Did I do the right thing? Petco vet warranty.

Hi All,

My husband and I just got two new rat babies as companions for our resident rat after losing one of our rats to CHF (holy heartbreaking 6 weeks). We got them from PetCo (I know, never again, don't worry) and they were a bit sneezy when we brought them home. I chalked this up to them getting used to the new smells of our apartment. Today, the smaller one started to have a hard time breathing and was honking/snorting/squeaking occasionally so I took them back to PetCo to take advantage of their 15 day warranty (they will take the pet - we have to return it - and then give it vet care and we can repurchase her when she is healthy again).

My experience doing this was a bit...uncomfortable. The manager lied to me about how long they had had the rats (when we got them two days ago she remarked that they weren't social because they had just gotten them however when I dropped them off she said that they had had them for over a month and were very healthy the whole time they had them). As I tried to explain why I was concerned and began to question whether I should simply take them to my own vet, or try to take them to Petco's vet myself she became pretty rude and told me the only way they would pay for vet care is if I did their return/repurchase program and that I could not just drop them off for a vet appointment when scheduled. However she and a much friendlier associate assured me they would be in good hands, that they would be observed overnight, and that they would take her to the vet if she needed it. So I left my two new babies at Petco (I left both because I didn't want to separate them - they are pretty bonded already).

Now I am wondering if I did the right thing. I am really worried that either they won't take them to the vet, they won't care enough to give them vet care, or they will try to switch out my rats on me. Does anyone have experience with this? Should I go back and see if I can get them back and take them to my vet? Am I crazy for having cried in the store? The last question is rhetorical.

On a completely different note, I spent a lot of time lurking in the forums when my older girl was sick and all the old posts were amazingly helpful to me in trying to understand what was happening to her. So thank you all for all the help - you probably don't realize how many rat parents read and are helped by these forums.

I actually work part-time at Petco just for funsies. I do it because I want to get people comfortable with having rats as pets. I'm "The Rat Lady" at my store. XD

Here's how we handle animals in your situation, and this is exactly what we did with a customers guinea pig a few days ago:

1.) the customer returns the animal. We give them their money back, because of liability issues involved with not being able to "board" animals at our store.
2.) the animal goes to the vet and is prescribed medicine. We have 24 hours to get it to the vet.
3.) whichever associate is most experienced with the animal is assigned to watch over it and give it meds.
4.) it is checked every 12 hours if it is in stable/good condition. (that is the longest amount of time they will be unsupervised.)
5.) if it is not responding within 3 days, or gets worse, it goes back to the vet.

We cannot switch out your rats on you or do anything fishy, even if we wanted to, because it is all controlled and logged by our computer system. We have very complicated forms that we fill out that are attached to the cage your rats are kept in, and they have to be filled out and verified by two different people every time we open the cage. And who knows, you might get an associate like me at your store who's just as into rats as you are! If you had been at my store, I would have hugged you.

(BTW, the guinea pig that we're treating saw the vet and was prescribed Baytril and some other drug (meth-something) and has gotten her meds twice daily and is doing great. She'll be ready to go home soon. We've never had an animal under vet care die on us, at least not since I've been at my store.

My first two rats were dumped on me by a friend. her aunt worked at a petsmart and talked her into buying them. they were still under warranty when I got them, and one became sick. I didnt have the money at the time for a vet, so took him back for return and treatment. I felt terrible and very uncomfortable about it, but I didnt have steady income then and just wanted him to get treatment. they called me after 2 weeks on meds and said he was better and ready for "resale". I got him back and he lived a happy life with me. it was a hugely uncomfortable experience, but I did turn out okay in the end.

Welcome! My first thought was to say oh no, I would have taken them to your vet but after reading BlueSkyy and temblabamomo I feel more confident that you probably did the right thing.
Hopefully your little sweeties will soon be on the mend and back home with you.

BTW, you can always call the store or go in and check on them. They'll be kept in what our store calls the "Wellness Room" and while your particular store may not take you back there to see them, they might bring them out to show you. You can also ask them for their vet's contact info and call the vet to ask how the appt. went and what meds they're getting. If your store is anything like mine, the employees will do everything they can to help.

Honestly I would have been extremely uncomfortable giving them back to the store. (OK, I wouldn't have brought them back, I would have taken them to my own vet. Guess I have trust issues where animals are concerned.) I'm glad other people have had positive experiences.
I hope yours is just as good.

Hope it works out ok
I wouldn't have taken him back but would have taken him to my vet for several reasons
One reason is that I do not trust any store that sells animals as they are supporting animal abuse, see animals a objects to sell and don't care about the animals that die during shipping, what happens to animals after being sold, etc so I wouldn't trust them to care about or properly care for my pet.
Glad that others have had positive experiences doing this .... guess PR matters to this chain.

Fingers crossed for your little sweeties.

Any updates on your babies?

How did it turn out?

I know a vet who is the vet for a local PJ's Pets Express and she is quite good. Obviously the issues around pet stores selling animals still apply, but if, unfortunately, rats have been purchased and this situation occurs I don't blame people for using the health guarantee policy in effect since you don't expect them to be sick when they're purchased.

SQ said:

Hope it works out ok
I wouldn't have taken him back but would have taken him to my vet for several reasons
One reason is that I do not trust any store that sells animals as they are supporting animal abuse, see animals a objects to sell and don't care about the animals that die during shipping, what happens to animals after being sold, etc so I wouldn't trust them to care about or properly care for my pet.
Glad that others have had positive experiences doing this .... guess PR matters to this chain.

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The difference here, SQ, is that you would not have supported the chain in the first place and purchased the rats. Once the animals arrive at the store their lives are a real craps shoot. They could get a location that has caring associates and a decent vet, or a store where everyone sees rats as vermin and a vet with substandard education. They could go to good or bad owners. What happens at the distribution level of these stores is not necessarily indicative of what happens at the retail level.

:threadjacked:

Moon said:

... and a vet with substandard education.

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Sometimes it's not the education, but what they choose to do with their knowledge.