Petco

Petco Animal Supplies is an American chain of retail stores headquartered in San Diego, California that sells pet supplies and services as well as live animals. As of 2010, Petco had over 1,000 locations in the United States. Its mascots are Red Ruff the dog and Blue Mews the cat, who appear on the corporate logo.

On July 14, 2006, Petco announced the company would be acquired by private equity groups TPG Capital, Leonard Green & Partners and Freeman Spogli & Co., at a cost of $1.8 billion.

In 2009, Petco launched Unleashed by Petco, a smaller boutique-style store that specializes in natural, organic, and higher-end products.

The company's other initiatives include the Petco Foundation, founded in 1999 to support non-profit animal welfare programs, and its "Think Adoption First" program, founded in 2004 to encourages the adoption rather than purchase of companion animals.

Petco was spotlighted when they were selling large exotic birds in their shops. In 2005, they signed an agreement with PETA to end the sale of large birds.^[2]

In 2012, a man in Wichita Falls, Texas found a live iguana in a dumpster that had apparently been discarded by an employee. The iguana died ten minutes after its discovery. As a result of this, a lock was placed on the dumpster of the crime, however only one employee was fired. Petco has not changed any of their policies regarding animal care.

In June 2010, prosecutors from Marin, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Mateo and Santa Barbara counties announced that Petco had agreed to settle a $1.75 million consumer protection lawsuit, without admitting liability. The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed in San Diego Superior Court that alleges Petco overcharged its customers and improperly cared for some animals, following inspections of Petco stores throughout California from 2005 through 2008. Petco paid more than $850,000 to resolve a similar case in 2004.^[3]

In September 2011, a Petco location in Johnson City, New York came under fire when, during a severe flood of the surrounding area caused by Tropical Storm Lee, nearly 100 animals drowned when staff failed to move them to safety.^[4] Despite severe weather warnings and flood advisories for the nearby river in the days leading to the flood, Petco had initially claimed it didn't receive warnings. Petco had also claimed that the casualties were caused by a backup in the store's drain/sewage line, and not by the flooding that had submerged the store with four feet of water. Johnson City Mayor Dennis Hannon has called Petco's initial claims "absurd", and stated that "With all the flood warnings and evacuation orders that were issued, for them not to go down there is just absolutely disgusting", further commenting that the flooding was caused by the weather and river flooding, and that the sewer/drain line backup was only a small part of the problem. Johnson City police have also stated that flood warnings were issued by the National Weather Service, and they should have been taken more seriously.^[5][6][4] On September 12, 2011, Petco issued a statement accepting full responsibility for the event, saying that they "misjudged" the risk of a flood. PETA has called for a criminal investigation against Petco.^[7][8] Soon after, Petco offered to donate $25,000 towards animal welfare centers in the area, and to give area residents a rebate on their website offering free shipping for orders over $25.^[9]

Petco owns the naming rights to the Petco Park baseball stadium, home to the San Diego Padres.

• Pet Services

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