Except there aren't so many stray leopard wrasses and corals roaming our streets because there are just too many.Should we also stop buying that beautiful Leopard Wrasse, or that amazing gold maxima clam, or that must have elegance coral and that __________?
Have you tried petfinder or mastiff rescues?Do you know of anyone with a 3 month old or younger full Brindle Male Bullmastiff at a shelter needing to be rescued? Let me know...........
Killerdrgn, duke62 answered the 1st. one.;(Except there aren't so many stray leopard wrasses and corals roaming our streets because there are just too many.
Have you tried petfinder or mastiff rescues?
duke62, I hear ya! I would never buy a puppy from a store or anywhere else for that matter without researching the place.that's because they are dying in tanks at the local pet store.i also understand the no buying puppies frompet stores but u know they need love and affection as well.that story of if no one buys them there will be no more puppy mills is so not a fact.if no one ever buys a puppy again the prices will go down people will buy them again.i did my research when i purchased my pup.i went to the place many times.i saw the vet all the time and spoke with him for several minutes.i watched a van pull in with 3 pups that were going up for sale that looked happy and clean.that was the only reason like i said i went and picked up my little girl.there are good pet stores and i feel like i made the right decision.just if you do decide to purchase not adopt do like i did and dont rush into it cause there is some bad places out there
Syb, I totally understand and sympathize with your feelings!! And agree with you for the most part. Which is why this is something that I will be struggling with for a long time.I just wanted to clarify one specific thing regarding the poem that I posted. The dogs themselves in the stores may very well be well cared for and healthy at the moment... it is not where they are now, it is where they were and what conditions that the bitches and studs are living in that is the problem
If you can deal with a local pet store that sells reputable breeders puppies (btw places like that don't exist... no reputable breeder would enlist a pet store to sell their puppies)--- as for guarantees, a reputable breeder will offer a LIFETIME guarantee on their pups health for genetic abnormalities, they will have in contract stating if the dog isn't to be shown and going to a pet only home that it will have to be altered, also that if for any reason the dog can no longer be kept that it should be returned to the original breeder.
I really did not direct my comment directly at anyone and do not want anyone to feel attacked by my opinion on all of this, it is simply something I feel very strongly about. I am not saying that adoption is the only way. We happen to have two pure bred dogs, both from breeders, sold to us as pet only dogs, both altered. We keep in contact with both breeders. One of which is in FL and not breeding or showing any longer, one from the Island.
As for comparing the purchase of a dog to a fish, there is a huge difference IMO regarding that matter. Yes the way in which some if not most specimens are collected sucks... and many die in transit. Though there are completely different reasons for not doing what we all do in that regard.
As for dogs... each breed should be bred to a specific standard for health, temperment, size etc. You will not find these things at dogs bred at a puppy mill. The pet stores offer guarantees like warranties on a car. Have a dog with hip diplasia you got from a pet store... they may refund your money... but the mill will continue to breed those particular lines producing more sub-standard pups. Reputable breeder, tests for these things in advance on bitches and studs to try to eliminate the possibility for these problems.
All I'm saying is if you want to buy a dog, do so empowered with knowledge of where the dog came from, not just that it is healthy in a store window. The store owners may very well be old friends from the neighborhood, doesn't mean that the breeders they get their dogs from are using ethical practices in their breeding.
A simple google of the truth about puppy mills or a search on the show Oprah did on the subject will show a truth that I would think surely would change anyones mind on the matter. Leaving that puppy in the store, discounted or not simply because it is the right thing to do... will change things, along with working towards getting better regulations for the USDA in how these mills are run and operate helps.
The only voice our animals have is our own. We can make the changes. Through knowledge comes power to change.
If we all walked around accepting things as is... if I don't do it someone else will, once it is discounted... nothing would ever change.
hijinks, I think I've addressed some of your concerns as I answered pinkheime's.I had a long talk one afternoon with my vet that we used for the dog rescue. I posted my thoughts on puppy mills and pet stores and its been said no good breeder sells their dogs to pet stores.. in fact no good breeder will really ship their dogs either.
You may see a website for one breed but its a good chance they are a puppy mill/backyard breeder. Its not that hard for a backyard breeder to toss up 8-10 domains for different breeds of puppies.. the AKC history is also BS unless you plan to show a dog. All a breeder has to do is pay the fee.
So on the vet.. he was offered to be the "vet" for a local pet store and turned it down due to the petstore always wanting to get clean bills of health. I go into a lot of pet stores all over the NYC area.. I've probably been to 16-20 of them that sell puppies. I would say 60% of them had new dogs younger then 2 months. Their puppy teeth were just coming in for some.
I learned this the hard way when I got a Boston Terrier 6 years ago from a pet store that had a laundry list of problems and had to be put down due to mange and not having an immune system. That is when I started to really research where pet store dogs come from and then worked for a dog rescue and went to some of these dog flea markets where pet stores buy dogs from.
It really is a sad thing to see a mother dog in a small cage and doesn't even get a heat cycle off before she is having puppies.
Yes people who buy pet store dogs may be rescuing a dog buy you are providing money to keep the industry going and making the mother suffer.
Just think of it like this.. the only way to stop spam is to stop people from buying it. The only way to stop the upward suffering is to stop thinking its a good thing to rescue these dogs.
You might get a perfectly healthy dog from a pet store.. yes you will always get one that loves you to death but there is a very good chance you will end up with a dog that has seperation issues later on that can destroy a house or hurt the dog due to being taken from the mother at a too young of age. There is also issues with health.
On top of that I know most places sell new puppies for 2x the cost of a good breeder. Good breeders are not in it for the money. Most will never make 1 cent off breeding dogs. So you are just throwing away money buying a dog at a pet store.
Pet stores make their money on people not being patient enough to wait for a dog from a breeder. People here should be patient enough to wait right??I've seen people wait 2 months for a tank to cycle.. surely you can wait 6 months for a dog that will love you.