Do Not Treat Petstore Employees as Vets!
Your pet is sick. You're scared! You panic. You've even Googled and it's no help.
But one of the steps to solving this issue is most certainly not to:
1: Stress your pet by transporting it unnecessarily
2: Stress your pet by putting it in a tiny, dirty, and/or unsafe carrier or container
3: Waste what could be precious time by taking your pet to someone that *can't* appropriately help you
Certain petstores like to bill their employees as "experts". And depending on the store you may find people with knowledge and experience with different animals.
But regardless of this experience, we can't and shouldn't be asked to treat your animal or tell you what you can do to treat it. It takes many years of expensive schooling and experience to become a vet. And even vets have specialties (ones who treat reptiles and birds versus cats/dogs versus small pets like hamsters and gerbils).
We don't have the knowledge. It is UNFAIR to us and to your animal to even ASK us.
Now, depending on store/employee you may get "advice", especially if you throw a fit or emotionally manipulate the employee into doing their best. But you follow this advice under your own risk and at the risk of your animal's health. We do not have the tools to do an exam of your animal in the first place.
(Personally, I will straight-up tell people that I'm not a vet and can't replace one, but that doesn't mean that people wouldn't be fired for doing that at a different store).
