It's always the Pet Stores that are blamed for the number of animals that end up in shelters. I would bet that if you visited any shelter in any city in Canada you would find mostly medium to large dogs that had been neglected by their owners. Now visit the Pet Stores in the same city and you will find that most Pet Stores only sell small dogs. Very few of these small Pet Store dogs end up at shelters yet they get the stigma as being all of the problem. You should also try speaking to the Petland people about how they source their puppies and ask about the breeder visits they actually do to every breeder they buy from. You will be surprised to learn that they actually have a do not buy list that is shared among all stores and that they will not buy from so called "puppy mills". Also don't confuse how Petland in Canada does business vs how the puppy business in done in the USA.
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Originally Posted by Aquattro
I believe this petition exempts entities that are working in some sort of foster program. If Petland is working with a rescue, it would be exept from the bylaw. This also doesn't define reputable breeder, but it's a start in removing the market for puppymills to supply petstores with dogs that could sit in a box for months.
I recently met a couple that bought a boxer at the local petstore that sells puppies, the poor thing couldn't even walk. It had been in the little cage for 6 months
I've currently got a foster dog here that came from a mill, sold through a petstore, and is the most poorly adjusted dog I've ever met. Sweet girl, just doesn't have a clue about life.
Early development for puppies is a huge thing, and if the pup sits in a box from 7 weeks until it's 6 months, you're going to have a messed up dog. No way around that.
So for me, I think this is a very important issue, and I encouraged Deb to post it. Pet stores can do just fine without selling puppies; one of most successful stores locally feels the same way and the owner does just fine.
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