HOW BREEDERS PRICES AFFECT RESCUE

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

What is there to be afraid of?

Let's do it again?


Link to the "So Expensive!" discussion in the Main Forum.

[Jeannine]

OH! NO!!!!... Okay than... But everybody have to be polite and respectful of other's point of view and please no personal attacks!

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

It's a private group, say what you want!

[Jeannine]

OH my gosh... for Pete's sake... that will just turn... so much fun!

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

I was hesitant to post in the open forum. But here are my thoughts for whatever they are worth.

The only way puppy mills are going to be shut down is through tough legislation and enforcement. It must be made so that it is not economical to run a puppy mill.

Generally the first time puppy buyer is unaware of the problems and just wants a cute puppy at a reasonable price. I am not throwing stones as I was in that group but got lucky.

The legitimate breeders in order to stay in business must either drop their prices and be willing to have a lower profit.

It all boils down to $$$.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

AMEN!

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

You are correct about the legislation regarding puppy mills but how will they do it? Most states do have purported policing of kennels who are *registered*, but most of the scum of the earth horrendous places fly under the radar. In a desparate attempt without a thorough understanding as they move to relieve the pressure placed on them, legislators across the country are proposing bill after bill that sound and look good at first ~ but start reading the fine print.

Many such bills ran through Florida, most postponed ~ one in fine print stated that blah, blah, blah would apply to commercial breeders. In your head what does the reference commercial breeder bring to mind? How many dogs? How many litters? According to that stipulation I would be a commercial breeder because we usually whelp more than 19 puppies in a year. Now to the enforcement, it stated that at any time for any reason or even no reason without a warrant ANY official (so around here it could even be citizens on patrol) could demand access to my home, confiscate my dogs, rip through my house and basically do whatever they want, ask questions later. I have nothing to hide as a breeder but the preformed notion of how violated I would feel in such a situation is rather large. Could you imagine how that may be used inappropriately?

Then if acceptable legislation is passed and the reputable & legitimate breeders who should drop their prices will likely be paying additional fees, and the new laws could add to their expenses potentially in a variety of ways. So now what?

I know it has been stated by my friends here that they are aware of the type of program we run, but if I am truly to add an additional perspective so that we can work together in this the blame has to stop. Only then can we move forward, and just for the record that applies to all corners on the subject.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I know this is unrealistic, but to me, the solution is very obvious:
Make it against the law to sell dogs in retail stores. Nationwide. Period.
You want a dog, you have to go directly to the breeder.
Yes, I know there are mill operations like AH that do sell directly to the public, but the majority of the mill business is the pet stores. You close the pet stores that sell puppies, you shut down at least 75% of the mills.
I know it's a pipe dream, but there are areas of the country where the municipalities will not allow retail businesses that sell dogs & cats, with zoning laws on the books to that effect. People have to look at their own towns and see what they can do to bring this about. There are also organizations that are working to convince private pet store owners to stop selling animals and change the focus of their shops to specialty pet product boutiques. They are having some success, especially in areas with a more affluent, better educated demographic.
But the chain stores like Pete's Petland, and their parent company, The Hunte Corporation, will only be brought down through other legislative methods.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

This is a complicated situation without easy answers. I think we all can agree that the public must be educated before there is any chance of solving these problems. Unfortunately, here we are "preaching to the choir".