Educating new pet owners

As pet owners ourselves, we recognise the joy that a new pet brings.

For children in particular the prospect of owning a new pet can be particularly thrilling, so to make them aware of the responsibility that comes with pet ownership, we offer a programme of workshop events which we call “My Pet Pals”. These workshops cover aquatics, small mammals and reptiles. Because of the association of bunnies with Easter, over the Easter holiday we focus our workshops on the care of rabbits. In addition we suspend the sale and adoption of rabbits over the Easter weekend.

We provide a wide range of pet information leaflets free in every store. These have been written to ensure customers are aware of their responsibility, under the Animal Welfare Act, to care for their animals properly and in particular to provide for the five welfare needs. Many of these have been produced in conjunction with the RSPCA and are co-branded to highlight this endorsement.

Before we sell any pet, colleagues must first check that customers are aware of their responsibilities in relation to the welfare needs of that pet. PetPads, our proprietary iPad application, guide colleagues to ensure that all the information that is pertinent to a particular type of pet is covered. Customers sign electronically to record that this has been done before the sale can progress. All colleagues are empowered to refuse the sale of a pet if they have concerns that its welfare needs may not be properly met in its new home.