Pet stores

I've learned a lot reading in this forum. I've yet to buy a pet. My old cat, Misty, 5? -88 to 2-17-05 was a stray from the street that the sister of my first wife's grandmother gave to us. We named her after the song by Harold Arlen. Shadow, originally bought at a pet store, was given to us when the home he was in, psychotic to say the least, was going to have him euthanized to be mean to his original owner. Our new kitten, Jade, was living under the car of a friend of ours and her cat wouldn't allow this kitten to stay for long. Plus, I get people all the time offering me dogs that can't really keep. I've been to the Sherman Animal Shelter twice and both times, months apart, I have seen Sibe and Sibe mixes. If I were to adopt from there, the entire cost would be a whopping $44, which includes adoption, first vacc including rabies, and s/n at a supporting area vet.
 
As for temperment, you can't even guarantee personality from a purebred. There is temperment and then there's personality. With the right training and understanding, you can make a fine pet from a shelter dog. Most of them are there due to unfortunate circumstances or owner ineptitude.
 
And I feel if a person can't handle what it takes to handle a dog, training, patience, understanding, etc., perhaps they should adopt a kitten, rather than a dog. Even though Sibes are my favorite breed, there are too many waiting to be adopted and I haven't had the need to seek out a breeder specifically for getting a dog. I can simply rely on the bumbling or neglect of humans to find another pet. Heck, we literally got Jade right off the street. She couldn't live in our friend's house and was hiding in the yard and sleeping under an old car, all because some other human couldn't fulfill the basic responsibilities of pet ownership.
 

Here in Indiana, specifically Indianapolis we have a terrible pet overpopulation problem that is not being dealt with efficiently.  All our animal control does is put them down after 4 days.  There are no spay/neuter laws, etc.  They are trying to deal with dog bites by making a breed specific law which doesn't address the thousands of other animals running loose.  Please tell me about your laws in Scotland.  That spay/neuter certificate sounds ideal but can u explain more about requirements, laws, etc.  Thank you!

Different cities in Scotland have different laws,they have just passed a law requireing owners to clean up after their dogs or they get a £25 fine but I don't think they have the manpower to back this law up. Dogs must be on leads in parks except for dog exercise areas although a lot of people still let their dog offleash.Certain breeds are registered under the 'Dangerous Dog Act', Pitt  Bull Terriers,Akitas are a couple of them. If your dog escapes or runs away and causes an accident or bites someone you can be charged under this law. If a dog is found wandering the street it is taken to the local dog and cat home and kept for 7 days, if no owner comes forward they sell the dog.Is it easy to get a dog from the dog home in Indiana?

Pet stores are horrible... I really wish that we had harsher laws here in the US to protect animals.  Puppies from petstores come from puppy mills where the parents are overbred, mistreated, and are in poor health. 
 
My fiancee works for a vet's office, and the local puppy store uses his vet as their vet... every week, a puppy comes in and dies from parvo... so horrible. 

We have what is referred to as Animal Control.  They pick up strays (when called) & if the dog has identification, which is required in Marion County, they will make an attempt to notifiy the owner.  After 4 days they are put to sleep unless they are exceptionally cute and/or considered adoptable.  If the owner is located they have to pay a fine for "animal at large" & if they cannot provide proof of  rabies vaccination they are fined for that also. If a dog has been picked up for biting, the owner gets fined, the 2nd offense the dog is euthanized but u do have the opportunity to fight it in court.  Anyone can breed a dog or cat and no license is required. The only requirement is that u have to be registered as a business if you are "selling." Which trust me, most "back yard breeders" don't  do that.  Non profit organizations are supposed to be upheld to standards of care policed by Animal Control but they are understaffed, underpaid and in some cases, paid to keep their mouth shut!  There is no formal spay/neuter program and overpopulation is out of control in Indianapolis.  Animal cruelty is yet another aspect that this city tolerates - our mayor doesn't really care one way or another unless it affects him politically OR if it is sports oriented....  Attempts to change things for the better has always been a struggle.  This is, or at least used to be a farm state and animals are considered property, easily disposed of and replaced!  I'm getting on my soapbox so I best get off and close.

And, to answer your question, it is relatively easy to buy an animal from the pound.  You basically fill out some paperwork, pay the fee and take the animal home.  The animal is supposed to be fully vaccinated and spayed or neutered if old enough.  If not, they require proof of sterilization which they don't have the manpower to follow up on.  They do not check to see if the buyer has prior violations, they don't check to see if the buyer can accomodate the pet they are buying and they really don't care who ends up with the animal.  It is all about numbers, how many in, how many out, to justify their job to the mayor.  Everything in this county is politically motivated, unfortunately the animals suffer as a result.

[color=#0066ff]And, to answer your question, it is relatively easy to buy an animal from the pound.

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Ha, tell that to the people who have been denied simply because they have intact animals or no fence.....
 
Plenty of animals are contained without a physical fence, and if a dog is spayed or neutered before it goes to your home, I fail to see how having another intact pet could be a problem

My HS does charge an adoption fee, but we don't sell dogs.  We place them only after very careful evaluation of the people and the home.

ORIGINAL: Xeph

[color=#0066ff]And, to answer your question, it is relatively easy to buy an animal from the pound.

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Ha, tell that to the people who have been denied simply because they have intact animals or no fence.....

 
There's a big difference between county animal shelters and organizations like the SPCA. When I worked at the SPCA, people had to fill out a questionnaire, their landlord was called (if renting) and basically they were screened. Not all were approved. I also later worked at a county animal shelter and they had to adopt to anyone that had the money.
 
There were so many times I WISHED there was a screening process.... One time a man adopted a Min Pin and he had at least 5 small kids, all grabbing at the dog like a pack of wolves. I said something to him about giving the poor dog some space and he made them back off for a second. I felt so sorry for that poor dog. []

Pet Stores here suck, I hate them all. They certainly dont get there dogs from mills (it isnt a profit here because the shops dont pay until they sell and if they dont sell they return them) but they are brought in by BYB and the dogs are horrible looking and sickly. They sell 'pocket' chihuahuas who end up being twice the normal weight of a chi and they sell the other pups way too young and tell people they are older.

Im preparing some flyers to post all over different towns revealing the truth of pet shops. The people wont care if the dogs are from BYB's but I can tell you they will definately think twice if they learn the pups are sold at 4 weeks (and played off as twice that age), and that for the same price they can get a pup from a breeder who guarantees how the pups will turn out and gives guarantees.
 
As for shelters, its the biggest joke around. The shelter was basicall put up to discourage people dumping their animals on a street corner. Hardly anyone adopts from a shelter, so i'd say about 98% of the animals are PTS. Its so sad...