Petco has Wellness food

Hey, I saw the display at the Fishers Petco. I think overall their food selection has improved (though I guess I never paid too much attention till recently).

If your PetCo is anything like the one in Speedway, be VERY careful about looking at expiration dates. I find expired stuff there all the time.

Then there is that mouse dropping (in food) issue at their warehouse...

I'll still be getting my Wellness from Pet Supplies Plus, it's a lot cheaper there too.

I have never had a problem with PetCo - BUT, I always direct people to Pet Supplies Plus. They have saved me thousands in vet bills. Particularly the one at County Line/Emerson. Their staff is so knowledgable and been able to help me choose the right, nonallergentic food for my pets. Love them!

I haven't purchased anything from Petco lately and will NOT after the recent warehouse incident!!! If you aren't familiar with this check out fda's website: http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/PETCO_062308.html

I don't care if they give it away, my dogs' health is more important. I am near the Speedway location and it is disgusting! It smells, I have found urine & feces more times then I can count, I have seen mouse droppings, ripped open food bags, etc - none of it cleaned up by employees. Serious concerns there.
Obviously corporate doesn't care about your animals, so why give them your money?

I work at a Petco so I'll weigh in on a few things (I'm a manager, so I think I'm qualified)...
--I know exactly what someone meant about Speedway, but that is not the poster store for all of us.
--About the Carmel store--I have to apologize for anyone saying they were "getting rid of the lower end food and going to the good stuff." That statement is ignorant and untruthful. Although I realize most of the people on this list (including myself) wouldn't feed these lower end products (ie Pedigree, Beneful, etc), we have to realize that not everyone is as well educated about animal nutrition and we also have to face the fact that Pedigree has a hell of a marketing campaign. A lot of our new customers are convinced that Pedigree is THE best food out there, until we can hopefully educate them. Then there is the price factor. Most people I deal with (this is the w Carmel/Zionsville area, so they're not all broke) complain about the price of food and we have to explain the benefits of "premium" foods. We do a fairly good job at converting people (and their pets) to better food.
--There are no birds at this store because (company-wide) we went through and studied what sold at each store and eliminated animals that didn't sell. This way animals don't sit in a store for (hopefully) more then 90 days (that's our goal). This particular store didn't sell many (ok, hardly any) birds. Therefore, they don't carry them. Other stores (mine included) do.
--The "mice droppings in the food" is not exactly what happened. What happened is the distribution center (which btw is NOT where the food is manufactured) was inspected and they were told to clean it up. It's a warehouse environment and would be next to impossible to keep birds and mice completely out of the building (try finding a warehouse with big open doors that does keep them out). The droppings were on or near the product, NOT in it. The DC couldn't get the problem fixed, so when they were inspected again, the food was seized and the DC shut down (which really sucked because they weren't shipping us ANYTHING). Why did they inspect a pet store DC? Because we sell food made with human-grade ingredients. I wouldn't be surprised if Petsmart gets raided also. Bottom line is this--I buy ALL my pet food and supplies at Petco (not just my store but the others too if need be). As long as the food you purchase is unopen, you shouldn't have any problem.
--Urine and feces on our floor is usually caused by customers who take dogs in the store and then ignore what their dog is doing. Or they assume we're there to follow them around and pick up after THEIR pet. We have WAY too much to do to do that. If people would take responsibility to clean up after their pet, there would be a LOT less mess in our stores.

Just my 2 cents worth--have fun flaming me--it's happened before. I LOVE my job and wouldn't trade it for anything and I won't sit here and read about falsehood's being spread around.

Thanks for the input Lori, although I'm not sure where the "falsehood" came from (or the hostility). I just re-googled the story I had read about the petco warehouse and it DEFINITELY said mouse droppings IN the food, so I think if that's what people read, that's what they assume is true.

As a pet owner, you, me and everyone out there wants what is best for our pets and a lot of people have found that at PSP - it is a preference and I'm sure tons of people have the same preference for your store, especially since it seems like you take the time to answer owners questions about their food choices etc.

Especially after the whole tainted food scare I think we pet owners tend to be hyper vigilant about where we shop for supplies and food for our pets - I'm sure you can appreciate that as well. Thanks for giving us the scoop on your store. I think that you'll notice some positive comments re: Petco on here as well - food selection has improved etc... Everyone's entitled to their own opinion and I think you'll find that while people are passionate, they try to speak from personal experience rather than judge.

I apologize if I seemed a little hostile. I've had too many people read about the DC in the paper and then when I tell them what I've been told (from my corporate offices) they tell me I'm not qualified to give them advice and just don't want to listen to anything I have to say.
And what I meant by falsehood's is the person who posted right above me. Petco DOES care about animals and about their employee's too. My store is the ONLY one in the Indy area that does adoptions on hamsters. I have customers who have driven from Pendelton (twice) to adopt hamsters. I have to refuse animal sales ALL the time because people want to put animals (and this includes fish)in bad situations. My store bends over backwards to help people (and me since I'm pretty much a single parent right now) and it seems like the actions of a few employee's at a few store's taint everyone's perception of the entire company. I try to be honest and truthful with all my customers and have plenty who come in and ask for me specifically, so they must trust me. It just irritates me that information falsely reported in the media (we have always been told the droppings were on and near the food NOT in) is believed 100% and anything we say is disbelieved.
Again, I apologize if I seem hostile, I just want everyone to realize that all our stores aren't the same and to not judge us all because certain stores can't/won't do their job (I personally could transfer to a store that is 5 miles from my home but instead choose to drive 17 miles each way to a "better" store. Even with the price of gas being what it is.)