Guinea Pigs need our help!

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Mon Aug 06, 2007 1:56 pm


I added Guinea Lynx at the bottom. Does it look okay? Does it need to be larger?

User avatar
rshevin

Post   » Mon Aug 06, 2007 2:02 pm


I know we're guinea lynx and about guinea pigs and such but do we want to include chins on the flyer too? It's very unsafe for them as well.

Henle15

Post   » Mon Aug 06, 2007 2:24 pm


Below is the letter I have typed up to send them on their website. Go to Petco.com and click on the about us tab, then the contact us tab.
I am printing out those flyers and will start handing them out and leaving them around the stores that I frequent!!!

The easiest way to do this is to copy the letter and paste into word or straight into the box on the petco website. Make sure you delete the end and put your own thoughts and then your name.

Letter:

I recently learned that another Hamster Ball Derby will be taking place in Petco stores across America on Saturday, September 8, 2007.
I however have one concern. I see that there will be a Critter Run after the Hamster Ball Derby. My concern is with the advertising/promotion of using a ball for Guinea Pigs and Chinchillas. The spine of a Guinea Pig is extremely delicate and can be easily injured when put in the position that the ball places it. Even the biggest ball forces the Guinea Pig to bend in a way that is harmful to their spine. Another hazard to the Guinea Pig and Chinchilla is the spacing of the slits in the ball for so called ventilation. A Guinea Pig or Chinchilla foot can easily get caught in the slit while the ball continues rolling, therefore causing the foot to break or possibly be severed. Both animals are sensitive to high temperatures and may overheat in the ball. Guinea Pigs have a different spine formation than a hamster, rat, or any other animal that may use a ball. Putting a Guinea Pig in a ball also causes undue stress to him/her and may cause illness.
I urge you to reconsider advertising/promoting the use of a ball for Guinea Pigs in the Critter Run.
Delete this line and type your own personal message.


Sincerely,
Your name

User avatar
Jennicat

Post   » Mon Aug 06, 2007 3:06 pm


I'd be happy to take a big stack of these and hang out outside of the Petco on September 8th.

User avatar
Jennicat

Post   » Mon Aug 06, 2007 3:25 pm


I sent them a letter expressing my concerns about the small animals and exercise balls, and then expressed my ability to get people to stand in front of all the local Petcos with illustrative flyers detailing the problems with the small animal products they sell.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Mon Aug 06, 2007 7:47 pm


Looks good, Sef. I will try to get the page up later today (tomorrow at the latest).

User avatar
land_hermie

Post   » Mon Aug 06, 2007 9:49 pm


I'll make a YouTube video. I doubt that Petco will listen to letters sent, because they are probably making a lot of money off of it. Maybe a petition or something might work. We should work on spreading the word so people don't take their guinea pigs to it.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:08 pm


I got a page up with a link to the pdf. The page is linked to from the front page (see "In the News").

https://www.guinealynx.info/petco.html

If anyone has any other suggestions for it, let me know.
Thanks again, Sef, for putting the pdf together!

Tracis
Let Sleeping Pigs Lie

Post   » Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:37 am


It looks very professional!

For the members who aren't aware - "PetC O" is automatically changed to PetNo on the GL site.

To reach Lynx's page, type "www.guinealynx.info/PETC O.html", without the space.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Aug 08, 2007 9:34 am


tracis, I'm thinking I ought to disable that, esp if I can't even post a link to that page (didn't think of it).

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Aug 08, 2007 9:37 am


Okay, you should be able to get to the link now:

www.guinealynx.info/petco.html

User avatar
Jennicat

Post   » Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:19 pm


I just got back the form crap from Petco:

Dear Jennifer,

Thank you for sharing your concern about the upcoming Hamster Ball Derby and Critter Run.



Our concerns, like yours, include animal care and safety at all our events. In planning the upcoming race event, we took into account the following considerations:



* We’ve conducted national Hamster Ball Derbies several times without a single health or safety incident. Last March, for example, more than 12,000 hamsters raced at PETCO stores nationwide with no reports of health risks or problems among participating animals or pet parents.
* Customers who enjoyed those previous, incident-free hamster race events requested that we allow other animals to participate.
* We asked our chief veterinarian and Animal Care & Education team for their recommendation about allowing other animals to participate. They said it would be safe to allow mice, gerbils, rats, chinchillas and guinea pigs to race as well, as long as all small animals race in appropriately sized exercise balls.
* Our store associate training guide for this event states the importance of keeping different species from mixing together; properly cleaning and disinfecting the race track; and ensuring customers rest their pets between race heats.
* Our event brochures encourage customers to hold “training sessions” with their pets at home to help ensure their small animals will be comfortable in the hamster balls and be able to participate.
* Participants clearly see their pets as part of the family and enjoy these all-for-fun competitions as another way to celebrate the human-animal bond.



We appreciate and share your concern. Pet safety is a top priority at our store events and in all we do at PETCO. We are proud of our record and will continue to take prudent steps to ensure the upcoming derby and critter run is a fun and safe event for all participants.





Sincerely,



Bonnie M.
Customer Relations Coordinator

At PETCO, Animals Always Come First... Our People Make it Happen!



"Animals always come first... unless that gets in the way of profits, in which case we can assure people that the vet we pay six figures to say these things will support us."

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