The home improvement company Lowe’s has recently announced they will be partnering with Petco to add pet food stores within select Lowe’s locations. The press release announcement stated: “The first Lowe’s + Petco store-in-store concept is expected to open at Lowe’s Alamo Ranch, Texas location in early February, with plans to expand to 14 additional Lowe’s locations in Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina by the end of March 2022.”
Some locations will offer “pet services, including Vetco vaccination clinics, microchipping, prescription pest prevention, and mobile grooming at select times and locations.”
And should a pet owner have a question about a pet food being sold at Lowe’s, “To better serve those looking for expertise in both the home and pet space, pilot locations will staff knowledgeable Petco partners (employees) during peak hours to offer pet-focused guidance alongside Lowe’s associates’ advice on home improvement projects.”
Should Lowe’s sell pet food? Is this crossing a line?
OR…is it worse for grocery stores such as Kroger or Publix or Whole Foods to sell feed grade pet foods that do NOT meet any human food safety standards?
But the biggest question…
If feed grade pet foods were properly (honestly) labeled as feed – Cat Feed and Dog Feed – would Lowe’s, Kroger, Publix, Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, and on and on still sell them?
Wishing you and your pet the best –
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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February 2, 2022 at 12:24 pm
Hmm…..there must a swap of board members and some kickbacks going on, dressed up as market research and free market business. So, no, is our answer to whether we would buy from there.
Imagine the chaos, heavy equipment, lumber, trucks, sharp objects, lighting, plumbing coming and going from the store and parking lot….no thanks, never!
Jean
February 2, 2022 at 3:54 pm
Just what we need Lowes selling pet Food! Oh Good Grief!!!!! Such a very poor idea for sure.
Terise D
February 2, 2022 at 4:24 pm
It doesn’t matter at all to me. How are Lowe’s, Walmart, Petco or a pricey pet boutique store physically or otherwise different when it comes to buying either food or feed? The employees only regurgitate what upper management tells them to say. Location and price will usually be the two most important factors for the average pet parent. I purchase all my pet supplies online because it’s cheaper and delivered free. Buying pet food or feed from the average local vet is actually more disturbing to me because they push that nasty species inappropriate Science Diet.
Kim Willis
February 3, 2022 at 12:37 pm
I will ditto that. The vets should have a higher standard and they don’t. The specialty dog food business should also be better, and a few might be, but most are not. I finally have my local butcher carrying raw food and some dried for dogs. They are doing a little better because they deal with whole foods except for things like meat sauces. The average person is still totally brainwashed so I suspect most average owners will find that a convenience. Sadly. Personally I grow my own veggies, and buy free range/grass fed product raised good from local farms and order what I can’t find after vetting. So they get 80% meat/fish/duck eggs that is about 90% organic or wild, and all organic veggies. My breed are veteran status at 7 years old, and classically lives 9-11 years, but mine live 15-16 years.
Bailey
February 16, 2022 at 8:06 am
I agree. Why would it make any differnce where the food is sold. Lowe’s is juat as reputable a company as any of the others ( Tractor Suppy, Grocery store, Vet Office, Pet Store, etc ). Most people don’t even know what they are eating let alone what they’re feeding their pets….sad but true. I also, purchase ou food online because I feed a certain food from a company I trust but is not widely available.
PH
February 2, 2022 at 12:45 pm
I don’t and won’t feed my dogs garbage. The only way I would buy dog FOOD from Lowes or Petco is if it is on “The List.”
Toni
February 2, 2022 at 12:48 pm
In Iowa, all the “home improvement” stores sell feed for every animal. While there are feed stores that cater to farmers specifically, convenience does play a part. If you have to drive 30 miles for a new storm door, it’s easy to pick up chicken feed or dog food all at the same time. The big box stores are open all day every day. The feed store is not. Gas is over $3 a gallon now so consider that. A member of my family owns a feed store. Sometimes I can’t get what I want there. Supply chain? Possibly. Sometimes I want something he can’t get from his supplier because they don’t have an agreement with the company that makes what I want. So, if the home improvement stores are going to stock the “cheap stuff” people will buy it there. I’m buying more and more from chewy.com because they have everything and it’s delivered to me.
Christina
February 2, 2022 at 7:30 pm
Rural King has just opened up near me and we have Tractor supply as well which definately sell hardware & animal feed (including some dog food worse than Beneful
T Allen
February 2, 2022 at 1:17 pm
Tractor Supply is a Feed and hardware store. Grocery stores and gas stations sell pet food. The mark up is great which is why everyone sells it. It’s up to educated veterinarians (not many or those), educated celebrities (not many of those) and your followers (alning with Rodney, karen, etc) to educate the public. It’s going to be a long road but eventually (with many tears over lives lost) enough people will reject the toxic garbage and pets will live longer, healthier lives! Thank you!
Vickie
February 2, 2022 at 1:39 pm
No I would not buy dog food at Lowe’s.
Please stay with home improvement items, I love your store.
Merrily Munson
February 2, 2022 at 1:48 pm
If Lowe’s carried quality pet food like Petco does I would not have a problem with it, the problem I have with all the grocery stores that sell pet food is they sell the lowest quality food available, hopefully Lowe’s will take a different path…
Teresa Johnson
February 2, 2022 at 2:04 pm
This is truly a sad and disturbing merger/partnership. Ace Hardware sells bird feeds. I personally avoid them, spend a few pennies more and go to bird specific stores… at least there are no lawn chemicals on the shelves next to the feed.
PatS
February 2, 2022 at 2:16 pm
I would buy pet food at Lowes if they carried a higher quality food that I can find in other local stores. I usually have to buy most of my pet food online since there is nothing comparable found in any of the local stores or pet supermarkets.
Jutta
February 2, 2022 at 3:12 pm
If a pet parent buys what is typically available at Walmart and similar retailers, I don’t think it would make a difference if they bought it at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Those who do not buy this type of product won’t buy it. Not at Lowe’s or any other retailer.
If these products were properly and HONESTLY labelled as feed and were forced to have easy to understand ingredient lists, very few consumers would continue to buy. I doubt new outlets would rush to add products with a rapidly shrinking consumer base.
I get that for many consumers the low price of these products is key. I also get that for many it is a combination of willful, deliberate dishonesty on the seller’s part and ignorance on their part that keeps the gravy train going.
Karen A Smith
February 2, 2022 at 4:44 pm
The intelligent & caring group of pet owners will most likely be the ones to seek out good quality dog and cat food. With that said a “albeit” is that I have friends who love their animals and are smart but a few buy from Costco. I simply send them to your site with hopes they will take the time to research. So as for these places selling pet food it is only about their profits and they know people are on the whole lazy and will think, “Oh great look I can buy our pet food when we go to……..” as it is handy and I guess cheaper. So in the end it is the labeling that will single out the pet owners who really care about their pet’s health. Thanks Susan.
Sherri
February 2, 2022 at 6:02 pm
I don’t feed any of the commercial pet feed garbage BUT I also don’t see what the difference is between Lowe’s selling it and any other retailer selling it. It all comes from the same place, doesn’t really matter who sells it.
Rox
February 2, 2022 at 7:20 pm
No, no, and no again. It is newbie pet owners’ pets who are going to suffer the consequences not only for poor quality “cheap” foods sold but the fact that few home supply store employees are going to bother trying to educate themselves in the pet foods their stores are selling so won’t be able to answer consumer questions intelligently, if at all. I particularly dislike Lowe’s which has an awful reputation already for the way it underpays its employees and has poor working conditions – and complaints are greeted with firing the employee. I shopped Lowes a couple of times and the quality of their merchandise is questionable, in my opinion. I am able to purchase the wild bird seed appropriate to my geographic location at the local Home Depot – but, I know the label, I know the ingredients, and am confident in the product. But NO way would I ever purchase pet food at a home supply type store. They need to stick to what they do best (or, in Lowe’s case, what they do worst).
Christina
February 2, 2022 at 7:27 pm
I do not mind Lowes or others selling pet food as they sell literally everything else, but I’ll be miffed if the one near me offers classes/vet/grooming as it is currently the only large store I can train in without finding dogs on every isle!!!
Mary Smith
February 3, 2022 at 1:24 am
I actually think this is a brilliant idea on behalf of Petco. I refuse to shop Petsmart (which also owns Cheweys) and cannot make it to the smaller independents because I live rurally.
I am on a fixed income. I make some of my dog food but also feed human-grade (actually good food) that Petco has committed to. They have dumped quite a few of the worst foods and even though they still have some they are committed to trying to carry better. They were very emotionally affected by the menu Foods trauma. They made a huge effort to help me personally by documenting all the recalled ones that I fed to my 11 pets. Yes. 11 pets. One suffered kidney damage. The others suffered from cancers later on.
To microchip and do other things while trying to help people get their pets off of Alpo is a small step but a good step.
I will support Petco since they are up against Petsmart, Amazon, and Chewy. If they are at Lowes good for them.