Puppy Stores/Puppy Mills

[rottnelmo]

There is a store near where I live that sells puppy, I didnt know that this still happened. Any way, I had known about it for several weeks, but had never been able to stop there and see what kind of dogs they have or what kind of conditions they live in.

I was over on that side of town yesterday, so we stopped in. There were at least 21 puppies in cages no bigger than 5 x 5. The cages were three high and 7 across, they were at least semi clean.

Now for the dogs...I was shocked to see two rottweilers! They were both 8 weeks old and had come from Iowa. They had a 3 year guarantee on their hips and came with papers (whooopee!), then I asked the price...$800!!!! For $200 more I could get a show quaility one from a reputable breeder. The ones in the store where not even show quailty. They had bad cone shaped heads, cow hocked hind legs and knock kneed front legs. They both had mites in their ears and bad dander.

There were 4 aussies, a bunch of labs, 1 german shepard, 2 siberian husky mixes. All of the puppies were over $300!!

The other thing that stunned me was how many people were there buying!!!!! I asked the clerks if they do any screening before selling any of the dogs, especially the Rotts, they said no. I asked if they knew what the temperments of the the parents were, of course it was no. If I wanted too I could have walked out of there with that dog. No one payed any mind to me. My friend told me that I should have. Then today, I could have someone posting on here for me for my bail from jail!

I cant believe that people would even consider buying from a pet store, dont people know????

Sorry for my long rant, I am just disgusted by pet stores that sell puppies!!! What a horrible life for those babies.

[Homerhomer]

Originally posted by rottnelmo

I cant believe that people would even consider buying from a pet store, dont people know????

No poeple don't know, that's why we have to educate people about petshops as much as possible and in the meantime DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM THE STORE THAT SELLS PUPPIES. Hopefully one day they will all be out of business.

[TrishB]

Sadly, before I knew any better, I worked at a pet store. That was a life time ago, but that store still sells puppies.

I can say that even then, I would attempt to guide people to breeds that were better matched to them. But sadly, the vast majority weren't interested in listening.

They hadn't been planning to get a pup - they were 'just looking'. I have no idea of how many pups I sent to homes that were actually impulse buys. :(

Pet stores sell Puppy Mill Puppies. No right minded, responsible breeder would EVER sell to a pet store. But in this "right-here-right-now" society we live in. There will always be those who'd rather pass up the effort and just pick up that puppy in the window. :(

It breaks my heart to see people, even today, who spend more time researching their cars, sterios, televisions and DVD players before purchasing than they do their pets. :(

[Maddiesgirl]

I have decided NOT to buy Canidae from the ONLY store near me that Special orders it, because they sell puppies. I just refuse to support it.

[whitney greenway]

I ran into a lady today at my daughter's dance school.

She had a little Chiuahua with her. Everybody was oohing and awhing over this little dog.

I asked her where she got the little today, to which she replied from such and such pet store, and the dog came from Missouri.

PUPPY MILL!:(

I just kept my mouth shut! I was so wanting to say..nothing but a puppy mill, but knew that would have started a BIG STINK! :(

[TrishB]

FYI

The last straw for me when I was working at the Pet Store was one puppy. Bobby the Pug.

He had luxating patellas (both). They were "going to send him back to the breeder". Yeah right. No puppy mill takes pups back. He was going to be euthanized!

So first off I quit. Second I said I was taking Bobby with me. They had me sign off that they weren't responsible for his health. I had the vet that I worked at part time do both knee surgeries. He was neutered along with the second neuter. I trained him and found him a home.

Those bills came out of my own pocket. But it was worth it to see him running around, grunting like a little piglet and happy as a lark. :D

Pet stores will only invest in a pup that they can bring back to 'health' with a limited amount of cost. :( Those that they can't, are disposed of.

If you want to support that practice, continue to support pet stores that sell puppies.

[Rottnlove]

Wow, TrishB, YOU have a heart of GOLD!!! :D

Sadly, there's not many out there that would do this sort of thing.

Not that it matters, but why did you decide to give him up?

Anyway, I'm sure he's very happy that you helped him! It was a great thing to help that dog. :D

[TrishB]

Originally posted by Rottnlove
Not that it matters, but why did you decide to give him up?

Honestly, I wasn't in the market for a puppy. My little sheltie Penny, at the time was having a very hard time keeping up with him. He just needed to be rescued. I happened to be there. It was the least I could do. The BEST thing of it all was that he went to a home with 3 Yorkie girls - his harem! ;) So he got the wonderful life he deserved.

I don't think that I did anything more than what countless others here have done in the past - some even do every day! :D

If you want the real heros - go to the rescue sites, read what they do every day. I've only just started with Adopt-A-Rott, but I'm moved beyond words when I read more and more about the wonderful things they have done. :D

Go to their site, www.adoptarott.com and read about the little hearts of gold they have right now. Be sure to have the tissues out if you read about the ones that they lost. :( They've made rescues of dogs left abandoned in yards after a move, dogs left for dead after being dragged behind a vechicle, dogs abandoned at vets and shelters, dogs running loose on the verge of being hit....

Rescue people, who put their hearts on the line every day are the real heros. :)

[Harleysmom]

I do agree with you totally. But I do have a confession to make. My first rottie I purchased at a pet store in a large mall of all places. Yes, I paid 800 dollars for her. I too also got papers. Whoopie. For her entire short life of 6 years she was unhealthy. We took her to several different vets to no avail. Of course we spent quite a bit of money on different types of treatment, but nothing helped. She chewed at her body so badly that she wore her canines almost completly through. At certain times of the year she would chew 3/4 of the fur off of her body. She also brought much joy to our home. We loved her very much. She was in all respects( as far as temperment) an awesome representation of the breed. We took a dog that already existed. Brought her into our home and did what we could to make her life as pleasant as we could. There were times when we considered putting her down but when we got serious about it, she passed on. If this had not been 14 years ago when I was younger and uneducated I would not has purchased her. I also would have missed out on the love of a loyal friend. Would I buy another from a pet store... No way! I couldn't stand to watch another beautiful dog suffer that way. What I would like to see is for these puppy mills to be put out of business. They are not only cruel to the puppies, but also to the unsuspecting buyer who is just looking for that beautiful puppy. The question isn't whether they will buy a puppy. Its when they do, will they love that dog and be just as devoted as the dog is to them. My heart goes out to them.