[News] PetSmart Employee Fired for Bringing Dog to Work
 

by Kirsten Taylor (Subscribe to Kirsten Taylor's posts)
Jan 22nd 2010 @ 2:00PM Filed Under: Pets News


Flickr/Dan4th
PetSmart encourages customers to bring their pets to the store when they shop. But when it comes to employees' pets? Not so much.

PetSmart gave New Jersey resident Eric Favetta the axe after he brought his 3-year-old Belgian malinois, Gizmo, to work with him one night, the (Newark) Star-Ledger reported.

According to the Star-Ledger, Favetta, a former dog handler at military units in Afghanistan and Bahrain, had worked as an operations manager at PetSmart since July 2008. Last spring, because of his success cleaning up the Wayne, N.J., store, he was transferred to the busy Seacaucus, N.J., store to help make improvements.

One night in December, PetSmart staff asked Favetta to work a special overnight shift to get the store spiffed up for a viewing the following day by potential business partners. "I brought my dog with me because I knew if I didn't, he would have been home alone all day and all night until I returned home at 6 a.m. the next day," Favetta told the Star-Ledger.

Favetta put Gizmo in the store's empty daycare facility and got to work. Two weeks later, he was fired for "theft of service."

PetSmart spokeswoman Jessica White told the Star-Ledger that the daycare service is an item the company charges for, just like the toys and treats on the store shelves. Using the facilities for free, she said, qualified as theft.

But Favetta, who had a spotless record, was shocked. He believed it was an excuse to get rid of him, since he butted heads with his manager. "It makes me sick that because I brought my dog to work with me when the store was closed to do the company a favor, I was called a thief and terminated," he told the Star-Ledger.

The day after the Star-Ledger started asking questions, PetSmart's human resources director called Favetta to discuss the story, the newspaper reported. Two days later, she offered Favetta his job back. He accepted, but soon after was offered a job as a dog handler for a company that uses dogs to sniff out hazards. He decided to place his bets with the new company rather than return to PetSmart.

Sounds like a happy ending to us.

Wow interesting article! Makes you wonder if Petsmart really cares about pets or is it just a business that's out to make money. Makes me wonder why I donate to their charities.
So glad that he cleared his good name and got a better job!

That's ridiculous. He left his dog there when the store was closed - no one was "taking care" of his dog but himself. All he was doing was using a cage - nothing more. No one was feeding the dog, walking the dog, playing with the dog, nothing. Firing him for theft of services... :mad: I could understand if he brought his dog there during the day and the employees were actually caring for his dog and he didn't pay for services... but that is insane.

Favetta, a former dog handler at military units in Afghanistan and Bahrain------
this statement should have been enough to say "just give the guy a warning"
Hopefully, this opened him up to a much better and higher paying job at the new company.
If Petsmart doesn't support vets, I can't support them. Amen

This Navy man would own that store after that event.

Sounds like the manager who fired him needs to lose his job to me...

Wow... I am sure we all agree on this one! How ridiculous. He didn't steal anything. The store was closed and like someone else said, it was as though he was using a cage, no services at all....He was doing the store a favor and I honestly would have done the same thing as him! I would not leave my babies home alone all day and night. I am so glad that he found another job.

When I looked at the title I thought "duh...if you bring your dog behind the cash register and are working, of course you're going to get fired." But if you are picking up an extra shift and are there when the store is closed, and put your dog there so you can get your work done, that in no way is theft of service...there was no service provided!!!
:confused:

crazy!~

Hay, I am tiring to keep it clean since this is my first post and no one knows about me but this (dood), southern language for person, needs a serious counsel session with the people who work in his store to make him look good as a manager. Team leadership, ant in his boat.

Winston goes to Petsmart all of the time, and we've seen some of his trainers with their dogs. The trainer never brought his dog into the class while training though. Not sure if other employees are allowed to bring their dogs though.

Two sides
 

:confused: He "butted heads" with his manager ? The store was closed and he was doing the company a "favor" ? So was he on the clock or doing it for free ? Did he ask anyone if he could bring his dog or did he just assume it would be O.K. ? We all know corporations have stricter rules than mom & pop businesses....pretty soon, some other Petsmart employee would assert, "why does Favetta get to bring his dog to work, but I don't ?!?!?"

Did Petsmart's management overreact ? Probably. But reading between the lines, we can't just assume that Petsmart has been unfair.

I work at PetSmart and I bring Wookie to work all the time. The rule is you can bring your dog if they are getting a service like day care, vet visit, grooming, or if they are a training demo dog. I bring Wookie and put him in as a $3 brushing hehe

Depends on how strict the store is. If his store has PetsHotel and he knew he would be working overnight, he should have made a reservation for his dog to be boarded overnight. If his dog isn't recorded in the system and something happens to him, PetSmart would be liable.

Technically he could have been fired for what he did, but for someone with a clean record and good work ethic it would mean a final warning. I agree that what happened here was a gross overreaction. Every management team and every store is different...but PetSmart doesn't mess around when it comes to policy.