Very interesting indeed...

[wheezie23]

My husband and I were walking through a mall in New Orleans this past weekend when we noticed a pet store. There was a sign outside that said "pet adoptions" so we decided to walk in. I was amazed. They had nothing but puppies, and *suprisingly* they seemed to be pure bred! And the *adoption fee* was anywhere from $449 to $599! There were chihuahuas, maltese, poodles, and they even had one that was listed as a "mixed breed" but they still were asking over $400 for the *adoption fee*. I was sick. These poor people were happy to hand over their money because they thought they were helping, not adding to the problem. I wanted to stand on a table and warn all of these unsuspecting people. I'm sure they all came from a puppy mill.

thela

[MikeC]

I agree with you Wheezie. I have always wondered if there is any way and/or anyone these pet shops can be reported to, to at least investigate as to where these puppies are coming from. I wish we had better laws against puppy mills and better ways to educate people to not buy purebred puppies from pet stores.

MikeC

[toomanypaws]

Now please everyone, don't bash me for this post. Years ago, my dh use to do the health certificates for a local pet store. He didn't initially go to the pet store to do this, we went there to start up a pet vaccine service selling low cost vaccinations, something we had done in the past w/ great success. This store didn't sell puppies then, but while we were there they decided to expand and bring in puppies. At first I didn't think it was terrible, although I never did like seeing puppies in cages. My parents had bought a puppy from a pet store that lived to be 17 1/2 yrs old. Now before anyone reading this starts throwing daggers at me, this was a big eye opener to me and I now would love to see laws change and prohibit the sale of puppies in pet stores. Once the puppies started coming in, dh was asked to do the health certificates for them while I assisted him as a vet tech. We learned SO much! Some of the puppies were from local breeders, but the majority came from a large corporation (not sure if I should mention the name). Basically the way it works, the pet store owner would get a list of available puppies from this corporation and then pick the ones he wanted, cost being a factor. The corporation said that the puppies came from reputable breeders, something I tend to question. The owner usually bought ones that were already marked down due to too many of a certain breed. Many of the dogs my dh looked at needed medication, most of it caused by stress and alot of them had kennel cough. The trouble was keeping the pet store staff to follow his directions and medicate these puppies. Many pups had to be put in the sick room because they weren't getting better due to the poor staff. This would keep the pup from getting sold at a young age and it would sit in a cage way too long. I found myself going to this pet store twice a day just to take the puppies out back to a pen and run them, otherwise they stayed in a cage. Dh and I knew we couldn't keep doing this. One day while my dd and I were at the store to exercise some puppies, one of the staff said we need to see this lab that came in that was half choc/ half yellow (yeah, right) He had been put out back in a dirt covered pen because he was sick. Of course I had to take a look at him and found he was a yellow lab, just exhibited poor traits, definitely not show material. I knew I had to rescue him from his misery and couldn't believe he had been tossed out back. When I confronted the owner, he took a look at him and told me to take him. Well, 3 1/2 yrs later, this lab, who falls short of all breed standards, has been the greatest pet and is so loved by us and our cairns.

We slowly learned more about where these puppies came from. The puppies were delivered in a huge air conditioned semi truck. The problem I saw right away as I read about this corporation was that these poor puppies traveled from the north all the way to the first pet store stop in Miami, FL and then worked their way back to various drop offs meaning, some of these puppies were on this truck for days. One night the owner called us that a delivery was coming in and I was anxious that we were going to get to see the puppies arrive, but my excitement quickly turned to disappointment. Some of the puppies that were ordered were refused by the previous pet store owners and were still on this big truck heading back to the main headquarters. I made the worst mistake of stepping onto this truck to see the puppies that were refused and my eyes filled w/ tears as I looked into their precious eyes knowing they had been traveling in that truck for days and no one wanted them. The smell nearly made me gag as these little puppies stood in their feces. I knew then that this was the wrong way to sell a puppy.

After that, we decided that we could no longer be responsible for the health certificates of these puppies. It was actually a hard decision for me as I knew no one would tend to them like my dh and I did but we also couldn't support puppies being brought to pet stores like this. I can't tell you how many times I cried over a certain puppy praying he/she would end up in a good home.

I know this got long but I just wanted to tell you my experience w/ puppies in pet stores. I do have a friend that raises cairns, but it is definitely not for the money. He use to race horses and then spent years showing dogs and now enjoys breeding cairns. This is something he loves to do and it passes his time as his wife is in a nursing home and this is all he really has. He has his females skip 2 heats before breeding again. They retire early and are placed in a good home. We go up to visit him often as my dd loves to play w/ the puppies making sure they're socialized.

My heart goes out to all the poor pups in cages tonight.

[Guest Guest]

Thank you for that enlightening story Toomanypaws. I too once purchased a dog from a from a pet store, a little female cockapoo. That was back in the late 1960's probably before puppy mills were in full operation. She was a beautiful, smart little girl and lived for over 10 years. I can tell from your writing that you are a very compassionate person, so there won't be any bashing from me. Mistreatment of any kind of life, especially animals does not sit well with me. It is my personal belief that anyone who mistreats animals should lose their membership card to the human race. Right now in CA there are stories in the new about PETA picketing the home of the CEO of a biotech company that has been using beagles in their tests. PETA was able to get hidden cameras into the facility and on the news the other evening there was film on the news of employees of this particular firm actually punching these poor terrified dogs to get them to submit. I got so sick I cried.

MikeC

[wheezie23]

Oh Mike, that's horrible! I was just out there (in CA) and read in the paper that there is a huge problem with puppy millers in Mexico selling sick dogs in CA. It's awful.

And Toomanypaws, I would never bash you. From reading your story, I can tell that you are a compassionate person who was only trying to help those poor pitiful pups.

The thing that really irritated me about the pet store was their using the term "adoption" of dogs the way Petco and Petsmart do, and charging such a high "adoption fee". People really think they are saving these puppies from the animal shelter? It made me sick.

[kayharley]

I feel the need to contribute to this thread on a more positive note but PLEASE don't think less of me because of it.

I got both my Cairns from a pet shop but it's not the "pet shop" that you see in malls. Whether the puppies come from reputable breeders or not, I don't know but I have had alot of luck there as have many other people I know with the dogs they've gotten.

First off, the puppies are not caged. There are 2 separate "areas" where puppies of certain breeds are kept together...to play, sleep and eat together. It's large, full of shredded paper, toys, water/food bowls and clean. I"ve never seen it dirty(feces) nor any of the dogs in there filthy (and I check this store out very frequently even if I'm not in the market for food/toys) The smaller breeds are in one area, the more aggressive larger breeds in another.

We purchased our now 11 year old Cairn there not knowing anything about the breed or pet shop puppies but she just stole our hearts. There has never been any medical problems with her that would come from poor breeding or genetic faults. So when I saw Madison last year, again my heart was stolen. I don't breed nor do I show so I don't need a perfect specimen puppy although in my eyes my girls are perfect. She came home with no ear mites, no fleas, no diarrhea...just a healthy puppy and to this day we've had no problems. And I get the same story from many other customers of this shop.

Would I buy from them again? Maybe but I have it set in my mind that I want my next Cairn from a breeder I've been in contact with only because I think the world of her and want one of her pups.

Am I making excuses for pet shop puppies? Absolutely not...the ones I see at malls make my heart ache...the small crates, horrible grated floors. And it's possible my dogs came from the same place as those dogs did but at least they had somewhat of a decent start before being sold to hopefully good homes.

Sorry I got winded here....I'm 100% for the breeders who want to keep the breed standard. I think that's why I want my next pup from a breeder. But I cringe when I think of my Winnie and my Madison possibly living in a home with horrible people or in bad conditions. I saved them!

[CallisMom]

toomanypaws - I know EXACTLY what corporation you are talking about. My Calli came from there. The corporation has events out West where the puppymills bring their puppies, the corporation's vets say yay or nay, microchip the ones they accept, and then ship them across the country in the trucks you mentioned. The breeder who rescued Calli from the Humane Society was able to get in touch with the petstore who sold her and - she came from this corporation - was shipped to CT from out west. The worst part is that it was apparent to the breeder that they had lied about her age by at least 2 weeks - just to get her into the state. She is a reputable CTCA breeder - has been breeding Cairns for over 15 years and said there was NO WAY this dog was the age she was told! And of course - who bought poor Calli from the pet store? Some family who brought her to the humane society in less than a week of ownership! Bad impulse buy! (And they did a really poor microchipping job too - it slid to her neck area). I also hate the way these puppy mills advertise in the papers too, pretending to be a breeder! In an ideal world pet stores wouldn't be able to sell dogs or cats - and a breeder would need to have a license and there would be an agency that could make sure the breeders weren't puppy mills or inhumane!

[toomanypaws]

Kayharley, of course I don't think any less of you for buying your cairns at a pet store. I was only speaking of my experience of one pet store and what I learned about how puppies are transported. MikeC questioned where the puppies are coming from and I was just telling him about this huge corporation that ships puppies to alot of pet stores.

I know a lady here in town who has a pet boutique and specializes in only toy size dogs. She only has a handful at a time and is very careful w/ who she buys from. Most of her pups are from small breeders. She refuses pups if a breeder is breeding every cycle. She takes the puppies home w/ her at night and usually sells them within a couple of days. I must say that I am impressed w/ her business, yet it's still something I could never do.

Even my friend who breeds cairns, I couldn't do that either. It's hard to see the dogs in their kennel runs, even tho they're well taken care of. It's even harder when a puppy is held back for future breeding. I think of how spoiled my girls are and how Hannah, my almost 4 mth old loves taking a nap w/ me (if I can sneak one in). I wish that lifestyle for every cairn. That's one reason my dd and I visit this breeder so much, we love to take the cairns toys and play w/ them.

Besides my cairns, I have to rescue dogs. I couldn't leave them in such horrible conditions so they're now w/ me.

[toomanypaws]

Gosh, I can't even spell!! The last sentence should say I have TWO rescue dogs.