# "He will have to die here...."



## LionCalie (Sep 24, 2011)

A visit to Walmart never fails to ruin my day. :x

I went in to check on the Bettas because I've had problems with this store in the past. Once again they have let conditions deteriorate. Many were ill and in filthy cups. Then I came across a veiltail boy on deaths door. You could hardly see him through the dirty water. He had severe fin rot to the point that the bottom of the cup was covered in pieces of his fins. He was floating at the surface breathing hard with ammonia burns all over. I picked him up and walked to an open register. My intention was to get him free of charge and try to save him. If I couldn't save him then at least he would have died in clean warm water.

While holding up the cup, I told the employee behind the register that he was in really bad condition. She agreed. I told her how I had gotten Bettas that were ill for free from that exact same store in the past. That I have lots of medications if that is what is needed and the knowledge to potentially save his life. Well it turns out the manager who said it was okay to get sick ones for free in the past was no longer working there. She claimed that the new management would not allow me to take the dying fish because they needed to write a claim report.

Suddenly I realized why they seem to not care and neglect the Bettas so blatantly. They actually get MONEY off the DEAD fish! :shake: They would rather get a tiny amount of money off him dying there in a filthy cup with his fins disintegrating than let me take him free of charge. I told the employee that it was either he die an awful death with them, or potentially get better with me or at least die in good care. Her actual words were, "He is going to have to die here." I was so shocked that I couldn't speak... I could not in good conscience support the cycle of abuse with my money. So I walked away. 

The woman said she was sorry, but I ignored her empty apology. I actually had to fight back tears. I was just so frustrated and heartbroken that I had to leave him behind. I will not allow his death and suffering to be in vain... I'm going to write to corporate, tell them what happened, and that I'm NEVER buying ANYTHING from that store again. 

I'm sorry this ended up being so long. Thank you to those that take the time to read it. I just felt the need to share what happened with those who understand.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

I'm so sorry!! Thank god there are no Walmarts near here... Who does she think she is?! Heartless people don't deserve jobs.


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## bettasareawesome (Jul 9, 2012)

I am speechless.


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## bettafishfinnatic (Mar 18, 2012)

dont worry the length dosnt matter anymore.. why wouldnt they let you take him you should have somebody go in the store and see if he is still there and if he is then have them get it for you with out no complaint.. if he isnt then have them ask about him.. lol i just watched a sicking video on youtube about bettas that are mistreated ): at least if was worth a shot though  im glad that you tried to make a difference in the life of that poor animal you have gained my respect


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Protest with signs!


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## aqua001 (Jan 13, 2012)

No...way...crazy,cruel woman. I'm so sorry, all walmart bettas.:'(


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## CharStarr (Jul 3, 2012)

*It shows what an amazing and kind person you are that you fought for that little betta's life. You were there for him against all odds and I cannot even begin to wrap my head around what that horrible Wal Mart employee. How dare she say that, that makes me sick. Honestly, what is this world coming to?*


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## Shirleythebetta (Jan 9, 2012)

I used to work at a wal-mart and I helped with claim reports and such. She is telling you the truth. They do make money back in taxes and such with their claims of damaged or in this case dead fish. The problem with what she said was that they didn't need the fish to write a claim report. All she needed to do was write down the fish's UPC and put it in the claim box as a write off. I hate to tell her but walmart does not keep dead fish in a claim bucket. She obviously had no idea what she was talking about. Maybe you can call and ask the new management about this and tell him what I wrote here. See if he can rework it that way. Also let them know you used to get sick ones for free.


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## LionCalie (Sep 24, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestions and info, Shirleythebetta. She really didn't act like she knew what she was talking about. Next time I will demand to speak to a manager, that is what I usually do. I was so completely taken back by whole situation I didn't even think of it. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

Thank you to those that responded as well. It helps me to feel not as alone in the fight. I did send corporate an email today. In it I asked them to at least look into the ongoing Betta care problem at that store or stop selling them there altogether. It is obvious the employees are incapable of keeping up with quality of care for any extended amount of time.

I will make sure to update this thread when/if I get a reply from corporate.


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## JackisLost (Feb 26, 2011)

she is just an employee doing her job and trying to make the company money. don't blame her for it even though you had great intentions. maybe ask or go back in someone else's register that looks more caring or ask for the manager.


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## RazzleDazzleRose (Aug 2, 2012)

Wow. So touching, poor betta! Good thing my local Walmart doesn't sell bettas!


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## Pixielator (Jul 22, 2012)

You said in the first post that you were able to get bettas that were sick for free from that store before. I was just wondering, how did you convince them to let you take it? Today my sister-in-law was telling me about how one of the petco's in our area had a few baby guppies a while ago. One of the babies looked like it was dying so she asked if she could take it home and try to nurse it back to health, but the lady said something along the lines of "Well, it might live, and then we can sell it." Of course it died..

Anyway, I'm posting to ask you, how were you able to convince the manager to let you take the sick bettas for free? I'd like to be able to do this when I see a betta in need, but I don't know how to approach the staff about it. Should I be intimidating and demanding or should I be polite and just ask? I feel on one hand if I act angry and demanding they might just want to get me out of the store and calm me down by giving in and if I were to be nice they would just think that they'd be able to say no and I'd be like "Okay, well thanks anyway, have a good one!! :mrgreen:". And on the other hand if I'm demanding, they might just tell me to leave the store and if I'm polite they might actually listen.
So I don't know how to act, can you give me some advice?


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm glad my Walmart doesn't sell bettas. That woman could have at least spoken to the manager about giving you the fish.


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## LionCalie (Sep 24, 2011)

Pixielator - In the past when I would find bad conditions at the store I would go to the nearest register or find an employee and ask to speak with the manager about their conditions. Speaking to the manager directly is important, as this thread has proven. They are the ones who will make sure things are improved and have a say in not charging for the fish. Be prepared for a bit of wait if it is a Walmart store. Not sure if they are just super busy or they hope you leave. I've waited up to half an hour. When the manager does show up I point of the problems calmly, politely, but firmly. I'm a very shy person with a social phobia, but seeing animals suffering brings out a confident side of me.

Try not to sound judgmental. I also will typically say, "I know they are just fish, but this is bad buisness." 

In my experience, the manger is usually very apologetic. After showing the poor conditions and explaining the illnesses the fish have I will show the fish I hope to rescue. I tell the manager that this one is sick as well, but I feel that there is a chance I can save the fish. I explain the fact I have a variety of medications on hand along with the knowledge needed to give him a fighting chance. Usually the manager doesn't have a problem giving the betta free of charge after all that. They probably just want you out of the store, haha.


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

Listen, I totally hear you, and I am mad at myself for having paid money to Petsmart and Petco for bettas, because they don't take great care of their bettas either. 

Please do what I did and maybe yelp this, or write a review on citysearch. This is what I did the other day because I was so mad.

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/blHT...VbIQeXlUTOTRDr-j7CvuwQ#vjVdCHNiGTXHw_KAeGiWRA

I put photos of their dead bettas in dirty water, in case the link doesn't work. Now I am afraid to go in there, but oyu know what? I need this. I need to ignore big box stores that don't give a $#%@ about bettas, and go to my beautiful natural planted tank store where they give bettas a plant, substrate, and indian almond leaf extract in every large jar they keep them in. That is where we should spend our money. If we did that, Walmarts wouldn't exist. 


http://www.walmarteffectbook.com/excerpts.html
And what Walmart does to bettas is only a metaphor for what Walmart does to the economy, small towns, small business, their employees, thei employees' healthcare. . etc. No one should spend a dime in Walmart. I won't anymore.


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

I've said it once and i'll say it again and again util the day I die.

Write a complaint to WalMart.com - - - IT HELPS!

Here is a C&P of what I said on another thread about it:

I used to see this all the time at my local WalMart. They also would throw Bettas in with the Oscars and Goldfish exc. Someone once put two girls together, two girls who my friend and I had seen a few days before (she wanted both but couldn't afford to get them at the time).. we actually took them up to checkout (they weren't fighting at all) and the person who checked us out didn't even look at the cup, so we ended up getting both girls for the price of one. lol

CT males from our WalMart ALWAYS have problems swimming, they sit on their tail at the bottom of the cup kinda hunched over. It's only ever the CTs, never the VTs. It's very easily corrected, we have rescued 3 different male CTs from there all with the same problem and got them all back to normal by just putting them in a shallow tank with plenty of horizontal swimming room and daily exercise with a mirror. All boys recovered.

The state of misery of all their fish had gotten to a point where it was just too frustrating to look at anymore. I went to WalMart.com and wrote in a complaint about the store and how they took care of their fish and how horrible and dirty their tanks were. I got a reply back within a few days as well as a call from the manager from that store. They hired in a new employee who was trained specifically in treating and caring for the fish, this employee also trained a few other people on how to care for them as well. All the fish now are doing SO much better and still are, I wrote that complaint back in November and they actually are still taking care of their fish. They even have heaters for the tropical fish and the goldfish & koi water is nice and cool.

It's amazing what a well written complaint can do.


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## LionCalie (Sep 24, 2011)

Yes, I agree. I did complain to Walmart already like I have done in the past. Unfortunately I have not had the success you've had with contacting corporate. It is still worth trying though.


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## yoshi1029 (Aug 19, 2012)

I'm speechless I can not believe how walmart treats the poor fish!!!! :'0


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## meiperfectneina19 (Aug 15, 2012)

Yeah... I tried to save a fish this Monday, but all the places I went (because dang it there is no place in this area that treats them well) said they could and would not even sell me the sick fish. They took them away to the back.  I hope the fish are getting treated and not just euthanized on the back... 

Also I can't even talk to the employees without getting so anxious I get a rash...  Angers me... because I can do presentations just fine, but I can't speak to a person by themselves....


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## Goldie2nd (Apr 16, 2012)

Well I decided to go to a local Petstore and not buy anything else from walmart again as per fish keeping and such. especially the fish! That's how I;m doing it is the best i can do.


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

I bought the last Betta our WalMart sold in 2005, since then WalMart has not brought in a single fish here. Poor Joey was the same as the guy you mentioned, I did pay for him and save him though. He had a 29g with 5 silver dollar friends. Sorry to hear about this boy, I would have spoken to another person in the store or contacted management asap. Hope he passes quickly


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

I had a pretty grizzled VT from Walmart, he had fin rot and his tail never grew out even after I treated him


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

writing letters won't help. this might: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=1210346#post1210346


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## Goldie2nd (Apr 16, 2012)

Well what I;m doing is not buying from them anything else for the fish and much less anymore fish!


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

homegrown terror said:


> writing letters won't help. this might: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=1210346#post1210346


Writing letters DOES help. You just need to make sure you're writing like a sensible adult. Don't go after all stores staying things like "It's cruel to keep Bettas in cups" exc. because they don't care. 

What you want to do is actually tell them your first hand experiences about the neglect the fish at a particular store are going through. Take pictures. Tell employees before complaining to corporate. Once all that has been done you can then complain and tell them what the employees did (or didn't do) and about how awful the fish's conditions are. Typically they don't ask for photos but you can mention on your letter that you DO have them. Be sure to explain in detail about what you saw, use correct grammar and punctuation. 

If things don't change for whatever reason do it again, you can even call and complain.


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## Goldie2nd (Apr 16, 2012)

actually that is more snesible is not outlandinsh or just stop buying fish from there and tell others the smae little by little word spread out trust me.


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