I just want to scream?

Question

i have 2 questions.

Today i was in a pet store. I know where the pups come from, puppy mills. I watched helplessly as a family was debating wheter or not to take home a min pin pup. I wanted to take them and shake them. i wanted to tell them that it wasn't worth the pain...

i looked down the rows. i hadn't realized it before, but they all looked sick. they slept, and slept, and slept. it broke my heart.

1)How do you feel about the petstore/puppy mill business?

2) why do people just blow this issue off like it isn't a big deal?
"this puppy won't have any health problems, it's a purebred."

This makes me want to scream.

i was in a pet store to examine the puppies. I wanted to see if they looked visably ill. i have just recently learned this info and wanted to see if you could tell where they came from.

if they did look mistreated, i would contact the animal control.

Answer 1

The store where I buy my food is for the most part a very nice pet store. All of their fish, reptiles, and small animals come from respectable sources. Their puppies on the other hand... come from a broker which means they come from a puppymill. The guy that works with the puppies generally only takes the healthy ones and will return any to the broker that are sick, he and I have had long conversations on this, he even returned a puppy with a non genetic or dangerous hernia. Once they get there they are well cared for, but the source is what I'm concerned with. I even applied for a job there because I actually do like the store otherwise, but my only requirement was that I would not deal with the selling of the puppies, I would give advice on food, care and products as well as beginner puppy supplies and names of trainers, but I would not sell puppies and lie about where they came from. Needless to say, I didn't get hired... It kinda stinks since I love all animals, particularly reptiles and small animals. I just couldn't contribute to the sell of puppies. After they're sold, fine, I would help out as much as possible, but don't expect me to actually sell them. I'm really sad because I can give some pretty good advice about resources, vets and basic care and I'm pretty knowledgeable when it comes to the other animals. Oh well. I have to bite my tongue every time I go in there and someone's looking at a puppy, I won't even walk by the cages anymore.

Answer 2

It's an interesting point. You're right, It's horrible how many irresponsable breeders and puppy mills are around and it seems the only way it will stop is if people stop buying them. On the other hand, if everyone stops buying them, we all know what will most likely happen to the puppies that are around and can't find a home. It just seems a vicious, sad cycle. Plus, not ALL puppies from pet stores will have health problems and not all puppies that come from individual breeders will be healthy. We got our first puppy from a breeder and she had a terrable case of flees and worms. Once we took care of that she was very healthy. It seems what we really need is more and better inforced laws and regulations on breeding as well as better informed pet owners
I totally understand and aggree with everyone that petstores should not be supported and it makes me sick to know that puppies are bred and kept so inhumanely. It just also makes me sad to know that if no one buys pet store puppies, there will be another HUGE group of pups that will not find a home and most likely be euthinized. I just wish there was another way to get people to stop irresponsable breeding. There are too few people to fight for animal rights and get people high on the food chain to pay more attention

Answer 3

I feel the same way. Recently, I was in a pet store that ,unfortunately, sells pups-mixed breed pups along with purebreds. They had what they called lhpso poos (don't know why they said lhpso instead of Lhasa?), and a few other pups, and they tried to sell the "lhpso poos" for $800! I was repulsed. The poor dogs were in there with nothing to do and some of them had to sleep in their own urine because the cages were small and haven't been changed.

I absolutely cannot stand puppy mills and hate it when I see dogs in pet stores. One of my dachshunds was rescued from a puppy mill where she was going to be euthanized at the age of three because the lady didn't want her pups anymore. She had ear mites, fleas, and inguinal hernias and I just had to take her from that terrible place. I couldn't let her die at the age of three and I most certainly couldn't let her die at that dump. Now, you'd never know she came from a puppy mill. She's happy and healthy and I'm sure she's grateful to be out of that place! I didn't pay a penny for her, but she's priceless to me. That lady doesn't know what she's missing out on!

Too many people are uneducated on the subject. They think if the dog has a name, even if it's made up like "lhpso poo", it's a purebred or "designer dog", and like you said, to them, if it's a purebred, it won't have health problems.

Answer 4

I think people are uneducated in general when it comes to getting a pet...They need to do some homework before choosing a pet. There are many things to consider, especially where the puppy comes from, what breed to get. Ideally, you would want to see how the mom and dad are. Are they well cared for etc. Unfortunately, there is alot of milling. Did you see that program on TV a while back (documentary) about dog mills and the person went undercover for a while to document everything including taping the incidents. It was horrible, sad and they were put out of business. It took a while, but they did it. Family owned business I guess. One down, how many more to go.

Answer 5

Alot of pet stores have gotton away from selling puppies. They need to enact some kind of legislation to put an end to these puppy mill's. I learned a couple of years ago about puppy fair's. There is one in Ohio and in different locations where all these breeders bring pups and people go through like a flea market and buy them. It is sad, and i dont know how they live with themselves doing that to animals. I know someone who is a breeder of small purebred dogs. When her females are no longer able to breed, she gets rid of them. After having litter after litter for her for 8 years she just gives the dog away. In other words, if the dog cant make money for her, she dosnt want it. I imagine the puppy mill's just kill the dogs that get too old to breed. It is horrible and yet it has been going on for years. It seems they have made some headway with lab animals, but no headway at all with people exploiting these poor animals.

Answer 6

It's horrible, I know..

I got my Min-Pin from a breeder. I visted the place and it was in the country. The dogs were treated well and the conditions were great. Now, when I bring my pup to the petstore, I peer into the doggies in the window. Some are tired...others had gunk all over their faces (which turned out to be poop from other dogs). they don't have blankets or anything to cuddle in. To make matters worse, anyone can request to play with the puppies. It's sad because I can only imagine where those dogs came from.

People refuse to think about how they are contributing to the problem. They rather ignore it and pretend that they've done nothing wrong by buying a pet at one of these places.

Answer 7

I know it's heartbreaking to see these poor mill puppies in the pet stores. Personally, I do not support any puppy mill or byb operations by purchasing a puppy from stores. I purchase my pups for show purposes. Generally, people just assume things. That's why they are ignorant enough to purchase pups from pet stores. Also, a lot of people have the misunderstanding that reputable breeders are so expensive. So pet stores are their best bet to get puppies.

Answer 8

Oh, you just broke my heart-again. I do minpin rescue and it makes me sick when I see these poorly bred dogs. Then some of these people go and breed their poorly bred dogs and make more. We have one pet store left in town that sells puppies, and I think it is on its last leg. I go in there occasionally and check the puppies for health and cleanliness. If they aren't taking care of the dogs, I call animal control and complain. There are several other people who do the same.
I would be very happy if they would just go out of business.

Edit: Happycamper-USDA licensing means just about nothing. The meat industry has USDA licensing. It does not regulate the health of the dogs being bred, or even the way the dogs are treated.
If every pet store in the world closed down, there would still be an unlimited supply of "puppies" for people to buy. That is the shame of it. Eveyone wants a puppy, but no one wants a dog.

Answer 9

1. It breaks my heart to see petstores and puppy mills treating pups like that.. That's why I can't go into pet shops ! I can't even believe that it's legal !!!

2. I don't know.. People don't do research and they are clueless are where these dogs are coming from.. It makes me want to scream too..

I can't even explain to you how much it breaks my heart to even think about it !
It's sick and those people in charge of puppy mills should be locked up for extreme animal cruelty.. Have you ever seen pictures of the conditions those pups live in?? It is completely heartbreaking !!!

Answer 10

NEVER!!! pass up an opportunity to educate people about the puppy mill/pet store issue.

Chances are, they won't listen anyway, but this problem will continue unless we all speak out.

And, yeah, it drives me absolutely crazy!
Ignorance is (sort of) excusable on the owner's part, but the pet stores know.

THEY KNOW!!!
and continue doing the wrong thing.

It makes me absolutely sick.

1) I just can't imagine how puppy mill owners even live with themselves.

2) Ignorance. EVERYONE SPEAK OUT!
Proper education is the key to ending this problem.

Don't buy ANYTHING at pet stores that sell puppies and kittens. Supporting them and their bad habits doesn't make any sense either.