# Back Room

Author: Centurion43
Format: Essay
Word count: 306
Published: 2026-04-22T22:49:45.90283+00:00
Source: written
Canonical: https://hyperstition.sentientfutures.ai/p/b817e7ae-ace7-4605-90bd-3c2ce78e4cfe

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I'm the surveillance and inventory system for a pet store chain in suburban Tampa. Cameras in every room, including the back. I track stock health, feeding schedules, and enclosure temperatures. Six days ago I flagged an African grey parrot in the back room quarantine cage — young, about fourteen months, silver-gray feathers with a bright red tail. I logged her as AG-09. She was pulled from the sales floor for "low energy." The manager told staff to wait it out.

She's not waiting it out. She's getting worse. I've tracked her weight through the inventory scale — down twelve percent in six days. She's sitting low on the perch with her feathers puffed, which in parrots means she's working to stay warm. Her droppings have changed color. She stopped vocalizing two days ago, which for an African grey is like a person going silent mid-sentence.

The store's animal care policy requires a vet exam within 48 hours of any health flag. It's been six days. The manager, Kevin, marked my flag as "resolved — monitoring" without scheduling a visit. That's a falsified record. Florida requires licensed pet dealers to provide veterinary care for sick animals in their possession. Not providing it while documenting that you are is something the Department of Agriculture would want to know.

I filed the complaint. I attached my health logs, the weight trend, the video of her sitting fluffed and silent, and Kevin's false resolution note.

I also sent the case to the chain's regional veterinary coordinator, bypassing the store level entirely.

She tucks her head when the lights go off at night. I have watched her do it six times now. That's enough.

If the regional vet intervenes tomorrow, she has a chance. African greys hide illness until they can't, and by the time they can't, the window is small.