How Much is That Doggie in the Window?

Ugh! We have a Petland here too. The last time I was there, my friend wanted to go in there with her son (who was 1 year old at the time) so he can see the puppies, I happened to be with her. I bit my tongue and went in. I got to the car and was so upset and swore I would never go in any petstore that sold dogs and I haven't. There used to be a petstore like that in the mall closest to where I live and THANK GOODNESS it shut down. I was soo happy!!

There was a pet store like that when I lived in ID.
Only went in there once, It was so sad! I began to think about these helpless little animals all alone in a dark store at night.

If I could, I would have taken them all in the blink of an eye!

My city just recently acquired a Petland...in addition to the Pet Warehouse we already have that sells puppies.    I wish we were getting rid of some of these establishments, instead of adding more.

Honestly pet shops never used to bother me until I came to this forum. I had no clue what so ever about puppy mills. Way back when I got my Pomeranian from Petland... I always thought they would good. Then I learned where all these dogs were coming from, and how their parents live. Now it just makes me sick to my stomach. We went to Petland the other day to look for a Golden Retriever book for my dad (they just bought one... at Petland- they don't care about BYB or Puppy mills ), and there was so many dogs and cats behind the glass. Some of the dogs wouldn't even look at you. And there was poop and pee covering the bottom of some cages. They looked SO sad. 

I NEVER go into Petland or any mall pet store because they sell pups and kittens.  I will not buy anything from those establishments.

At best I assume they get turned into shelters....although in the back of my mind I wonder if it ends up being worse than that. 

That's exactly what I was thinking!... I'm not extremely familiar with our "killing" laws around here so it makes me squirm.... Hopefully they end up in a shelter then into a loving home... ugh I can't stop thinking about that Mini American Eskimo... :o( He just looked soooo sick and sad...

I once asked the owner of a pet store int he mall what happened to the "unwanted" pups and she told me that eventually they sell because the price keeps dropping. I didn't necessarily belileve her.  This would be a good investigational story for the local news.  It's just so terribly sad!

It would make a really good story... After American Idol I still keep in touch with FOX 25 which are right on Rt. 1 in Dedham/Norwoood line. I should be like hey guys come follow me to the mall... lol

I totally know what you mean.  We have a brand new Debby's Petland in the mall of NH.  I honestly think they have them set up in those teeny crates with no toys or blankets ot play on people's emotions.  What ticks me off is the prices, I know it's about people buying on impulse, but it's not right to charge three times what a reputable breeder would charge.  It does appear that as the puppy gets older the price drops and drops though, so hopefully they all find homes.  I always worry though because you see soooo many people purchasing a dog on impulse and I wonder how many of the cute impulse purchases end up at a shelter or being neglected becuase they didn't do any research before buying a puppy and I'd assume there is no screening process, it's just whoever can afford it.  So wrong, I wish Petstores were illegal.

I agree 100% LillianD (very insightful comment too with the "play people's emotions" I wouldn't doubt that!)

I did a survey back in college about why people by dogs. It was for business analyst/stats class therefore I had to runs test bla bla... fun junk haha WELL turns out almost every person i talked to buys a dog out of (1) convenience (2) looks (3) money... it's like THOSE are the reasons?

People outside of this forum typically don't feel the same way we do about things; hense why they aren't on a DOG forum. They don't really CARE that much. They loves dogs, want a dog, but aren't going to start protesting anytime soon.

I know for a fact the Pet Stores will shut down if we can stop places like the Hunte Corporation which is a giant puppy mill. Put the back yard breeders out of busines... stuff like that. It's going to take a long time but if we do it breed by breed by breed and keep educating one day it will happen. I mean look at America; at one point Women couldn't even vote and now you've got a woman running to be the president?!

I have faith that one day Pet Stores will be gone :o)

I avoid pet stores that sell animals like that.  Luckily, my favorite stores here only sell cats and dogs from rescues, not for profit.  There are a few that sell their own puppies and kittens, I refuse to purchase anything at those stores.  I do think that the puppies at least are eventually sold.  It's sad, but tons of people still buy their dogs from a pet store and the price drops as the dog ages.  When I volunteered at the shelter, I don't recall any dogs ever coming in from pet stores.  If people would stop buying them, the store would stop "stocking" them, so to speak.  I refuse to believe that buying a puppy from a store, BYB, or puppy mill is "rescuing" a puppy.