Family Sues PetSmart, Claims Father Died From Contact With Diseased Bird

[Mom's Animal Preserve]

I have to disagree with the comments on Petco and how their birds "hardly ever get sold". This is simply not the case. Our local Petco in St. Mary's County in Southern Maryland is WONDERFUL. The employees there are extremely knowlegable and helpful. We have purchased five of our parrots from them and they are all hand tame, well adjusted and most important in excellent health. I know several other people who have had the identical experience with this Petco that I have, so I'm not just giving my personal opinion.

I purchased all of my babies while they were still being hand fed and I was allowed to come and visit them every day and spend time holding and bonding with them. The birds at our local Petco are frequently handled by the staff while the cages are being cleaned, during feeding times and at other times when the employees just go into the aviary to spend time with them. The birds in our Petco are often already trained to "step up" and "step down" before they are sold and they are very people-friendly. I know all of this because I have seen it with my own eyes while I have been in the store either with my birds or at other times while shopping. I have been told that my local Petco frequently has the top bird sales in the nation (for a given month).

It is unfair to judge every location based on a few bad eggs (excuse the pun!). It may be that they have a poor manager or other issues, but to blanketly say that Petcos in general do not care for or attend to their animals properly is unfounded.

[SniperIX]

I bought my two GCCs from petco, they were in good health and were approved by the vet. I don't think all petco/petsmarts are bad places just some are neglegent.

[loyallyroyal]

The care of the animals at petco depends solely on the manager and the staff they hire.

Ex. our 1 petco's manager is horrible, her animals have no toys, poor chinchillas have no wheels to run on, guinea pigs are kept in cramped conditions with no hay, the birds only have one perch and she wont even price match other petcos.

now our other petco that is a little farther away is wonderful, all their birds have toys, mutiple perches (natural wood, rope, and a ladder) plus multiple toys, and a cuddly hut.

Lets just say I tend to take the drive to go to the nicer petco.

[loganzheroz06]

Angel's Story: Another PetSmart Casualty // Campaign Updates // PetSmart Cruelty

It also has to do where they purchase these animals from to sell them.
These people do not care about the animals well being.
Its horrible. Thats all i have to say.

[oONightFireOo]

Now I for one have had several problems with PetSmart - and only went in several of their stores to inspect the quality of care for the Birds and Small Animals - and always ended up reporting any problems to regional managers (it's a long story - that started out with be throwing a HUGE fit in a store after finding bag after bag of food that expired in 1999 - 2000... LAST YEAR)...

But this article was eye opening.... along with all of the responses. I knew that there were some horror stories... BUT SHEESH! PetSmart and I will be cutting all ties... I just wish there were other stores around that had larger parrot toys... it's a pain having to order everything online and having to pay shipping...

But this is crazy....!!
~Kevin

[xafsmom]

I don't buy any supplies for birds at a walk-in store. I don't know what diseases are on someone's clothing or hands from their birds - and now potentially on toys for MY birds. I actually interview the stores where I get my toys and supplies. I'm terrible lol, but if disease gets into my aviary, it can decimate it.

Psittacosis is a difficult disease to test for. You can get a test to see if your bird has it now - and is currently shedding the organism, and you can get a test to see if the bird has ever HAD it. The second test is prohibitively expensive and most bird stores don't bother doing more than test for bacterial cultures and stains.

The problem with psittacosis is that if the bird is not shedding the organism, it's darn hard to test for because it can pop up a false negative quite often. So, your bird could easily be tested for psittacosis - come out clean, and it's merely not shedding it and actually does have it. The other problem is visitation style bird stores. Anyone with psittacosis infected birds can play with their bird, go to a shop, touch birds there, transfer fecal material from poorly washed hands or dander and potentially infect the store bird. It's very difficult to guarantee your store bought birds are, in fact, healthy because of the open door/touch me policy.

I don't malign all pet stores - some are terrible, some are good. As a person above me stated; it has to do with the staff. I do know that a lot of animal rights groups aren't really fair either. They exploit things quite well to achieve their goals. So, really, tongue in cheek, take what everyone/thing says with a grain of salt. Not everything you hear is truth and the internet isn't gospel.

[shosh]

It is a terribly sad story but these things do happen on occasion...we've all heard about puppy with rabies at the pet store....etc.
All one can do is be as diligent as possible and we can only hope the stores from which we purchase our birds ( if we do not go to breeders ) is equally as diligent in how they keep their birds and from whom they get them.
In defense of the Petsmarts here in Ontario, Canada, I have yet to be in one where the birds have been anything less than in excellent feather, bright, alert with clean cages, good food and lots of toys and space. And Petsmarts do do a lot of good things with regards to their adoption programs. Before we malign all with the same pen, let's remember how many millions of animals have found homes because Petsmart has opened its doors to help so many private rescues find homes for the unwanted ones.

[Syaoransbear]

Didn't the family hear about the psittacosis thing? Petsmart didn't exactly keep it hidden, they were very open about it and encouraged everyone who bought a bird between I think september and november to look for symptoms and they'd even get your bird tested for it for free.

I mean it was kind of a huge thing, how did the family not hear about it? Didn't they have to go back there to buy bird seed or toys at some point and see the signs at least?

[christie99]

While I am wary of any large chain store, I will no longer be going into any petsmart. The chance of psittacosis still being in the dust there is too frightening for me. I refuse to endanger my flock.

While not all petcos are good, the one near me is. I was in there one day just taking a look at what new bird toys were on the market so I knew what I wanted to order from antother store online and they were taking all their new small animals to the vet that day. They even have their vet posted on the cages in case you have any concerns, and no, he isn't part of the chain.

I wish there was a simple fix, but even PETA isn't looking out for the best intrest of all animals and pet owners. Does anyone remember the videos a few years back of the puppies and kittens that PETA killed? If it takes large groups like them to put the pressure on the bad breeders, I just hope we don't all loose our bird owning rights in the process.

[christie99]

Originally Posted by Syaoransbear

Didn't the family hear about the psittacosis thing? Petsmart didn't exactly keep it hidden, they were very open about it and encouraged everyone who bought a bird between I think september and november to look for symptoms and they'd even get your bird tested for it for free.

I mean it was kind of a huge thing, how did the family not hear about it? Didn't they have to go back there to buy bird seed or toys at some point and see the signs at least?

If you look at the date, they purchased their bird in 2006, a year before the outbreak with the publicity.

Amanda De La Garza was one of 11 million Americans who own pet birds. On Sept. 30, 2006, she could not resist a small $85 cockatiel.

"I noticed a little bird, which I later named Peachy," says Amanda, who lived with her 63-year-old father at the time. Sixteen days after bringing Peachy into her home, her father died, and Amanda slipped into a coma.

"When the doctors were alerted that I had birds, I had different antibiotics and I began to respond."

Amanda she says was shocked to learn she had contracted a bacterial infection, called psittacosis, from her pet cockatiel.

"Psittacosis is a relatively rare disease in humans," said Dr. James Imperato at the CUNY Medical Center. "There are only about a dozen to 25 cases reported a year."