Some fool was poking a bird at PetSmart.
By writersedge
@writersedge (22563)
United States
September 8, 2008 9:15pm CST
This guy was poking a Conure. An almost 600 dollar bird. Poked it in the beak, belly, and feet. I went over to one of the associates and she went over and told him to please stop poking the bird. He also was trying to teach his child how to "poke the birdie" like it was some kind of game. The bird was squaking in distress. I could feel how stressed this poor bird was. But he stood his ground against this guy. He wasn't moving.
Previously, that bird went up to people and everyone had been petting the bird. But after this man terrorized it, the bird didn't want to get near people. It stayed away from everyone. It's a wonder that it didn't start pecking him or his child and draw blood. Then he would want to sue the store. If that bird doesn't want to be around people, I think they should charge him the money for that bird. With all the stress he put it under, it's a wonder it didn't die. I've never seen that bird sleep during the day, but after that incident, he kept sleeping. I think he was worn out.
Can you imagine someone being this "out of it?" Even if you don't know how to behave around a pet, why couldn't he feel the stress he was putting that bird under? He was a big man and that's a little bird. Plus to teach his child to abuse it on top of it all, what a fool!
1 person likes this
6 responses
@faln_angel1205 (1192)
• United States
9 Sep 08
Sad that people can be cruel or heartless when it comes to animals. Im sure he was out of it or something was wrong mentally for him to do something like that, and u are right, how awful to teach this to his child...very sad and disturbing.
2 people like this
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
9 Sep 08
It really made for a rough day at work knowing that bird had been so harassed that it needed to sleep and then wouldn't go near anyone. But then to keep remembering him teaching his child to do that. I just kept getting upset. Didn't help that after that situation there weren't many people in the store for hours before I had to go home.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169439)
• United States
9 Sep 08
I am just glad you were there to stand up for the bird. Do you work there too? It sounds as if you were there all day.
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
16 Sep 08
Yes, I work a few hours each weekend as a pet food demonstator. So I'm a guest demonstrator. I have to be careful how I handle things. Take care
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
9 Sep 08
Yes, I can imagine this. Vividly.
I was in petsmart about 3 weeks ago and there was an adorable little girl with a dog on a leash. No parent in sight. She was just walking around with the dog. Then I saw her go over by the birds. You know who they always have the smaller birds - usually parakeets and finches - on the bottom of the section. Well the dog was barking up a storm and jumping up on the outside of the cages. I told the girl to take her dog somewhere else because the barking could kill the birds. She looked a bit freaked out, but at least I did something. Even my 9 year old son was disgusted.
The bird is probably more use to people poking at it because, well, people who don't own birds don't normally know anything about them
BTW birds do sleep during the day. It is part of their normal habit in the wild. They usually sleep during the afternoon.
$600 for a conure. That's a rip off! Even Petco here who severely overprices their birds doesn't charge that much.
1 person likes this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
9 Sep 08
Even though we bought our lovebirds from Petsmart and came thisclose to buying a Linolated Parakeet from them (beautiful bird, it had suirvived the poly break out but the Petsmart they resuced the bird from "lost" the papers on the banded bird), would never buy another bird from them. They buy their birds from one of the worst bird suppliers in the country. This supplier has given them sick birds time and time again. That not only gets the birds in the store sick, but if you come in get that dander on you, bring it home and your birds aren't vaccinated, they can get sick too.
As far as the supplier setting the price, that is only somewhat true. If you notice a lot of the chain stores over price their birds then will drop the price the longer the bird site. I know Petsmart lost millions in the last quarantine and have changed their prices accordingly.
$600 for a Conure is a lot of money. Anyone who knows anything about birds - or at least done their research - isn't going to buy him for that much. Poor bird 
I know the over priced birds here - I kid you not - will sit in the pet store for a year or more.
I know the over priced birds here - I kid you not - will sit in the pet store for a year or more.1 person likes this
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
9 Sep 08
That's horrible, too. I had a kid wrap his dog's leash around the leg of my table and then get underneath the table. 30 to 40 lbs of dog and cat food could have come down on him. No parent in site (she probably had to go to the bathroom).
Trust me, this bird doesn't sleep that much. Esp. in the afternoon. It was going over to people. No, it's not used to people poking it. It usually has people petting it and it usually coos. It was squaking and going crazy when poked. Now it does not go over to people. It was very outgoing and going over to everyone. Everyone was petting it. Now it either doesn't go over or it starts to and then retreats. Later on someone who knew the bird and visits it all the time asked if it was sick, I told her no, it had been through a traumatic experience. Even the people who work there and feed it had a rough time after that. Normally the cage has plastic all the way to the top so people can't do anything to the birds, but people had wanted to pet it, so they had taken it down temporarily and they wanted to wash it anyway.
I don't price birds. I think caging something that can fly is like putting an airplane that can fly in a bottle. Doesn't make sense to me. So I wouldn't know. Much of the price depends on the supplier.
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
9 Sep 08
All their birds go through a quaranteen period since I've been there. There is a much longer period of time than there used to be.
Birds don't sit there at our PetSmart. It is one of the largest PetSmarts in the country. PetCo lost their shirt up here, no customer service. I've been at PS over a year and conures as well as other birds sell fairly quickly, reguardless of price. They can't even keep chincillas in stock and those aren't cheap either.
We have a small population of people (relatively speaking) up here, but we have more animals than people. And people really, really spend on their animals.
Plus PS has turned some people away. College students, people in apartments whose land lords don't want them to have pets, etc. Where I work, they do their best to take care of the animals and make sure they go to good homes of people who see them as a lifelong (life of the pet) responsibility.
@carolbee (16230)
• United States
9 Sep 08
I am guessing this man thought he was being funny. The associate should have called the police if he wouldn't listen to the employee. The poor bird. No reason to stress the bird right into sleeping and to withdraw from the public. The guy wouldn't have thought it was so funny if the cops showed up, handcuffed him and took him away. On the other hand, it may have taught him a lesson!
1 person likes this
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
9 Sep 08
He did stop when asked to by the associate the first time. I asked her to do it because I wasn't sure how they had been taught to handle it, and I wanted to slug him. She was a lot more diplomatic and nice about it than I would have been.
Yes, he thought it was great fun and to teach his child this, too. AAHHHHH!
How he could not see, hear, or feel the distress that bird was under, I don't know. I was at least 4 feet away and I was going into anguish for the bird. Some people have no empathy and don't understand that living things aren't toys.
One person said, "We should all get together and poke him. Then keep going after he tells us to stop. That bird was squaking its head off, he couldn't tell that was stop?"
@GardenGerty (169439)
• United States
9 Sep 08
I do not have a lot to say about this one, other than you are right, the stress could have caused the bird to die of a heart attack. At least that was what we were told about our parakeets. The second thing is that way back in the dark ages in high school psychology, we were taught that a person who abuses animals moves on to abuse people as well. Again, it was reiterated in college psych. and finally, whenever we have to fill out assessments on special needs children with behavior issues we are asked if they have a history of hurting animals. In a way I would say he was also abusing his son, by teaching him a pattern of abuse.
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
9 Sep 08
Actually, it was his daughter and yes, I think teaching a lack of empathy to the point where you could hurt a caged creature for no reason, but he really seemed to be enjoying it like when my cat goes after a mouse. So you have to wonder, what is that child going to grow up to be like? If she sees her Dad enjoying harassing an animal? He didn't even seem to think he was doing anything wrong. As the associate approached, she hoped she wouldn't have to say anything to him, but he even saw her and kept right on doing it.
1 person likes this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
9 Sep 08
That would have made me very mad..If the worker couldn't sto the guy, I would have stepped between the bird and the guy and say that I was considering buying the bird and ask if he would quit teasing it..
@PearlGrace (3171)
• United States
10 Sep 08
Hello writersedge.
What a frustrating story! I guess it's a reflection of how uneducated about taking care of pets that some people are. You know that expression, "You don't know what you don't know." That apparently would apply to this guy.
1 person likes this
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
10 Sep 08
True, very true, I wish the associate had educated him a little more about birds. They have such tiny chests and little hearts, it's a wonder a big, muscular man like him didn't kill it without meaning to. Chest compressions at the wrong time aren't good for anyone.
