Petco Incident - What more should have been done?

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

Yesterday my husband and I took Whopper and Simba to Petco as a fun outing and a chance to work on some training.  However, as Lee was walking Simba past an aisle, I could hear from a few aisles a way a dog really aggressively barking.  I met up with Lee to learn that one of the rescue dogs in the store up for adoption had started aggressively barking and pulling toward Simba.  Fortunately, the person had a good enough grip on the leash.  I then walked toward the front of the store and as we walked past a checkout aisle, another dog in a rescue vest lunged and literally came very close to biting Whopper.  Whopper was absolutely terrified.  I found Lee, gave him Whopper and he immediately took both dogs out and to the car.  Normally I'd like to do some positive reinforcement training after a negative situation but w did not want to risk walking around another corner and having a bad situation occur.  I then heard the guy (new owner) holding the rescue that nearly attacked Whopper say to his daughter (teens), "see how he lunged at that dog and tried to bite it, did that scare you?  You're going to have to be able to hold him real tight because he's aggressive."  Every red flag went up in my head.  So anyway, I left the store and immediately called Petco Customer Service.  I explained that I understand why they allow rescues and adoption programs in their stores and think it's great to support rescue operations.  However, aggressive dogs whether with a rescue or privately owned should either not be in the store or properly muzzled.  They should also not be standing close to the ends of aisles where people walking past or around corners can be caught off-guard.  I even went so far to say that if you insist on having rescue dogs in the store that have shown aggressive tendencies, you should at the very least be alerting people coming into the store. I was basically told that they had made a note of my complaint and would be sending it to the store to work on how they can do better in the future.  Unfortunately I didn't get the name of the rescue or anything because I was so caught off-guard by the situation and my first priority was getting my dogs out of the store safely.   Is there anything else I should have done or should still do?  Also, should I try and get Whopper back in the store soon to ensure they don't have any residual anxiety or is that hopefully not going to be an issue since no physical harm was actually done?  Thanks in advance!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I would write to the corporate office and explain the situation. Also, what terrible advice from father to child. Since the dog is aggressive just hold it tight. How about the rescue not having it trained before it is adopted out or not letting it got to public places or be adopted by a family with children and so on. Disasters waiting to happen. I would take your dogs back to the store on a non rescue day and act as if nothing happened.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's unfortunate that you didn't get the name of the rescue organization, because that's who is to blame for this, and not Petco. I shudder to think how many rescue dogs would not have found homes were it not for the adoption days at Petsmart, Petco, and other such facilities. I also hate to think that they would stop having these adoption days because of one group.

I am a volunteer with a German Shepherd Rescue group, and we hold adoption days monthly at various Petsmart locations. The group is well-managed and organized, and the only dogs who attend these events have been evaluated and are known to be solid in such situations. Those who are not are not brought to the events. We also have experienced and skilled handlers with each dog. (I have noticed that people still often give us a wide berth, the reputation of GSDs wrongly being what it is.) A well-run rescue has a lot to lose if one of the dogs should injure anyone, as that is a liability issue for the rescue, so most groups are very careful about this kind of thing. The group at your Petco was clearly not an experienced or well-run group. They are the ones who should lose this privilege and be held accountable.

If such an incident occurs in the future, to you or anyone else, you need to complain right then and there, so that the manager can do something about it right then. And get the name of the group, too, so that you can contact them and let them know what happened, as the head of the group may not have been present and needs to know about it.

I'm sorry this happened to Whopper, but I don't think it is going to be a long-term issue for him. These kinds of things happen just with other owners and their dogs in pet supply stores, not only rescues. I've had it happen to JD several times by just one poorly behaved dog or another, most recently by a border collie as we approached a checkout line. He still likes to go to the pet supply store anyway.

 

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

Thanks Karen.  I called Petco and now have the name and number for the rescue group.  Any pointers before I call?  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd look for a website and get the name of the person in charge. If they don't have a website, ask for the name of the executive director or whoever is the head of the group, and try to speak to that person. If they do have a website, you may be better off emailing them. Include your phone number in the email. That way you have a record of the communication. If they're a legitimate, busy, volunteer- run rescue like most, it's sometimes faster and easier to communicate by email.

And of course, you "completely support rescue and really appreciate what these folks are doing to help homeless dogs, but you just wanted to make them aware of an incident because it could affect people's perceptions of their dogs and/or their liability, etc" In other words, you are just trying to help them place more dogs. ;)

 

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

I called and spoke to the director.  She was not really receptive to anything I said or tried to explain and I actually think she was the young girl there when the incident occured with Whopper.  She said the dog that was aggressive towards bigger dogs is fostered in a home with dogs, cats and small children and isn't a problem. She claims he was just fearful of bigger dogs in that setting.  At that point you'd think a rescue would remove the dog if they knew he was fearful and stressed.  When I commented on what I heard the man say, she said they push training once the dogs get adopted so the new owners will learn how to handle all behaviors.

The call really went nowhere and she said they are there every sunday and my impression was that she didn't seem to think there was an issue. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I wish you had that response in an email so you could show it to the store manager. NOW the store needs to be told this is not a responsible group and they (Petco) are looking for a lawsuit if they don't get this issue resolved.

Send me a PM with the name of the rescue and their location, and I'll see what I can find out about them. That may add a little juice to your case with the store manager.

[BG and Gavin]

I think calling was great, but also you should put it in writing - the exact thing you said on the phone.  I would bring you guys back to the store at your first opportunity and just tool around will all the confidence you can muster.

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

Now that I've called the rescue as well, I'll work on preparing a letter to Petco that covers everything. 

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I think you did the right thing by leaving.  Training is always important, but not when the safety of your dogs is a concern.  I would take Simba and Whopper back to Petco on a day when you know there won't be any rescue orgs just so that they can have a good experience with the store again and not have fear issues in the future.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Wow, what a terrible experience! We've come across this when they had training, but not with a rescue/adoption dog.

I think you are doing all the right things and Ihope you take them back, I think they will be fine since no attack/biting took place.