Animal cruelty.

[Bacopa]

That poor little hamster.

Possibly the Dad didn't know the injury was fatal?

With little, little kids it can be devastating to say, "You were mean to the hamster and made the hamster sick. The hamster doesn't want to live here and play with you anymore so I'm taking it away."

IIRC, the kids were eight and ten. Well old enough to be taught important lessons about death.

[MadMike]

But I did offer just to take the hamster off his hands with no refund. His kids killed it, he shouldn't have recieved any money.

Oh, I agree absolutely. But maybe the manager figured that if he didn't give him a refund, he wouldn't have left the hamster with you guys, where he might have a chance to survive.

Please tell me that your store has a list of people not to sell animals to, and that he's on it.

[Sofar]

Not at all. You breed out the bad, breed in the good.

They say mutts live longer. That's why I'm glad I'm a mutt. (I've narrowed it down to mostly United Kingdom origins, but I'm still from all over the place.

[Rapscallion]

So is everyone from the UK :P

We're effectively at the arse end of many waves of migrants and displacements. Celts, Angles, Justes, Romans, Danes, Norse, Saxons, Normans...

All these and many more, appearing at a DNA strand near you!

Rapscallion

[Barefootgirl]

Does anyone else find this canine eugenics thing as creepy as I do?

Nope. What I find creepy is the piles of euthanised cats and dogs that no-one wants and that are dumped into shelters, where they have to be PTS to make room for the new wave of cats and dogs that no-one wants...While some dumped animals ARE pedigrees, the majority aren't, they are just the offspring of Fluffy or Rover, because no-one bothered to neuter them, or keep them away from other un-neutered animals. Therefore you get swarms of unwanted, essentially valueless animals whose only future is either a needle or a gas chamber.

*falls off soapbox*

[Lace Neil Singer]

I agree. My dog was a mongrel, and my cat is a moggie. Nothing against pedigree lovers, but I favour the mixed breeds. I feel they have more character and intelligence.

[gypsywitch84]

If I had done that, I would not have been allowed near an animal for quite a time.
That is so sad. Poor hampster.


Could you put like a little notice "do not allow this family to adopt animals" in the computer?


My sister recently adopted two cats from one of those little setups in the middle of the pet store (one in like May and one on September 5, i think) and she really should have gotten a warrenty to cover any medical bills if they arise because she had to spend thousands for treatment and then ultimatily putting them to sleep because they both got sick from different diseases. Her other cats(she has three she got from friends) are perfectly healthy cats.

[Phoenix79]

Poor hamster.

May he rest in peace . . . there's an angel to help him along!!

I had a couple of gerbils when I was younger (around 8 or 9). The first one committed gerbil-cide . . . I found him underneath his wheel. He must have crawled under it and got stuck or something, I dunno. I was devastated. The second one got away from me when I was moving him into his ball to clean his cage out, and ran away. I looked for him for days . . . but all I could find was a hole he chewed through the wall in my bedroom . . . I guess I may have been a bit young, but I was never rough with them.

What the heck did those kids do to that poor thing to break its back like that?! Future serial killers at work . . .

Oh, and for the record, I have a pedigree dog (a Papillon) and a mixed breed (chow chow and pit terrier mix) - they are both extremely intelligent!! I heard somewhere that mixed breeds tend to live longer . . . I'll let you know about that one in about ten to fifteen years! LOL!

Phoenix

[Seanette]

Oh, and for the record, I have a pedigree dog (a Papillon) and a mixed breed (chow chow and pit terrier mix) - they are both extremely intelligent!! I heard somewhere that mixed breeds tend to live longer . . . I'll let you know about that one in about ten to fifteen years! LOL!

Size is also relevant to dog life expectancy. Bigger dogs tend to have shorter life expectancies (sigh - I prefer bigger dogs).

[protege]

You'll be happy to know that my kitty got fixed about a year after I got him...so there won't be any little ones running around. I'm sure he's a mixed-breed kitty...but he looks similar to a Maine Coon. He has the ruffle around his neck, and has very thick fur.

[AFpheonix]

All of our critters are fixed with the exception of the chickens and horses (cuz well, we breed the horses)...
And one new doggie we just got that we're not sure if she's spayed or not...or if she's had any shots or anything....
The previous owners called her a Jack Russel, but she looks like a fox terrier, not a jack. And she's not a total spaz like Jacks are. The people didn't like her because she'd tear around the house and play (like terriers do) and then come and flop on your lap and crash. That's what good doggies do! As long as they don't eat the crotch out of my undies, and leave my kitty alone, I'm happy.

[Barefootgirl]

My Grumpy Old Cat was fixed at four weeks, my New Cat was fixed when we got him from the RSPCA. There will be no kitten-making in this house, thanks very much!

[Lace Neil Singer]

My cat's spayed and my dog was too. She was 16 when she was put down for having kidney tumours... so I guess mongrels do live a long time. As for the cat, she's 8 now and still going strong.

As for hamsters, I've had loads and only one died unnaturally, cuz its water bottle broke and poor Harry Hamster died of cold.

[XCashier]

I'm sure he's a mixed-breed kitty...but he looks similar to a Maine Coon. He has the ruffle around his neck, and has very thick fur.

Sounds like mine (see avatar pic). He looks a lot like a Maine Coon Cat, has the prehensile paws, cooing voice and neck ruffle and other features, but is way too small to be a purebred (Maine Coon Cats are very large cats, IIRC).

Back OT, I do hope the store has a "do not sell pets to these people" list, and that this family is put on it! The poor hamster... Some folks just don't have a clue about animals. I wish people would read up on the care of an animal before they get one.

[Sofar]

This is a Maine Coon cat. His name is Branwen, he definitely has a cooing voice, he barely even mews. He just peeps. Maine Coon cats are also often described as "goofy." This cat is goofy.

Sorry, I had to show off my cat at some point. It's worth noting that Maine Coon cats do not have flattened faces like other breeds of fluffy cat.