[rottcrazed]

I recently had a conversation with another one of the moms waiting to leave our kids at school about a couple, who also have kids at this school, who are her neighbors. They bought a 'purebred' Hungarian Viszla from a local pet store. Now, I train with a breeder of Viszlas and I know they are energetic, athletic, and not easy to find, so how the pet store got 2, I don't know.

Anyhow, long and short of it, this dog was 7 months old at that point, confined all day to either the yard (winter in Calgary has been mild, but not that mild), a crate or a bathroom with a babygate. He was not neutered, not socialized, not trained and apparently did not know his name. He had not been to the vet since he was 12 weeks old.

The mom took the dog from the family (they gave him up without a fuss more like) and she placed him in a rescue group where he would be fostered for a few months for training, neutering and then placed.

THAT is the kind of story you find when you buy from a petstore. They want the big money for the animal, and really don't care what happens beyond that.

So you just have to know that a 'breeder' who would just give up their pups to be sold to just anyone is not reputable to start with - they may talk a good game, but the proof, at least for me, is how a breeder backs their dogs up.

Kristi