We've blogged a good number of shops that serve the pets in our homes, but what about this big local chain, Petland Discounts? When we had fish and birds, this is were we had to go regularly for supplies. We found the shops alternately exciting and depressing.
When a good staff was on duty you could get in and out very quickly with a lot of good advice. When understaffed or poorly staffed you could lanquish way too long and wish you hadn't come. The good thing is that they stock supplies for every kind of pet, their prices are pretty good and there are a lot of them. While you won't find designer dog beds or rhinstone leashes, Petland is good for a quick fix.
I always found Petland to be depressing and poorly run (Union Sq, this means YOU!)
there's so many good small store options for me
and catalogues are the way to go for cheap
I buy things like Frontline from Revival Animal Health,
info@revivalanimal.com
There's a really good Petland in Astoria (on Steinway between 30th and 31st Ave). I like them because they always have the dog food I need, and they sell Wee-Wee Pads in the bulk 100 box.
I grew up gazing at the multitudes of fish at the Kings Highway Petland, and thought it was great when I was a kid. As an adult, however, I find the stores abit depressing, but I find all pet shops depressing - they all seem to suffer from bad lighting, lackadaisical workers, and messy, smelly aisles. I don't think any pet store should be faulted about the smell, given the nature of the business, but it would be nice...
Petland Discounts is a horror show! I would never spend money there...I can't even walk in them, the smell is so overwhelming.
The bird cages are filthy, dead fish in the tanks...
Also, any pet stores that sell cats and dogs get them from puppy mills/pet millers and that is a fact. I would never spend money in a store that support that kind of cruelty.
I second the recommendation for Petland on Steinway - it has all the basics. Once I purchased an almost expired bag of food, but the store owner exchanged it without a fuss and seemed very concerned. According to their website Petland Discounts doesnt sell puppies and kittens, which is one of the reasons I go there.
Many of the best brands of pet food (with the most complete nutritional value for your pet, no use of by-products, etc. - I.e. Wellness, Innova, Merrick, PetGuard, Evolve, Felidae/Canidae to name a few) will not sell their products in stores like Petland Discounts, PetCo, Petsmarts that also sell animals because it violates their ethical standards to do so.
Have only been to the one on 72nd St., but was depressed to see rabbits for sale there. And it's true about the healthiest, best pet foods not being available.
i wouldn't describe Petland Discounts as a "local" chain. they are a division of Petland, Inc., which has multiple franchises in 20+ states & 6-10 foriegn countries. the main difference is that Petland Discount franchises don't sell cats or dogs, because they're located in north east coast states which have better pet shop regulations, puppy lemon & animal cruelty laws.
much like Petland, Inc franchises buy most of their pups from the biggest puppy broker in the US, The Hunte Corp (who obtains them from mass breeders in southern & midwestern states) Petland, Inc., Petland Discount & their other division, Aquarium Adventure franchises, buy most of their "alternative pets" (birds, ferrets, rabbits, reptiles, rodents & even fish) from mills, such as the filthy hamster mill in central ohio (MidSouth Distributors) which was finally closed down by the OH Dept of Health about a year ago -- but only after 3 people in RI & I think MA died due to a rodent disease, which passed from a hamster to the pet buyer/owner & thru her transplanted organs given to the 3 patients who died.
altho MidSouth was selling to Petco &/or PetSmart, not Petland, all these stores get all their animals from one type of mill, or another. so every dollar spent in any of them helps perpetuate cruelty & consumer fraud. so i don't recommend shopping in any store which sells any type of pets. i'm sure there are some mom & pop pet shops which do sell humanely bred animals, but they are few & far between. even pups sold in a posh boutique in the Trump Towers found themselves profiled on an 2000 NBC Dateline investigation, for obtaining pups from the same mills used by Andrew Hunte's company to supply Petland, Inc franchises.
I haven't been back (the location on 23rd in Chelsea) since I saw a dead hamster that looked like it had been there for days. I also found the store dirty and the employees even more so.
Incredibly sad and depressing.
Petland is just one of thousands of pet stores which purchase animals from breeding mills. While the term "Puppymill" is well known, puppies are not the only babies to suffer in these mills/warehouses.
Parrots and all the other animals sold in pet stores are simply merchandise for these warehouses. Puppies, parrots, ferrets, small mammals and even the fishes deserve proper homes.
The term "puppymill" needs to encompass ALL animals in the pet trade as "Breeding Mill" animals.
Tami
www.theangryparrot.org