YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post - What Should Be Done With "Pet Store Puppies"?

momofreese · 07-29-2006, 06:24 PM

My family and I were those that were "innocently ignorant" and purchased Reese from a local petshop. I had never known about puppymills but I did know a lot of people from my town who purchased their dogs from this petshop. I did make the decision to finally purchase a yorkie for my daughters and myself. We went into this store, which by the way is spotless, smells at times (although I think any home/business that had 40 to 50 dogs would have some type of unpleasant odor), extremely nice owner, large cages and many play areas for the dogs..etc etc.

We fell madly in love with Reese and purchased her and when she turned 7 months I realized that something was wrong with her. Suddenly when I held her, at all times, she would whimper. After practically forcing my vet to xray her, she was diagnosed with legg perthes. She also has developed a collapsed trachea or a weak traccea since when she is wearing her harness and walking.. which isn't too often since she prefers to be carried, she will as we call it honk continuously.

When we were told that she "probably" had legg perthes the owner of the store immediately asked us if we wanted to exchange her. I thought he was nuts. I had told him that after hour one, we were madly in love with her and would NEVER think of disposing of her like she was a pair of torn shoes that I would bring back to the store for an immediate refund. He did say he agreed and felt that he had to offer that option. He then told me he would return her entire purchase price and paid over $700.00 for several vet visits and a visit to a specialist.

Now I am not CONDONING pet shop purchases, nor will I ever do it again. I have become extremely outspoken about the puppymill/pet shop situation but I will not badmouth this particular owner. I will not recommend buying a dog from his shop, but by no means will I badmouth him. I feel that he did a lot more than many reputable breeders would have done. Since we are looking to purchase another yorkie I have been reading breeder contracts and have noticed that most will give you a one year guarantee on congenital defects and if one is found they will A. exchange the puppy
or
B. pay for vet charges for UP to the purchase
price of the puppy.
I am not a maven on this subject and please forgive me if I am misquoting what a possible YT breeders contract states, but I am merely stating what is in the majority of the contracts that I have read.

I know I am going off topic but I am coming to the question.. well maybe part of the intended question. The answer to your question is not a direct answer. As many already have stated the problem is not what will happen to those puppies already in the shops. They will be purchased or they will be rescued if they reach the age where they become less saleable. I have spoken to the owner of the shop where Reese was purchased, since I now am less ignorant than what I was. I asked him what he does with the older pups who do not get sold.. he said the majority of the puppies are sold. They will continue to reduce the price until they are sold. In the rare situation when even a reduced puppy does not get sold, he either gives them to the "In house" vet and he will adopt it out to one of his workers or patients family, or he does work with several rescue groups who he will surrender the puppy too.

That is the way that this owner operates. Again, I do not agree with his overall practices. I do not agree with anyone selling a living creature for a profit. And yes I am sure he pays about $50 to $100 for each of these puppies, maybe $200 at most from these mills and then turns around and sells them for $1500. I would say that is a huge profit.

But the Petshop like others said is NOT the main problem. The mills are the source of the problem and only the mill. Like others have said, if the mill was not able to breed these dogs the shops wouldnt have any inventory.. end of story. Local agencies have tried to get involved and have gone undercover to shut these mills down, but unfortunately there are always ways around it, due to the inaffective laws.

Getting the word out to others as ignorant as I was, of course will help to some degree, but certainly it will not put a dent in the nationwide problem. The laws surrounding all breeders have to be made far stricter than they are. Regardless if you are a private breeder or mill, I personally feel that stricter guidelines have to be put in place, state by state and then countrywide. The ignorant buyer is NOT the cause of this devasting problem, they are a minor component. Even the shop and the vets who work with the individual shops are not the cause of the devastation.. the MILLS and those who do not spay and neuter their dogs are the MAIN reason for the overpopulation and for all of the unhealthy dogs, ie: Reese who enter this world.

I do NOT regret the day that we walked into that petshop for one darn second. I would have never been blessed with one of the biggest joys of my life. With all of her illnesses she has added so much happiness to our family. I have spent a small fortune and probably will continue to do so..since I hope she will be with us for the next hundred years. Whatever it takes to make her comfortable and happy, we will do. For all of her health issues she makes up for it with the most incredible personality.

So in answer to your question.. don't worry about the puppies in the "window" of those stores... worry about the mills and getting the word out to your congressman to have the breeding laws changed.

Sorry for the long winded post, but I tend to get very emotional about this subject.

07-29-2006, 06:24 PM	#47
momofreese Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Hewlett, New York Posts: 129	pet shop puppy My family and I were those that were "innocently ignorant" and purchased Reese from a local petshop. I had never known about puppymills but I did know a lot of people from my town who purchased their dogs from this petshop. I did make the decision to finally purchase a yorkie for my daughters and myself. We went into this store, which by the way is spotless, smells at times (although I think any home/business that had 40 to 50 dogs would have some type of unpleasant odor), extremely nice owner, large cages and many play areas for the dogs..etc etc. We fell madly in love with Reese and purchased her and when she turned 7 months I realized that something was wrong with her. Suddenly when I held her, at all times, she would whimper. After practically forcing my vet to xray her, she was diagnosed with legg perthes. She also has developed a collapsed trachea or a weak traccea since when she is wearing her harness and walking.. which isn't too often since she prefers to be carried, she will as we call it honk continuously. When we were told that she "probably" had legg perthes the owner of the store immediately asked us if we wanted to exchange her. I thought he was nuts. I had told him that after hour one, we were madly in love with her and would NEVER think of disposing of her like she was a pair of torn shoes that I would bring back to the store for an immediate refund. He did say he agreed and felt that he had to offer that option. He then told me he would return her entire purchase price and paid over $700.00 for several vet visits and a visit to a specialist. Now I am not CONDONING pet shop purchases, nor will I ever do it again. I have become extremely outspoken about the puppymill/pet shop situation but I will not badmouth this particular owner. I will not recommend buying a dog from his shop, but by no means will I badmouth him. I feel that he did a lot more than many reputable breeders would have done. Since we are looking to purchase another yorkie I have been reading breeder contracts and have noticed that most will give you a one year guarantee on congenital defects and if one is found they will A. exchange the puppy or B. pay for vet charges for UP to the purchase price of the puppy. I am not a maven on this subject and please forgive me if I am misquoting what a possible YT breeders contract states, but I am merely stating what is in the majority of the contracts that I have read. I know I am going off topic but I am coming to the question.. well maybe part of the intended question. The answer to your question is not a direct answer. As many already have stated the problem is not what will happen to those puppies already in the shops. They will be purchased or they will be rescued if they reach the age where they become less saleable. I have spoken to the owner of the shop where Reese was purchased, since I now am less ignorant than what I was. I asked him what he does with the older pups who do not get sold.. he said the majority of the puppies are sold. They will continue to reduce the price until they are sold. In the rare situation when even a reduced puppy does not get sold, he either gives them to the "In house" vet and he will adopt it out to one of his workers or patients family, or he does work with several rescue groups who he will surrender the puppy too. That is the way that this owner operates. Again, I do not agree with his overall practices. I do not agree with anyone selling a living creature for a profit. And yes I am sure he pays about $50 to $100 for each of these puppies, maybe $200 at most from these mills and then turns around and sells them for $1500. I would say that is a huge profit. But the Petshop like others said is NOT the main problem. The mills are the source of the problem and only the mill. Like others have said, if the mill was not able to breed these dogs the shops wouldnt have any inventory.. end of story. Local agencies have tried to get involved and have gone undercover to shut these mills down, but unfortunately there are always ways around it, due to the inaffective laws. Getting the word out to others as ignorant as I was, of course will help to some degree, but certainly it will not put a dent in the nationwide problem. The laws surrounding all breeders have to be made far stricter than they are. Regardless if you are a private breeder or mill, I personally feel that stricter guidelines have to be put in place, state by state and then countrywide. The ignorant buyer is NOT the cause of this devasting problem, they are a minor component. Even the shop and the vets who work with the individual shops are not the cause of the devastation.. the MILLS and those who do not spay and neuter their dogs are the MAIN reason for the overpopulation and for all of the unhealthy dogs, ie: Reese who enter this world. I do NOT regret the day that we walked into that petshop for one darn second. I would have never been blessed with one of the biggest joys of my life. With all of her illnesses she has added so much happiness to our family. I have spent a small fortune and probably will continue to do so..since I hope she will be with us for the next hundred years. Whatever it takes to make her comfortable and happy, we will do. For all of her health issues she makes up for it with the most incredible personality. So in answer to your question.. don't worry about the puppies in the "window" of those stores... worry about the mills and getting the word out to your congressman to have the breeding laws changed. Sorry for the long winded post, but I tend to get very emotional about this subject.