Pets at Home

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I did hear from reliable sources that they sometimes euthanise stock that is unsellable. I believe there is undercover filming available online of such practices. The adoption centre is such a cop out, it's pretty much all old stock. If it's not why sell a pet to someone who will keep it for 2 weeks before getting bored with it in the knowledge it can be returned. Makes me pretty angry because I have friends that have 100+ guinea pigs in their rescue centres with genuine background stories. Some of them were left to roam free, some dumped in woodland etc.

I have 13 guinea pigs and none of them have come from P@H. I would never purchase a pet from there. The P@H store near me is okay from what I know, I sometimes visit, I've overheard some okay advice and I've also heard some terrible advice whilst in there. Advertising a trio of male guinea pigs at a discount price?! You'd have to be crazy to take 3 young boars and if you were a relatively new owner you'd also then be pretty livid when they all hit the hormonal stage and had a fall out. Two boars okay, 3 boars massive no no. Just things like that I think let them down! Plus the cage sizes they recommend are so tiny. My piggies live in a 8ft by 2ft double tier hutch and a 6ft by 2ft double tier hutch. I realise the 8ft is probably quite extreme in terms of size but 2 guinea pigs need a minimum of 4ft by 2ft running space and the vast majority of P@H cages don't meet that standard - yes some do but they are more expensive, but if they're pushing for a sale do they want your money in the till at the cost of the animals future welfare?! Probably.

buzzhoney

'Stock'... ugh. It is a bit worrying when people are selling animals for profit - and to anyone who walks in as well. I don't think dogs and cats should be sold in shops - nor rabbits, actually, they need more care and attention than people think.

Pets at Home managed to provide me with a raised dog dish when I couldn't find one anywhere else, so they're in my good books for that!