Aww Debra, I'm sure I'd like you just fine. :p And as many are pointing out there are some good points in making the exchange in places other than your home. And the title to my thread does start out "It was probably okay.....".
I will note that you mentioned that you spoke to the seller beforehand, and received pedigree papers, and knew the area where she came from. I just didn't see anything like that in what I saw at PetSmart & that's what made me wonder. No offense taken; I just had never witnessed a puppy transaction like that before and wondered what everyone thoughts were on it. Knowledge is power and I have learned many good points so far.

To each his own, I guess, but personally I want to see where the puppy I am buying has been living. I also want to see the momma and daddy. I want to know it has been born and well taken care of as well as a health guarantee.

I think sometimes, as we are well-informed and well-researched pet owners, in this community we are somewhat removed from the general population's view of pet ownership. Before I continue, I want to say that I do everything I can now to learn about how to take care of my pets properly and often come off as overbearing to other people I know because I want to make sure that they do the same thing!

However, growing up I had never even heard about asking for health agreements, references, or paperwork of any kind when purchasing a pet. When we got a cat, my parents drove us to a farm and we were told to look for the kittens behind the barn and that we could have whichever one we could catch. When we decided on purchasing a miniature dachshund, my father looked to the only resource available to us besides a shelter: an add in the classifieds (we did not own a computer). He sold one of his guns and paid $200 for the new puppy. He returned to our house with a teeny, tiny dachshund with fleas and a big, bloated belly. She was nursed to health and today lives a healthy life with my parents.

My point is that most people do not know about health agreements, or the difference between a backyard breeder and a reputable show breeder. They do not even think about where their new puppy came from and just try to take care of it the best they can. As experienced pet owners and breeders, we can do our best to try and inform others on the intricacies of purchasing and caring for a new pet, but for the most part we cannot judge or look down upon people that do not know any better. The family that purchased a new puppy in the petstore parking lot may or may not be getting exactly what they paid for, and may or may not know exactly what to do with it, but most likely they are thrilled with their new baby that will give them lots of love in return.

I expect my buyers to come to my home. I want them to see all of my dogs and how we operate. I want to see them interact with the dogs. I have asked smaller children to wash their hands before holding a puppy.

I walk all my adult dogs in the park, around our neighborhood, they go to the vet, and yes, sometimes they go to Petco. Our puppies play in the house and the yard with the other dogs. IMO there is no way that a puppy is more likely to pick something up from a stranger than from their own mother and our other dogs.

We've just never had any problems.