Petco's main competition is a similar store named Petsmart. The truth is that both Petsmart and Petco are greedy for money. On December 18, 2014, Petco was sued for wage theft. Then, more recently on July 6, 2023, Petsmart was sued for bait and switch. Both instances were about these pet stores not staying true to their prices -  one about employees and the other about customers. 

On top of scamming customers, the products aren’t even good. Petco buys cheap items like reptile carpet, which can rip out your reptile's claws, and sells them for expensive prices. Since Petco is a big name company, people just think the expensive prices mean it's the best in town when, in reality, they're just scamming you. In fact, Petco is such a greedy company that they sell sick and diseased animals to people for heavy prices not even caring that it can kill you. On June 12, 2013, Petco was sued for the death of Aidan Pankey, caused by a diseased rat bought from Petco. However, Petco won the lawsuit. They were able to win by using the money they made off of others who paid for ill animals for the best lawyers.

Though, the problem doesn’t just stop at their insatiable greed for money. Apparently ,Petco has also been buying their dogs from mills. They’ve also been throwing out their animals, putting them out in the dumpster alive because they have no more use. Others would say that this isn’t true but there's countless resources all over social media that give video evidence of this crime, such as the news video linked above.

Note that Petco has been making less and less money over the years because people are realizing what's happening. Petco doesn’t have nearly as many loyal customers as it did before. The company isn’t financially stable anymore.

Mills are “ Inhumane high-volume dog breeding facilities that churn out puppies for profit, ignoring the needs of the pups and their mothers.”

Wage theft is “the action (generally illegal) of paying less than minimum wage, not paying workers overtime, not allowing workers to take meal and rest breaks, requiring off the clock work, or taking workers' tips.”

Bait and switch is “the action (generally illegal) of advertising goods which are an apparent bargain, with the intention of substituting inferior or more expensive goods.”

Lawsuits are “a case in a court of law which concerns a dispute between two people or organizations.” 

The Oldest 

The Middle Child

The Youngest  

So, with all that said about the writing process, what makes it so hard for journalists work to actually get noticed? I decided to talk to my father, Theodore Ross, who was a journalist, and see why it was so hard.  “I always try to find something I am interested in that is important to people and myself. So I research as much as I can. I interview people, read things, I try to think. I remember to always think about what they are saying, not just copy it all down and think I’m done. I think the writing process is very difficult. One part of it is understanding the world around you, which is very hard to do, and the other part is actually writing it. It is very hard to find a topic that you are really determined to write about. Writing is creative and free. I do not think you need a passion for writing your topic, but it does make it much easier and more meaningful, because if you don't have a passion or interest, why are you writing?” he said. 

This reminded me of when I interviewed 6th grader Sena Wilker, who said, “Personally, I don't find myself struggling, I’m just not willing to waste time on writing all of it. And like, it takes a lot of time, so writing an article or essay is just kind-of annoying. Being passionate about your work definitely makes it much easier. When you are motivated, you don't really pay too much attention to all the work you have to do.” Personally, I think this is actually more true than what some other people I interviewed who said things similar to Ms. B and Ms. Monica. Sena makes a very good point in saying that it isn’t easy to keep going on something you’re writing if you're not passionate, and it is something that a lot of journalists struggle with. 

After collecting all my research and organizing my interviews, I had time to think about the fact that a lot of times, journalists get set back or discouraged because their work isn’t good enough or it isn’t something the public would want to read. And really, it isn’t the journalists fault that people don't want to read their writing. A lot of times, people tend to fly over topics that could actually be really interesting because they don’t bother to go into that article or story and read it. So, if you are someone who wants to support journalists and writers, you can start by reading the Hornet Headlines! 

the foods of our (early) childhoods

By Audrey Lorenz

First of all, I know that writing this is kind of ironic as I am 12 years old and I’m still technically a child myself. However, I thought that this article would be an interesting piece for the newspaper. 

The food of my early childhood was probably cheddar goldfish crackers. They were/are salty, crunchy, and cheesy without being too junk food-y. I distinctly remember being in 1st grade and playing with my friend. One of us would hold a goldfish cracker while the other would hold their mouth open. The innocent goldfish would “swim” into the other person’s mouth and get crushed by our little baby teeth as we made morbid sound effects and giggled maliciously. So, keeping this memory in mind, I decided to ask others what food makes them think of their (early) childhood. Here’s what I found: 

My first interviewee is Ms. Kim, head of the Hornet Headlines Newspaper club. You have probably seen her in the Reading classroom as well. When I asked her, she said mango. Here is how it went down:

Me: So, your childhood food was mango?

Ms. Kim: Yeah. I grew up in Puerto Rico, and we had a mango tree in the backyard. Also, there were people who sold mango on the street.

Me: Is there a certain way you like your mango?

Ms. Kim: I like it fresh, diced, and eaten with a spoon by scooping out the insides.

Commentary: Mango is delicious, but it is also one my childhood favorites as well  because of its seemingly cheery appearance and sunny taste. I can relate to her sentiment because cold mango in the hot summer is absolutely fantastic.

My next interviewee was Linnaea Clay-Youman from 701, a friend of mine in my Advisory.

Me: Ok, so what was a food that reminds you of your childhood?

L: Umm, probably the Annie's mac & cheese.

Me: Is there a specific flavor you like?

L: White cheddar.

Me: Why does mac & cheese remind you of your childhood?

L: Because when our parents went out and a babysitter came over she would always make it. I’m not sure if it was because we liked it or because she was lazy. (Chuckles)

Commentary: Ok, now a common theme is orangey-yellow foods. I love Annie’s Mac & Cheese as well and I have made it several times. For me, the the trick is to not add to much milk so you can really taste the cheese.

My next interviewee is my younger brother Dylan, who is 9 years old. He is not a BUGS student, obviously, but.. 

Me: What was a food that reminds you of your early childhood?

Dylan: Umm, chicken nuggets.

Me: Why chicken nuggets?

Dylan: Because I loved eating them as a little kid and they were all I really ate. 

Commentary: This is true. He went through a phase when he was about 4 where he ate nothing but chicken nuggets and broccoli for dinner for 6 months straight.

I sense a theme of foods that are comforting because of the way that they will be pretty similar no matter where you have them, like boxed Mac & Cheese. 

I do not have space for more interviews, but I hope that this article was interesting for you to read, as I had fun writing it. Also, thank you to Ms. Kim, Linnaea and Dylan for letting me interview you!