You have a young, inexperienced employee in charge, who thinks he is being attacked by individuals. Calls his boss, his boss thinks he is being attacked. As the boss, he is legally responsible for his employee and the well being of ALL of his customers, he comes in sees some people pretty upset, clearly can't get a handle on the situation so he calls 911.
So you attack the business owner on 20 other counts?
The individual that got bit has "no money" or insurance but is going to buy an animal?
I have been to that store on several occasions, I have friends that have purchased animals from that store. There have been no complaints. They have been in business for a long time, that speaks volumes.
Clearly by the one sided post there were upset people on both sides. The owner was not there when it happened and walked into a major disturbance. He did the right thing for everyone and should be commended not crucified. By their own account this could have been far worse had he not called 911!
Where is the personal responsibility of those "victim(s)" involved? Why are they not held accountable? Oh thats right, we aren't responsible for our own actions. Call the lawyer, we hit the lottery!
stick your finger in my house and see what happens to it. The judge will laugh it out of court. Sorry that he has to fight them.
ReplyDeleteFriendly or not, many of these animals have been there for a while and may not be used to a lot of strangers on a daily basis. What if, for example, that particular animal had fingers poking in it's cage 30 or more times a day. It was going to bite sooner or later. Possibly, with their former owners, they were very tame and gentle but reasons unknown to us, they were taken to a strange place filled with curious, poking hands or fingers. The owners should state that an animal IS tame or friendly but still post a warning about touching first without an attendant.
ReplyDeleteWhen I go into pet stores I know NOT to stick my finger into cages. I'm not going to take the word of employees that all of their animals are "safe".
ReplyDeleteSorry the kid for bit BUT she was the one who stuck her finger in the cage, no one forced her to do it.
Was the vicitm a child, looks pretty good on a witness stand, huh??Are those photos current and analtered?? Did the owner, in bold print, by stating the animal was "friendly" negligently create a misleading attractive, nuisance??Did the victim also take pictures of pre and post treatment wounds? Did they save copies of those bills, as well as ones if cosmetic surgery/rehabilitation is needed in the future?? Given the past complaints against this establishment, and testimony here of apathy and threats of physical force in the present situation, aren't significant punitive damages warranted?? Should Child Protective Services/various business licensing bureaus also immediately investigate this vendor to determine if there are other safety hazards our community should know about?? 11:13-YOU SHOULD stop sticking your own finger in places where you might not like the answer/outcome you get.
ReplyDeleteLawyers are a scourge to society...until I need one.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all L. Caruso, no one is going to hit it big with attorneys on this one, so lets scratch that idea.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, the sign says the pet is FRIENDLY. End of case right then and there. They have photos proving this as a fact, they lose, period. That was their first and biggest mistake.
No one is talking in the original post badly about the rest of the animals in that store. This is about one animal in which the OWNER posted a sign that said this animal is friendly.
11:27 is right. To a child, a sign saying "friendly" is an invitation to see if the pet will come over to sniff a finger, not bite it. Saying "Do not touch animals without attendant's assistance" would have protected the owner.
ReplyDeleteBeing a pet business owner and assuming that everyone understands how to act around animals isn't any smarter than people putting fingers into cages.
I see fault on both sides.
It doesn't sound like the daughter was a child. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but the original article stated that the daughter went to the store and had to call her father to meet her there after she was bitten.
ReplyDeleteI have not been to the store much, but at one time, didn't they have signs that children (if she is one) are to be accompanied by an adult?
Joe-
They had the rat in a locked cage. Whether the sign says it's friendly or not, the girl was in the wrong IF she stuck her fingers inside.
I have a friendly garden flag outside my home, but if you try to enter my locked home when you have not been given permission, you may come back with more than a bit finger.
there are plenty of "friendly" animals that will bite. My son had many hamsters that he played with all the time with no problems, but they would all bite him at least once, but they were "friendly"
ReplyDeleteI think you take your own chance by sticking your finger into their cage friendly or not. And its not like she had this gashing wound for pete's sake. Give her a bandaid
Let’s set the facts straight.
ReplyDeleteFirst, my daughter did NOT stick her finger in the cage; her finger was on the out side of the cage touching the bars of the cage.
Second, we were not “pretty upset” and when I calmly tried to inform the store owner, he would not let me get a word out – the first thing out of his mouth was leave and that he was going to have to fight me.
Third, it’s obvious how stupid you are; no one said the individual that has “no money” is planning on buying an animal. What if she was going to ask to have one bought as a gift for her? YOU ARE STUPID – YES STUPID
Forth, what “major disturbance”, except for Dennis Traum being MAJORLY DISTURBED; it comes from years of poor customer service and being tired of the complaints.
this is an obvious attempt at extortion. if these people werent in the store to purchase something than its time for them to to hit the road.i, myself looked at the sign and nowhere did it state"stick your finger in here and see how friendly i am". i would be willing to bet this was planned and staged. this is really sad and maybe child protective services should be contacted on you for not properly supervising your minor child. the fault is clearly yours and you should step up to the plate and accept it instead of trying to pass it on to an innocent store owner and manager.
ReplyDeleteanonymous 12:31,
ReplyDeleteYOU are NOT a child either. Come on now, it's clear who makes comments here in defense of the store and it probably rymes with loner.
Wasn't there a wonderful exchange in "Animal House" between Dean Wormer and Mayor Carmine de Pasto regarding extortion {"Look, these parades you throw are very expensive. You are using my police, my sanitation people, and my Oldsmobiles free of charge. So if you mention extortion again, I'll have your legs broken."}
ReplyDeleteOn a serious note..Bottom line; not knowing any parties involved here, the disagreement doesn't seem to be so much over the rat incident itself{see my feelings on keeping disgusting sewer dwelling vermin as household pets above}; but the employee/owner response {or lack thereof} to it. Our court system is clogged with lawsuits that could have been worked out right on the spot in the spirit of friendly compassion, empathy and honest exchange of information {instead of verbal threats/calls to police}. Jeers to the store owner for not being the "bigger man" no matter who was at fault considering the victim was a child.
And on a side note-is that pet store where I think it is {adjacent to restaurants and such} and maintaining a hostel/placement service for displaced rats, for $29.99??? Whew...now I know why I cook at home so much lately.
if you are refering to me, than i have to correct you. i cannot stand dennis t. he was a spoiled rich kid as a child and a jerk as an adult. as far as this situation goes its called common sense. its a shame the child has a little nick on her finger but it seems to me that she was doing a little more tham casually strolling by the cage and was suddendly attacked. from the stated story there was an obvious attempt at interaction between the child and the rat. its time for EVERYBODY to grow the "F" up. nobody wants to take responsability for their actions. im poor and i wanna take someone else's hard earned money is so lame and i wish nothing but bad things to all of you sue happy a-holes.
ReplyDeleteMany people take their children to just look at the pets. It doesn't mean they are buying. That is something people that don't have money do to get out and spend time with their children. What does a sign saying friendly pet mean to some of you people? The owner is liable.
ReplyDeleteWes at 12:49. There is a very conflictual moral question regarding that which SHOULD be; and that which Maryland statutes may currently mandate. After you master "The Pet Goat," then gradually work your way up to the "Ten Commandments of Maryland Tort Liabilty." This may be a whole different story if an adult who had a few margaritas put her finger in the cage; however, we are talking about a child here. We owe them a duty of more than just 'reasonable care.'
ReplyDeleteAnd, as a shout out, for any kids reading here today; please do not listen to any crazy adults here who also attempt to proactively disclaim that their {similarly} unwise pet anaconda, bloodthirsty pit bull and/or cheetah {mysteriously now smelling of something analyzed by our experts as 'Caruso Gravy'} is also "FRIENDLY" ;)
Wild animals bite. Even domesticated animals bite if they feel threatened. Don't stick your fingers in or on a rat cage.
ReplyDeleteSadly, today's moral climate makes this an opportunity for exploitation and monetary gain, regardless of personal culpability.
That pet store is the pits-the fish are swimming around with big, gaping infections in their sides, the puppies are ill with respiratory infections. If you bring to one of the 12 year old clerks attention, the standard answer is "we have it on medication".
ReplyDeleteEverybody keeps talking about what happened to this "child". How old is the person in question?
ReplyDeleteI'm 38, but my mom still calls me her child.
I will no longer patronize this store (Salisbury Super Pet) after witnessing the owner berating a young female employee. If the accusations of selling sick animals are true, then this business needs to be investigated by the appropriate agency!
ReplyDeleteProblem is the pet store owner has insurance and some pencil neck a--hole attourney will take the case on contingency.Don't try to tell me that won't happen,I have first hand experience of being sued for something that was not my fault.Our system is flawed really bad and the legal system is doing nothing to correct it.I am not pointing blame in any direction but the insurance companies are all to quick to pay off trying to cut loss in cases like this. It's not a very smart person at any age to stick a finger in a cage of an animal unknown to them.Rather than blame the store or animal blame the dumb a-- that stuck the finger in to begin with.As far as I am concerned the store owner should be able to sue and regain his loss.
ReplyDeleteHey 2:18 maybe you can be the leader of the Close The Twilley Center commission. If we keep attacking businesses, then they will close
ReplyDeleteI'm anon 2:08 and just found from the comments in the previous post on this subject that the girl is 22.
ReplyDeleteDoes that change anyone's attitude? This is an ADULT not a CHILD who was irresponsible by putting a finger in OR on (as claimed by the mother) a RAT cage.
ANIMAL WITH TEETH = BITE FINGER.
As an adult, does she not understand that a RODENT has teeth and given the chance can and will bite?
Joe, on a side note: Is there any way you can combine these stories?
Isn't it sad that with all the major problems in this world, one of the largest commented stories of the day is about an adult getting her finger bitten by a rat? TOO FUNNY!
You go to a pet store, stick your finger in a cage and you just might get bit!
ReplyDeleteThe finger was not stuck into the cage.
Read up on introducing a rat to a new rat. They can bite through the cage.
While you are doing this you may want to also place the cages close together so they can see and smell each other, but don’t put the cages so close that they can touch each other. Rats will find ways to bite each other through cage bars if they are determined enough to do so."
The individual that got bit has "no money" or insurance but is going to buy an animal?
Where does it state the person has no money or insurance, people often buy pets as presents to friends or other people.
@12:31 PM
ReplyDeleteThe person was in there to originally buy medicine for a sick fish.
So they weren't simply window shopping or looking for an excuse to sue someone.
@2:40 PM
"Rather than blame the store or animal blame the dumb a-- that stuck the finger in to begin with"
THE FINGER WAS NOT IN THE CAGE. Wow. Hard for you to understand that?
3:03 and 2;08 {same person;you know it-rhymes with "loner"}. What if it was an elderly/handicapped/senior citizen in a wheelchair also likely to trust a sign in large black print that says it is, at minimum, tacitly safe to approach a wild fecal dwelling animal disclaimed in bold writing as "friendly" so you will shell out $30 bucks to bail the questionable "loner" out on a bad co-signment//abandoned animal? Maybe your momma' deserves a Silver Star for trying to instill some basic common sense and benevelent moral compass to what appears to be a rather cold, compassionless person. Shame on you and may karma put you in a rear-naked cosmic choke hold until you turn as purple as "Papa-Smurf." You are disgusting, and make me want to wretch.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading both posts and the numerous comments, it's obvious many of the responders have opinions but failed to read all the information provided.
ReplyDeleteThere is a dearth of comprehensive reading ability.
is the persom who was bitten by the rodent mentally challenged? was their handler with them and had they taken their medication?
ReplyDeletesalisbury super pet is a fine local business worthy of our community's support. mr rogers has read all of the posts and quite frankly, im at a loss for words. why dont all of the parties involved meet at the imperial gallery resturant and have some fine chinese food and some tasty beverages. maybe split one of those"flaming volcano's"? my point is that everyone has been so negative. no one has stepped forward and said what its going to take to settle this.we are all adults here and need to work together so that salisbury can be great again. all of these petty problems are dividing the town and pushing us all farther apart. cant we all just get along?
ReplyDeleteStop acting like babies for Gods sake, apologize and shake hands and be done with it. Everybody makes mistakes because none of us are perfect. Theres no major damage done, some lessons learned, move on.
ReplyDeleteMr. Rogers. It is a terribly depressing, soggy day in my neighborhood; but I hope you will still be my neighbor. But if I enjoy any food anywhere near this place, I can only, in good faith, request white rice only; the "mixed rice" makes me somewhat queesy at this point. On a slightly higher note, those "Framing Volcaros" do tend to kill all bacteria and such..and significantly lower my bowling score.
ReplyDeleteI buy all my birds from this pet store. They are friendly, sweet, and fun, but, THEY WIIL BITE! Especially someone they do not know. I feel the parent should take responsibility here, and, teach your child that animals will bite. They do not know you. I have a parakeet, a cockatiel, and an amazon parrot. I tell people not to touch, they will bite. Just like humans, Don't touch me!
ReplyDeleteJoe, I just happened to be in this pet store last night. The conditions the animals live in is just awful! The fish tanks are disgusting, the animaL cages, including the bird cages are very dirty. I was in there once when there was a sick puppy wheezing really bad,nose running, could not even stand on it's own but they were allowing all patrons to hold it! If the animals are not friendly, they should not have them in cages out in the middle of the floor!!! It was only a matter of time until something happened at this store.
ReplyDelete" It was only a matter of time until something happened at this store.
ReplyDelete6:05 PM"---(quote)
~~~~~~~~~
Um, people said the same things YEARS ago.
If you want a pet, go to the Humane Society, rescue a foundling, they are the best!
L. Caruso, please get off of your white "personal responsibility" high horse for a few minutes, and you will see that no one is placing any blame on anyone for anything here. My story is simply an account of an incident that occurred. Period.
ReplyDeleteYou people are great at trying to read between the lines to find a hidden agenda. There is no hidden agenda. There are no plans to sue anybody.
My stepdaughter is 22 years old and works for a home-based business that does not provide health insurance. What I meant when I said she had no money, was that she could not afford to pay for an ER visit. She had originally gone to SSP to get medicine for a sick beta fish. And since when is it mandated that if you go into a store you must have a wad of money in your pocket and an intention to spend it? Ever heard of window shopping? No, she did not stick her finger into the cage, only near it. I do believe that someone has commented that they have a pet rat that sticks its snout through the bars of the cage and bite things.
It's pretty hard to walk up to a sales associate to ask for a tissue when there is no sales associate in sight. And a tissue? When she got to Rent-A-Center her cupped hands were filled with blood; in the bathroom she folded NINE paper towels into a makeshift bandage about 1 and a half inches wide, wrapped it around her finger and secured it with a hair tie. Fat lot of good a tissue would have done if a sales associate had even been around to give her one. She showed me the "bandage," and it was completely soaked in blood.
Since you all are drawing conclusions about a situation you were not witness to, why have you not drawn the conclusion that the assistant manager didn't want to give his last name and called the owner because he was thinking, "Uh-oh. We'e in trouble again."
We are not looking to place blame on anyone; we are not planning a lawsuit. The simple fact is, a person was bitten by an animal and quite rightly was concerned about the health ramifications. All my huband wanted to do was to inform the management/owner that the incident occurred. Traum arrived with an attitude and gave my husband, who was quite calm, no opportunity to speak and then physically threatened him as he called 911. That threat will show up on the 911 tape. After speaking with my husband, the police went into the store and told Traum the animal had to be quarantined.
That's it. That's all. Again, there are no plans to pursue this. No hidden agenda, no plans for revenge, nothing. It's time for you all to stop trying to read between the lines. It is what it is it was what it was.
well said Grannydragon
ReplyDeletegrannydragon
ReplyDeleteit seems you are making judgements on an incident you did not witness either. your own words. you are describing an incident that was described to you. its no better than hearsay. if i was the asst. manager i would not have given your alleged husband my name as it turns out the asst manager is the only smart one involved. he kept his name out of this blog.
grannydragon7:10:
ReplyDeleteif there are no plans for a lawsuit , why are you refering to the 911 tape. i guess your lawyer will be playing it in court. pure trash.
Get over youself, anon 8:14. The only reason I bring up the 911 tape is that it would prove that Traum threatened physical violence, and he knows it. That's all. For the last time, there is no lawsuit being filed.
ReplyDeleteAs for the wound looking clean, well, DUH! Did I not explain that she went to wash out the wound and bandage it? She is smart enough to know that it needed to be cleaned immediately. And by the way, the bite was so deep that it continued to seep blood for the next two days.
We are not blaming anyone for anything, so why are so many of you feeling the need to?
Granny, the owner and his friends are the ones going nuts on here.
ReplyDeletePlease do not respond to their foolishness any more. The sign said it was friendly and ANY person from that point forward would expect the animal to be safe.
Anyone else who expects anything different is a fool. Many thousands of people have seen this Post as well as the comments and while they may have tried to defend their position, I think enough has been said and people will clearly see what is right or wrong here. Just let everyone else make up their own mind, just as I have.
By the way, IF you want to see what a real Yorkshire Terrior looks like that is a pure bread dog, look it up here on this Blog and you'll see what a profesionally bread dog looks like. ANYTHING purchased from a Pet Store, and I do mean anything, is crap. Expect lots of vet bills too. IF they wanted healthy quality dogs they could have called our home and paid a decent price for true quality Yorkies, so don't try to feed me any crap about the quality of a Pet store Dog. That's just stupid. They're in business to make lots of money off of you and pay that big rent, remember that.
Ooh grannydragon you are out of your mind..you failed to mention what your daughter did after running into RAC with hands full of blood? Did he go back to the store and explain to any of the employees what had happened? No she called her daddy who got dollar signs in his eyes and grabbed his camera and then caused a huge scene that is on octo-mom media level..NOONE CARES THAT YOUR DAUGHTER WAS BIT BY A RAT!! We should care that your family had a rat euthanized so you could be the queen of the blogs
ReplyDeleteanonymous 10:21,
ReplyDeleteClearly you are the owner of an employee of this store and quite frankly, I think this family should copy all of these comments and find a good lawyer and make you pay for such attacks.
Many have suggested all of you shake hands and let it go but you continue to be an a-hole and deserve whatever you get. You should have recognized the thousands of people that come here every day will read this and probably choose to never patronize your store ever again. Your loss.
Thank you, Joe. I've said all I have to say, anyway. I refuse to have a battle of wits with unarmed people who just don't get it and want to make more of this than there really is.
ReplyDeleteI never did like the fish there but I never had a problem with them other than dying fishies.
ReplyDeleteIf the sign said "friendly" one assumes it is friendly.
Joe, I guess I went to bed too soon!
ReplyDelete10:21 just stated facts that the "victims" family posted. No new information.
As far as FRIENDLY, not a good argument. On a good day this RAT was maybe very friendly. It is an animal, it could be having an off day. It is an animal!
I know how you feel about pet stores, you have made it very clear. This local business, like many needs our support. Have you spoken to the owner?
I do feel badly for this family but a Public "B"logging was not called for on this one.
Funny NOW (last comment) you even called for a lawyer! I rest my case.
How can so many people overlook the point of this. Wanna play the blame game? If a drunk throws up, blame the beer. If a fat person eats McDonalds, blame the burger. Stop blowing every little detail up into some sort of blame game. The fact of the matter is Traum was rude when the incident was going to be explained to him. And as far as the woman who was bit calling her father, well she wanted to know the numbers to call about rabies. A normally docile animal, one that is considered a prime pet for young folk because of how it almost NEVER bites, that lashed out and bit rather hard! That's usually a warning sign of rabies when a gentle animal bites. Even the police wanted her to call the rabies center. Oh boohoo wah wah, cry cry, the rat had to be put down to be tested. How many times has a dog bit a child and the parents call the rabies center first thing. So the dog gets killed. Well fine, how about no one ever calls the rabies center for bites anymore. We need to thin out the population anyway. Only normal and smart people would want to call the rabies center concerning a bite, so to all of you who deem it foolish. Don't call next time a raccoon comes running up to you and bites your leg. In fact how about you buy a cage and keep it as a pet. You can give it to Traum to put in his circus of animals.
ReplyDeleteStudying about the psychology of the human mind has taught me one thing: If someone assumes or jumps to a conclusion without thinking, That person would be inclined to try something like that. AKA for those who read between the lines, let me dumb it down. Pot calling the kettle black. Just because you would love to have a chance to sue someone but never have, you jump on the defensive and cry 'Sue sue!' as soon as someone else has an accident. No where did the original party whom had this incident happen cry 'Sue sue!' They simply wanted other people to see how you SHOULDN'T treat your potential customers or even other people you meet.
Do me a favor and read Aesop's Fables. It has alot of moral stories and I doubt any of you learned any morals as children.
the funny thing is she stated the "child" everyone is refering to is 22 years old. enough said.
ReplyDeleteThat's right, L. Caruso. It was JOE calling for a lawyer, not my family. There is no case to rest.
ReplyDeletegrannydragon "queen of the losers"
ReplyDeleteenjoy your 5 minutes
grannydragon, I know it was Joe on his last comment. I did not refer to you. I am sorry that your step daughter got hurt. I think with hind sight everything would have been different.
ReplyDeleteI felt it necessary to give the other side, if you have noticed that is what I try to do. My point was to be more general regarding society as a whole. It was an opportunity to discuss everyone being responsible for their own actions. It was by no means an attack on you all just a different point of view. When it was mentioned about 911 tapes, I could only assume for the obvious reasons. You explained and I appreciate that.
The comments for a Sunday were overwhelming. Did not expect it. I don't think Joe did either. I wish comments weren't so nasty, makes it emotional instead of rational. Another problem.
Most rats are very friendly, my 3 year old had one. Yes on occasion they do bite rats can't see very well, so maybe the rat thought the finger was food. Anything with teeth bites. Exercise caution. I completely stand behind the store. I've always had a good experience there. Parents keep a better eye on your kids. Would you reach your hand in there? Don't let your kids do it then. As far as that family never shopping there again, oh well I'm sure the employees will be greatful for that.
ReplyDeleteThis girl was 22 ????? Seriously she didn't know at 22 years old that animals bite? Does she look both ways before she crosses the street? This is a joke, I can't believe an issue is being made of this. Remember first grade? "Keep your hands to yourself". I think it makes a huge difference in the story that the girl is 22, not a child as I feel many people have been lead to believe. BTW, I don't own the store.
ReplyDelete@9:31 AM
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAHAHAHA
"BTW, I don't own the store."
I'm sure... Just a well paid employee. right?