Here's a conundrum: Pet store dogs need homes too! I hate those stores but...

boomie

Dogs Rule
Nov 24, 2008
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I feel so bad for the pups there. It's not their fault they are there. I don't buy anything from those stores so as not to support them...but, those pups need homes! What can be done? It's a vicious cycle. You buy a pup from there to save it from that little cage, and another pup takes it's place. But, if noone buys the pups, they outgrow the cages and then what? I never have and never would buy a dog from a store like that. I know many people boycott buying a pup from those places, but do they ever think about what happens if the dog never gets purchased? To be honest, I think they just keep getting marked down in price until they sell....and another one takes it's place. I saw what must have been a 6 month old doberman at the pet store for sale once. How can it be stopped?

I went to an animal shelter this Saturday and my friend adopted a Corgi from there. I cried seeing all those other dogs there and hoped they would all get homes. One stayed in my head, this copper colored male with beautiful copper eyes. He's not on the website any more, and I so hope he got a home! Those dogs aren't guaranteed homes...I would have taken one in a heartbeat if I only had a yard. I would absolutely get my next dog from a shelter. Dusty, in my avatar, was a shelter dog taken up by a rescue.

Before, when I was young and stupid and needed a job, I worked at one of those stores. It was called Pet-Go-Round and there's still one open around here. The manager back then would troll the newspaper, buy a litter of pups from the owner for cheap, then knock the price up 3x to sell in the store. I was so stupid then, I saw it as a job where I could love on the puppies, and I did. It was all commission-based, and other employees would lie to the customers to get sales!

Eventually, the manager started to get puppies from mills, and thankfully I was long gone before then.

Sorry for the long post. Does anyone else think about how pet stores can be stopped from selling dogs? I truly hope it doesn't last forever. Maybe Best Friends can offer the owner $$$, take the pups and find them homes...if only.
 
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It can only be stopped if the sale of live animals in pet supply shops is outlawed :sad:
And the puppy/kitten farms that supply the pets to stores are shut down... next to impossible I'd say.
All links in the chain of animal abuse & exploitation.

I bought my beautiful Himalayan boy from a pet store, completely against my principles. I regard him as a rescue. He was alone in a cage, aged 7 weeks, in a hot store without air-conditioning. And he'd stopped eating.
I'm SO glad I brought him home.

Harry the Himalayan -
 

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Boomie, I think you had a kind heart and compassionate soul, hence why you feel so much for these dogs. I belong to a dog forum where this topic comes up quite a bit. Some people caved in to buying pet store dogs b/c they honestly did not know how their actions were feeding the vicious cycle of puppy mills, and others buy b/c they couldnt resist the puppy's cuteness. Afterall, isnt that puppies' job? Being cute! lol..

Sadly, I agree with Straight Laced that probably the only way to stop sale of animals in pet supply stores is if there is legislation forbidding it.

What I do now is I avoid buying products (food, supplies, etc) from stores that also sell dogs. It has been a hassle b/c most pet boutique that sell QUALITY dog food (and not junk like Iams) also sell puppies. So, I have been buying most products from the internet.

Aside from changing our own conduct..I think raising awareness of puppy mills, back yard breeders and pet stores are very important. I believe that with knowledge and education, consumers will refrain from supporting such a vicious cycle.
 
i just want to add that if no one buys from these stores..they will eventually stop purchasing pups from mills b/c there is no "demand" and hence no profit to be made. I know you know this already so I am probably just stating the obvious....hehe..but I know that this is also easier said then done b/c there are still puppies who are left there to suffer. it is very hard!! But often, doing the right thing is hard!
 
adoptions and breeders are so picky thats another reason people go to pet shops . i only have 2 cats that i got from a shelter but i was told no at a bichon rescue my kids are 3 and 5 . i was thinking of going to a pet shop but my husband said no . he is cheap and was not willing to pay 1200 for a bichon he was 12 weeks old
 
Unfortunately, right now I think the best to do is slow sales -- which of course slows 'production' in puppy mills. It is sad seeing puppies in pet stores -- there is one in my mall and I actually go out of my way to avoid it. The sad thing is, buying one of those dogs just opens up the cage for another dog -- a dog that will be bred in a puppy mill and shipped over and stuck in that cage to wait to be bought. It's an endless cycle. When sales slow, the pet stores will buy less and the puppy mills will produce less. I know a lot of educated people think they are helping the puppies in these stores by buying them and 'saving them' from the store, but doing that only buys into the industry and perpetuates the problem. There are so many dogs and puppies in shelters and rescues and on the streets. Some shelters are very pretty (I recently read an article that some shelters are trying to look more like pet stores so that they can appeal to consumers) but others are rough. They have bad conditions and the dogs there don't have much time (both of my dogs came from pretty scary and very over crowded shelters -- I had never known shelters that bad existed before). IMO, those are the dogs that need to be saved and shelters are going to stay in business wether people adopt or not because so many people give up their pets and allow them to breed indiscriminately. But pet stores could slow and close down if consumers are not buying. I think that is the best solution, personally.
 
adoptions and breeders are so picky thats another reason people go to pet shops . i only have 2 cats that i got from a shelter but i was told no at a bichon rescue my kids are 3 and 5 . i was thinking of going to a pet shop but my husband said no . he is cheap and was not willing to pay 1200 for a bichon he was 12 weeks old

Sadly, this is true. A lot of rescues and shelters can make it difficult to adopt. I have a friend who tried to adopt various dogs for a few months then finally gave up and just bought a dog -- I don't know why no one would adopt to her and her husband. They are young, sweet, beautiful people, he's an engineer, she's a graduate student. I had the same problem when my fiance and I tried to get a second dog 2 years ago. My fiance and I went to a few rescues and our local shelter (a VERY nice, upscale shelter), but no one wanted to adopt to us because at the time we were renting an apartment, we were not yet married, and we were both in school. I think things would be different now, since we have a place with a yard, he's a lawyer, and I'm in graduate school. We finally found a shelter that didn't really care who we were -- they just wanted to move a dog out of the shelter. We met her Friday night and took her home Saturday morning (they didn't even make us get her spayed... I wasn't too happy about that because I wish they made the dogs coming out of there get spayed or neutered before they left, but at least we were able to take her to our personal vet to have her spayed, which we felt comfortable with). I think a lot of people find themselves in a similar situation and pet stores are an easy solution. I guess the best thing I can say is keep trying -- it took us more than a year but we finally found the right dog at the right place, and we couldn't be happier :smile:
 
adoptions and breeders are so picky thats another reason people go to pet shops . i only have 2 cats that i got from a shelter but i was told no at a bichon rescue my kids are 3 and 5 . i was thinking of going to a pet shop but my husband said no . he is cheap and was not willing to pay 1200 for a bichon he was 12 weeks old

i agree w/ what Brooke11 said about shelters.

as for breeders..i think it makes sense for breeders to be picky about who they sell their pups to. there are 2 kind of breeders, a back yard breeder, and a show breeder/exhibitor. back yard breeder is someone who just puts 2 dogs together and breed w/o any extensive study on genetics, health, conformation etc. back yard breeder also breed mutts and pass them off as "designer."

a show breeder is someone whose career is devoted to showing the breed of dog, studying its genetics, working w/ vets and other show breeders to improve the breed. they participate in conformation and/or other shows such as the Westminster. These people ONLY breed for show. They strive to breed to conform to the standard, good health and temperament. So they do not breed frequently to begin with. AKC actually regulates that and show breeders do DNA testing.

That is why they are so picky about who they sell their dogs to. They want to make sure they place pups into responsible, loving homes where the owner will provide a good pet home, good medical care, and not dump the pup into a shelter b/c of cost or whatever other reason. Also, show breeders want to make sure the pet owner will not use the pup to breed, and will spay/neuter the pup.

I mean, its logical to me..if you really love your puppies, and you CARE, you will want to be very conscientious of placing the puppy into a safe and loving environment. Unfortunately, not all people are as committed to proving forever homes to puppies..hence why we see so many dogs in shelters. That is an additional reason why show breeders are picky and need to screen out those people.
 
Besides the puppy mill issue, another negative aspect of the pet store puppy is the impulse buyer. Like everyone else I like to look at the puppies and kittens when I am in the mall. I cringe when I see people buying a pup that they clearly had no intention of buying when they walked in. I've seen teenagers pooling their money and adults buying a pet just because "it's cute". With no thought or planning going into the decision, I think many of these impulse pet purchases end up in the shelter within a few months.
 
I adopted my dog from a breeder/show person and she only had 2 puppies and she was quite picky but a wonderful lady.

Now, what to do about someone at work who DID buy an English Bulldog for $2500 from a puppy mill? They paid the extra city license fee NOT to have the dog altered so they can "stud" him out. Supposedly, the poor dog always has runny, crusty eyes. It really pi$$es me off as they have no regard for maintaining the breed with quality. I really want to speak my mind, but it would cause a huge drama in the office.
 
Sorry for the long post. Does anyone else think about how pet stores can be stopped from selling dogs? I truly hope it doesn't last forever. Maybe Best Friends can offer the owner $$$, take the pups and find them homes...if only.


Yes - I think about this - and completely recognize the conundrum! I avoid pet stores because it breaks my heart, I avoid shelters for the same reason. There is no easy answer - like you said, it is not the animal's fault it is in a pet store!!!

I wish Best Friends could go save them all - I love that organization!
 
Sadly, this is true. A lot of rescues and shelters can make it difficult to adopt. I have a friend who tried to adopt various dogs for a few months then finally gave up and just bought a dog -- I don't know why no one would adopt to her and her husband. They are young, sweet, beautiful people, he's an engineer, she's a graduate student. I had the same problem when my fiance and I tried to get a second dog 2 years ago. My fiance and I went to a few rescues and our local shelter (a VERY nice, upscale shelter), but no one wanted to adopt to us because at the time we were renting an apartment, we were not yet married, and we were both in school. I think things would be different now, since we have a place with a yard, he's a lawyer, and I'm in graduate school. We finally found a shelter that didn't really care who we were -- they just wanted to move a dog out of the shelter. We met her Friday night and took her home Saturday morning (they didn't even make us get her spayed... I wasn't too happy about that because I wish they made the dogs coming out of there get spayed or neutered before they left, but at least we were able to take her to our personal vet to have her spayed, which we felt comfortable with). I think a lot of people find themselves in a similar situation and pet stores are an easy solution. I guess the best thing I can say is keep trying -- it took us more than a year but we finally found the right dog at the right place, and we couldn't be happier :smile:

Ditto. I had the same problems too. Rejected by several places because I worked full time and wasn't home all day.

Frankly, a stay at home person couldn't have afforded to shell out what I did on my dog. I spent over $50K a year on Shadow because he was sick and had health issues. He was my child.

I think the concept of rescue groups is great, but they are way too picky on adopters. I think they need to get a grip.

I am also disgusted by their practice of adopting the cute dogs from kill shelters before people can adopt them and then turning around and lisitng them for adoption fees 3-4 times what they paid to adopt from the pound. I asked one of my friends why the rescue group she works with does this and they said it was because they needed the money to support the group. I know some dont have a problem with the practice, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The poor dog is delayed in getting to their "forever home" because the rescue group wants to make $$$ by fostering it.

Sorry for the rant.

I dont support puppy mills or backyard breeders, but when I had the chance to rescue my emmy from one, I did. Yes, I paid her money for Emmy but frankly, Emmy didnt deserve to spend another day in that hell hole. So I chose to save the dog instead of standing on principles.

I did report the breeder to the authorities the next day, but they did nothing.

So do you allow the dogs to live in filfth in the hope that no one buys them and teaches the breeder a lesson? I don't know the answer, but dont think it is a black and white issue.
 
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Ditto. I had the same problems too. Rejected by several places because I worked full time and wasn't home all day.

Frankly, a stay at home person couldn't have afforded to shell out what I did on my dog. I spent over $50K a year on Shadow because he was sick and had health issues. He was my child.

I think the concept of rescue groups is great, but they are way too picky on adopters. I think they need to get a grip.

I am also disgusted by their practice of adopting the cute dogs from kill shelters before people can adopt them and then turning around and lisitng them for adoption fees 3-4 times what they paid to adopt from the pound. I asked one of my friends why the rescue group she works with does this and they said it was because they needed the money to support the group. I know some dont have a problem with the practice, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The poor dog is delayed in getting to their "forever home" because the rescue group wants to make $$$ by fostering it.

Sorry for the rant.

I dont support puppy mills or backyard breeders, but when I had the chance to rescue my emmy from one, I did. Yes, I paid her money for Emmy but frankly, Emmy didnt deserve to spend another day in that hell hole. So I chose to save the dog instead of standing on principles.

I did report the breeder to the authorities the next day, but they did nothing.

So do you allow the dogs to live in filfth in the hope that no one buys them and teaches the breeder a lesson? I don't know the answer, but dont think it is a black and white issue.


Agreed. I very much understand being picky about where your pups go, but I swear some places require better places for their dogs than most families can provide for their own children! Have seen a couple of my friends - who were devoted to the pets they already had - turned away by shelters (who still hit them up for donations a year later). It's much easier to just adopt from your local humane society - and those poor dogs need homes so very desperately and as quickly as possible.
 
boomie, I know (and feel) exactly what you're saying. My ethics say don't purchase a puppy from a pet store, but it tears me apart wondering what happens to him. Is he bought on impulse, and then turned into a shelter (or worse, the streets)? Is he eventually put to sleep if he doesn't sell? Is his price reduced so much that who buys him cannot afford to feed him? Or what if I buy him and "rescue" him?
Is that so bad? But then I'm opening up his space for another just like him....

God, I have no answer for this...I wish I did...
 
as much as you feel for animals, and i do too. i really have to say that as much as they need homes you CAN NOT buy them. they are sickly sad animals. what you can and should do is look at them and if you see ANYTHING that would look like a violation, like no air conditioning and not enough room, you should call your local animal protection agency and report that. i have done it and it did improve the conditions of the animals when i went back.

if you buy the animal you are NOT rescuing an animal you are making room for the pet store to put another animal for sale in that cage.