Petco Pet Store

Hello there! Another field trip today; this time to Petco pet store in North Canton, Ohio.
I had set up this field trip through the Field Trip Factory online, which was very easy to do. Their website is very helpful and has many extras to go with the trips. They offer a few in our area. In the past, I have been disappointed in the educational value of the trips they sponsored. However, today's trip was an exception.
The tour leader was friendly and seemed to enjoy leading the kids around and teaching them about the animals. All of the staff in the store really seemed to enjoy the animals they were working with. They also were quite knowledgeable about the animals they were caring for. There was a lot of information given to the children as we roamed from one department to another, but with plenty of time for the children to explore, touch and enjoy each of the animals there. They were able to personally pet (not hold, for safety's sake) a ferret, a chinchilla, a lizard and a puppy. They were introduced to a number of different types of fish, hermit crabs, other reptiles & amphibians, and after an interesting introduction, a Moluccan cockatoo, who was great fun to watch.
I was pleased to hear that Petco has agreed to not sell this bird to anyone but an employee or someone with extensive knowledge of how to care for the bird. I personally have some issues with how these and other exotic birds are stolen from the wild, but Petco has recently made an agreement not to sell any more large birds like this one. I found this article about it. Animals that are bred to be pets are one thing, but stolen from the wild just doesn't seem right.

Anyway, the children had a wonderful time. The staff at the store seemed genuinely happy to have us there. Even my little one was able to join in a bit petting the puppy. I highly recommend it.