Should I?

[Helitorian]

I want to go in later tonight so that the store isn't so busy and I can pull my manager aside and talk to her. Plus, I can buy the cage tonight and a couple extra perches for it without being rushed. Thanks everyone for you advice and support Once I get her. I shall post picks of little Helios!

 

[roxynoodle]

Are you still waiting on test results from the vet or do they know for sure it was dehydration? Did they give her fluids the other day when you took her in? Did they run a complete blood panel?

 

[Helitorian]

Are you still waiting on test results from the vet or do they know for sure it was dehydration? Did they give her fluids the other day when you took her in? Did they run a complete blood panel?

I was told practically nothing about her exam. All I know is they took the stool sample I collected and ran tests for parasites. The day prior to me taking her, she had been taken and we had been told she was dehydrated. They didn't give her anything for it. I wanted to bring her a few grapes but my manager said that they wouldn't hydrate the bird. I argued with her on it but she just ignored me.

You have to remember I'm the stupid, lazy, good-for-nothing member of the pet care team. I know nothing about animals.

Doesn't matter what I do or say to prove them wrong, they're opinion won't change of me.

 

[roxynoodle]

Wow. I'm quite sure the grapes would have helped her a lot. When birds get dehydrated their kidneys can start shutting down right then and there. When Merlin got sick, they gave her fluids right off the bat. As it turned out she wasn't dehydrated, but they didn't even wait on the blood panel or gram stains, and just gave her that immediately at the same time they drew the blood. And before I left they put hand feeding formula with meds into her crop. And told me to be prepared to bring her back in the morning for another feeding if she didn't eat on her own. She did, but I was all set to rush her back again.

 

[Helitorian]

I just got back from going to check on Sweet Pea. I'm f*cking pissed. Someone cleaned the bottom of her cage so I couldn't see her droppings and they also gave her cheerios. We use cheerios to stop diarrhea! Not only was that done but I noticed all her tail feathers are gone because they were chewed off. After getting a fresh sample of poo, I went and found my manager to see what was up.

Turns out I'm the one being blamed for the bird being sick. It's my fault she's chewing her feathers because I brought Con into the store two weeks ago! One of the managers told the in-store vet she was acting this way because of sexual aggression. SHE'S FIVE MONTHS OLD!!! No one is believing anything I have to say about her and my manager told me I will not be getting a discount on the bird because nothing unfixable is wrong with her.

Am I really to blame for what's happening? Am I really that stupid when it comes to birds that all my advice is worthless. Why should I even bother with this bird if she's just going to be sold to me as a featherless, underweight, neurotic bit of flesh just to pad their pockets? Why am I so fricking angry???

 

[suncon97]

ThatS crazy.. It sounds like your the only one in that store that had any sense. There is slim to none chance that con caused this to happen. I would have a lot more to say to the manager but I hope you end up getting Sweet Pea so she goes to a good home.

 

[Helitorian]

ThatS crazy.. It sounds like your the only one in that store that had any sense. There is slim to none chance that con caused this to happen. I would have a lot more to say to the manager but I hope you end up getting Sweet Pea so she goes to a good home.

I know Con didn't do this to her. This was done by another employee but it is being blamed on me because I am the one pushing for her to be taken care of. If they're going to charge me full price, I won't be able to afford her along with the vet appointments she is going to require once I have her. I am definitely taking Con to a different vet than the one in our store. She knows nothing about birds and listened to the manager who told her about the sexual aggression. My manager told me not to bring Con into the store again and that I shouldn't buy Sweet Pea because they'll just fight or she'll pluck herself bare. I am so fricking mad that I'm going to talk to the head manager tomorrow and if he gives me a discount, I will buy the bird than promptly quit.

 

[luvmytooo]

ThatS crazy.. It sounds like your the only one in that store that had any sense. There is slim to none chance that con caused this to happen. I would have a lot more to say to the manager but I hope you end up getting Sweet Pea so she goes to a good home.

I know Con didn't do this to her. This was done by another employee but it is being blamed on me because I am the one pushing for her to be taken care of. If they're going to charge me full price, I won't be able to afford her along with the vet appointments she is going to require once I have her. I am definitely taking Con to a different vet than the one in our store. She knows nothing about birds and listened to the manager who told her about the sexual aggression. My manager told me not to bring Con into the store again and that I shouldn't buy Sweet Pea because they'll just fight or she'll pluck herself bare. I am so fricking mad that I'm going to talk to the head manager tomorrow and if he gives me a discount, I will buy the bird than promptly quit.

I didnt read all the posts , so I am not caught up , but I did read the last 2 posts .
If you buy the bird , and take it to the vet , and they find the bird unfit for sale , what is the store policy on that ?
Why shouldnt you get a discount , your a store employee ?
I would talk to HR about that.
I think someone got whiff of you wanting to take this bird to the vet and wanted to the store to pay for it . Most of these types of stores ( at least the ones in my neck of the woods ) wont pay for any of their animals to be vetted. They use whatever they have in the store of sick animals and if that doesnt work , the animal is taken out the view of the public and usually dies somewhere in a back office. I can name two store chains that have done that.
So , I wouldnt be surprised the bird is gone the next day .
You have done alot for this bird , so dont beat yourself up .
I really wish thingsa went differently for you and this bird.
Im sorry it happened

 

[MikeyTN]

I'm the one who makes a BIG scene in the store IF I catch them doing anything improper to the animals. IF I find a sick animal suffering. I made them aware of it and the other shoppers aware of it, they take care of it very quickly right infront of me cause I've made complaints before to the animal welfare about the store. I don't tolerate that nicely at all!!!! I hope he passes the vet exam and can go home with you! Good luck!

 

[roxynoodle]

I really, really doubt you and Con have anything to do with it. I bet she plucked because they moved her into that back room and she's upset.

I know how much you want to save this bird. I feel really bad about how things are going. And you do need to quit. Having a bunch of ignorant people questioning you all the time has to really get to you. It would me. That and I wouldn't want to see how badly they treat the animals.

It also sounds like the vet there is not familiar at all with birds. My vet says they don't teach birds at all in vet school. Now some non avian certified vets go ahead and learn a lot of the material on their own and do pretty well with birds. But, most don't. They just try to do the best they can based on what they know about other animals, and that may not be good enough. I know I feel a lot more confident in my new vet who is avian certified than I did with my previous one, who wasn't, but was a breeder. He did fine, nothing bad ever happened to any of my birds and he managed to treat them. But, the new one tells me a lot, shows me the slides on the microscope and actually went over every single thing on the blood panel with me.

 

[luvmytooo]

I'm the one who makes a BIG scene in the store IF I catch them doing anything improper to the animals. IF I find a sick animal suffering. I made them aware of it and the other shoppers aware of it, they take care of it very quickly right infront of me cause I've made complaints before to the animal welfare about the store. I don't tolerate that nicely at all!!!! I hope he passes the vet exam and can go home with you! Good luck!

Thank you for speaking up in the stores like that MikeyTN !
It's extremely sad about this bird nad i hope it ends well.
Most of the chains hire kids and adults that love animals but they are mostl taught by other kids on what their "job" entails.
I have seen parakeets looking like they were about to fall over because they have a "full" tiny bowl of seed but it's all hulls , no seed at all. But to them , it looks full. Not even a cuttle bone or mineral block . Most of the babies have no idea how to eat on their own. yet , way to soon to leave the nest , but they are so mass produced it's inevitable lots of these babies dont make it.
It breaks my heart to see this .

I know my friend who is in charge of "ordering" animals ,doesnt order bunnies during Easter . She really screens the people who buy the animals and has educated people enough for some of them to realize they arent prepared who they really didnt know their chsen "pet" needed that much "room" or food. She has tons of info sheets about what each animal requires. If someone is interested in a animal , she asked them to show her what it would live in , if they show her a small five gallon fish tank , she shows them what they would actually need and if they balk at that , she talks them out if it. She is a huge advocate for the animals in that store and preaches to the "higher ups"that they shouldnt buy bunnies to sell but to offer bunny adoptions . Pictures would be posted of adoptable bunnies and the rescue phone numbers and these people would be properly screened and educated on care and maintainence this animals requires. She is pushing for this to happen and I'm sure it will very soon. She is a good business woman. The bunny would be adopted out and a discount package would be offered by the store consisting of cages , food , dishes , water bottles , etc...it would be a "win-win" for everybody.

 

[luvmytooo]

I really, really doubt you and Con have anything to do with it. I bet she plucked because they moved her into that back room and she's upset.

I know how much you want to save this bird. I feel really bad about how things are going. And you do need to quit. Having a bunch of ignorant people questioning you all the time has to really get to you. It would me. That and I wouldn't want to see how badly they treat the animals.

It also sounds like the vet there is not familiar at all with birds. My vet says they don't teach birds at all in vet school. Now some non avian certified vets go ahead and learn a lot of the material on their own and do pretty well with birds. But, most don't. They just try to do the best they can based on what they know about other animals, and that may not be good enough. I know I feel a lot more confident in my new vet who is avian certified than I did with my previous one, who wasn't, but was a breeder. He did fine, nothing bad ever happened to any of my birds and he managed to treat them. But, the new one tells me a lot, shows me the slides on the microscope and actually went over every single thing on the blood panel with me.

Now that's a great vet Someone who wants to educate their clients. Most dont take the time to do that , they may be good vets , but one who explains why test are run , what they look for , and what it looks like when they find it , is someone who is dedicated to their job IMO.

 

[roxynoodle]

I really, really doubt you and Con have anything to do with it. I bet she plucked because they moved her into that back room and she's upset.

I know how much you want to save this bird. I feel really bad about how things are going. And you do need to quit. Having a bunch of ignorant people questioning you all the time has to really get to you. It would me. That and I wouldn't want to see how badly they treat the animals.

It also sounds like the vet there is not familiar at all with birds. My vet says they don't teach birds at all in vet school. Now some non avian certified vets go ahead and learn a lot of the material on their own and do pretty well with birds. But, most don't. They just try to do the best they can based on what they know about other animals, and that may not be good enough. I know I feel a lot more confident in my new vet who is avian certified than I did with my previous one, who wasn't, but was a breeder. He did fine, nothing bad ever happened to any of my birds and he managed to treat them. But, the new one tells me a lot, shows me the slides on the microscope and actually went over every single thing on the blood panel with me.

Now that's a great vet Someone who wants to educate their clients. Most dont take the time to do that , they may be good vets , but one who explains why test are run , what they look for , and what it looks like when they find it , is someone who is dedicated to their job IMO.

Yes, I think she's great and will be staying with her.

 

[Helitorian]

I didnt read all the posts , so I am not caught up , but I did read the last 2 posts .
If you buy the bird , and take it to the vet , and they find the bird unfit for sale , what is the store policy on that ?

If I buy her and find out she is unfit for sale, nothing happens. I don't get my money back but if I want her treated, I have to give her back to the store then buy her back once she's better or pay for a different vet myself.

As for another vet exam, there is supposed to be another tomorrow and I'm going to ask to go back and be there for it. I'm sure they'll fight me on that as well saying I'm not the manager or pet care lead so it doesn't concern me.

They're driving me crazy, Roxy. Everything I say or do is wrong or questioned and I'm constantly told I'm just not fit for this job and I'm a horrible person to customers. I've asked other employees if I really am mean to customers and they're shocked! They've never heard a customer complain about me at all. So why does my manager keep telling me that?

The vet we have knows something about birds but I never like how quick the visits are. When I took Con in for her first checkup, I wanted everything done. All I got was a nare check and a weigh in. No blood was drawn, no fecal matter was taken, no swabs were done. I was in and out in ten minutes. Tomorrow, I will be calling the vet in my hometown that says they treat birds and I'm going to find out how good they really are.

I have to be to work in two hours to cover someone else's shift. I'm going to talk to the head manager while I'm there and see what I can do about the bird. I might just be bashing my head against a wall and I wouldn't be surprised if they soon refuse to sell her to me.

 

[roxynoodle]

The manager that is putting you down has problems with insecurity. It makes her feel better to put other people beneath her.

My vet always does poop and mouth swabs anytime I take a bird in. We also do the full blood panel at least every couple of years. When I first got Rowdy it seems to me we also did testing for psitticosis and other diseases as well. I didn't have that done with Pete and Merlin since they would not have gotten to the ages they are with any of those.

I could not work in a pet store because I would have issues with customers who don't want to take proper care of their pets. Although I suppose people coming into pet stores for items might be taking better care of their pets than the ones who just buy pet food at Walmart. I would also worry about people buying a type of animal for the first time, not knowing if they are educated about it, or at least "animal people" who will do their best for it even if it's their first bird, or whatever it is.

I would insist on being there for the second vet check to ask questions. I would say, "Hey, I want to buy this bird, and I'm going to be there!" And don't be afraid to speak up and ask the vet any questions you need to. And if the manager doesn't like it, tell her where to go.

 

[Helitorian]

You wouldn't believe how bad I want to tell them where to go and what to do to themselves. I don't care about good job performance anymore; I'm just burned out. I just want my bird and to leave as quick as I can.

 

[roxynoodle]

You wouldn't believe how bad I want to tell them where to go and what to do to themselves. I don't care about good job performance anymore; I'm just burned out. I just want my bird and to leave as quick as I can.

Well, exactly. You're going to be taking a much better paying job anyway, right? Yep, I definitely would insist on being there for the vet check and finding out exactly what is wrong with the bird, and what must be done for it. I admit, I tried to always leave all my jobs on good terms, but did leave one on bad terms, and oh well. I was tutoring for one of those learning centers in college. My car needed to go into the shop and the owner called me and asked me to come in that day. I had to cancel the shop appt and then my car died totally 2 days later and he fired me for it. Then he wrote me a bad check as well and I had to take him to small claims court. I just never used him as a reference. Last time I saw him he was a traveling book salesman.

 

[luvmytooo]

You have every right to be there if you are interested in buying her. That is something I would fight for. There should be a healthy pet policy on any animal they sell , right ? What if you took the bird to your own vet ( if you end up buying her ) and your vet finds out what is really wrong with her and just say she would be unfit for sale . what would the petstore do ? If you plan on quiting , you can make alot of trouble for them by going public about this.
If you plan on quiting anyway , and arent looking for to add them to your resume , I would go for it and create hell for them.
Get all your facts in order and go to the town paper about what is happening to this bird and you. Just a thought.
The manager wants to be little you , dont let her !!
Dont stoop down to her level though , do it with class !

 

[BillsBirds]

When I was an investigator for the SPCA, we kept our eyes on several pet shops. If you think it would help, you could threaten to go to the SPCA, or Humane Society, to report this incident and what you know about "store operations". Most store managers do not want them involved. Since you are leaving anyway, you'll have nothing to lose. I know you really want to help this angel, but, there's no way you should have to pay such a ridiculous amount. Unfortunately, therein lies the problem. They get a huge profit for these birds, so continue to sell them. We all want to get the birds out of these situations, and that only creates another slot for another bird. Unfortunately, there is no final solution. As I've said, Thank You for caring about this particular sweetie.

 

[luvmytooo]

You have alot of good people behind you Helitorian
Make this store pay for what they have done to this bird and many other animals . Make them a accountable and make the public aware of the treatment their animals endure inside the store. Nobody wants that kind of attention and bad press.

Just the thought of all this bad publicity might make the store turn around and just give you the bird so you dont go public.