Pet Store Supports Puppy Mills

[dsaundry]

Emily, Great thread, If anything good was to come, look at all the hits in such a short time. Maybe with all the interest people will be less inclined for a spur of the moment purchase from anywhere? Just so you know.. stirring the pot is a good thing sometimes..

[Zoaelite]

Originally Posted by reef_raf

Tony, I just can't agree with that statement...

LOL, Tony you add way to much humor to my day. Everyone else is writing a whole essay and throwing so much emotion into there posts and you respond in Dog/Cat Speak. Got to comment also dsaundry I have yet to come across someone with such an amazing talent for supporting there view points.

Now as far as the topic goes I worked at the Pet store in question for a total of a year and a half and in my personal view they absolutely DO NOT purchase from Puppy mills, breeders have to apply to sell there dogs and this store actually sends a trained person out to assess and qualify the operation. If the test fails the breeder is black listed and none of the stores can bring in dogs from that person. Now as one of these "highly unpaid and untrained" staff members It was my job to complete a check list from start to finish (Believe me when I say allot of people lost there job for not adhering to this) and guarantee that the animal is being sent to a proper home.

Now as far as purchasing from a Breeder compared to a store goes I'm going to argue the store is a better solution. When you purchase from a breeder you get the dog(Its basic needs are met how?). When you purchase from a Pet store such as the one in question you get the dog and the supplies (Plus the TRAINED KNOWLEDGE BEHIND IT). Also I don't think that allot of people actually know this but the store in question (I have seen this done many a time) can actually refuse sale if the animal is not being sent home to the proper house or with the proper equipment. Everyone's sitting here arguing about the fact that these animals are being treated horribly in the Pet store but no one is considering that the dog will be in the Pet store for 1-2 weeks but at your house for the rest of there life time. That's why the store in question has the logo "Pets for Life" and there motto is to match the right person with the right animal and meet the needs of both.

Levi Morgan

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Oh snap! That's pretty interesting, Levi.

[dsaundry]

Love debating sometimes. It exercises the mind and creates good conversation most of the time..

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I disagree. Debating is the product of a lazy mind and only results in bad conversation.

[EmilyB]

I failed miserably in debating class, so I won't get into about selling them all that necessary equipment.......

[fishoholic]

*Sigh* I'm finally home and have the time to respond properly. I volunteer for an animal rescue society called "Second chance animal rescue society" and I would say that a least 5 dogs a year that come though SCARS have to have a leg amputated do to injuries. All of the scars dogs are in foster homes (so no worries they do not have to hop around on a wire bottom) and the three legged dogs are completely normal and can do everything their four legged friends do and they do get adopted out just as much as any other dog.

The puppy mill situations are awful and I'd like to think that most people would not purposely adopt from one. Having dogs stacked in cages never let out except to breed (yes people these dogs live in their pee and poop and usually there is 4-5 cages stacked on top of eachother and guess where their fecees travels, not a pretty sight!) this is not my idea of a well bread animal. I know this because we've rescued animals from places such as this.

We also deal with reserve animals and animals from the pound that are found in very poor conditions. We once had a lady call scars to tell us that there was this awful smell coming out from under her trailer. When Sylvia showed up she crawled under the trailer and found a small hole that 6 puppies fell into. Four were dead (hence the smell) and two were still alive. They died because the hole was just big enough that they couldn't climb out and they ended up starving to death. What's worse is that the owner (of the trailer) didn't care enough to pull them out and try to save them, they only wanted the smell to be gone! This is just a small taste of what scars goes through.

I got my dog Gulliver from scars. He came to scars because EHS was going to put him down (before ever going up for adoption) because he growled at the animal control officer, heaven forbid the slight possibility of him biting anyone and they be held liable. Gulliver does growl and bark at people coming into our house but he has never attacked anyone and he clams down quickly. Lucky for me one of the people working at the EHS called scars and said they thought he was a nice dog and didn't deserve to die. So one of the girls picked him up and a few days latter I met him and fell in love and adopted him.

I think if your not sure or don't really care about what breed you want then you should adopt from a no kill animal rescue society. If you want a specific breed then take a hard look at the breeder and ask around about them.

For anyone who wants to read about scars or wants links to animal rescue places visit the scars website at www.scarscare.org I will warn people now that the rescue stories are really hard to read (you will need kleenex) and there are pictures. On the "available for adoption page" I believe right now there is one really sad story and picture, so don't say I didn't warn you. There are also "Look at me now" stories about dogs who have been adopted and are doing great.

I'm done now, thanks for reading

[Keri]

The problem with buying a puppy from a pet store is almost No reputable breeder could in good conscious sell to a pet store NOT KNOWING where the puppy was going to end up. Also, selling to a pet store decreases the risk that the puppy's owners are going to be able to get a hold of that breeder when the genetic issues turn up.
That being said, those pet store puppies still need good homes, it's a difficult situation... I guess when you buy one you should just know what you're getting yourself into and GET PET INSURANCE BEFORE issues arise so your *** will be covered

That's my 2cents.

Also: just because it only has 3 legs doesn't mean it won't be a great dog, it doesn't affect them the way it does many people....dogs are a little bit wonderful in that respect

[EmilyB]

Thanks dsaundry.

[EmilyB]

When you purchase from a breeder you get the dog(Its basic needs are met how?).

It's okay, we understand you haven't met good breeders so you wouldn't really know the answer to that.

A good breeder will be there with you for the lifetime of your dog.