Pet Store Supports Puppy Mills

[Reefer Rob]

The best place to start if you're looking for a purebred dog is your local dog show. You can meet with the breeders, and they are more than happy to talk to you about their breed. All my best dogs have been mixed breeds so I hope your not saying anyone who breeds a mongrel is a puppy mill. We work in the pet industry so we see all kinds of "breeders" (Labradoodles LOL) and the true puppy millers make me sick. These people are nothing like someone who lets their dog have a couple of litters, they're pure evil. At the other end of the scale are the elitist purebred breeders who believe the only dog of value is a show champion. Give me a mutt any day.

[Matt]

I have worked in several pet stores, and for about 10 years, my family owned and operated one. We sold dogs, as well as the rest of the usual small-animal and bird menagerie. We were reasonably responsible, and bought from local breeders for our purebred stock, and sold love-pups, too (small town, no local shelter).

I offer this advice to anyone looking for a dog: A pet store is the last place to go to buy a dog. Staff are low paid, often untrained. Puppies are separated from their mothers too soon, as they sell best when they are fluffy and cute, and you need to allow for some "stock" time. It isn't unusual to see 5 and 6 week old pups in pet stores. Their immune and digestive systems are still developing, and they're put in a high-stress, high-contagion environment.

There are pet stores that do a marvellous job of caring for thier dogs, training their staff, and sourcing and placing dogs. But, given that there are much better alternatives, as described elsewhere in this thread, this is a slice of the business that doesn't need to exist.

In the words of Dennis Miller: "But that's just my opinion... I could be wrong."

[Ephraim]

Evidence is not a common tool use for these people that complain about retailers that deal with puppies. They consider some random links pertaining to a random franchise in the US as all they need. If someone wanted to get evidence, they would have researched this 3 legged dog a bit before posting here. They would have found out, as I did this morning, that this poor pup was rescued from a reserve by the Pets for Life Foundation. They would have also found out that his leg needed to be amputated because he was found after being struck by a vehicle, the damage too severe to save the leg.