Not All Pet Shops Are Bad

i live in Western Australia and maybe it's different here but iv'e never come across a bad pet store, the pet stores iv'e seen  have dogs that were given to them by people who couldn't keep them anymore and were going to send them to a shelter.
 
the  other dogs they  sell are cross breeds that have been steralised and had their shots, they also make sure the pups go to good homes and none of them are from puppy mills.
 
a few pet stores even sell adult cats that have been abandoned which is always a good thing, they also teach people that you need to spay/neuter your pet.
 
 
 
felicity

i have yet to see a pet shop that I suspect of them buying from puppy mills, but the ones that do sell pups i would not buy anyway.
 
They get their pups from BYB who know nothing about the breed, just want to make a quick buck. I went the oher day to a pet shop to get a tick spray and they had this golden that looked like an Irish Setter! LOL
 
They also had these two lab pups, one yellow and a chocolate, the chocolate was adorable, definately looked like a lab but the yellow looked like your average stray mutt.
 
 

Theres always an exception to the rule.  Generally pet shops are viewed as bad places to get dogs, because a lot of them buy dogs in large quantities from puppy mills. 

One trick to keep in mind is the fact that PMs will sometimes place a litter, complete with bitch, with a local broker.  That person often sells in the paper with some story or other about how this was Fifi's only litter and how beloved she is and how she was bred to his best friend's dog, etc, etc.  And the papers will back all this up with the dogs being registered in these people's names.

If these people don't place young pups, they then have the option of brokering them to pet shops, who can then in honest truth say they got them from a "local breeder" who "raised the pups in his home".  Meanwhile Fifi goes back to her hellhole life at the PM.

PMs will obtain pups through the same process - by sending brokers who pose as local homes complete with loving well behaved children.  That part makes me totally sick.  I have a friend who got caught up in exactly this way.  Fortunately the mill her pup ended up at was local and small and the BC world was small enough then that someone recognized the pup six months later (he was very distinctive from a particular line).

I can't say for sure but there's absolutely no reason that the same process couldn't ship pups back and forth to PR.  Pups are a big enough business that the mills supply all over the world now.

I'm afraid i would have to disagree Felicity. All the petshops I have seen in WA promote Back yard breeeders. The pups are either shipped over from the eastern states back yard breeders or from WA's long line of BYB's. IMO back yard breeders are as terrible as puppy mills in some instances. Personally I think any pet shop that promotes BYB's should be shut down.
 
Just out of interest where have you seen these pet shops? The ones i have seen all sell pups and dont really care where they go to.

Hayley, are you also in Australia?

ORIGINAL: hayley018

I'm afraid i would have to disagree Felicity. All the petshops I have seen in WA promote Back yard breeeders. The pups are either shipped over from the eastern states back yard breeders or from WA's long line of BYB's. IMO back yard breeders are as terrible as puppy mills in some instances. Personally I think any pet shop that promotes BYB's should be shut down.

Just out of interest where have you seen these pet shops? The ones i have seen all sell pups and dont really care where they go to.

 
i don't know...
 
iv'e only been to a few privately owned stores, one of them , the owner took in adult cats and tried to rehome them, she had kittens too but tried to educate people on spay and neuter.
 
i thought that most of them came from people that accidently let their dogs have pups...i have seen a few people come into these stores, people with kids and a big box of puppies that they don't know what to do with.
 
the pet stores then charge for the price of shots etc.
 
i haven't been to many big pet stores, they might be different, i really don't know.
 
felicity
 
 

I agree not all pet shops are bad, though I support some here more than others.  It may be easier for me....in England it is illegal for pet stores to sell dogs.  Here dogs come from breeders or the HS.  I am not saying there are not puppy mills - there are - but the resultant puppies do not wind up in pet stores to be taken home as impulse purchases.  You can find them advertising in the back of local newspapers, but people have to make an effort to go and pick them up so I think that cuts out some of the impulse element.  (The same is true with cats.)
 
Given the above, I generally choose which pet stores to shop in based on whether they are family-run or big chain stores.  I prefer to support local independent stores when I can, and only go to the big chains when I really need something I can't find elsewhere.
 
Kate

I'm sorry to hear that there's pet shops at all in Puerto Rico, because an awful lot of those dogs are going to end up on the streets, and then you know what happens? 

They end up here in New England, after they have been captured by animal activists in Puerto Rico who have them vetted and rehabilitate them and keep them in their foster homes for months to assess their health and well being.  Then they are flown off of Puerto Rico to many different locations that participate in the SATO rescue.  Our local shelter has brought HUNDREDS of these dogs from Puerto Rico to New England.  In my small neighborhood alone, I know three people with SATO dogs. 

Yes Jeano i am also in perth, wa. Unfortunatly all the big pet stores i have been to are BYB pets and they dont care where they go or what happens to them. It is nice to know there are some nice little pet shops that help people though