Flickr/Dan4th
PetSmart gave New Jersey resident Eric Favetta the axe after he brought his 3-year-old Belgian malinois, Gizmo, to work with him one night, the (Newark) Star-Ledger reported.
According to the Star-Ledger, Favetta, a former dog handler at military units in Afghanistan and Bahrain, had worked as an operations manager at PetSmart since July 2008. Last spring, because of his success cleaning up the Wayne, N.J., store, he was transferred to the busy Seacaucus, N.J., store to help make improvements.
One night in December, PetSmart staff asked Favetta to work a special overnight shift to get the store spiffed up for a viewing the following day by potential business partners. "I brought my dog with me because I knew if I didn't, he would have been home alone all day and all night until I returned home at 6 a.m. the next day," Favetta told the Star-Ledger.
Favetta put Gizmo in the store's empty daycare facility and got to work. Two weeks later, he was fired for "theft of service."
PetSmart spokeswoman Jessica White told the Star-Ledger that the daycare service is an item the company charges for, just like the toys and treats on the store shelves. Using the facilities for free, she said, qualified as theft.
But Favetta, who had a spotless record, was shocked. He believed it was an excuse to get rid of him, since he butted heads with his manager. "It makes me sick that because I brought my dog to work with me when the store was closed to do the company a favor, I was called a thief and terminated," he told the Star-Ledger.
The day after the Star-Ledger started asking questions, PetSmart's human resources director called Favetta to discuss the story, the newspaper reported. Two days later, she offered Favetta his job back. He accepted, but soon after was offered a job as a dog handler for a company that uses dogs to sniff out hazards. He decided to place his bets with the new company rather than return to PetSmart.
Sounds like a happy ending to us.
Related Videos
More Cute Stuff
- Lion Love (Daily Squee)
- This Cat Means Business (I Can Has Cheezburger)
- Zebra Tan! (I Has a Hotdog)
- Cat Guys or Dog Guys? (Petside)
- Reducing your Carbon Paw-Print (Discovery)
Sponsored Links
Advertisement
Time-Lapse Tortoise Noms Salad
After reading this article, Petsmart will never get another cent of my money. This kind of action from a store that pretends to care about pets...what a joke. Obviously, they're all about the money. I'm glad Mr. Favetta chose to turn down their "offer" to return to such a phony company. What a bunch of jerks.
l totally agree wid u Joe shame on dem (Petsmart) he did wat any true pet owner would a done to have left his pet alon fe such an extended time would hav been cruel an inhuman
Sorry to say but Petsmart's behavior doesn't surprise me a bit. Working in the pet industry myself - I have plenty of opportunity to hear some of the horrible things that go on at Petsmart. Maybe Joe should have mentioned how many dogs get hurt and maimed at the Petsmart hotels and in that same day care. Or perhaps he should let the cat out of the bag about how many animals are practically butchered by their groomers.
Bottom line - Petsmart is all about BIG business. They don't care about your pets....they care about your dollars......They just have good marketers to make you believe differently.
I agree... they should be ashamed ...
I am right there w/ya Joe... I will NEVER shop Petsmart again. I'll go to ma/pa animal shops or PetCo. What a disappointment this story is. Glad the guy got a job elsewhere - hope it works out for him!
This is totally out of order. If a company is trying to encourage pet owners to "step up and take care of their pets", this should also apply to their employees. Due to rescheduling, etc., the employees should also be able to keep their pets in a good environment. Never shop there again!!!!!
well no kidding, arent all these companies all about the bottom line these days, "MONEY". SO PEOPLE BEWARE, if in doubt ask before taking any chances, it might just cost you your job by doing a favor.
Makes total sense to me.....................
I was a Store Manager for Petsmart a few years back. Although bringing your dog to work is indeed a violation and really shouldnt be done Petsmart often takes matters to an extreme when a mere warning or counseling should be adequate. Although bringing a dog sounds innocent enough it opens a can of worms with safety and also shows a bit of abuse of power. Why should a Manager bring their dog but the Associates cannot. Just a fairness issue. Dont get me wrong I hate Petsmart! They screwed me too over a slightly different issue. They have little regards for coaching and developing, and giving second chances. I often witnessed Petsmart looking the other way on more severe issues because it benefited the company plus they have a major problem with favoritism in upper District Management. But when its a correctible mistake Petsmart quickly sends you packing.
I don't think this was at the corporate level. Sounds like his manager got pissed at him and did the wrong thing. Don't boycott the whole chain. I take both of my dogs to Banfield The Pet Hospital of Decatur, AL located inside of the store, and they have never been anything but kind and caring with my pets. I purchased Wellness Plans for both of them and it saves me a TON of money throughout the year. As a result I have two very loving and healthy pets! One that is a 11 yr old 4.5 lb Chihuahua. What those people did was wrong, but don't punish all of the hardworking employees. People shopping there is the reason thousands of people have jobs.
I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE THIS THEY SHOULD HANG THERE HEADS IN SHAME AND I ALWAYS DID BUSINESS WITH THEM I WILL THINK TWICE NOW. HOW CHEAP CAN THEY GET
HAVE TO AGREE WITH YOU. I WORK FOR A RESCUE UNIT AND WE ASKED PETSMART TO DONATE ANY DAMAGED BAGS OF DOG FOOD AND ITEMS LIKE BEDS, LEASHES, COLLARS ETC. THEY SAID NO AND THAT THEY DUMP EVERYTHING EVEN IF IT IS IN GOOD CONDITION. THEN THEY WRITE IF OFF AS A LOSS. OH AND TO BE FAIR PETCO IS THE WAY. IT IS CALLED GREED!!!!!!
I totally agree with you. He did not steal the services, because at the time, the services were not available. He could have just let the dog run around the store. But I think he did the responsible thing and put him in the daycare. I mean it was only him, they didn't need another employee.
Amen to that one!
Same here. I spend a fortune on pet food and supplies at Petsmart each month but not anymore! If that's how they treat a pet owner, whether an employee or not, they don't deserve my business.
Best of luck to Mr. Favetta on his new job!
they do it every time. you get a job, they tell you you are doing a great job, and then they fired you.you work your butt off, you work the days that nobody else wants. thats the thanks you get.
I agree. PetSmart will not get a fracken cent out of me if its the last fracken store STANDING !
What a pathetic operation. More pathetic is the HR Department for allowing this to even get out the door is fracken corporate stupidity. PetSmart should clean house. And I mean CLEAN THEIR FRACKEN HOUSE AND IMAGE !
I agree with you 100%. They will never ever get my business again either.I will also find anotehr vet instead of using Pet Smarts vets.
I'M SO BOTHERED BY PETSMART.YOU GET AN EMPLOYEE TO COME IN AND DO YOU A FAVOR, AND HE GETS FIRED LOL...FOR BRINGING HIS "PET" TO THE "PET" STORE... LOL ..EVEN AFTER HOURS... I'M SURE IT WASN'T FUNNY TO HIM..I THINK COMPANIES HAVE GOTTEN THE BIG HEAD THAT PEOPLE ARE REPLACEABLE. THEY SURE ARE, BUT NOT LOYAL DEDICATED TO THE COMPANY, HARD WORKING, UPRIGHT, LAW ABIDING PEOPLE. I HAD JUST READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT McDONALD'S SUING A 19 YEAR OLD GIRL FOR USING "Mc" IN NAMING HER CHARITY FOR THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS. WAL MART (SLAVE MART) DON'T WANT TO PAY THERE EMPLOYYES...THIS IS JUST BAD BUSINESS, AND VERY UPSETTING. NOW THERE GOES TWO MORE COMPANIES ON MY S...T LIST. UNTIL I FIND OUT BETTER...AND OF COURSE I HAVE TO SPREAD THE WORD. "WORD OF MOUTH" IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE ADVERTISEMENT.
I ONLY USE PETSMART TO SOCIALIZE MY PUPPIES. I HAVE FOUND PETCO STORES MUCH FRIENDLIER AND CHEAPER. SHAME ON PETSMART!!!!!!