Visiting the careers.petco.com page, and clicking on the “What do we stand for” link, shows a statement that reads as follows: ”At Petco, we believe in elevating the lives of animals and enhancing the connection people have with their pets. We are also committed to the highest standards of social responsibility”, bold statements for a retail company. If this is true, one would assume that one of the focuses of the company would be employing people who are passionate about animals, and capable of teaching a customer base how to properly care for the pets they are taking home. People who have that passion, that drive to learn everything they can about animals, any animals, are often passionate about many other things, and while I could waste time bringing you around to my point, I’m going to skip that and cut right to it.
A large section of Petco’s selection of animals are reptiles. While this next statement doesn’t apply to everyone who is passionate and knowledgeable about reptiles, it does apply to a large percentage of them: They like the freedom to individualize and distinguish themselves. For the purposes of this petition I am specifically referring to piercings and hair color. There is an entire community of reptile enthusiasts, connected on the internet, and through conventions. People who seek to be active in that network, often strive to distinguish themselves physically. (“I met this girl who knew everything there was to know about iguanas, I don’t remember her name, but she had these orange streaks in her hair, and her nose ring had a cute little lizard on it”).
It is mind boggling that any company would discriminate against people who choose to express themselves differently, and yet, the Petco dress code not only prohibits piercings and “unnatural hair colors” (purple, blue, pink, green, orange, bright red), but also specifically states how many ear piercings are acceptable for males and females. If Petco is truly dedicated to “enhancing the connection people have with their pets”, then perhaps they should attempt to keep their employees happy by not making them fear for their job because they’d like to dye their hair.
Please sign this petition to show Petco that you agree that they should revise their dress code and remove antiquated rules that force people who want to keep their jobs to stifle their individuality.