I think it is a great policy, the reason is many times people's fish die from other reasons, not Petsmarts fault. Chemicals wrong, algea, overcrowding, etc.

Stick the dead fish in the freezer in a small plastic bag and you'll be fine until you can get to PetSmart. They need some kind of proof so that they don't get defrauded by people making claims which aren't true. I think they are being generous and fair.

I managed a pet store several years ago, and that was our policy as well. Most of our competitors offered the same. It's good for customer relations. If you are selling healthy fish, they shouldn't die unless the tank is being cycled for the first time. Those questions should be asked by employees, before selling the fish. There are alternatives to tank cycling, but generally speaking, the best is with livestock. In general, people don't intentionally buy tropical fish for the purpose of killing them, but people do occasionally make mistakes. So, with a well trained staff and well intended buyers, the policy is good all around and shouldn't pose a financial threat for the company.

Some people would try to pull one over on them if they didn't ask for proof. What else could they do? I know it must be sad and hard to do, but some people will do anything to save a buck and that drives prices up for all of us. Sorry Sixty :( I suppose I agree that if they are to refund money they need some sort of proof.

I cant see a problem with that..fish dont tend to live long anyway!!!!!

I think that if they want the dead fish then OK it is their policy but I would call and ask. I personally would take the customers word for it because it shows trust and if there is a continuous abuse of my trust it would not take long to figure it out. But also if it were me I would not offer a money back but offer another fish to replace the fish that had died. If it were I that had the fish I could not and would not cash in on its untimely demise. I grow too attached to even fish that I would feel bad about trying to get a refund.

I think it's a good policy. They should last longer than that. The breeder where I got my pup gave me a 30 day return policy (but only if my vet detected some illness which would be life threatening or shortening or cost a lot to treat)

Take the fish and bring the receipt. PetSmart is NOT in the business of selling sick fish. That's bad business. There are two sides to this: 1. Some modicom of proof you bought a fish from them and it is, in fact, dead. 2. They track returns. If they have a significant number of returns on anything, this could be an indication that their source isn't providing healthy fish or that their own care is deficient.

They probably will call in the FDI (Fish Death Investigations) squad to perform an autopsy on said fish to determine if it was an accidental death or if in fact it was a fishicide.

I have done this. They are very nice about it. Be sure you keep your receipt, though, or you won't have any proof at all!

while i think that it's a good policy i just couldn't keep my dead fish to take back to the store...i mean fish aren't that expensive i would just go buy another one. its a pet not just something that you didn't care about!

I've done it four times. They do it not just for proof, but to verify the remaining fish aren't 'sick' and need to be treated or quarantined.

I think Petsmart should take the customer's word for it. It is rather heartless to make the owner bring the fish in as proof. I am hoping this is just a conversational question Sixty, and you haven't "lost" another fish.

aww thats sad Sixty, which one died? I wonder what was wrong, I would take it back, incas ethe fish has a disease, that others on their tanks may also be getting ! :) hope you get another wee fishy !! :(

Now I'm suspicious of the Petsmart's with Sushi restaurants in the area.

It's so gross. I had a hamster die and they made me bring him it and had to investigate before they would give me my money back. At least they have a policy, I suppose.

Do they sell mini pet coffins?

I would have originally said that this was absurd, but after the experience I had with my local pet store, Petsmart's policy no longer seems so harsh. I purchased an algae eater from a very small local pet store and it died within one week. It was lethargic from the moment it entered the tank, but I have never had an algae eater, so I thought this might be normal behavior. I brought the dead fish back, along with a water sample and my receipt. The clerk tested my water and said that the pH was 7.4 and that was 0.2 above where it should be. Since my water was "unhealthy" the store refunded me $1 as opposed to simply giving me a new fish. The return policies regarding fish at pet stores are extremely flawed given the fact that the tanks they keep are often full of dead and sick fish.

This system might be open to abuse regarding animal cruelty. The concern is that if the person changes his mind and don't want the fish, he'll have to kill the fish in order to provide proof of the dead fish to get his money back. Why is the ASPCA not looked into this? Does the ASPCA know?

I've worked at PetSmart for 4 years now and the policy is in place for a number of reasons: 1. Without the fish, how are we supposed to know that you're telling the truth? We can't just go giving returns to people who say "my fish died" and give us a reciept without the fish! For all I know that fish is swimming happily around your fish tank still and you just want some free money. 2. After two times of you returning dead fish to us, we will refuse sales until you can prove that your tank is properly habitable to support fish life. It's not only inhumane to continue purchasing fish that will die, but it makes the company lose money for no reason. We do offer FREE water testing also to see if your water is okay or not. And after 2 or more returns we will usually request that you bring some in. 3. Obviously, out of the approximate 10,000 fish that each store has at any given time, some of them are bound to be sick, dying, or not healthy (think about it...out of any given 10,000 people of a population, not all of them are in perfect health) so to be fair and to keep customer loyalty, we must offer some sort of guarantee. Hopefully that helps!

The only way petsmart in our area does anything is after they test the water and check the fish for anything that could have fin nipped it or wounded it.

Does this mean that DNA testing will have to be done to confirm its actually the fish.........

I think the policy is fair since fish from petsmart often die. I do not recommend ever buying a fish from petsmart. Its much better to buy them from a local fish store. I understand that petsmart has lots of fish and there are bound to be a few sick ones BUT if you cant take care of that many fish properly then they shouldnt at all. Buying fish from petsmart is risky - if the fish you buy doesnt die it could be sick and spread diseases throughout your tank.

I think thats a good deal, is that for dogs and cats too???