Column: In My Opinion
Title: PetCo’s Pricey Decision
Publication: The Slate
The second week of September mirrored that of any September week here in
Shippensburg. We had the usual scattered storms and days filled with jumping over puddles on campus to get to class.
While Shippensburg students and residents simply faced a few raindrops, those of
Northern Pennsylvania and Southern Upstate New York towns were facing much bigger issues – evacuations, dangerous driving conditions and flash flooding.
Three major cities within a few hours of our small town made national headlines when a total of over one hundred thousand people were evacuated Wednesday.
Harrisburg faced flooded streets and placed road closures, an evacuation of 10,000 residents and a curfew throughout the city.
Wilkes Barre, a town two and a half hours north of Shippensburg, declared a mandatory evacuation of over 70,000 people, including students at multiple Universities, with a fine of over a thousand dollars to anyone who dared to stay behind.
Binghamton, NY, a city which lies just above the state’s southern border, evacuated over
20,000 residents and faced main highways 81 and 17 closures.
Not only did families in these cities, and the small towns that connect them, face hardships, but business owners were stripped of more than just a few days of sales.
Of the hundreds, if not thousands, of businesses affected by this tragedy, though, a large focus has been placed on the Johnson City, NY location of PetCo.
According to WBNG-TV, a news station in Binghamton, NY, the Johnson City PetCo closed its doors at 5 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon in the wake of severe flood warnings from the city. The employees left, but the animals were left behind.
After severe flooding occurred, many residents began an outcry to the corporate headquarters of PetCo, questioning why these poor helpless animals were left to die when other local pet stores, such as Pet Depot, did all they could to bring the animals to safety.
While some employees of the PetCo are claiming their managers gave them strict orders to leave the animals behind and to lock the cages, a statement from management claims that they were unaware of the possible threat the flooding could cause the store.
A press release posted to PetCo headquarters’ website also denies any blame, stating that the city was not clear in its warning of flooding and that the employees and store management were unaware of the danger the animals faced.
Local residents, however, have a greatly varying viewpoint. Many have gone so far as to proclaim a boycott from PetCo as a whole, as well as contact PETA, an animal rights organization, and sign petitions to have the location removed from the city.
The locals who are standing up for the innocent animals left to die deserve recognition and those who follow through with boycotting the location deserve applause.
Regardless of what PetCo’s public relations team does to rebuild consumer confidence, this location is a lost cause. The trust they had instilled in their customers was washed away with the floodwaters.
PetCo must pay a heftier price than the initial monetary costs other businesses must pay.
They now face a loss of profits, property, and most deservingly, reputation.