Does sale of puppies at a pet store turn you off?

I am having a debate with a few friends, about pet stores that sell puppies and whether or not it's okay to support those stores for non-puppy purchases. I.e. you'd never buy a puppy there, but it's alright to stop in and pick up other pet supplies, or even a different pet species. What is your opinion???

My opinion...

I personally refuse to shop at stores that sell puppies, kittens, ferrets, or rabbits. I try to avoid shopping at stores that sell iguanas, cavies, and tank-buster fish, and I tend to be a letter writer in those cases....

I think that when we shop at a store that sells animals like those above, we are "voting" for the stores continued existence with our money, even if what we buy it totally unrelated to the problem we have with the store (i.e. buying reptile supplies at PetCo which sells ferrets).

Sometimes I think I am too opinionated on this... but at the same time, it's such an important issue to me that I cannot back down off of educating people about it.... :shrugs:

So what pet stores are left? lol

I wholeheartedly agree on the puppy thing though. Store #1 near me keeps puppies in plastic boxes with wire mesh flooring. I've heard too many stories about their breeding practices ie. puppy mills.

Store #2 keeps puppies in displays with pine wood chips and hamster water bottles. There are wood chips all over in their food. It's sickening.

When I was into reef aquariums I used to HATE seeing stores selling animals that are nearly impossible to keep alive in captivity. Most retailers don't care though, as long as they make a sale.

What really gets my goat though, are the number of people buying puppies from pet stores. There are zillions of awesome dogs at the pound!

I'd say it depends on how the puppies (an all the other animals!) are kept. I personally work at a pet store that doesn't have puppies or kittens, but does have iguanas, ferrets, and rabbits, among other reptiles and small animals. I see no problem with this as long as the animals are receiving proper care.

Checkerbelly said:

What really gets my goat though, are the number of people buying puppies from pet stores. There are zillions of awesome dogs at the pound!

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amen
I adopted my dog and she is a saint!

I personally think you should buy animals like dogs etc from breeders.
In the U.K. you rarely see puppy/Kittens in pet shops because of the laws in our country..but then your country still allows Rattle snake round ups doesn't it ( sorry if I'm wrong about that)

Selling puppies through petshops hasn't happened here since I was young, altoug I do remember a local store that had them all in a pen, little squirrel monkeys in cages and piles of imported tortoises each year.
On holiday in Greece a couple of years ago I wandered into a petshop and was horrified to see puppies in little perspex pens. It was a shock to see them all yelping and crammed into the pens, like a blast from the past

snakewispera snr said:

I personally think you should buy animals like dogs etc from breeders.
In the U.K. you rarely see puppy/Kittens in pet shops because of the laws in our country..but then your country still allows Rattle snake round ups doesn't it ( sorry if I'm wrong about that)

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Unfortunately they do. I fear that if our country were judged by how the populace as a whole treats animals... we would not have a very good reputation at all.....

Hypancistrus said:

Unfortunately they do. I fear that if our country were judged by how the populace as a whole treats animals... we would not have a very good reputation at all.....

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I'm sorry but your right.
I'm really opinionated about the round ups,but I'm in no position to do anything about it.
But you are.

Yeah, selling Puppies and kittens is still legal in this country, though rare and we get asked for them all the time but You can tell the ones that ask if you sell them are the ones that wouldnt pass the home check from a rescue centre! :madeuce:

I wouldnt dream of buying a puppy from a pet store and it truly makes my blood boil when shops do sell them, what happens if the puppy turns into a dog and wont sell? From previously working in a shop that sold rabbits and other small furries you realy do struggle to sell animals which grow. I do not support the shops which do sell dogs (mainly because they are dumps, but also because they sell dogs!)

Last time i went to Germany i popped into a pet shop which also sold its puppies in little perspex cubes?!?!

Since i was a kid we have always got a dog from a rescue centre and they are always the best! Gotta love the rejects lol!


Kat

Nomed said:

amen
I adopted my dog and she is a saint!

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jub_jub_bird said:

Since i was a kid we have always got a dog from a rescue centre and they are always the best! Gotta love the rejects lol!
Kat

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X2. Roxy was abandoned while her owner was in Iraq. The wife was divorcing the husband without him knowing!!!!! We spent about 2 weeks at the center playing with her. Another couple was turned downed cause they only went in there 1 day to get her. We showed the commitment, and the rescue center noticed that, and denied the other couple. I am glad they did.
I would not buy a puppy from a shop. 98% of the time, they are from "puppy farms."

jub_jub_bird said:

Yeah, selling Puppies and kittens is still legal in this country, though rare and we get asked for them all the time but You can tell the ones that ask if you sell them are the ones that wouldnt pass the

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Just out of curosity have you got a reptile shop or a general animal shop.
MIKE

I'm really opinionated about the round ups,but I'm in no position to do anything about it. But you are

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Ok what can I do?
It doesn't happen in my state. So I'm restricted quite a bit by that.
People have been writing their legeslators for years. My letters to those legislators, in states I do not live, would be ignored.
Years of protests and letter writing and it is still allowed.
what can I do?
Don't get me wrong, I'm against it too but like I said, what can I do?

by the way..You think the states are bad? Actually The United States is a hell of a lot better then a lot of countries.
Ever seen the running of the bulls?
Ever seen bull fighting?
Ever seen the Mongul horse fighting?
Ever seen the stupid practice of throwing a goat out of a church belfry as part of a festival in Manganeses de la Polvorosa, Zamora?

I can see NO justification to brutalize animals. Period.

and there are so many more....TOO many more examples.

I've bred and shown AKC registered dogs for over 40 years. I also bred and showed CFA registered cats for many years. I have held offices and served on committees at very high levels in both organizations. Both of those organizations have strong policies against the sales by pet stores. More importantly, every serious breeder I know would never wholesale to a retail outlet. Buying a puppy or kitten from one of these breeders is akin to an adoption procedure. Be prepared to sign a contract and provide references. These people are serious about protecting their animals.

I have owned mix breeds, but prefer a purebred dog or cat, especially when buying a puppy or kitten. You never know what you're going to get, size or personality wise with a mixed breed. Plus be able to see the parents or even the grandparents is a big advantage.

As far as patronizing a store for other products, I wouldn't want my money supporting their unethical practices.

We only sell and cater for exotic pets Mike, Reptiles, Parrots and mainly Marines. Pretty much a full day out for the anti's :twoguns:


There are many instances of barbaric treatment of animals, in absolutely every country. I cant say i have any personal experience of Rattler round-ups but i have lived in the middle of the country all my life and i know the issues with banning fox hunting (with hounds) very well... sorry am completely wandering with this now!



Kat

If I was going to get a domestic animal like a dog or a cat, it would be from a friend who has had a litter, or I would go to the rescue centre and make a sad dog/cat a happy dog/cat. :cheers:

I would not buy the puppy from the pet store.
For a couple reasons. If I wanted a dog I would either adopt from a shelter, or if I wanted to get a puppy of a particular breed, than I just don't see any advantage of getting a puppy at a pet store over a breeder. On the other hand I see tons of reasons to go with a breeder over a pet store.
That said, I don't think it's definately wrong for puppies to be in pet stores. I agree that in all cases that I have seen personally, it looks pretty grim, and I won't support those stores. I just can't see making a blanket statement that I won't support any pet store that sells puppies (or supporting any sort of legislation against allowing them too) because I don't think it's impossible to keep them humanely in a pet store.
But the question makes an important point, which is more important than my opinion on the matter. We have more power with our dollars than we do with our opinions. And if we think the individual store is wrong, we should feel obligated not to buy even a cricket from them. The chain stores especially, actually will use the ethics we want them too- Provided we are able to communicate our wishes to them. That's why I do use those "how are we doing?" 800 numbers that are plastered all over the place in the stores too.

And Mike, I think we have as much power to stop the rattlesnake roundup as you have to stop foxhunting in the UK. I'm not assuming you want to- I'm just trying to put that into perspective. I for one though, would not spend a cent at one, nor will I likely ever find myself in Sweetwater TX. If I try to send an email to any reps in TX, it's not likely for them to feel any pressure from the words of a Californian (lol, angry words from Californians in much of this country lets politicians know they are on track!) who can't vote against them anyway. And as for swaying the opinions of Texans who can, well all the Texans I know are here, and I'd probably be preaching to the choir on this issue!

Let's see if I can tell my story without upsetting too many folks here.

When we lost our Bandit (the angel to the left) our home and hearts were empty. He started as a $25 dog but the 12 years I shared with him were worth millions. One day we stopped in a local pet store to visit friends and Mike fell for a tiny Cairn Terrier. We learned all we could about her, even the fact that an elderly couple were the breeders, bred only one pair of Cairns and this would be the last litter they produced. My heart was still crying for Banny but I told Mike if he wanted her to go ahead and get her. I'm so glad I said ok cause she is a real sweetheart.

A couple of months along we started talking about getting Daisy a playmate. I watched petfinder.com every day and we put our name on a wish list at a local shelter. We were called once about a yorkiepoo and took Daisy down to see if they were a good match. Sadly that dog only wanted our attention and stayed away from Daisy completely. During our search we came across a toy poodle breeder and gave her a call. She told us to bring Daisy up and let her see if her match was there. That night Daisy and Doodle picked each other. They keep us on our toes and doubled over with laughter.

Now I agree that puppy mills are a terrible thing and need to be stopped, but they happen weather you walk into a pet store or not. Some stores will buy from puppy mills, but not all do. The biggest thing to remember when you see a puppy or a kitten in a pet store is they didn't asked to be there, they just want someone to love more than they love themselves.

Ok, tension breaker....pic of Daisy and Doodle.

Tammy, I mean this in a good way, they have got to be the dodgiest looking dogs I've ever seen! Absolutely adorable, but that's like no cairn I've ever seen. Please show more pics of them in general chit-chat, they're irresistible