[Dailydrool] Trauma and a Warning

[Vanis, Nancy]

Jessica,
First and most importantly, I am so sorry you, your daughter and her
Basset were treated that way, and I am glad someone stepped forward to
help when you needed it. I have been doing rescue table events at Petco
for a couple of years now.  The local store has been great and very
supportive of Oregon Basset Hound Rescue as well as other animal rescue
groups in our area. Unfortunately, the individual stores are not given a
clear set of guidelines for these type of events, and you do run into
some managers who don't take responsibility they way they should when
running one of these events.

Please, please make sure you do follow up with ALL the chain of command
for Petco - get the names of all the people above the dingbat manager
(from his/her direct report manager up to the corporate level).  Send
out letters to every single one of them.  Some will react pretty much
like the manager did, but hopefully others will do something. You might
even send a few letters to the Petco Foundation (they deal more with the
rescue groups).  

I would definitely shoot off a letter to the President or head honcho of
the Husky Rescue group or even all the board members for that group.  If
they cannot find a way to maintain control of their dogs while at the
adoption event, then they shouldn't bring them or bring only one or two
dogs at a time. I can tell you I would have pitched a very loud fit if
that had happened to me. The only time I will put a table up at the
front entrance of the store is when I don't have ANY dogs with me and I
am just doing an information display table. And I make sure there is a
clear path for customers to move around the table. 

There are a lot of things both the Petco store and the rescue groups can
to do to prevent this type of problem.  This is clearly something that
should never happen to you or anyone else. Petco definitely needs to
know about that manager and the obvious lack of concern for the safety
of their customers and their pets.

Nancy
Oregon Basset Hound Rescue