Petco is shuttering Dr.'s Fosters Smith

[Nikomania]

Petco To Close Rhinelander Foster and Smith Operations | WXPR

 

[Jan]

Wow, I did not realize Petco owned them, which the article says they bought them in 2015. Sad, these people will be out of work.

 

[iamwhoiam]

I had hints from a customer service rep yesterday that changes were coming in about 6-8 weeks but she said that Drs. Foster and Smith would still exist. It sounded as if they are just closing the Wisc. location and moving the location to a bigger facility/warehouse. I was hoping that Drs. F & S would not disappear and the rep assured me it wouldn't but perhaps she meant that the Drs. F & S brands would continue. However, she wouldn't tell me exactly what the changes were. She told me the changes were all good/positive but if Drs. F & S is vanishing and will totally be absorbed by Petco (changes were already happening with many products being discontinued and lots of Petco branded products being added) then I can't see what is so good or positive about that.

Added: Read a few more articles and Petco is definitely closing Drs. F & S. So sad. People losing their jobs and consumers losing F & S. Again, don't see why the rep would think this was such a positive change.

 

[painesgrey]

*sigh*

I guess chewy needs to step up their game and get more products in. Drs F&S's selection at the end was pretty dismal, but the free shipping made it worthwhile for me to order food through them. It's hard to find the variety in one place at decent prices without paying an arm and a leg for shipping.

Anyone else have any recommendations? Particularly, sites with free shipping offers that aren't ridiculous? I don't want to have to spend $50 to get free shipping..

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Maybe we should organize a list of items we'd like Chewy to carry and send them a petition like email from people who would order more products and encourage them to expand their product line.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

What sad news. I don’t really like Petco, and it seems like they would loose a lot of business closing Dr. F & S. I wish they never took them over in the first place. They were such a good company for so many years.

 

[Feather]

So sad to see them go! Dr. F & S was a godsend when buying toys for Yuri the 'zon last year.

 

[Mizzely]

Wow. I'm not surprised but I am at the same time. Just think, if they hadn't sold the company the likely wouldn't be closing right now. So sad for the workers.

There really isn't any other place with a low shipping threshold like that except Amazon but their prices are usually poor on pet stuff.

Chewy is my favorite option right now but Kazoo Bird and My Safe Bird Store have better selections for bird food.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

The shame of it all is having to order from different companies and paying multiple shipping charges if you don't meet the dollar amount to get any free shipping.

 

[Mizzely]

At least for Chewy it's a flat rate of $4.95. I never have an issue reaching a $49 minimum. $89 like other places though I definitely do. If it is a bird only place I'll never make the free shipping threshold :/

 

[CeciliaZ]

I purchase most of my bird food from them.

 

[painesgrey]

At least for Chewy it's a flat rate of $4.95. I never have an issue reaching a $49 minimum. $89 like other places though I definitely do. If it is a bird only place I'll never make the free shipping threshold :/

Yeah, I guess I'll have to shop around and cost compare prices and shipping against selection. Finding California Blend Mini for a decent price is difficult and frustrating. I might have to just give up and continue using regular maintenance or tropican.. blah.

 

[Jan]

Maybe they are closing since Chewy came along. When I get a delivery from Fed Ex, I always see several boxes from Chewing on their truck everytime.

 

[Mizzely]

Maybe. That was 2011 though and i have done more business with Drs during that time than Chewy! Chewy is also owned by PetSmart as of 2017.

I really think Petco just wanted to get rid of the competition so they swallowed them up and spit them out.

 

[MommyBird]

Geez, thanks for the warning. I'll have to stock up on some foods so I'm not in a panic trying to find where to buy things.

 

[AkasyaEllric]

I have to agree with @Mizzely. It just seems like a way to consolidate and take one more "competitor" off the market. Petco is making big moves with getting rid of a lot of lower quality cat and dog food too, so I'm wondering what they're overall goal eventually is to be. They honestly are doing better than PetSmart right now from what I've heard. At least Chewy seems to still be staffed by the people who were originally there before PetSmart bought them.

 

[Nikomania]

*sigh*

I guess chewy needs to step up their game and get more products in.

Chewy is also owned by Petco

 

[painesgrey]

Chewy is also owned by Petco

I think chewy is owned by petsmart. Either way, I have a feeling this decision was made to consolidate online sales to petco.com. If petco.com offers the same selection and prices and shipping costs, I might be willing to use them - or, at least, do site-to-store since there's a petco the next town over. However, with petco and petsmart's meh selections, I'm not holding out a lot of hope.

 

[Mizzely]

Petco owned Drs since 2015
PetSmart purchased Chewy in 2017

 

[Mizzely]

My closest Petco is 1.5 hours away. So they basically just ensured I have no choice but to give me money to their competition