Pet Store Visits...

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

I am truly hoping that this does not stir up any major controversy or arguments but I am truly curious. I have an extreme amount of sympathy for the animals that end up there. As a result, whenever in a mall with a pet store, I like to go in, pick a puppy or two, most often ones that don't appear to draw the most attention, and pretend that I'm interested. I try to spend 10-15 minutes at least just handling and giving it affection. I know that these puppies are in crates and their handling is so limited that it is my belief that any attention and affection is a positive thing. I do also go to shelters and visit with dogs as well but I am wondering, does entering these pet stores further their cause in any way? My heart breaks for the 8 week old puppy not getting socialized and just thought I'd get other people's opinions on visiting pet store puppies.

[Tamara & Giada]

Me either in our area, been over 5 years!

[Susan, Zeke. Lily & Jasper]

Dear Lindsey, It's my belief that acts of love, attention, mercy or kindness are never wasted! Bless you for what your do!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think that every bit of attention those poor puppies get is helping them, and doesn't do any harm...people who are going to buy from a pet store are going to do it, whether you hold the puppies or not. But I would talk about the fact that they come from puppy mills, without exception, any chance you get. And never, ever spend one penny there on anything.
The issue of actually buying one is really tricky, and very controversial. Bound to hurt someone's feelings. My guy originally came from a pet store, too, and I love him more than I can say. But the truth is, in some ways, in spite of the immeasurable joys he has given me, it would have been better if he had never been born. This is my baby I'm talking about, so take that however you will.
For every dog that is sold, another is ordered from the mill to take his place. His mother continues to live in a hellhole until she is too old to produce and gets dumped in a shelter, probably loaded with cancer. If no one buys the dogs that are in the stores now, those cages won't continue to be filled. The puppy mill's market will dry up, and that is the only way we are ever going to stop the supply...by stopping the demand. It's terrible for the ones who are there. But if they were the last ones to ever suffer...
There used to be a similar debate about buying and wearing fur. People would say, "Well, the animals are already dead, so how does it hurt them if I buy this fur coat?" The answer was that if the coats in the store don't sell, the store doesn't order more, and eventually changes their merchandise or goes out of business. I know it's not the same as living puppies, but the idea is the same.
A very tough issue, and I'm glad you brought it up.

[Adina P]

I've been tempted to, but the didn't want to spread disease among puppies, in case any of them were sick and it wasn't obvious. And I never knew what I'd do with them without putting them on the ground...ya know? Unless I suppose I only held a tiny one, but I'm always partial to the large breeds.

[Lily]

Most of the pet stores around here don't sell puppies anymore, they adopt them out from local shelters. There are one or two stores in malls I can think of though, that do sell puppies from behind glass walls and it just breaks my heart. I think it's a lovely idea to spend time with these neglected animals, but I can't imagine leaving them behind after! As long as you aren't supporting the pet stores monetarily, I can't see anything wrong with giving lots of cuddles and kisses to a puppy in need of them.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

That is my problem. Selfishly, I would not want to put myself through the torture of holding them and then leaving them. I am imagining the little chihuahua mentioned earlier (I have Taquito the chihuahua myself and pictured his sweet face). But I am certainly not against giving them some love :)

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

There are very few pet shop chains left in this area that actually sell puppies..Most of the petstores in malls have disappeared....but what we are seeing now here are lilttle shops popping up on major highways that call themselves AKC Puppy Centers........the buildings look like little cottages and have an outdoor area enclosed with a white picket fence and occassionally you will see people in their playing with puppies when you pass by......People are under the impression that if the sign says AKC on it then it's not a pet store.....Which could not be further from the truth......They ARE pet stores and the dogs DO come from mills...Yes I admit that I do visit them (mostly to investigate conditions)...I ask questions about the puppies as though I am interested in purchasing one.......Of course when you ask where they came from, the store tells you "breeders".....and of course the location of these breeders are in states like OH, PA, WI, IN, MO, NE, ND etc....All HUGE puppy mill states....If you bring up The Hunt Corporation, they ask you to leave...LOL...and that's usually when I whip out my camera and start snapping away.....I don't think there is any harm in giving a poor pet store dog a little love, affection nad kindness...IF you have the ability to actually walk away and not get sucked into the whole thing.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Nope...the only vans I see are the brokers bringing the dogs to the store from the mills, or the Hunte Corp vans bringing puppies to Pete's Petland. My area is sickening...you can barely drive 2 miles in any direction without seeing a pet store that sells puppies. Of course, my town was the first in the nation to try to enact breed specific laws, too....we actually made People magazine for that. When you talk to village officials about these issues, they have no idea what you're talking about. I know PA is bad, but MO/ IL/ WI is the heart of puppy mill country.
The lady you saw might be a broker, too, just telling you a good story. I hope not.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jack came from a pet store in Scottsdale. Susan checked for me, and they have closed. There are actually a few in the Western states that have been convinced to switch over to high-end pet boutique-type stores that don't sell animals, but have rescues for adoption. That is such a great idea. There is an organization that tries to persuade pet store owners to do that, I forget the name, but I'll try and search for the info later if anyone is interested.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It turns out that what I was thinking of is a program from the HSUS. I had found this article about it when I was trying to research where Jack came from. It sounds like a really good program that deserves support:
http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/arizona_p...

[Rose]

I've always wondered what happens to the puppies that have been in the pet stores for months and don't get sold. Are they sent back to the mills to become breeders themselves, are they euthanized, do they get dumped in shelters? It's all very sad.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Some do get sent back to the mills & become breeders, some get dumped in shelters by the mill operators, and much as I hate to think of it, I'm sure some do get euthanized. There are also auctions where unsold puppies are offered to other BYBs & mill operators. And sometimes, the puppies are given to rescue groups. But saying this makes people want to go buy one to save him. That's an understandable impulse, but we have to keep in mind that when you do that, you are rewarding the puppy mill. You are essentially saying, "I support what you are doing. Keep it up."
It's a sad situation without any easy solutions. :-(