES FOR AIR HOLES, IT IS SITTING NEAR A WINDOW AND IT GETS VERY HOT IN THERE. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW HOT THE INSIDE OF THAT THING IS....
THE CHIN IS FED CRAPPY FEED, GIVEN WATER IN A DISH AND THERE IS NO SIGN OF HAY ANYWHERE. I SERIOUSLY DONT THINK IT HAS HAD A BATH THE WHOLE TIME IT HAS BEEN THERE. IT DIDNT EVEN HAVE A HIDEY HOUSE AT FIRST...
I HAVE GONE IN THERE A FEW TIMES AND TRIED AND TRIED TO EDUCATE THEM AND IT HAS FALLEN ON DEAF EARS. THESE PEOPLE DONT KNOW ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT CHINS MUCH LESS ANY OTHER ANIMALS. ALSO I DONT BELIEVE THEY GIVE A DARN. ....

THEY ARE KNOWN FOR SELLING SICK ANIMALS. ONCE I WENT IN AND FOUND A IGUANA HANGING BY A TOE FROM THE SCREEN ON TOP OF ITS AQUARIUM. THERE WAS ONLY 1 HEAT LIGHT FOR 3-4 CAGES AND I BELIEVE IT WAS TRYING TO GET TO IT. IT WAS SHEDDING ITS SKIN. IDK IF IT WAS EVEN ALIVE.....POOR THING

ANYHOW BACK TO THE CHIN....I DECIDED TO MAKE ONE LAST ATTEMPT TO REASON WITH THEM TO AT LEAST DO SOME RESEARCH AND DO THE BASICS FOR THE ANIMALS THEY SALE....

HONESTLY IT IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY AND NOTHING ELSE TO THEM. ALL THEIR ANIMALS ARE OUTRAGEOUSLY PRICED AND USUALLY ILL. THIS POOR CHIN IS BEING SOLD FOR 160.00 AND IS A STANDARD, IN POOR CONDITION, PROB 6 MTH + IN AGE AND IN DESPERATE NEED OF A DUST BATH. I DOUBT ANYONE IS GOING TO BUY HIM/HER. ESPECIALLY IN THIS ECONOMY AND THE REP THE STORE HAS....I CAN HOPE THO
I FINALLY HAD ENOUGH AND WENT TO THE HUMANE SOCIETY AND WAS TOLD THEY COULDNT HELP, THAT IT WAS OUT OF THEIR JURISDICTION (IT IS THE ONLY HUMANE SOCIETY FOR AT LEAST A 100 MILES) I THOUGHT THAT IS WHAT THEY WERE FOR? I ALSO WENT TO THE 2 DOG POUNDS IN MY AREA AND AGAIN TOLD IT WAS TO BAD AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. THEY SAID I SHOULD BUY IT. I WAS KIND OF PISSED OFF THEY WOULD SAY THAT AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF YA THAT WOULD HELP THIS LITTLE GUY BUT I KNOW THEY WOULD JUST GET ANOTHER AND DO THE SAME THING. I DONT WANT TO ENCOURAGE THIS...
HERES MY QUESTION, WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE? IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN DO? WHO CAN I CALL? PLEASE HELP.....THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHERS IN MY TOWN WHO ARE WILLING TO STEP FORWARD WITH ME TO TELL THEIR STORIES ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE WITNESSED THERE....I HOPE SOMEONE CAN POINT ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND THANKS EVERYONE....A CHINNIES LIFE DEPENDS ON IT :crossfingers:

 

[Laurie]

I'm not sure what more you can do other than contact the Humane Society. If they say that cannot intervene then I don't believe you can go to the police.

Have you thought of purchasing the chinchilla yourself to save this animal?

 

[AZChins]

I was thinking the same thing as Laurie...poor little thing...

 

[ann1]

I thought about it but I know that they would just purchase another and another and another and the situation wouldnt change. I definately dont want to promote animal cruelty and this is definately animal cruelty.
I was kind of hoping (at the risk of sounding stupid) that there was a country or state humane society that would/could step in for the cases that no one will help....I know that sounds silly but I am desperate....Maybe some animal rights person who could help? idk anything really...something has to be done....
its not just the chin who is suffering, they have dogs, cats, ferrets, birds, guinea pigs, rats, hamsters, lizards, fish etc etc that have all been the victim at one time or another. like I said all they care about is the money...it makes me sad

 

[Dustbunnies]

People like that should be kept in cages and conditions just like they keep their animals. Put a fur coat on them, put in them in a plastic box by a hot window, and suggest someone pay you 160 thousand dollars to set them free.

 

[StevieP]

I don't know if there are any local, state, or federal agencies that can intervene. Hopefully someone else knows more regarding this approach.

I do think that if you have not already, talk to the manager or owner of the store. Go as high up as you can. Bring them an article which states the proper temperature, food, and cage requirements. I believe that of all the animals you listed that they sell, chinchillas are the most sensitive to heat.

That is the unfortunate thing about some pet stores; that they care much about anything but the financial aspect of the business. Try to use that to your advantage. They can't sell a dead chinchilla.

I wouldn't ever buy a single thing from there again. Spread the word that they are a terrible store.

 

[mishellyshel]

There have been a lot of pet stores in my area being closed down due to improper care of their animals. Poor ventilation or heat issues, cleanliness, sickness of animals.

I would definitely talk to the owner and let them know you have approached the employees several times. I would print out proper care sheets and see what their reaction is and what course of action they plan on taking.

If they are negative, personally I would let them know that you are a member of several animal activist groups and that you have many pet owner friends and that you will make sure they all know how poorly the animals in their store are treated. NO store owner wants negative publicity like that.

If they are positive and receptive to your ideas, let them know you can provide them with a few thing OR come into the store & set up the cages the way they should be at minimal cost to the store and your time would be donated.

good luck.

 

[ann1]

I have gone in there a few different times now. The first time i was surprised to see they even had a chin. I asked them about him and they told me he jumps...they were shocked a chin could jump... (duh) they said his cage didnt have the top at first but he kept jumping out so they put the top on....i explained that he would get to hot in there and they should really do some research on chins before selling them because they have certain needs. They told me the owner knew about them.

The next time i went in there i recognized a couple of the gals from past visits when ive bought litter and stuff. I explained to them there basic needs and that at least they needed to give him a water bottle (there was litter and feces in his bowl), i explained they were prey animals and needed a hidey house to feel secure (especially in a pet store...) i told them he needed hay or hay cubes, a dust bath (which they never heard of) and most of all he needed a more ventilated cage away from a sunny window perferably near air conditioning or he would most likely die of heat stroke. I told them they were fragile animals and need strict requirements.

One of the gals grabbed him a plastic igloo from the shelf and a water bottle and said they were gonna talk to the owner. I told them i would print off their basic care and drop it off for him (which i promptly did)

i went back a couple days later only to find not much had changed. I deamanded to speak to the owner that day. He was there but sincethere is no swearing allowed here i will just say he was a self centered jerk. He really didnt act like he gave a crap. He said he knew what he was doing and hes tired of everyone coming in there and telling him what to do. Everyones and expert he said...i told him well your apparently not or else that chin wouldnt be sitting in a heated box, baking right now. I told him i know for a fact he has had many many sick animals in there and told him to look at his puppies eyes right now, they are sick. Goopy, nasty and sick. He said they just went to the vet and their fine (i know for a fact they hadnt been cuz their not fine) i ended up just leaving....fustrated to heck...

I went to the humane society and told them. I already mentioned how that went...
This is a small town and word has already traveled. Ive had people call me with their stories of things theyve witnessed or to tell their stories of animals they had bought and either spent a fortune on in vet bills or even worse, lost. Ive been told they have also tried reporting them with no luck too. They said they would also be willing to file reports if i found out where.
On the other hand unfortunately this is a small town and their arent a lot of options for people who already own animals and need supplies. There are only 2 pet stores probably within a 100 miles so options are limited. There are a few things that only they carry and i know some people just dont/wont care and will keep on shopping there. Their prices are sooo high that on most stuff you would probably pay less to order it online and have it shipped. I was pretty much only buying my aspen bedding from there and they used to have a huge bag for like 17.00 so it wasnt to bad. Then i guess they realized that and did away with the huge bag and had a bag prob less then half the size and it was more money. I thought they were just out of the bigger bags and would get them again but i havent seen them since so i guess they figure they could screw people more so y not.
I am hoping someone here knows of somewhere i can call to help these poor creatures....i am thinking i can at least report them to the bbb...not that it will help the animals but maybe if they get enough bad remarks they will do something

 

[mishellyshel]

How about the local newpaper?? Maybe they would like to do an investigative report.

 

[RedEarth]

Possibly filing with the better business bureau. Wont help the animals, but you can at least give him a negative review. Who inspects pet shops? I'm thinking USDA does that. They have to meet some requirements. I'm not sure, but that would be the next thing I look into. I'd also contact the newspaper and TV channels. They probably wont respond right away, but keep at it and see if those that have said they would also do a written complaint will also call. Maybe if they get several complaints, they'll check it out.
The problem with buying him, though I feel really terrible for this little guy, is that who ever sold that chin to them, now has a market for the next one and the pet store will be more inclined to buy another one to place for sale.
I would not buy another thing from that store and spread the word far and wide about the deplorable treatment of the animals. Negative reviews of stores spread faster than positive. We have a store like this in our area. I will not step foot in the store as last year they had a parvo outbreak. I don't want to risk bringing home diseases to my own animals.

 

[InkedupTara]

Get a bunch of people together and protest their animal care. It was done here to a place that was really bad to their animals too.

 

[ann1]

Those are reallly great answers guys. I can definately check into some of them. I remember once there was a terrible vet here who's negligence caused the death of my dog and the guy was such a jerk about it that i reported him to the veternary board of medicine....they didnt do a darn thing for us tho cuz the vet fudged her records to make it appear it was just a freak accident. I was devastated but there was nothing else i could do for her.,,,,does anyone here think they could help? Not sure if they could but maybe its a possibility or maybe they could point me in the right direction
i guess i must watch to much tv or something cuz all those animal cop shows i see on must take their jobs serious and run off to save all the neglected animals...heck, maybe there not real animal cops at all for all i know
im hoping i can sneak in there and maybe sneak a coule pics...might help later on

 

[fanofdmb84]

im hoping i can sneak in there and maybe sneak a coule pics...might help later on

I would walk right in and start taking pictures, not be shy about it, and not say a word. Take a bunch of pics, and then leave. It might rattle them enough to clean up their act a little bit. They'll probably question you or even get in your face, but if you keep it non-confrontational there's not much they can say against you other than asking you to leave.

 

[staci-p]

Maybe you could get the humane society to do an investigation of the place (get them to stop by at a random time). I'm sure a lot of the humane societies are connected to higher authorities for situations like this. Maybe if they see the cruelty that is going one they will be able to take action and contact another place that may be able to do something. If you have the whole humane society (amung others) backing you up, I'm sure some organization will step up and do something.

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

I would actually go right in and in a straight forward manner take pictures of all the animals (maybe bring a large, muscled male friend with you lol), print up a sheet stating what is wrong, maybe even circle the bits that are out of order on a copy of the photo (EX: have an uncircled photo and then have one where you circle the chinchilla water dish and write 'Giardia Danger', and on an attached piece of paper highlight the detailed dangers of getting giardia from having poo in their water).

Edit: just thought of something: get a whole bunch of your friends/relatives to come in with cameras and all take pictures, that way if they kick you out after 2 or 3 photos, you have pics of the chin, your aunt has pics of the puppies, your best friend has pics of the lizards (you get the drift).

I would then bring that to your local police station and tell them that the Humane society won't do anything, and that if they won't step in and take these animals out of danger, AND take the owner's license away, that you are going to go to the local news, the national news, and PETA. (PETA as a last resort).

If the police do not do anything, you NEED to go to the local news station. Go down in person, show them the pictures you took VS pictures of animals in proper health and proper caging, and ask them to do a story because no one else is doing anything and you need help. Be very polite, and if they decline, mention that the competing news station was very interested but you came to them first because you value their news station better, but oh well, you guess you'll just have to go to that other station... (oh what was that, you WILL do the story? That's what I thought. lol)
News stations love that stuff (my local likes to catch people with the phrase, 'seen only on wroc-tv, the story about blahblahblah, now pending a trial due to our breaking journalism. Soandso refused to comment to our news station, but we have pictures of thisthingthattheydidwrong', etc)

Then I would set up a protest outside, on public property (look into your town's protest laws to make sure you don't need a permit), but across from/near the pet store, with the pet store's name CLEARLY printed in large letters on your signs. Make sure you're not doing anything illegal so that if the owner calls the cops, there's nothing they can do about it.

The very last thing I would do, as a last resort, is to look into the possibilities of buying the chinchilla and proving poor animal care--perhaps via a vet--and seeing if you can sue them and get your money back, explaining that you know how much pain and discomfort the animal was in, and that you only bought it because the humane society and the cops etc etc wouldn't save it...but IDK if that's possible, so I would check around with a lawyer first.

 

[Chub_Chub]

I've seen Facebook campaigns against establishments that do bad things (like a bar here in town where the bartender is a total scumbag and refuses to serve paying female patrons unless they accept date requests from him). It's amazing how these pages AND PICTURES will circulate in no time! Plus, it's anonymous as to who started it.. But have all your friends join and send it out and as people comment, you can add your "personal comments" later from your own acct. LOL. No way to link to you except the people helping you.
I also agree with the local news suggestion. They love human interest stories to buffer with the same bad news over and over. Picketing the store will probably get the story on the news as well as warning any patrons coming or going.

 

[ann1]

Hi again and thanks for the suggestions...we have no local news channel here....i wish...we live in a small town in a small state so we are s.o.l. For that. We watch the utah news cuz it is what we get.
I could go to the local newspaper but seriously doubt they would giv a crap either.
I walked in there and tried to take pics but since i had it out with the owner and a couple other people they asked me to leave...they are pitiful. Their fish tanks were filthy and there was dead fish floating in their tanks. Its is very sad...

 

[Dustbunnies]

The local Petland (big chain puppy selling pet store) just closed here after a couple months of picketers out on the street (with Petland Kills and Petland uses Puppy Mills signs). And it was always fairly clean, cool, and somewhat acceptable in there. They had there issues, of course, and one of the recent managers pushed for sales (using G-Force Movie signs to sell guinea pigs and giving commissions for pets sold).

My point is...that can close a big very popular store (always busy)...it can close yours. Get a group to picket and the news will come.

Make some calls to the nearest large news affiliate...they might just listen.

 

[ann1]

Guess what? I went in today and the chinny was gone!!! I asked them what happened to him and they looked at each other and then me and said he sold...ya right....there is no way in h#*l he sold...i would bet money on it...i asked them who bought him being that this is a pretty small town and everyone knows everyone (mostly..) and they said idk (which i might maybe believe is true if he sold, which i doubt he did) he has been there for awhile not to mention over priced and he looked pretty rough so i doubt it. Of coarse i cant proove it so idk what else to do. I feel really bad for the poor thing. I just hope he did get out of there before it was to late. I told them i didnt believe them and it would probably be a good thing if they didnt get another one since they didnt know the proper way to care for them. I told them i thought it was sad that they didnt care about the animals they sold but rather about the money they made when they could do right by the animals and make money at the same time if they were a reputable pet shop. One of the girls kind of noded at me while the other rolled her eyes...

 

[StevieP]

Whatever really happened to the chin you may never know. Hopefully they don't get another. What a shady store.