NEVER buy from a PET STORE!?

Question

I was looking for pet food and I went into a local pet store not expecting that they had about 15 puppies in the back of the store in cages up for adoption. Yes, they are cute and lovable faces but 98% of the time they are from backyard breeders/puppy mills which means your puppy could get parvo and such. I have never bought from a pet store but I just wanted to alert everyone that doesn't know that pet store dogs/puppies may be cute but they could have or devlope something wrong with him/her. And please, spay/neuter your cats and dogs!

They were selling the kittens/puppies, not from an adoption shelter or rescue. They were selling a yorkie for like $900 and he isn't even registered and a west highland terrier for $750 and many others for atleast $400+.

Answer 1

true

Answer 2

Mostly responding in reference to a couple of other posts:

"Not everyone wants a mutt from a shelter."

What an utterly nearisghted statement. Firstly, 25% of the dogs in shelters are purebred, and also need homes. Secondly, as someone else mentioned, there are plenty of purebred rescue groups out there with dogs people ORIGINALLY bought from a pet store and then dumped when they became inconvenient. You could give them a home. Thirdly, pet stores are not the only alternative to getting a "mutt from a shelter". Buying from a responsible, ethical breeder not only avoids the possible infection issues associated with pet store and puppymill-bred dogs, it also ensures that your puppy will be genetically healthy and tempermentally sound.

"Someone's got to buy those pet store puppies."

No, they don't. Supporting pet stores only perpetuates the utter MISERY that is the life of a puppy mill dog. Do some research. See where those puppies came from. Think about the way their parents have to live, and how many of their fellows died in the truck on the way to the pet store. In the short run, the unbought puppies will likely be dumped at the shelters once their "cuteness" stage passes or, in the case of the worst pet stores, they will be killed (again -- do you really want to spend your money in a place like that??). In the long run, however, less demand for pet store puppies = less buying of pet store puppies = less breeding at puppy mills, which is by far the best possible outcome. Think in the long term.

"What about the puppies/kittens already there? Should we let them rot?"

Let them rot? They're already rotten -- bred by mass-producing puppy mills who don't give a dam* about genetic health. In addition to Parvo, Bordatella, parasites, and whatever else they may be carrying thanks to poor conditions and subpar health care, they're very likely to have heart problems, poor kidneys, hip dysplasia, eye problems, skin/food/grass allergies, and anything else that comes from breeding only for MONEY.

I once rescued a 7 month old puppy that was bought from a local pet store. Her owners realized she was not the breed for them (something the pet store owner would have never discussed when there was cash to be made) and gave her to us. The people who adopted her were wonderful people -- unfortunately their hearts were broken when she died from kidney failure less than a year later. Her kidneys were stunted and trashed. Why? Genetics.

Yeah, buying a puppy from a pet store is a great idea. That 30 day health guarantee is a real bonus.

Answer 3

If everyone would adopt, then there will be no puppy mills.
The puppies in a pet store are anyways going to end up abandoned, in a shelter or dead.


Not all dogs from a shelter are mutts, there are also rescue centers dedicated to a certain breed of dog ie: grey hounds, poodles, etc.

Answer 4

While you should not buy dogs and cats from pet stores, your 'question' states that "they had about 15 puppies in the back of the store in cages up for adoption". There is a big difference between pet stores that adopt out pets (or pet stores that lease space to local rescues who adopt out pets) and pet stores that SELL dogs or cats. If this pet store was truly adopting out animals then kudos and good for them. If they were selling then poo-poo. Either way you should clarify your post.

Answer 5

I totally agree. My first dog was from a professional breeder, but after he passed we got 2 new dogs to add to our family ^_^ They both were from an animal rescue.
I feel so sorry for those puppies in the pet stores. There were these 3 husky pups at a pet store before and they were big puppies, WAY to big for that little glass box they were in.

Answer 6

It depends on the store! I worked for a WONDERFUL locally owned pet store in CO. for YEARS. We sold puppies, but ONLY from local people, they were sold on consignment, only kept for 2 weeks in the store, and if there was ANY doubt they were from a Bad breeder(puppy mill, etc) we would not accept them. We took excellent care of them, they had planty of play time out of their kennels,and we were very strict on cleaning everything to prevent any cross contamination of a disease that may have came in unknown . All of our puppies also came with a free vet check and a health gaurantee. Adoption is wonderful too. I just hate to see stores get horrible raps when they are not all horrible. There are good ones out there and there are ways of finding out if they are any good.

Answer 7

I agree with one exception. There are some pet stores that actually take the dogs/cats from shelters to adopt out. In Winnipeg MB, PetLand and PetCetera do this, I dont know about elsewhere. They are called satellite locations.

Answer 8

Agreed, I work in rescue and have assisted on 10 mills rescues.

For anyone thinking about getting a pet store puppy:
Pictures of puppy mills ..think about their parents, in these living hells, you BUYING a puppy form a petstore keeps these places in business!:
http://www.therathole.org/critters/millpics.html
http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=21276
http://www.turner.com/planet/promotions/puppies/prisoners.html
http://www.recycledrussells.com/mills.htm

Answer 9

I agree that adoption is the only way to go, but then someone has to buy those puppies.

Answer 10

I agree - I have adopted all of my pets from animal shelters - and they are fixed ASAP!!

Answer 11

Thank you I never bought one myself I always got my from the ads in the newspapers.