An Old Pet Store Needs a Lot of Work!
You have recently become the proprietor of a pet store. You are looking forward to matching animals with families, and love meeting new people in the process. However, before you can do that, you need to do some renovations, because the pet store you now own is a very old pet store.
Old Pet Stores: A Questionable History
Pet stores have been in business in one form or another since the 1700s. As the twentieth century came along, they became even more popular. Old pet stores are rather hard to come by nowadays, mostly because they usually are torn down, or have been renovated into something else. Usually, this is just as well, as you might come to find out.
Pets are an integral part of many families. However, some old pet stores did not particularly note that fact, and subjected their animals to mistreatment. For example, nowadays it is practically unheard of for a reputable pet store to get its dogs from a puppy mill. Puppy mills are places where dogs are bred in unsanitary conditions, and the result was many dogs with health issues. Unfortunately, many old pet stores got their dogs just this way.
Something else that old pet stores did not pay particular attention to was the health and well-being of the animals in their care. This is rather odd considering that people would not want to purchase a dog that is dirty, but it happened anyway.
Dogs would be placed four or five to one medium-sized cage, with no play toys, and only shavings to cushion their excrement. It was common for puppies to get sores because the bedding was not changed regularly, and many people unknowingly took home sick dogs.
So, what should new pet stores have? They should first and foremost have clean facilities for their animals. The bedding should be changed at least twice a day, and the animals should be paid attention to by the workers. This is especially important because it teaches the animals socialization skills.
Additionally, new pet stores should have climate control, so that the animals are cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The lighting should not be too harsh either, because it can affect the eyes of nocturnal animals like gerbils.
Also, make sure that any reptiles or fish you have in your pet store have the right food, and the right climate-controlled tanks. Indeed, owning a pet store can take a lot of work, but the happiness of the animals and the people who purchase them make certainly make the hard work worth it!
