Lucy

Ok, ummm, some of you might hate me some of you might understand, some might not care at all, but here it goes.

I'm crying as I'm writing this. I didn't save a betta today. I left him behind, probably to die.
I'm not sure he could saved.

My daughter and I were in Walmart and of course, I had to go to the fish dept.
There was a poor little soul with riddled with fungus, finrot, what may have been ick, it was hard to tell, his tail was so shredded and it looked like scales were eaten away, but still he held himself upright and moved around in his filthy cup.

I took him to customer service, pointed out how sick he was and asked what medications he was being treated with. (We all know the answer, don't we?)

The girl at customer service called a manager for me, I repeated what I told her, this manager referred me to another manager.

He said he honestly didn't have an answer as to why this little guy was so sick and not being treated.
He listened patiently (was he patronizing me? I don't care)

I usually get angry when I see the bettas, sad in their cups, but this one hit my heart and hit it hard, it took everything out of me.

I pointed out the poo in the cup and told him I was disgusted at the lack of treatment.
I even went so far as to tell him if he had a cut on his finger he surely wouldn't stick it in the toilet after he used it, because that's exactly what the betta is going through.

I told him if this little guy had any chance of survival, to please get him into clean warm water and treat this fish as one would treat any other animal with proper medication and if he wasn't going to, would he please give him to me because he is going to die. Of course he said he couldn't give him to me. I don't have anything to put him in anyway.

He took the betta and said he would address the person in charge of the pet dept. when they came in in the morning.
I asked for that person's name and I'll call tomorrow to find out what's being done for him.

I'm hoping when this person sees this fish, he'll be ashamed to treat one of God's creatures so cruelly.

I'm so very sorry everyone. I don't have the meds or a place to put him for what I believe is his final days.

I'm going to bed now, my heart is broken.

Please, please forgive me because I don't know if I can forgive myself.

Edit: I'm sorry this is so long, thanks for listening.

Alessa

Oh c'mon lucy, you re making me cry Its ok, you did what you could, as you said, you didnt have a place to put him in or anything... you did the right thing! you told the manager and the people in charge what they should do and is their responsibility!

You are a wonderful person Lucy.. youre one of the few that like me, cry to see such a wonderful creature being neglected like a wortless object... Lots of hugs from here!

MinxMermaid

Awe Lucy,
I'm sorry you had to go through that.

I think all us betta moms and dads have to realize we can't save em all

even if we were to send out our betta soldiers and rescue all the poor cup kids, they would just replace them all in no time flat with more poor tortured babies.

its the same at the animal shelters, we could go there and pine and cry for all the poor abandoned beautiful little animals.

the best we can do is that, when we can, we save one baby at a time.
they pick us and we give them loving homes to live long or short lives. they touch our hearts and bring us joy and we give them the best we can.

if you could and if it was right you would have saved that baby. but he wasn't for you.

don't be too hard on yourself. your heart is in the right place and we love you.

0morrokh

Don't beat yourself up, you did the right thing. That betta sounds too far gone to be saved, and it would be silly to give walmart money just to take him home and watch him die if there's nothing you can do for him. Maybe the manager will make them start treating their bettas better because of you talking to him.

David C

I'm sorry you couldnt save him Lucy. But if you tried to save them all, you would have a house full of tanks and Walmart would just keep stocking the shelves with more torture cups. You did everything you could under the circumstances. I figure if we could just get everyone to stop buying fish from walmart, then they'd stop carrying them because it wouldnt be profitable (all they care about). I know everytime I'm at walmart, I'm sure to tell anyone looking at the fish about the good LFS and I try as hard as I can to persuade them to not buy fish from walmart. Maybe one day I can make a difference, but I'll never know.

Blub

Lucy, the fact that you care makes you a good person. Take, for instance, the people at WalMart. How can they be so heartless? We have go to make this STOP.

I'm so sorry for the poor little boy, I hope he is resting in the giant rice paddy in the sky with all the other WalMart bettas.

peacemaker92

I'm so sorry Lucy. It's not your fault. You don't have room for him to stay. At least you care, not like the people in the mart. Hope the lil guy is still OK and someone else as caring as you would've taken him home already. If not, he would be happy in the side with the other bettas.

jdhef

Chin up Lucy. You can't rescue the fish world single handedly. You probably did more to help "the cause" by talking to the manager, than you would have by taking him home. I know it's heartbreaking to see the poor guy suffer. Sadly having a conscience is blessing and a curse.

Alessa

Yes Lucy, Listen to john! maybe the manager kept thinking about it and will meditate in the cruelty that is going on with the bettas!
Like I said, dont feel bad (I know it is really hard). You did the right thing, and the fact that youre thinking about that poor little fella, and caring about him surely like no one else would have cared about him in his entire lifetime makes you a great person... You did for him and his fellow betta brothers something perhaps more meaningful than you would have done by taking him home.

Think of how a world full of people like you would be different! think how in the near future, hopefully, the example that you have set will be the flag carried by generations of young animal lovers that will be given a concience to use as a weapon against the cruelty that we as humans, seem to not understand as a non-crossing boundary.

You are awesome Lucy! seeing people like you in the world reminds me that there is still hope.

Martinismommy

Lucy You did a courageous act by bringing this to the managers attention...I know that hurt you are feeling as I have felt it time and time again....It is so hard to leave these beautiful little innocent victims behind when we see them in time of need.....Just know you made a difference even if you couldn't save him...

mrsmuffin

Lucy, there is no reason that you should feel bad. You certainly can't save them all, and you did as much as you could. Maybe, just maybe if we all did you you did someone would start listening and start to change things a little. Unfortunately, we (including me) aren't all as brave as you are!

Lionfish17

Im so sorry Lucy! See, the world needs more kind hearted people like you. Look at it in a better light, because you talked to so many different people, maybe you actually did make a difference and the little guy might have a better chance. If I could buy every betta i laid eyes on, well, my apartment would be amazing but cheer up. You actually tried to do something about the neglect, not just walk by without a care, like most people.

Sprinangl2

oh, Lucy, i would have cried too! poor baby!! but you did the best you could! maybe the manager will start to think about how he treats the bettas at the store!!

Devon

How awful that must have been.

I agree 100% with John, you definitely have had more of an impact by refusing to back down until you had brought it to someone in charge's attention. Just saving him and leaving quietly might have saved that one individual fish, but at least when you speak up changes may start to take place that will positively affect the lives of all the bettas that are waiting to be saved at that store.

Don't beat yourself up, you did the right thing by talking to the manager, and everything you could for that betta boy. I'm sure that he is so grateful to you, I hope he's happy and peaceful right now.

Lucy

Yes, I named him Champion even though he doesn't belong to me. Very fitting I believe because he is going to be a champion for all the other bettas in that store.
His death will not be in vain.

I called the store today, after paging the man in charge of the pet dept twice and being left on hold for 45 minutes, I hung up and called back. This time I asked for a manager, who then referred me to another manager, who of course hadn't heard about this betta.

I was actually quite encouraged, this manger listened patiently to me. He said there was no excuse for Champ being so sick and told me they had meds on hand if someone got sick. He said if there was anything good about the betta it was his illness wouldn't spread to other fish.
He's going to look into it and make sure Champ is treated.
I told him I'd like a follow up call tomorrow. He took my name and number and said they'll call me.
If they don't, I'll call them.

I also made sure he knew he lost a sale, not only of the fish but anything I had in my cart, I left it there. Plus if I had been given the fish, I would have had to buy a whole set up for him.

My husband just called me defender of the undefended, keeper of the weak. ha

Thank you everyone, your kind words mean so much to me.
If anyone knows how I feel it's you.

Devon

SO glad to hear that someone is actually paying attention and taking measures to help rectify the situation. And very happy to know that you told them they were losing your business as a result of their unethical behaviour.

Many kudos to you for what you've done, you really are a hero to that poor little Champion and all of his betta brothers.

Tazmiche

Lucy It takes a strong heart to do what you did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If what you did made the moron in charge of the bettas think about their standards well done. We can only home so many pets and give them the full care they need. I WISH i had enough land and cash to rehome millionsssssssssssss sadly not.

You did a good thing!!!!!! We have to give everything to the ones we own and fight our best for the little souls we can't!!!!! All we can do is NEVER forget the babes out there,fight for them!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh my heart!!!!!!!!!!!!!

chickadee

Thank you for your efforts on behalf of this little one. Please do not beat yourself up over this one. He will be one you will never forget even though you do not own him but he needs to do his job and go on to his reward. He will be given a special place in the place that the Lord gives to our little friends to go to when they leave us.

Rose

angelfish220

Oh Lucy!

There are plenty of bettas that will someday benifit from people like you taking a stand against this.

Its not your fault, you did your best, and you should NOT have NEEDED to save it in the first place. Keep talking to the managers and try to get them to treat their bettas with care. Someday thousands of bettas will be safe because people stand up against this horrid treatment.

COBettaCouple

You did good Lucy!

jdhef

Yeah Lucy, that managers lucky your not a "Jersey Girl" anymore. Because if you still were, instead of taking care of "the fishes", he'd be sleeping with them!

You go Girl!

Lucy

I haven't lost it all John. I'm deciding whether to call them since they haven't called me or taking a drive there even though it's about 45 miles from me.

jdhef

Oh no, I'm calling the store now so the manager can get a chance to hide under his desk!

Blub

What about both?

ShaynaB

Don't beat yourself up Lucy!

You're doing a ton more than a lot of people would. Just alerting people and then calling again is enough to make a difference!

You did a fabulous thing!

Sprinangl2

Go Lucy!!!!!!!

Bede

You did good and kudos to you for following up on it.

One thing I like to do is if I get good service or a positive response anywhere be it retail or restaurant, I like to email a follow up to the place and to the corporate office. I think it is very good to complain when needed but I also like to reward the good whenever I can. One manager told me that he was going to print off my email and hang it in the employee lounge for everyone to read.

Lucy

Thanks Bede, I still feel guilty not bringing Champ home.

Just to follow up, the manager didn't call, so I called and left 2 messages, which weren't returned. I would have driven there but it's almost 100 mile round trip and I didn't have the gas to do it.
It's a sad choice to make.

When this whole thing first started I looked for the address of the corporate office and put it on my favorites.
They'll be getting an e-mail from me today.

Blub

Go go purple custard! (I've watched Flushed away a few to many times I think...)

Lucy

Walmart just called, poor little Champ didn't make it.

The guy told me he was being treated with Melafix...ugh.

All Betta Owners Read!!!!! Melafix Alert!!!!!! Read!!!! Read!!!! Danger!!!!

I took the opportunity to explain to him about the ingredients in Melafix, he said he didn't know about it but would check into it.

I guess I can say, at least they called me back and tried to help him.

Thank you everyone for your support, I appreciate it.

RIP Champion