Are you for or against buying a pet from a pet store?

Our local pet stores no longer carry puppies and kittens. One still has fish, reptiles and small rodents but that's it other than supplies. Our dogs came from various rescues and the last one we got was from someone we knew personally who allowed their dogs to have one litter before spaying/neutering. They were not purebreds and it just happened that I was there the day they were born and fell in love with him. I'm a sucker that way. As a kid I think my parents bought our puppy from a store but I don't know if that was the same issue 45 years ago that it is now. If so, my parents wouldn't have been aware.
 
I would never buy a dog from a pet store. And, actually, I would never buy anything from a pet store that sold puppies. I just don’t agree with supporting the puppy mill industry.

If I wanted a specific breed for whatever reason, I would spend some time looking/waiting for a breed specific rescue and if that did not pan out, I would buy from a reputable breeder.

I don't like it, but I understand why people do. Many shelters have way too many requirements. We were going to look at Pound, but all they had was Chihuahuas and Pit Bulls. Those were the 2 breeds we did not want. Thankfully we found a shelter that was far enough away that they wouldn't do a house inspection.

I know of very few rescues with overly restrictive policies. Ex. The Great Dane rescue near me will not adopt to anyone who lives in a house without a fenced yard (but they do adopt to people who live in apartments:confused3) Most rescues have fairly common sense requirements that are mostly there to ensure the dogs will not wind up needing to be rehomed. I really can’t understand why you would feel the need to evade a home inspection.
 
I would never buy a dog from a pet store. And, actually, I would never buy anything from a pet store that sold puppies. I just don’t agree with supporting the puppy mill industry.

If I wanted a specific breed for whatever reason, I would spend some time looking/waiting for a breed specific rescue and if that did not pan out, I would buy from a reputable breeder.



I know of very few rescues with overly restrictive policies. Ex. The Great Dane rescue near me will not adopt to anyone who lives in a house without a fenced yard (but they do adopt to people who live in apartments:confused3) Most rescues have fairly common sense requirements that are mostly there to ensure the dogs will not wind up needing to be rehomed. I really can’t understand why you would feel the need to evade a home inspection.

Ehh I WILL agree with that poster that some of the rescues are a bit out of control. When I lived in SoCal several years ago I looked into a Great Dane rescue and they required 1) fenced yards 2) no stairs 3) mandatory site inspections, one BEFORE allowing for the adoption and one 1-2 months later to check in and 4) (the dumbest one in my opinion) you had to agree to purchase their specially formulated custom food for the first YEAR that you owned the dog. I abandoned that one.
 
A really good book that I read about a puppy mill survivor is called Saving Gracie: How One Dog Escaped the Shadowy World of American Puppy Mills. It really opens your eyes to how these dogs are treated when they are used as breeding stock and if they are lucky and are rescued, how scarred they are.
 


California recently passed a law that prohibits the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores. They still have small animals (guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rats), as well and birds, reptiles and fish. The rabbit rescue community is very thankful that rabbits are included in this law. Too many cute, fluffy rabbits were being purchased on impulse, usually as pets for kids. After a few weeks or months, the family would realize rabbits are not always cuddly, require a lot of work and are just as costly as cats and dogs. As a result, they get dumped at shelters or outdoors to fend for themselves (which domestic rabbits cannot do for very long). The guy in my avatar was likely a dumped Easter bunny, left by himself at a baseball field. Luckily, the "crazy bunny family" (i.e. my family) were alerted and able to safely catch him on a 100 degree day when he wouldn't have survived much longer.

So no, I do not support buying pets from pet stores. A shelter or rescue generally requires an adoption application, interview with the family and often a home check to ensure that everyone is ready, willing and able to properly care for the animal.
 
A really good book that I read about a puppy mill survivor is called Saving Gracie: How One Dog Escaped the Shadowy World of American Puppy Mills. It really opens your eyes to how these dogs are treated when they are used as breeding stock and if they are lucky and are rescued, how scarred they are.

Yes, my mom's dog was confiscated from a puppy mill. When they found her as a puppy, she had never been outside of her tiny cage. She had severe rickets and could not walk. After a lot of rehab and many years, she is now doing very well physically, but still shows the behavioral scars of starting life off in those conditions. She's a great dog and I'm glad my mom was able to rescue her, but it would be better if dogs were never in that position in the first place.
 
I would have no issue with getting a pet from a pet store here because a local ordinance requires them only to sell animals they got from the shelter.

I would not get a pet from a breeder.

We've had 5 cats in the last 35 years, 2 were ferals and 3 came from the SPCA shelter.
 


I will never go to a pet store. I have no need to pay a ridiculous amount of money for a dog and I don't need a purebred. There are too many dogs in shelters that need homes that I feel bad for. I also tend to go for dogs that aren't necessarily puppies, as they are often overlooked too!
 
I bought our fish from Petco, but large animals like dogs or cats I would only get through rescue/ humane society. I found our youngest dog wandering the side of the road on Christmas eve a few years ago, she was a tiny puppy that has grown into a horse of a dog.

I only want pure breds....I don't care where I get them..a shelter or pet store or private breeder....doesn't matter to me.

Can I ask why? From what I've read about pure breads, they are more prone to health issues.
 
I have only gotten our animals from shelters/ family.

Although I do agree, some shelters are overly restrictive. I was looking at this beautiful, sweet husky and called to inquire about her.

I was told they wouldn't adopt to me because we have young children and thus wouldn't give her enough care and attention. I was so angry. I believe all children should have a pet (and I love them too). It worked out fine because we got our golden then from a family friend who passed on, but it still bugs me that this shelter is keeping animals away from potentionally wonderful forever homes because they think parents can't pay enough attention when they have young kids.
 
I have only gotten our animals from shelters/ family.

Although I do agree, some shelters are overly restrictive. I was looking at this beautiful, sweet husky and called to inquire about her.

I was told they wouldn't adopt to me because we have young children and thus wouldn't give her enough care and attention. I was so angry. I believe all children should have a pet (and I love them too). It worked out fine because we got our golden then from a family friend who passed on, but it still bugs me that this shelter is keeping animals away from potentionally wonderful forever homes because they think parents can't pay enough attention when they have young kids.
I know a couple of families with young kids give up their huskies, I believe it’s a tough breed to train, and very time consuming.
 
The addition of a pet to the family is always an opportunity to save a life. We never pass that up. Once we decide we are open to adding a new pet, we start scouring the shelters to find one that will work for us. You only get so many opportunities to save a life.

To me it doesn't matter if buying one in a pet store will save that life today. If I buy one there, they will replace it with another, and the demand will continue the cycle.

One of our cats was from the pound. She had been abandoned in an apartment for weeks before being found and taken to the shelter. She deserves every pound she has put on since then. We got our latest cat as a kitten from someone who found and rescued a batch of feral kittens on their farm. We've only had 2 dogs. One came from the pound as a puppy. The other showed up on our door and we never found her owners.
 
I know a couple of families with young kids give up their huskies, I believe it’s a tough breed to train, and very time consuming.

It wasn't just the husky. They informed me they don't adopt out to families with young children. Period.

And we have experience with huskies. They are independent and like to run. She was 3 or 4, can't remember.
 
It wasn't just the husky. They informed me they don't adopt out to families with young children. Period.

And we have experience with huskies. They are independent and like to run. She was 3 or 4, can't remember.
Could it be they are concerned with animals being returned? They may have been burned in the past with higher incidents of returns with households that had young children for a variety of reasons.
 
Could it be they are concerned with animals being returned? They may have been burned in the past with higher incidents of returns with households that had young children for a variety of reasons.

It could be. But does that mean that it's okay to deny allowing families to adopt a pet? Is it okay for them to deny to someone who is 65+ in case they pass, regardless of their health? Is it okay for them to deny people in the armed forces in case they are deployed? Or people who have risky jobs?

I'm sure a lot of families "return" pets. But I'm quite sure many, many more give them loving, lifelong homes.
 
It could be. But does that mean that it's okay to deny allowing families to adopt a pet? Is it okay for them to deny to someone who is 65+ in case they pass, regardless of their health? Is it okay for them to deny people in the armed forces in case they are deployed? Or people who have risky jobs?

I'm sure a lot of families "return" pets. But I'm quite sure many, many more give them loving, lifelong homes.
Well I guess it's up to each shelter.

The shelter/rescue place where I adopted my cat required to speak to our landlord themselves in order to make sure it was ok to have a clawed-cat (and a cat in general) allowed. They also advised they had the right to one home visit within a year of adoption (though they didn't do that for us). They also had written in their adoption paperwork that you signed advising if you were going to de-claw that you are to instead return the cat to the shelter/rescue place.

I know some places are very restrictive and sometimes for asinine reasons. In your case I would say they should have left it as "they don't adopt out to families with young children. Period." rather than add in "thus wouldn't give her enough care and attention." because that second part would sour me on the place themselves. That second part is partially why I wondered if they had been burned in the past.
 
Well I guess it's up to each shelter.

The shelter/rescue place where I adopted my cat required to speak to our landlord themselves in order to make sure it was ok to have a clawed-cat (and a cat in general) allowed. They also advised they had the right to one home visit within a year of adoption (though they didn't do that for us). They also had written in their adoption paperwork that you signed advising if you were going to de-claw that you are to instead return the cat to the shelter/rescue place.
Yea. Technically I wasn't supposed to adopt one of my cats if I was planning to move within the year or something like that. I moved 5 months later to a totally different state.
 
We're partial to shelter dogs, but I don't have any issues with pet stores selling pets.
 

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