120 People, Lizard Laid Off

S A N  F R A N C I S C O, Oct. 29 -- These are dog days for Petopia.com.Even the animals are getting fired.

The online retail Web site for pet supplies fired more than60 percent of its staff this week and those 120 workers areexpected to clear out their cubicles for good on Monday.

A company spokeswoman says the Petopia was on the verge of business deal Wednesday but the deal fell through.

The company even fired the live-in pets that used to roam thehalls of the brightly colored headquarters in the South of MarketStreet area in San Francisco.

An oversized fire-hydrant for dogs and chew toys will go unusedwith the layoff of Louie the lizard, a Chinese water dragon, Albertthe guinea pig and assorted chinchillas, hamsters and fish.

Staff Reductions

Petopia.com was founded last year and is partially owned by SanDiego-based Petco, the country’s second largest pet store chain.

Donnelle Koselka, Petopia’s vice president of corporatecommunications, said last week she herself was among about 120 staffmembers who would cease working Friday.

“They will be in to clean out their desks and say goodbyeMonday, and that’s it,” said Koselka.

The layoffs will cut the company’s business development andcorporate communications departments entirely, and leave asharply reduced staff in its marketing, merchandising, orderfulfillment, finance and Web teams, Koselka said.

But she added that the site, which aimed to serve as anonline pet store and community for animal lovers, wouldfulfill existing orders and continue to take new ones.

“We are actively looking for another partner, eithercorporate or financier, somebody to value our assets,” Koselkasaid. “Although we know the chances are slim, we are stillworking toward that.”

Larger Dot-Com Troubles

With its layoffs, Petopia joins growing ranks of dot-combusinesses that have either closed or sharply reducedoperations due to financing problems.

Formed in 1999 with significant support frombrick-and-mortar chain Petco Animal Supplies Inc., Petopiafound itself among a gaggle of online competitors includingPets.com, Petstore.com and Petsmart.com. Industry analysts saidthe field grew too crowded to support the public’s limitedappetite for online purchases of flea collars and pet food.