hsl acid reflux: resubmitting the important questions

April 09, 2003

happy/sad

so, went to court this morning, allegedly to be a witness in the case of the Village of Bloomingdale vs. Ms. Binty McDumwench (er, the one who hit us. that one).

we weren't sure if she was going to show up, but she did. and she pleaded guilty and went with court supervision, paid her fine---and we didn't end up doing much of anything. court was in session as of 8:30am, and we were out of there before 9am. i took the whole day off, and Spaz had taken half the day. so we had a few hours before anyone had to actually be anywhere.

what to do? we'd been wanting a small cat tree or something similar for Diesel. or rather, it seemed like it was something she'd really enjoy. so we went looking for one. first store we stopped (Petsmart) at didn't have one we thought she'd like; most were too tall or had swings on them or something similar. or were carpetted scratching posts with a small platform way, way up at the top. not really good for a bunny who likes to sit under things and hop up on top of things.

the Petsmart in question also had a little golden hamster sitting in a small cage up towards the front of the store. it had a sign on it stating that it was waiting to be adopted, and that it had been found running loose in an apartment building, but the finder was unable to keep it. it also said that the hamster was free to a good home, and the cage was included.

we watched this hamster for awhile, and indeed, we were perilously close to coming home with it. SO CUTE. obviously, we'd been brainwashed successfully by Hamutarou. XD

there were two little tiny baby hamsters in a cage a few down from this one. no sign on them; i think they were for adoption as well, although i really wondered if they were even big enough to safely be away from their mom yet. they were eensy.

we got some food and treats for Diesel and left---without the hamster. i'm still not sure how i feel about that. but where does it end? you can't take them all home with you...^^;;;

the next store we went to was a Petco, over on Barrington Road in Streamwood. and there, we found exactly the sort of tree we were looking for---and only $20 (still a bit much, but those things are all ridiculously overpriced, so in the grand scheme of cat trees, this was cheap). as we were going to bring it up to the checkout, i saw a big sign saying they had bettas. and went, "ooh, those are what Katelynne is always talking about!" and went over to look. they had a whole endcap full of them, in fact.

and it was REALLY DISGUSTING. they had them all in tiny little cups, about the size of each fish itself. they could barely turn around. none of them looked happy, and in fact more than a few of them looked completely and utterly dead. it was really appalling.

i put the tree back and we left quite hastily, both quite nauseous and unbelieving, and also quite sure they weren't going to get our money. >P i mean, i know pet stores are generally not a good idea---in very rare cases are the animals in the store (fish included) treated as well as they should be. but i'd previously never seen such stupidity up close. we won't be going back to Petco anytime soon, and perhaps never. definitely never for that store. >.<;;;

i wrote an e-mail to them as well about this. i didn't write it in a shouting manner, but rather in a sad, disgusted, and disappointed manner. also stated that it's highly unlikely i'll be shopping there again. it probably will have no effect whatsoever; i mean, they're a huge nationwide chain, after all. but that was just...i don't know what that was. it was very, very wrong, and not in a good way, either. :P

oh well. gonna try not to waste the rest of my day off in front of a computer. gah. those poor betta. ;.;

okonomi-yakki last had that pepper surrounded at 12:28 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

Comments

...my tri-coloured shark "Wotan" , died last week and now "Dudley" the goldfish is lonely...i really thnk he is in mourning....:(

Posted by: Paul the Postman at April 10, 2003 05:14 PM

i think unagi is just kind of cute =)

but in all seriousness, i think that stealing betas and if they catch you, reporting them to the ASPCA is the best plan of action.

too many fish are abused.

too many animals are abused. ;_;

Posted by: usagi at April 10, 2003 01:06 PM

Unagi-chan: hrrm, does your pseudonym mean you get to swim with the betta? dunno how unagi and betta get along, actually...:) anyrate, yeah---not a bad idea at all. and no, fish shouldn't die "within a few days." i mean, i accept the fact that fish (particularly of the sort people have as pets) don't have really very long life spans. and i accept that naturally, some are going to die---even in the store itself. but this wasn't right at all. dunno why i'm telling you this though; you already know. XD

Lise: yeah, well---i'm into making just about everything as well, as i hope i've made clear in this blog. reason we weren't into making a cat tree is that this isn't just a scratching post---that'd be easy. the kind we wanted was more like a little house. something Diesel could go inside of and climb up on; she'd really have no use for a scratching post. she likes sitting underneath this little ladder we've got, and she likes climbing on things. so we thought this would be a good idea for her. and while we could probably make a house for her, we have neither the tools nor the time right now to do so---so she'd end up waiting quite awhile before she got one. hence, i'm afraid we did fall prey to a bit of instant gratification purchasing. usually i try not to, but...:P

Fionachu: thing about telling the store people off is, i've worked (and Spaz has worked) often enough in situations where i've had to enforce a policy i personally thought was stupid, because i worked somewhere where the management had decided (for whatever reason) that such a policy was necessary. i didn't want to just randomly take it out on anyone in a Petco uniform (which i was really close to anyway; hence, we left quickly).

and we should definitely free the betta! did you read what Kate-chan wrote sometime before you did? :)

the ASPCA thing is an interesting idea, though. i wonder how you go about lodging a complaint? should find out. thanks. :)

Posted by: janni at April 10, 2003 09:32 AM

i wonder if you can threaten them with ASPCA action or anything?

Posted by: fiona at April 10, 2003 01:15 AM

poor bettas! i think we need to plan a covert free betta operation. i've seen the betta in a cup before as well. it is REALLY depressing, their gorgeous tails are all cramped up in this tiny little space and they all look like they could use a LOT of betta therapy.

you should have gone up to them at the store and told them off. that would have made an impression!

Posted by: fiona at April 10, 2003 01:15 AM

Well, while I'm not sure that stealing fish is the answer to life, the universe, and everything, I will say that making a cat tree is probably pretty easy. I mean, we're talking scratching post here, right? You get some wood and you put some heavy-duty carpeting over it.... it'll last much longer, too, probably.

But then, I'm into making just about everything.

Posted by: Lise at April 9, 2003 10:41 PM

that's why we're doing the "operation: free betta."

we go to the store, with mcdonalds big happy meal cups, and put fish in there.

we walk out with the fish. we find them happy homes. give them plants for their enjoyment. live happily ever after.

my fish are all WAL-MART fish. goddamn, wal-mart eopl edon't know SHIT about fish. and usually they "die within a few days"-- but i think mine are gonna lsat forever b/c they're just so happy. with a little care and love, they'll last forever. with a little compassion...

that's too much to ask from people. people who see pictures like the ones you posted about the war and are desensitised.

god i hate.. no wait, this isn't supposed to be a rant.

Posted by: unagi-chan at April 9, 2003 08:27 PM