Mickaboo volunteers turned out enforce for the first Petco bird fair. From left are Gary Lowell, Julie Bainbridge, Vinny Hrovat, Jan Mathis holding Ubu the conure, Jennifer Erlichman, Katie Slider and Jim Slider.

IT LOOKED LIKE any ordinary Saturday at the Petco in San Bruno, Calif., a bedroom community 12 miles south of San Francisco.

Shoppers, many towing children, mulled over dog treats and browsed the cat toys.

Others wandered to the front of the store to check out the birds. There were several cockatiels, a jenday conure and a dusky conure, among other small parrots, in cages lined up on a table.

But these weren't ordinary Petco birds, and they weren't for sale.

They belonged to Mickaboo Cockatiel Rescue, a not-for-profit bird-rescue group based in nearby Pacifica, and their presence at the store was something of a watershed moment: Petco was hosting its first-ever bird adoption fair.

Under the microscope
Mickaboo is one of about 100 bird-rescue organizations in this country. The group fosters about 50 birds at any one time in volunteers' homes throughout the San Francisco Bay area. Petco is neck-and-neck with PetsMart as the largest pet store chain with more than 650 retail outlets nationwide.

In recent years Petco has come under fire for alleged abuse of the small animals it sells, including birds, rodents and reptiles. Nowhere has it been more under the microscope than in the San Francisco Bay area, where TV reporters have gone undercover to expose animal neglect. In June 2002 the city of San Francisco filed criminal charges against two Petco stores for animal cruelty, including the practice of euthanizing animals by freezing them to death. A hearing is slated for Jan. 15.

Mickaboo volunteer Chris Okon checks on an adoptable cockatiel on display at the San Bruno, Calif., Petco store.

Animal activists' fondest hope is that the bad publicity eventually will force Petco out of business. However, that is not likely to happen. Despite its somewhat tarnished reputation, Petco earned $1.3 billion in 2002 and continues to expand at the rate of about 60 stores a year.

Petco detractors would settle for the chain ceasing all live sales in favor of adoption fairs such as the dog and cat days it hosts for the Humane Society. If more Petcos follow in the footsteps of the San Bruno store, they may get their wish.

Working out the details
The San Bruno bird fair was the result of months of ongoing talks between Mickaboo Cockatiel Rescue and local Petco managers.

Last spring Mickaboo president Tammy Azzaro and San Francisco avian veterinarian Dr. Bridget Ferguson met with Petco representative Steve Schwimmer at the Danville, Calif., store to discuss changes the chain might be willing to make in its approach to selling birds.

The trio walked around the store and Ferguson pointed out areas where she thought conditions could be improved, such as more comfortable perches, safer cage substrate, and more nutritious food.

Azzaro pointed out all the drawbacks of selling birds. "We talked about the liability of people returning animals, and how the problem of zoonotic diseases would be taken out of their hands. I told him even though they wouldn't get the income from the birds themselves, the good will it would create in the community would more than make up for loss of those sales."

Coby, a jenday conure, shows a prospective adopter that her plucked chest does not look all that scary up close.

Petco was amenable to Mickaboo's conditions for conducting a bird fair, said Azzaro.

"We told them we could allow birds at the store only while Mickaboo volunteers were there, we couldn't allow any birds to go home from the store, and we could only agree to do this approximately bimonthly. We had to be sure they were clear about our abilities before we proceeded."

To sell birds or not?
The San Bruno store was chosen as the site of the fair because it was in transition. After several years of not selling birds, it had recently begun again, but wasn't sure it wanted to continue because of space considerations.

The fair ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 13 and 14. At first there were more Mickaboo volunteers than prospective bird "parents" milling around the table laden with orphaned parrots. But by Saturday afternoon the fair had picked up steam.

Some of the managers of other Bay Area Petcos, which number 36 in all, stopped by to check out the action. Visiting manager Lauren Kelly of Petco's Sloat Ave. store in San Francisco said she was "100 percent" behind Petco participating in animal adoptions. "I have a rose-breasted cockatoo who is the love of my life."

Elisa Divoux, the new owner of an Alexandrine parakeet she got from the Humane Society, picked up bird-care tips at the fair. "I never knew birds could be so much fun," she said enthusiastically.

After the fair had drawn to a close on Sunday, Mickaboo volunteers brought out folding chairs and taught a two-hour bird-care class to a near-capacity crowd of 17 prospective adopters. Like most rescue groups, Mickaboo requires that applicants take a class before they can take home a bird.

Jennifer Erlichman (left), director of public relations for Mickaboo Cockatiel Rescue, chats with San Francisco Petco store manager Lauren Kelly.

Success all around
Everyone involved agreed the fair was a success, including Gail Combs, who was able to take home a cockatiel named Sonata for the holidays.

Combs never considered buying a pet bird. "There are so many birds and cats and dogs that already need homes," she said. "I adopted my last dog from the Humane Society and she turned out to be the best. Sonata is a wonderful bird."

The event was good for Petco, too, said Brian Johnson, manager of the San Bruno store. While his store did not take in a "huge amount of dollars" as a result of the extra foot traffic, it still sold twice as many bird-related items as usual in terms of percentages, he said. The store honored several of the 5 percent coupons it offered on purchases over $30, he said. "We were pleasantly surprised."

The success cements the decision not to reintroduce bird sales, said Johnson. "This thing went over really well. There are too many reasons, including the good publicity, to not continue it."

Petco wants "to help"
Susan Tucker, Petco northern California district manager, said another Mickaboo adoption fair is tentatively planned for February at a Petco in San Francisco that currently sells birds.

Echoing a theme Petco has emphasized in recent years, including a nationwide adoption-theme weekend held every May during which customers get store discounts, Tucker said Petco "is interested in any adoption group we can help. If there were a large enough supply of rabbits and reptiles, we would be interested in working with those groups, too."

A bulletin board at the bird fair displayed photos and clever biographies of adoptable parrots offered by Mickaboo Cockatiel Rescue.

Tucker said she could envision Petco eventually phasing out its small animal sales in favor of hosting adoption fairs. "It may not be reality soon, but it’s a goal."

However, Don Cowan, Petco director of public relations, cautioned not to expect any radical changes.

"We are nowhere near making that decision," he said. "We have to have some successes with the Mickaboos of the world. We will make no commitments."

Standing in the way of progress are rescue groups that refuse to work with Petco unless it plays entirely by their rules, said Cowan. He cited one organization that would not allow Petco representatives to tour its facility. "We have a vendor certification program. We do surprise inspections. Why should rescues be any different? Don't we have a right to see the animals they'll be presenting in our stores?"

Cowan claimed Petco has the same goal as rescue groups: to find good homes for animals. "If we can find groups that can have healthy birds available for adoption, we'll explore that option at every possible turn. (But) when it comes down to it, people don't want to work with us. Who loses? The animals lose."

Cowan acknowledged that Petco has made mistakes in the past. "We have terminated some associates for inappropriate animal care. We pay close attention to it," he said.

However, he stood by the chain's controversial practice of buying unweaned birds to finish hand-feeding. Petco critics say the practice often results in the death of young birds because they are not fed correctly. Cowan said that only select stores were allowed to hand-raise baby birds and that only trained experts undertake the job. "It’s worked for us," he said.

Mickaboo volunteer Julie Bainbridge (center) helps Elisa Devoux (left) and her family pick out a good bird food for a parakeet they recently adopted.

Sell-out?
For the bird lovers at Mickaboo Cockatiel Rescue, the San Bruno bird adoption day represents a breakthrough in Petco relations. However, for some others, it's a sell-out.

"In our opinion, these bird adoption days are not some ethical decision on behalf of Petco, it's political," said Tami Myers, spokesperson for Foster Parrots, a Massachusetts parrot rescue group.

"Once they stop selling animals, we will support them 100 percent. Until that time, we will continue to campaign against them to address the overpopulation crisis of parrots."

Christy Griffin, Petco campaign coordinator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, agrees. "We'd like to see these [adoption fairs] wider spread," she said. "We're still a long way from being happy with Petco. It's become clear they can't be trusted to sell animals in their stores. The employees simply are not trained to take care of animals."

Azzaro says she understands such sentiments, but hopes that meeting Petco halfway will help in the long run. "Unfortunately, we have taken some flack from other rescue groups who don't think we should be working with Petco at all. But this was their first bird fair. Maybe it will result in some changes."