[Donna Jean]

Carol Jean,

You had a very god experience!!!! However you did spend a lot of time finding out all the details of that puppy, and that is not your everyday pet store, I think any one who read your post would love to buy a puppy from that pet store, they gave you so much information, they were clean, and they made you wash your hands before touching the puppies, all those little babies were thriving!!!!!! She knew the owner of the puppies and she knew that she showed and raised quality of puppies or they would never have been in their store.

All I am saying is do your homework, know where you puppy came from, and with you Carol Jean you were even able to contact the breeders of your puppy, you had a WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL experience and got a wonderful little pet, at a place you would do business again and again.

YOU know I am not saying all Pet Stores are Bad, All Brokers are not bad, but all Puppy Mills are bad or they would not be called a puppy mill.

Their are many expections to the rule, to me when you get all the information you need to purchase a well adjusted puppy from the place of your choosing, don't make it a spur of the moment thing. It is not like shopping for a dress, or TV, you need to plan for your new puppy so you can start your search, you should study the breed to know if that breed will fit into your lifestyle, and the puppy you choose you need to be committed to come hail or high water.

Carol Jean, I love your posts, you and I are about the same age, everything was very different 40 years ago, even 30 years ago, people were honest to a fault, your children could ride their bikes till supper time and usually did, you did not have to lock your doors much less have an alarm system, and I know when I was growing up we would go to a farm where they raised puppies, out in the country, and get the best little ones anyone could ask for.

My only thing that I want to say in this post is know where your puppy came from. Do your homework about the breed, and compare, all and I mean all puppies are the cutest things on the face of this earth, and I also feel all puppies need a loving home to live in. Please just try to make sure you have the puppy you have done your research on and you know where that puppy came from. If you do the above you could still have a problem, the very best breeders out their sometimes have less than the perfect puppy, but your risk is greatly reduced when you do the homework on the puppy that will be a member of your family for the next 10 to 18 years. All puppy's grow up to be dogs, and it breaks my heart when I see all those dogs that end up in pounds and have lost their owners because they were not a good match for that person when the puppy became a dog.

Their is nothing wrong in being more aware, you have a lot of places to choose from when purchasing a puppy, and of course not all Pet Stores are bad, but their are some bad ones just like their are some bad BYB and Bad Brokers, it just helps to get all the information you can before you get that little new addition to your family.

I am the kind of person that would always choose the most needy puppy in the pet store, as I knew I could give it all the love it would need to thrive, and I knew everyone else would probably pass that one buy, and I just could not stand to think of that cute little baby not having a good home. I was young then, I am much older now and I would hope that I am making better choices. Sometimes I wonder, as I have paid really good money for very quality puppies for my breeding program, and out of purchasing 12 puppies, 3 were champions, and cost over 5,000.00 each, I only have 4 that worked out for my breeding program I spent 34,600.00 for the best dogs that I thought money could buy, I thought I could trust the Breeders I bought them from, I thought because they were champions, Great they must be really something! Well i was very naive, 8 of the dogs I purchased have been fixed and are not a part of my breeding program but are now my pets, I have spent a lot of money fixing the problems of these dogs, do I love them any less, of course not. They are my babies, I could have sent them back, but I was already attached and would be too worried about their future. It did however wise me up. I have wonderful dogs now in my breeding program that did not cost an arm and a leg, more expensive is not always better. I did not see the dogs I bought, or the conditions of where they came from, and I did not know the breeders like I should have, I did not check ref. I just thought if they were champions, and they were expensive and they had a great pedigree,they must be really great dogs, they are great dogs and I would not give one up for all the money in the world, they are a permeant part of my family, they are just not in my breeding program. I have learned all my lessons the hard way, and now I make better choices.

I am sorry to have made this so long, this is a hot topic, and the choices are yours to make. All I am saying is do your homework, and you will save yourself a lot of heart ache. I have learned that I can not go near a pet store, I would want to get them all and do my best to better their lives. I have all these little ones in my prayers, someone needs to take them home and help them and give them the love they so deserve. I just personally choose not to put myself in that position as I have gone through it way to many times. To the point I think I am sometimes think I must be retarded. I DID FLUNK KINDERGARDEN, SOOOOOOOO THEIR COULD BE THAT CHANCE, AS I HAVE REALLY HAD TO LEARN ALL MY LEASSONS THE HARD WAY. Good luck with your next little furbaby, I pray you all get beautiful thriving, healthy and sound little puppies that will be a blessing in your lives!