We are current and former PetSmart workers who are ramping up our fight to demand #PetCareOverProfit, after repeated requests for BC Partners (the private equity firm that acquired PetSmart in 2015) to meet with us and discuss our concerns about working conditions have been ignored.
Leaders from our PetSmart Worker Committee at United for Respect have courageously come forward to publicly document the deadly consequences of the cost-cutting measures implemented in their local stores. We believe animal lovers and PetSmart shoppers need to know about the company-wide issues — like unsafe staffing levels and a lack of essential equipment — that put workers and animals in danger.
If you work at PetSmart and want to make change happen, let us know and an organizer will be in touch soon.
These courageous whistleblowers work in the same unacceptable conditions that innocent animals live — and die — in at PetSmart:
“My employees, myself, and the animals in our care were put in danger, while we worked with no power and no heat.”
– Abegale Fernandes, MA
When the power went out in Abegale’s Massachusetts PetSmart for multiple days, she took home several lizards who all survived. Many of the lizards and fish at the store perished.
“It affects the mental health of so many of us when we have a lot of sick and dead animals in the store.”
– Isabela Burrows, MI
When this photo was taken, almost all of the comet goldfish in the tank had already died. The rest would soon pass as well.
“Before BC Partners took over, animals weren’t dying as often, and there was reasonable accountability.”
– Anonymous Employee, CA
Dead animals in plastic bags litter the bottom of this freezer that hasn’t been cleared in 10 months. PetSmart policy states: “Deceased pets must never be left in the freezer for more than one week.”
“I couldn’t do my job to take care of these animals when the managers only cared about short-term expenses. It was stressful.”
– Joy Potts, TN
This guinea pig with an ear infection in Tennessee was eventually euthanized. Joy’s initial requests to take it to the vet were denied.
“The freezers would get so full of dead animals. My manager would ask me to take the bodies to dispose of them, off the clock.”
– Lea Romo-Serrano, TN
Dead animals from the freezer at Lea’s Tennessee store.
“There’s a lot of death, in part because PetSmart doesn’t schedule enough people per shift, so issues get missed.”
– Oscar C, AZ
This Arizona freezer is stuffed with dead animals in plastic bags. Overflowing from their designated cooler, the deceased pets are next to food for living animals.
email [email protected] for more details