Petco Issues Official Statement Regarding Iguana Found in Dumpster Behind Wichita Falls Store

Last week (9/8) a reptile rescuer by the name of Mike Comella posted a video of a live iguana he found in the dumpster behind the Petco pet store in Wichita Falls.  Comella runs the local Wichita Falls Reptile Rescue organization and says that he found the live iguana in the dumpster while searching for items that he may be able to use for his animal rescue efforts.

The video posted by Comella quickly became a hot topic around town, with many residents reaching out to the local Petco store for answers.  At the time, the official statement from the managers at the Wichita Falls Petco was that they didn't have an official statement, and that their corporate office was investigating the incident.

On Wednesday (9/12) the Customer Relations Coordinator from the Petco corporate office sent us this official statement regarding the iguana found in the dumpster behind their Wichita Falls store:

We’re well aware of the concern many pet lovers have raised in which a baby iguana was found alive in the store’s dumpster.

We’re just as concerned as you are. In fact, we’ve completed a thorough investigation, and while we’re unable to draw definitive conclusions about how the iguana got into the dumpster, we accept full responsibility for this animal’s welfare.

Based on our investigation, we believe the iguana was in the dumpster for only a few minutes. We are reviewing our procedures for handling these animals to ensure that we prevent this type of situation from happening again.

We apologize to our customers for this unfortunate situation and appreciate that Mr. Comella brought it to our attention. We’re glad the iguana is safe.

We’re more than happy to provide some support for Mr. Comella to care for the iguana.”

Sincerely,

Domingo A.
Customer Relations Coordinator

Comella reports that the baby iguana from the video is healthy and doing well.