My Petco "woobie" Died

The reason your hamster died is called wet tail and the store employee
should have known this and not sold it to you. Wet tail is a disease
that hmasters can get that causes the but and sometimes the top of the
tail to look wet, like diaarrhea. Usually diarrhea is a sympton. It is
genetic so you should not buy another hamster from the same parents or
litter. What happens is teh hamster will become stressed and the
disease comes out. By the time the symptoms appear you can have as
little as 24 hours. Mostly they die of dehydration because of the
diiarrhea and teh fact that they wont be drinking/eating as much.
Petco should remove all animals from thsi breed. It is important to
disenfect cages, etc before putting another hamster in the cage and
letting the cage dry for about two weeks. Our hamster died from this
as well and my daughetr is heartbroken.

My pet name for all animals when I was a toddler was "deetdees." Now
my parents and I still jokingly use the term "deetdees" even though
I'm nearly 24 (yes I'm a freak LOL) but I don't go writing letters to
people going, "Oh my God! You killed my deetdee!"

Chances are that letter you wrote probably got printed out and
distributed all over the customer service section of the PetCo
corporation as a water cooler laugh session. Woobie? Deetdee? How
about hamster?

If you raise your kid the way I think you will demanding
overcompensation, she is going to end up the petty, sniveling
20something in restaurants that all the other tables laugh at when she
returns her bread basket for her rolls not being crisp enough, and
demands a free drink and dinner to boot.

You could better enforce the concept of sensitivity by giving her the
new animal, and perhaps having a small prayer/meditation session to
ease her into the thoughts that things pass on. Perhaps you can take
her to an animal shelter and explain that there are bad people who
arent good pet parents and it may help her understand that life isn't
always easy. My parents tried to shield me from the bad things in
life. Unfortunately by the time I hit my teens, even into my early
20's, I completely lacked the ability to handle crises. Please don't
turn your daughter into someone like me.

i bought 1 from them and 8day later it died i called them they said it
was wet tail so i cleaned the cage and waited untill the next week and
got another 2day later that one had a damp bottom took back they said
they gave it meds but called them 2days later and it had died they
kept saying stress is what caused it so i called a vet my self she
said the hamster had the bact.before i bought it and that stress just
progressed it i will never buy anything from them again they do not
care the vet has writen letters to them and they are still selling
sick pets some one needs to check in to this be for any other
childrens hearts get broke thank god mine was older and understood but
what about small children

I'm sorry that your little hamster died - I'm sure that was a horrible
experience for your daughter. I also agree that a store that works
with live animals has a responsibility to make sure those animals are
cared for properly and have regular access to medical care. Having
said that - I'm a person who's had many many pets and when I was a
child I had both hamsters and gerbils. Hamsters are very delicate
creatures - not hardy like gerbils. It's not a surprise that this
poor little creature passed in this way. It's just the way it is.

Sorry to hear about your little hamster. I have not purchased any
animals from Petco. I have however purchased 2 chinchilla cages on
line from Petco. Six months after being in the cage the highly active
female Chinchilla went to jump from one landing to another landing
when her right leg slipped through the 1/2"x 3-1/2" bars on the
landing she fell head over body falling to the bottom of the cage. She
had severely broke the right leg. She was in a cast for four weeks
when the Vet said that it was not healing so she amputated the leg up
to the knee. Petco said that it was a "fluke" not a design defect in
the cage.....The maker of the cage, Coast Cages said that the spacing
of the bars is correct for Chinchilla's. I have not yet seen this
"standard to making of Chinchilla cages". I guess Petco doesn't stand
behind the products that they sell. I will no longer purchase ANY type
of cages from Petco. I would recommend to every pet owner who loves
their animals to stay away from Petco and Coast Cages.

Whats "woobie"??

I am sorry you had this experience with this particular store. I am a
Petco general manager, and I assure you that Petco gives the training
to our associates to properly take care of all our animals we sell. It
appears that this may be a case where this particular store is not
adherring to our philosophy "At Petco Animals Always Come First". As a
company, we do hourly animal checks, our staff is trained at hire on
how to care for the animals we sell, and all of our vendors go through
a strict certification to have thier animals in our stores (something
that none of our competitors do!). You should have been given a "Care
sheet" with the purchase of your animal, which would explain the
basics needs for taking care of it, along with what health issues to
look for. "Wet tail" as its commonly known, is usually related to
stress more then environment. If the hamsters were young, they are
more prone to stress when traveling to the store, or from the store to
your home. We also suggest that when you take a new hamster home, you
do not disturb it in its new surroundings for at least 48 hours to
help it adjust to its new home. If you feel that this store did not
meet these expectations, you should either contact that general
manager or call the number at the bottom of your receipt and a
customer service rep will take care of you.

I just wanted to comment on this letter. I too bought a hamster for
Christmas at Petsmart. I got it several weeks before Christmas for the
kids and took it over to Grandmas house, well, it was mean and I could
never pick it up so I called the store. They were very nice and were
concerned about it being mean, I personally have had many hamsters and
this not standard, they said I could bring it back if it doesn't get
better. Well, we gave it to the kids and he never did improve, in
fact, lost its teeth, so it was sick. We took it back and they
replaced him. They apoligized and I had a choice of refund or
replacing him, we just got another. I didn't expect nor should this
writer, anything more than what you got. They replaced the animal.
Just as a note, hamsters generally are a short term pet, sometimes you
have one live a healthy long life of two years maybe three but that is
their lifespan! If you are going to bring a pet into the home, than
you must expect at one point you are going to have to explain its
death to your child. We have also gotten hamsters from homeowners
that have died too, they are just a fragile little critter. They do
easily contract virus and bacteria which causes problems. The
employees of these stores are not vets, if you had concerns, you
should NOT have picked that animal. I don't know about Petco but
Petsmart makes you sign a letter that has information about sickness,
care etc on it. As a mother of two children, it is not a stores place
to teach our children about life and death, it is our jobs as parents
to properly explain this to our children. Pets are wonderful additions
but they do at times make us have to teach life's hard lessons. I
think what you taught your daughter was greed, they compensated you by
replacing the pet and I am sure if you had asked, refunding your money
if you didn't want the pet anymore. Also, you taught her that grief
has a price tag, in this case treat or tubes!

Didnt you do ANY reading or research before getting a pet? Obviously
you have access to the internet...you can't make me believe you
couldnt find anything on hamsters online.

Had you done proper research before acquiring a pet..ANY pet (in this
case a hamster) you would have known what to look out for when
shopping for one. What you described sounds to me like 'wet tail', a
sickness common where hamsters are housed in large groups and their
cages are not cleaned frequently enough. The hamsters typically die
from dehydration when they contract wet tail, though they sometimes
can be saved by giving gatorade or pedialyte.

Had you done any reading or research at all (heaven forbid you LEARN
about an animal before purchasing one) I don't doubt you would have
come across this information yourself and saved your daughter a great
deal of heartbreak. Petco replaced the hamster. Asking for any more
than that makes you appear greedy and makes it look like you're trying
to take advantage of your daughter's misfortune to get some free
stuff.

I think you are taking this to heart. I understand your point of view
however, I feel that they offered to replace the animal and that
should have been enough. Your child looks to you to see how to
respond. Getting hyper like this will only make it harder for her to
deal with the death of her animal. You must show her that life goes
on. Not trying to be funny here...

Of course! If my daughter's "Woobie" died a "letter of condolences "
would make her feel better.

Don't get me wrong I feel very sad for your daughter, that is a
terrible thing for a child. Sadly it is life's hardest lesson. I would
take the time you spend on letters like this to help your daughter
learn to deal with life.

Maybe it just died after it was named "woobie". Uhh I doubt Petco
knew it would die.

So the people at PetCo should have know that the hamster would die?
How do you know the "dirty bottom" was the reason it died? Did you
ask a vet? They offered to replace the hamster but now you also want
something for free?! Once I bought a gerbil at petco and the women
told us that it would live for about a year, well, it lived 3 years!
Should I go back to Petco and make them pay for the extra bedding and
food that I had to buy for those additional 2 years???!!!
You need a life. To expect the employees at Petco to send a
condolence letter to your daughter is ludicrous, and to expect
something for FREE is pathetic.

Hopefully you learned your lesson: don't ever buy a pet from a pet
store. These shops are fine for buying food and supplies (most of the
time), but not so good for buying live animals. Often the staff are
untrained and unknowledgeable about the animals they sell and about
potential diseases the animals may carry. Many times the animals
arrive at the store sick, but if not, the animals will most likely get
sick from the lack of proper care.

Next time, check out your local pet shelter. Many of them even have
hamsters up for adoption (the one I volunteer at does).

I hate to say it but it's the perfect time to teach your kid that
things die, and to appreciate what you have when you have it because
it is never forever. Its a good time to teach her about heaven too.

A lesson too many of us have never been taught or forgot over the
years.

As for the Woobie, he needs to visit the toilet gods.

Petco can't always know when every pet is sick. Therefore you need to
examine the animal closely before taking them home. If they are
acting a little too calm, there might be a problem...

If they replaced the animal then there ya go. Patco has done their
job.

Now it is your job to help your daughter with what is clearly her
first mourning. (Either that or she is way too spoiled.) Either way,
it is your job to help get her past it.

Life is full of beginnings and endings. It is sad, but its the way it
is. I say turn this into a learing experience rather than show her
the replacability of precious things...

Oprah said it all. "What does not kill us, makes us stronger..."
That lesson never starts to early...

Good Luck,
JA

Is this woman for real? LMAO

and all the rudeness here :(

Probably asking for extra "stuff" beyond a replacement hamster and an
apology is not a great idea. Even if it's well-meant, it does tend to
look a bit mercenary.

I agree that a hamster is probably not the best pet for a young child.
How old is your daughter? I'm assuming she's very young ... in which
case the best pet for your family really would be a larger one, like a
dog or cat.

I worked in a "mom & pop" petstore for years and one of the main
reasons I left was because I couldnt take ignorant customers any
longer. Petco & PetSmart are the pet store equivilant of Wal-Mart.
Cheap prices, ignorant employees and poor quality animals. Had you
done ANY research before purchasing a pet you would have known that.
You also would have known that the "dirty bottom" was wet tail a
commen disease amounst hamsters. You also would have known NOT to
purchase animal that is only a few weeks old because they are
particularly suseptable (sp) to disease. You would also know that
hamsters really arent great pets for young kids. They are nocturnal
(sleep all day up all night) and not social (ie they dont "play" and
dont enjoy being handled). Basically you didnt bother doing any
research and it screwed you in the end. TS!

I worked in a "mom & pop" petstore for years and one of the main
reasons I left was because I couldnt take ignorant customers any
longer. Petco & PetSmart are the pet store equivilant of Wal-Mart.
Cheap prices, ignorant employees and poor quality animals. Had you
done ANY research before purchasing a pet you would have known that.
You also would have known that the "dirty bottom" was wet tail a
commen disease amounst hamsters. You also would have known NOT to
purchase animal that is only a few weeks old because they are
particularly suseptable (sp) to disease. You would also know that
hamsters really arent great pets for young kids. They are nocturnal
(sleep all day up all night) and not social (ie they dont "play" and
dont enjoy being handled). Basically you didnt bother doing any
research and it screwed you in the end. TS!

That's a very sad story.

It's an unfortunate situation, this death thing. I hate to be the one
to break it to you, but the replacement woobie will probably die too
because it came from the same store. If Petco didn't replace the
animal I could see a complaint, but they did. So now you have ANOTHER
sick animal that that will die and break your daughters heart.

Why do you want your daughter to see Petco as a place that DOESN'T
sell sick animals. They ARE that place. You know that.

Eventually she will get used to the idea of pet death. It's easiest
to explain at a young age. Not all of "pet store" animals are sickly,
but I wouldn't chance it. It seems silly for a hamster, but there are
reputable breeders out there. It costs more money, but hopefully will
live out its full 2 year life span.


Petco should stick to supplies and fish only. And sometimes the fish
don't look that good either.....

I know people get very attached to their pets, that's why I never
wanted one. They're also too much trouble. But TWO days? I don't
think your daughter (or is it you?) will be scarred for life. After
all, she got a new 'Woobie!'

Just a question how old is your daughter, because the way you talk
about the death of a pet differs as they get older. It sounds to me
like she is under 6.

I'm curious - - have you (the letter writer) ever owned a pet before?
Petco is a retailer and their minimum wage employees are not trained
in animal care or health - - they are quite simply sales clerks. If
you trust what they tell you when you notice something potentionally
wrong with an animal you are purchasing then you have no business
owning an animal. They replaced the deceased hampster and now you
want them to provide "tubes and treats" as "compensation" to your
daughter so she can become "the best pet parent she can be"? You are
so wrong in your approach to pet ownership and hopefully your daughter
will grow up with better pet care skills than you are presently
teaching her.

I feel really bad for this child. Both for the loss of her pet, and
for seeing her mother take advantage of what is probably one of the
most traumatic experiences of her life to try to get something for
nothing. Sad.

I was ALMOST with you on this.

ALMOST.

First of all...they obviously replaced the HAMSTER. Say it with me
now...HAMSTER

This should be enough.

But then you said this....

"Is there a way to fix my daughter's broken heart?No,but you could
mend it a bit by properly training personnel.."

Are you serious? Your daughter's broken heart can be mended by Petco
properly training personnel? Thats some kid you have there.


And then the clincher.....

"I personally would like her to be compensated with a card so she can
purchase accessories for this "Woobie", like tubes and treats. She
really wants to be the best pet parent she can be, and I want her to
be able to do that with a local company like Petco."



So obviously....there isnt a way Petco can MEND your daughter's
heart....but suprisingly...it can be BOUGHT!


I am sorry. If it were my son (and I HAVE been in a similar situation)
I would tell him that animals live and animals die. This was this
animal's time to die. Then we would go pick out a new one. We have had
animal funerals when necessary. The death of a pet, while not fun, is
just as much a part of being a "pet parent" as feeding, watering, and
cleaning.

Why do you want tubes and treats for this woobie is it is dead, what
use will they be. I am sorry this has happened, and I am sure that
dirty bottom had nothing to do with the hamster's death. Animals like
people will die and you never know when. You may have done your best
to take care of it but sometimes even with that they die.

Are you serious?? thanks for the laugh