Dear Abigail,
We were expecting you to do this so I shall share the reply we sent to you so that everyone can see the whole truth, unfortunately we are limited in space so will post the main points.
Our priority is to create a calm and welcoming environment for both human and canines to enjoy whilst shopping with us. Unfortunately, many dogs suffer with sensitivities and so we always ensure the environment is good for them, as they are our priority, such as shutting our staff pets away should a nervous dog comes into store.
Working in our stores, we encounter many children, who on a daily basis, are allowed by their parents to play excessively with the toys and who on many occasions damage the packaging / labels or product, rendering it unfit for sale, and therefore, it is a regular occurrence for my team to have to step in as parents do not take their children under control. It is down to this reason and the fact that the constant squeaking can cause distress to the many animals that visit our store, and to our own shop staff, that our Manager asked your son politely to stop.
Our store pets have spent most of their lives in store, meeting and greeting fellow 4-legged creatures and humans alike. No dog wants to hear excessive squeaking knowing that the toy, that has been made for their stimulation, not the humans that are making the noise, can then not accessed for play. This is called "teasing a dog" and this is not acceptable for any of our store dogs to have to go through on a daily basis.
I have reviewed the CCTV, and I note the following:
You entered the store with two boys, you walked directly round into the store frontage to the dried treat area, and allowed your two boys to roam to the toys section unsupervised. Your elder son, which I understand is the one that you are referring to, ripped a toy off the stand and threw it on the floor, he then stamped on it, kicked it around and then started to squeak it. It was left on the floor. The two of them, then ran back to you in the window, before returning with his brother to the toy stand, where once again, he pulled another toy off squeaked it, then dumped it, and proceeded to squeak his way through a number of toys until he found the latex one. He took that toy from the stand, held above his head and repeatedly squeaked. This whole episode went on for more than 5 minutes when you finally walked over and asked him to stop - which he did and then continued again until you took the toy from him. By then my store manager, who suffers herself with sensitivity to sound, came out from the office, which is situated at the back of the store behind a wall, and politely asked him to stop in a courteous manner. None of the toys that your son threw around the store, and stomped on with his feet were replaced back to where he had taken them from.
Our store is full of products for animals, it is not a playground for children to come in and run around "enjoying themselves" and it is a parents responsibility that children do not touch products that you are not going to buy.
It is also not the responsibility of my staff to understand the difference between neurodivergence and badly behaved children - that is full parental responsibility.
We were brought up to not touch - this is something that all children should be taught, respect for other peoples property - not throwing items that are not yours around and damaging them. This stock is now unsellable as the tags are all ripped and the products are filthy as they have been stomped on. Would you take your boys into John Lewis and let them loose in the Crystal glass section - no of course you wouldn't.
At Grovely Pets we pride ourselves on customer service and that I why we have a loyal customer base that have been with us since we started in 2012. A little respect for our staff, and the animals that work there, along with not damaging products would be appreciated.
UPDATED RESPONSE
CCTV is very clear and has sound
