| navillusc | 09-19-2012 04:20 AM |
Cassie's Closet is a retail store in a respectable shopping plaza near Michaels, Steinmart, a Wal-mart, and other stores in a respectable part of Ocala, FL. It is neat and clean inside, and has some adorable girls' clothing (for sure), but they also have a small pet section, and a fairly large "puppy room" in the back of the store. I was in the store one time...had never been in before but found the place sold a specific pet product I was looking for at a time when my regular outlet was closed. The manufacturer's website listed Cassie's Closet...which seemed odd to me...girl's clothing and pet supplies...but odd combinations are fairly common in the Ocala, FL area...where equestrian items are everywhere. I do not live in the city, but near enough that I go there since it is the largest city in that general geographical area. So, we made a trip to Cassie's Closet, and seeing the puppy room in the back, we wandered in. The day I was there, there were two (2) apparently Yorkie pups...one wanted to go home with us...one (1) Shih Tzu, and another pup in the back, but I forget what kind...we didn't go back there...that I could see. The pups all looked to be roughly 3 months or so old...and all 'looked' to be healthy, bright, alert and responsive...except for one Yorkie who never really looked at us all...which seemed a tad odd to me considering all the other puppies were bouncing at the windows...happy to have a possibility of interaction. We had taken Brody and Mia with us, so we didn't get close at all and, of course, the Yorkies' feet never touched the floor/ground. The puppy room looked and smelled clean and neat as well, and there was quite a central puppy meet and play area, which was also neat and clean...so there is some indication that the owner and staff make some effort and have some kind of caring...I did not see any of them interact with any of the pups.
When I had first looked at their website, after seeing them listed as a pet product sales location, and saw so many puppies on the 'available' page...but most of them were already 'sold' it seemed really odd to me. Also, the combo sales (children's clothing and puppies) seemed odd. I do not know if they realize they'd be considered 'brokers' or not. However, they are not breeders and made that clear in a conversation I had no choice but to overhear, because, once at the register, while the clerk was checking us out, she 'suspended' our transaction to talk to someone who'd just come in about a puppy...so we stood there, payment in hand, waiting for the discourteous clerk to finish checking us out, let us pay, so we could leave. The lady and her daughter were asking about puppies, and were told that "all of our breeders breed for teacups" (I cringed...and almost just walked out, leaving my purchases behind!) and they "never ship puppies"...that if the lady wanted one, she'd have to make arrangements to pick up the pup from them. There is no reason for me to ever return to Cassie's Closet. My opinion is that they definitely are 'brokers' and facilitating puppy mills and byb's, and considering how large, but mostly empty their puppy room was, and that I know at least one puppy mill (Yorkies) was busted up some time back, I am hoping they may have supply issues...which may account for the largely empty puppy room, but having never been there before or since, I cannot be certain. However, I know that I'd like to see the puppy business gone from the little girls' clothing boutique...and I now only got to my regular pet places, breeder supply's, etc.
I don't know if that helps.
:D | 