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

[Disneyland1084]

I'm not really sure how I feel about this as I believe every pet has a right to live. I'm more of a "Don't breed or buy while shelter pets die" type of person. As long as people are good to animals, I don't care where they get them. I had to put my 15 year old dog to sleep two days ago. It's going to be several months or so until we get another dog. I'm sort of picky on the type of breed of dog I want. Of course I'll always look at the pound first in the hopes one shows up. A couple of months ago I saw an adorable lhasa apso puppy at a pet store. I would have loved to have taken it home with me. I hear about pet stores that claim their puppies are from breeders, but are often from puppy mills.

 

[Kitty 34]

I'm not really sure how I feel about this as I believe every pet has a right to live. I'm more of a "Don't breed or buy while shelter pets die" type of person. As long as people are good to animals, I don't care where they get them. I had to put my 15 year old dog to sleep two days ago. It's going to be several months or so until we get another dog. I'm sort of picky on the type of breed of dog I want. Of course I'll always look at the pound first in the hopes one shows up. A couple of months ago I saw an adorable lhasa apso puppy at a pet store. I would have loved to have taken it home with me. I hear about pet stores that claim their puppies are from breeders, but are often from puppy mills.

I'm not for or against what others do to obtain a pet. Me.....I would get them from the humane society

 

[Disneyland1084]

I'm not for or against what others do to obtain a pet. Me.....I would get them from the humane society

I think that's great. Lucky for me, a neighbor of mine works at the humane society and will call me whenever a breed I'm interested in shows up.

 

[Kitty 34]

I think that's great. Lucky for me, a neighbor of mine works at the humane society and will call me whenever a breed I'm interested in shows up.

That's cool.

 

[L&Lfan]

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.

 

[dish rag]

If I saw an animal at a pet store that I wanted I would buy it.

 

[mjkacmom]

I am 100% against buying puppies from a pet store, I think it should be illegal everywhere. It’s financially supporting cruelty to animals. I feel the same about backyard breeders, I’d never financially support those who just breed two animals for profit. I have no issue with professional breeders who responsibly breed dogs for specific purposes, police dogs, hunting dogs, even show dogs.

 

[OneOftheB's]

100% against buying a pet store dog. They will come from puppy mills, many will have significant health and behavioral issues and I refuse to give a single dollar to support the horrific conditions in which the breeding dogs are kept. My MIL bought a "miniature Pinscher" from a pet store. The dog was about 3 months old at the time and had never been to a vet, had no rabies vaccination and it was discovered that she had a level 3 heart murmur during their 3 day cooling off period. When she tried to return the dog that she had spend $900 (yes, $900!) she was told they would "kill the puppy" because no one would want it. They gave her a discount on the dog (wow, knocked 1/2 off the price!) and she kept the dog. I'm an animal lover, but this was the single worst dog I have ever been around. She was never housebroken, was dog aggressive, would bite people in the family and had horrible allergies to the point I never saw the dog with more than a 1/2 coat of fur all the years she had the dog.

So, no don't buy from a pet store. If you can't rescue the dog you want, find a legitimate breeder who cares about the dog & the home in which it will go. A legitimate breeder will take the dog back, as will a good rescue.

 

[cleverclovers]

Had a dog from the local pound for 14 years. Adopted a cat from the Humane Society 3 years ago. Would never get a pet from a puppy mill/ pet store.

 

[firefly_ris]

Pet store puppies come from puppy mills, unless they are partnering with a local rescue or shelter organization as a "satellite" location. Otherwise they are products of mills and high volume breeding facilities. Supporting them perpetuates this industry. "Saving" a puppy from the store only condemns its mother back at the mill and future litters to take its place at the store. Fortunately there are less and less pet stores as time goes by and people are more aware. And yes the store will always lie and tell you they come from a "reputable" breeder.... false. Reputable breeders do NOT sell off their puppies to stores where they can be bought by anyone who has a credit card and have no idea where they are going.

Our rescue gets a lot of mill survivors... both the adults as well as "defective" puppies that they would otherwise kill. I'm currently fostering a 7 year old puppy mill survivor from an Amish mill in Ohio. She has had 12 litters in 7 years. Her puppies were sold to brokers and shipped to pet stores all over the US. Meanwhile she spent her entire life in a small wire cage in her own excrement. The only touch of a human was to yank her out for breeding. She was a filthy disgusting mess when I got her in October. She is making progress but her past has scarred her in a big way.

Now not all large volume breeding facilities are dirty either, but it's not possible for them to get the proper attention, exercise and care they need nor have high quality genetics to pass on when breeding for such high volume.... it's not a life for a social companion animal even if their run is clean.

The only way to end the cycle is to stop patronizing pet stores.

Sorry if I came off too blunt, but I'm dealing with the fallout of this industry personally.

http://www.prisonersofgreed.org/

 

[Mizzoufan]

animals need homes so as longs as they go to good homes that all I care about

 

[Sleepy425]

Knowing what I do about the horrors pet store puppies go through, I will not purchase anything from those stores. If you buy a puppy, it pads the store owner's pockets with enough money to buy a few more. It keeps the cycle going. As awful as it is to see the dogs in that situation, you are NOT helping if you give them money. For every dog you see that made it to the store, at least a couple have died along the way due to lack of nutrition, lack of vet care, or extreme temperatures during transportation (dogs can be transported in the back of trucks that don't have air conditioning). NO reputable breeder sells dogs to a pet store. None.
I get my dogs from a shelter and will continue to. And I am vocal about others who don't. I know someone who bought a "kid-ready llasa." She paid a premium for this dog because it was "kid-ready." It was just a ploy by an online mass-breeder. It was a dog that hadn't sold and was at least a few months old, so they changed the advertising on the dog hoping someone with little sense would be willing to still buy it for a considerable mark up. Her argument for not adopting a puppy from a shelter was, "I need to make sure it is good with kids!" She honestly believed spending more money meant the dog was better. And, sadly, that is what many people believe.

 

[tazdev3225]

My local pet store has become an all rescue store so yes I will get a pet from there. In fact I adopted a kitten in mid November that I still don't have at home because the litter developed ringworm and the store has been proactive with a vet making sure it is 100% healthy before I can get him home. Just checked on him again today and he is getting better. They test him every 2 weeks to make sure there is no evidence of the infection before he gets neutered.

 

[Hikergirl]

What happens to the pets in the pet stores that don't get purchased?
Are they sent off to already filled shelters?
Are they sent back to the mill they came from?
I need to know those things before I can answer if I would purchase a pet from one.

 

[superme80]

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.

 

[RedAngie]

What happens to the pets in the pet stores that don't get purchased?
Are they sent off to already filled shelters?
Are they sent back to the mill they came from?
I need to know those things before I can answer if I would purchase a pet from one.

Most likely unsold pet store puppies are killed when the cost of keeping them exceeds the expected profit of selling them.

 

[firefly_ris]

What happens to the pets in the pet stores that don't get purchased?
Are they sent off to already filled shelters?
Are they sent back to the mill they came from?
I need to know those things before I can answer if I would purchase a pet from one.

There's no end date for the puppy to be sold by... they are typically just marked down or put on clearance until they sell. Their original price tags are usually insanely outrageous so they can mark down for quite a while. Employees sometimes end up with them also. It's not common for them to go to shelters and logistically not worth it to ship them all the way back to the mill they came from (these dogs can come in large shipments... many don't survive the journey either). Once the puppy sells, demand has been created and another one will promptly arrive to fill its cage.

 

[dclpluto]

I had 5 dogs in my adult life. They have all came from the spca. They all have been mixed breeds and they all have been great family members. I don’t see any pet stores by me that sells animals. Use to see them when I was a kid at the malls but don’t see any now.

 

[dotfurio]

Our pet stores in town are just chain stores, and they only have rescue dogs and cats available.

If I wanted a purebred I wouldn't buy at a pet store - I would go directly to a breeder where you can visit.

 

[sonnyjane]

I had to check the date of this thread because I know we've had this debate on the boards before with many of the same responses.

MY opinion? I fully support the cities (and now states) that are no longer allowing cats or dogs to be sold in pet stores unless they are from a local shelter.

I am fully AGAINST pet stores that do not sell animals from shelters, because as others said, they are supporting puppy mills. That means I am also fully AGAINST people that purchase animals from pet stores that are not shelter animals.

"But they need homes tooooo!" Well, first of all they are most likely sick, and second, you're just perpetuating the cycle. Like a band-aid being ripped off, better to have a short bit of pain than prolong it.

I'd be shocked if there ever came a day that there were no longer animals in shelters or rescues needing to be adopted. I certainly won't see it in my lifetime.

And regarding the, "But I am picky and want a specific breed" issue? The dog you want IS out there somewhere at a breed-specific rescue. You might have to drive several states away to pick it up, but it is out there. Don't use that as an excuse to endorse animal cruelty.