Johnson City (WSYR-TV) -- One hundred pets were left to drown at a Petco in Johnson City during last week’s devastating flood. Johnson City Police are now conducting an investigation into whether management could have prevented their deaths.After hearing the news, the village mayor told NewsChannel 9 he wanted police to investigate.Johnson City Mayor Dennis Hannon said, “If someone was aware that those animals were in danger and didn't take the appropriate action to remove them to safety then that is a crime under NYS Law.”Mayor Hannon said part of the investigation will include looking into claims that some employees wanted to bring the animals home because of the impending flood, but were told “no” by management. Johnson City was put under a State of Emergency before the water levels got too high, giving -- what the mayor calls -- ample time for the company employees to react. If charges are filed, the mayor says they’ll most likely be against the management at the store.“I’m personally reviewing the events that took place in our Johnson City store and all of us at Petco feel terrible that this tragedy occurred. We are truly saddened by what has happened, and accept full responsibility. We are working hard to do our best for the animals in our care and are studying the events surrounding this occurrence to ensure we take timely and appropriate steps to ensure that nothing like this can happen again. We fully appreciate the outpouring of concern from the members of the Johnson City community and look forward to serving you better in the future.”The company has received a lot of backlash for its actions. Thousands left their comments on the company’s blog stating they are not happy with how things turned out.Petco leaders plan to meet with Johnson City officials later this week. The mayor expects the investigation to take up to 30 days. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has also learned of the tragedy and is urging an investigation. ||||| Flooding from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee has left a lot of Northeastern residents underwater. From Maine to New Jersey, you can't go a day without reading a story about flood damage. They're all sad, but this one, this one today was just plain horrible ... if not horrifying. A Petco store in Johnson City, New York was evacuated then beset by flood waters. When employees returned to the store for the first time on Friday, they found not only wet floors, but 100 dead animals. From hamsters to birds, little pets perished by either drowning or starving -- the cause of death has yet to be confirmed. 
 
 The saddest part is that these deaths could have been prevented. 
 
 Had the manager or store officials been a little extra-cautious, perhaps they would have evacuated the whole store, not just the employees and a "majority" of the pets. The ones who weren't cleared out suffered a cruel and unusual fate. Petco's CEO says that the fact that store was new, and had never been through a flood before, was the reason they misjudged the risk of their location. 
 
 If the flooding began on Wednesday, and schools in the area were closing early due to the rising waters, why didn't an employee or Petco manager think to check on the store? Listen, I know what it's like to be sick of the weather hype. As a New Yorker who "survived" Irene, I was a little frustrated by the overly-cautious preventions the city took. That said, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Which is why I'm surprised Petco, who's responsible for the lives of hundreds of animals, didn't react sooner. When lives are at stake, you have to over-react and over-prepare. Plan for the worst, hope for the best, enjoy bitching about preparing for the worst when everything turns out for the best -- that's how the saying goes, doesn't it? 
 
 Animal lovers are rightfully outraged by the incident -- there's been a Facebook page set up calling for the boycott of Petco, and PETA's now involved. While I'm not necessarily a fan of PETA, I am a fan of keeping animals safe. There must have been a lot of people in town who would have gladly adopted the pets for the flood's duration, or a volunteer or two to make sure they stayed fed in the store (if in fact they didn't drown). 
 
 There's no info on whether or not the pet fish in the store were super psyched about the flood, but clearly no one else is happy about it. 
 
 Do you think Petco should be boycotted? 
 
 
 
 
 
 Photo via fwooper/Flickr 
 

– When last week’s flood hit upstate New York, the Johnson City Petco failed to evacuate its animals—and 100 drowned. The news made its way across the blogosphere (see here for one example), and now the village mayor has called for a police investigation to see whether the deaths could have been prevented, noting that he believes the store had enough warning to react. “If someone was aware that those animals were in danger and didn't take the appropriate action to remove them to safety then that is a crime under New York State Law” and charges could be filed against management, he said, adding that some employees may have asked to take the animals home and been told they could not. On its company blog, Petco called it a “tragedy” and says the company accepts responsibility and will “take timely and appropriate steps to ensure that nothing like this can happen again.” Leaders from the company will meet with city officials later this week, WSYR reports, and PETA is looking to get involved. Click for another flood-related animal tragedy.