Okay, pretty radical for this blog about loving animals, hey? (That, by the way is Sheboyganese, although I should have said "once hey" at the end. Don't ask why.)
For those of you who live too far away for local news let me explain. In the recent flooding here, some towns really did get slammed. Johnson City, near Binghamton, about 40 miles south of us was one of them. People evacuated. So did many businesses, Petco amongst the ones where employees left, and therefore no one was hurt. Except for the 100 animals who were left locked in their cages to drown. Now, I admit that I am a dog and cat bigot, and it is those that break my heart when I think of them, terrified and trapped, as the flood waters move slowly in. But there were others, just as worthy of life, depending on the kindness of humans to keep them safe--hamsters and mice and reptiles and, I believe, birds. And all of them died. Is this the fault of the entire company? Yes. The CEO made a statement that the local managers were not familiar with local flooding and so did not know that it would be so bad. They didn't stay in the store, though, and they didn't make any plans to evacuate the animals should it become necessary. If they would have asked any of the locals who were around for the floods of 1972, those locals could have told them just how deadly it could be. And if they were not trained well enough to show compassion in a crisis, how much true compassion is a part of their everyday dealings with the creatures in their care?
And that's why I'm not buying from Petco anymore. I know it was a tragic accident, but even accidents have consequences, just ask the pirates.
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