In the past I have bought pets from pet stores and never had a problem. My friend and myself have both bought dogs from separate breeders, and both had problems with these dogs. As with people, there is NEVER a guarantee that your pup will be healthy! Yes, a breeder may reimburse you, or replace your sick pup, but that is not the same thing as a guarantee that your individual pup will live a long healthy life.
Education about pet store pups and puppy mills is definately important, however you also have to accept that that is obviously not going to be what irradicates puppy mills. You will never stop everyone from buying from a pet store. As we all know, there are too many people out there that don't really care very much about their dogs, or what happens to dogs they never have to see. We obviously need to shut down these mills by changing the laws that allow them to be in business. Besides, a large portion of the dogs you buy from shelters were "puppy mill" dogs somewhere down the line. Do we now deem them unworthy of love too?
I think that this approach is wrong, because while we may feel that we are "doing" something to stop puppymills, by saying don't shop there. We are in fact "doing" nothing. It is the absence of something that we are preaching! We need to get out there and lobby for stricter laws to get rid of these puppy mills. We need to find out where these puppy mills are, and picket on their lawns, and let the newspapers, and people in the community know what is happening in their backyards. We need to put pressure on these people who run puppy mills to shut down. That is what will make the difference.
While I do not advocate buying a dog from a petstore, I do advocate what I believe to be the ethical thing, which is to love and care for the puppies that are here now, regarless of where they were born (through no fault of their own). |