# About Petland... And bettas.



## BalthySaurus (Sep 18, 2013)

All right, so I just got myself a job at Petland. Yay!! So far I've been super impressed by it. For example; 
-The manager refuses to order puppies from puppy mills. She asks an intense series of questions including the age of the mother and how many litters she's had. 
-All the birds are hand fed from birth to maximize human bonding and minimize stress when going home to a human family 
-Everything is kept clean and all the animals are very healthy, and any animal that is sick or injured is IMMEDIATELY taken care of by staff and the store's vet. 
-Petland provides elaborate tip sheets for every new pet owner and as a Pet Councillor, my training is INTENSE. I mean like, super intense. I've learned so much about things like dog food, cat food, birds and small animals and what to do and what not to do and Petland is VERY strict on lots of things, like, I'm NOT allowed to send two teddy bear hamsters home together as they will eat each other. I also have the right to refuse sale to any customer I feel will not provide a suitable home for a pet. 
-The fish section is categorized by community, solitary, aggressive, and semi-aggressive. ONLY fish with a gold star on the label can go home to a nnew tank as they are the only ones proven to be able to survive new tank syndrome. 
-The owner NEVER orders in bird cages that are too small for any bird to live comfortably in. 

It all sounds pretty great right? But here's my issue... 

The bettas. 

I know, most pet stores don't see them as "real pets" or whatever, and they're often disregarded. But my boss seems like a cool guy, and I feel like if I talked to him about it, he might be willing to change... (Though I'd have to wait a long time before I could say anything with credibility, having just started and all.) 
See, the thing is, the bettas are well kept in the store. Water is changed regularly, they aren't fed too often so there isn't crud in the boxes, they have bubblers to oxygenate the water... BUT we're getting basically NO training on Bettas, and we sell the HORRIBLE "betta cubes" that are NOT big enough for ANY betta. If my boss is so willing to boycott bird cages that are too small, he should be willing to boycott fish tanks that are too small, right? 

But maybe not, because the general population is so misinformed that they'll get angry when there isn't "proper betta bowls" that they'll probably shop somewhere else... I'm really happy that the bettas are fairly well treated there but I'm not too happy that I may be forced to sell a betta to someone with a 0.5 gallon cube that they won't clean twice a day... What do I do about that? I don't wanna lose my job, because I love it and I need it to pay for school, but what else can I do? I feel so terrible...


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## Tuigirl (Aug 3, 2014)

Well, your boss sounds great in the way she handles all the animals!
As for talking to her about the bettas-
first off, I do not think you will lose your job because you bring the bettas to her attention. After all, she seems to be caring about the wellbeing of the animals!
But of course you will have to do it diplomatically.
Do not force her, do not criticize her. Suggest. Give her some information to read up on (maybe NOT Peta pamphlets.....). I am sure as soon as she understands that a betta is an animal that deserves the same love and attention as a bird or a hamster, things will go along.
And in addition- if you do it right, she might also be very proud of you!


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## aselvarial (Feb 21, 2014)

I don't think you'd lose your job if you did it diplomatically. Your boss sounds like an awesome person! 
Yes, bettas are fish, but someone buys a fish, it dies, they buy another, it dies, they get irritated and stop buying fish. Great for the fish, not so great for continued purchases for the store. 
Good luck and let us know how it goes!


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## Pippin (Apr 11, 2014)

I don't know how she would take this, but maybe you could offer to each the other employees about bettas, as you know a ton about them, and if you don't know something have the ability to contact many other experienced beta owners who can answer your questions, an work from their.


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