Pet Stores/ Puppy Mills

This comes up every so often and of course with the holidays people are buying puppies for family members.

But I thought reading this might help to change some peoples minds. Even though you feel you are "saving" the puppy you buy, in the long run you are just perpetuating the puppy mill business by purchasing a dog at a pet store.

This is from "almosthomerescue":

Puppy Mills and Pet Stores

The fact that the vast majority (estimates are as high as 95%) of puppies sold in pet stores come from puppy mills has been well documented. This fact accounts for the advice given by veterinarians, rescue workers, and serious breeders against buying a puppy in a pet store.

But it’s amazing to see how badly people who are thinking of buying a puppy in a pet store want to believe that it isn’t true. The response is always, “But I asked the people in the pet store and they assured me that all of their puppies come from home breeders.” Of course that’s what they say! They want you to plunk down your $800 or $1000 for one of the puppies they have for sale. But these claims have been disproved.

First, ask yourself this question: How would it be possible for a store that has dozens and dozens of puppies of different breeds for sale every day to obtain all their dogs from home breeders? The logistics alone would be impossible, since home breeders, by definition, are small-scale and can produce only a few puppies a year.

Second, television programs such as Dateline NBC have proved absolutely that these claims are false, by getting the names of the “home breeders” from pet store employees, then hunting them down. Without exception, the pet stores’ “home breeders” were puppy mills.

There are new pet stores -- stores that position themselves as "upscale" and "lifestyle stores" -- that admit that the puppies in their stores come from commercial volume breeders. The puppies are sold for $750 to $1800. Putting a puppy mill dog into a fancy retail setting and sticking an outrageous price tag on it does not change anything about the origins of the puppy. And none of that fancy price tag does anything to alleviate the misery of the mill dogs used as breeding machines.

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Thank you -- I was just about to ask if someone could post that thread from way back.

My brother got his DD a puggle from a pet store for Christmas. She however had been planning to adopt from a rescue organization. Long story short, I should keep my mouth shut.

It seems there are a lot of new people on the board, and they aren't aware of the horrors that are puppy mills. Otherwise they probably wouldn't be telling where they are coming from.

If only one person changes their mind from reading this, you've done a great job Gerty.

You, Shanti, Lolita, MrsMbv and others all opened my eyes...I had no idea about puppy mills until I started reading this board. Hope it helps!!

PS My sister just got a 2-year old mutt from Last Hope - and she is the sweetest, most adorable dog!!

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Thank you! My heart breaks everytime that I hear someone purchased a dog from a store. It's awful, and the people that run the puppy mills that supply the pet stores are, IMO, no better than Michael Vick and supporting them with these ridiculous fees for pure breds or designer mutts is so upsetting.

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Gerty...you are right on the money. I too am with a rescue organization. As I write this reply there are 20 purebred small dogs at Animal Care and Control, 2336 Linden Blvd. as well as small dogs at their Manhattan shelter, East 110th Street in Manhattan.

This summer I took two puggles off the street, why would anyone want to breed a pug with a beagle is beyond me..but they do so because people are enablers...poor mothers of the dogs live in misery. Every time I hear someone tell me they purchased from a store it makes me cringe.

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Thank you for posting this- I think if everyone knew there would be far less puppy mills!

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i refuse to purchase a dog from a pet store---my dog is from NSAL and my cat was a stray that i nursed from 3 wks old after the mother abandoned it.

to each their own---but pet stores are the absolute worst.

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Thank you for posting. If just one person who reads this changes her mind about pet stores and then passes it along, it will make a huge difference.

Stores that sell puppies are horrible. It is disgusting to me that these places exist.
Please, if you want a pure-bred puppy, find a reputable breeder.

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Thanks for posting this. I am bookmarking it. A family member recently bought a puggle from a store and it has been a complete disaster. The dog is very ill and it has been a heartbreaking situation.

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thanks for posting Gerty!

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Great post! I also encourage everyone who wants to buy a pet from a pet store to check out this site:

puppy mills

This is where your puppy store puppy's parents live...

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I wish we could permanently get a post about puppy mills placed on the pets board... we need to get the word out about puppy mills, esp around the holidays every year!

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Message edited 1/13/2008 3:31:29 PM.

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Message edited 12/28/2007 8:54:55 AM.

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Wow miss a week and you miss alot! Apparently there was some discussion about the origin of dogs from pet stores. Thanks Gerty for posting the information. I also encourage anyone who is not convinced to go to puppymillrescue.org and to prisonersofgreed.org. Also if you can find it HBO did an undercover investigation called "Dealing Dogs" in which they showed (very graphically) the real life behind puppy mills. Just a warning though, the scenes are heartbeaking,

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Bumping as it seems people are getting defensive and shooting the messenger instead of getting the message...

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i was just in our local small pet store today, I walk through when I have time & everytime I do it makes me sick. Last year they had two bunnies in a small cage with a totally empty water bottle.
Their birds look like they are ready to die & today they had four young shitz zhu(sp) puppies in a small display case & the puppies looked like crap. They weren't bright eyed.
Its so sad.

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Thank you for posting.

Ferrets as well if bought in a pet store are milled. They are all tattooed with a blue dot on their ear which indicates where they came from. They come from Marshall Farms which is located in upstate NY. Marshall farms also mills beagals.

We had taken in an abandoned ferret a few years ago and when we brought him to the vet that is when we learned about Marshall farms as he has a blue dot on his ear.

My heart breaks for all the puppies that are in those horrible conditions. I wish I could just go in and take them all and then find good homes for them. I cant even stomach the ASPCA commercial that is airing.

the people that run the puppy mills that supply the pet stores should be caged. I just hate stories about tortured animals

Message edited 12/29/2007 10:01:40 PM.

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BUMP

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Bravo! Thanks for posting this.

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