A few months back I was in Petsmart looking for Sunshine a shirt she was with me, a young lady came up to me and told me how cute she was.... She said she had bought a male yorkie there the day before and she took it to the vet and he needed knee surgery he was 12 weeks old and she was there to return him and get her money back $1,200.00 I felt so sorry for her she couldn't understand why they was selling sick puppies. I just wanted to cry for her.

Pet Stores
 

I haven't been to a pet store as It hurts to much to see all those little babies, I really had no idea what they are asking at pet stores as i stay away from them, thanks for letting me know.!!!! Most people do not know that when you buy from a Show breeder you pay about the same price as some of these back yard breeders, and get a much better dog! I just want all people who buy their yorkies to do the homework, and get the very best yorkie they can with a great pedigree!

No to be mean but...
 

There are two sides to this topic and I see both points....but I am frustrated that some people think, and pretty much say... ALL pet stores sell puppy mill dogs. Maybe most do... but the FACT is you have no idea where they get their dogs because you are not going to the place where the pups came from to check it out! More then likely yes it is a puppy mill but you really don't know for SURE... Yet you talk like you do!
Also some people talk as if all dogs from pet shops will get sick and either need tons of money to get them well, or their pet will die at a young age. Yet many puppies live a full life as a loving pet and never get sick or die at young age... few owners have talked about this from experience. They are talking from FACT!
I would like to see true honesty here... I know my pup probably came from a puppy Mill. I know he MAY get sick and need more care and cost more, or maybe even die...I can't even bare to think any more on that. I know that with any pet there is no predicting how long you will have them... some run away some get hurt, and some get sick. So since none of know how long a pet will live FOR SURE, lets stick to the facts that we do know and try to agree that these little fur babies...no matter where they come from are the most wonderful little babies and we are all so lucky to have them. I don't mean to be angry or nasty but it is hard to hear people talk about things they really can't know for sure!

I find it hard to hear that anyone would ever buy a puppy from a pet store even with a 1% chance it came from a puppy mill. Especially anyone who ever spent even one hour on YT. Why would anyone ever support such a place?
Yes, you might save that one puppy but another comes to fill its place. By saving that puppy you have helped to keep the puppy mills alive. Supply & demand keep them running.

Unfortunately until people do the right thing by not supporting these pet stores and mills more dogs will suffer. No excuses will do.

I am proud to say I will never ever shop in a store that sell animals.

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).

Puppy mills
 

Every Dog, every puppy on the face of this earth deserves to be adopted into a loving home, no matter where they came from, it's not the puppy's fault, it's not their mommie's fault, the puppy is here, it is alive, and it needs to be in a forever home. I stay away from Pet shops as I would want to take every puppy there, bring it home, take care of it and give it the love and quality of life it deserves. I am so sad to have to even see a little puppy in a store without it's mother, it is a heartbreaker. No one faults the puppy, sometimes they are the ones that you never, never forget, they are special, and you feel like you have saved the little one from a life of doom. To me their are no bad dogs or puppies, they all are so deserving, but when i see what a puppy mill is all about, and see the conditions, it makes me cry, these people need to be found and closed down, their puppies and dogs need to be rescuded and put in loving homes. My first puppy came from a pet shop, they had 3 Spits sp? I bought all three and they were wonder pets, and had no problems, they were the lucky ones, I have also talked to people who have had problems with pet shop puppies. I know no one would ever fault a little fur baby or it's mommie, it's the puppy mills that are hard to find and shut down. I am sure their are a lot of pet shops who do sell beautiful puppy's from quality breeders, but when a quality and i said quality breeder has puppies they do not have to sell them to a Pet Shop, they have a waiting list for their furbabies, so yes i would be nervous about getting a puppy from a Pet Shop, however i have bought Birds, and fish and have been very satisified, getting a Yorkie babie is like getting a real infant baby, you want to know as much about it's background as you possibly can.

Pupppy Mills
 

WELL SAID!!!!!!!! I could not agree more!!!!!!!! Every dog on the face of this earth, no mater wher they came from deserve, and God help them to find their ways in to the loving hearts of their forever homes!!!!!!!

It is a hard call, i know you can also get unhealthy dogs from breeders, i have had my share, and you could not get one of these dogs away from me, i think everyone on this site wants the same thing, ethical treatment of animals!!!!!!!!!!! They are all special, all of them deserving, and we do need tougher laws to find these puppy mills and rescue these animals.

You input was well stated and appreciated!:thumbup: :thumbup: :)

I agree......lots of people don't realize many ads in the newspaper are from basically puppymills or "breeders who breed a variety of dogs" Just because it didn't come from a pet store doesn't mean the animal didn't originate from a puppmill.

breeders
 

Ive purchased from breeders and the only diffrence I found (not all) but most is that they show some but they have 50 dogs there breeding and they are not any better cared for I have seen this first hand imagine my horror. Go on line look at kennels they almast always have at least 10 puppys how much dogs do you need to have 10 pups available yorkies usually have say three or four so two bitches times 12 months equal 24 bitches (puppy mill)

First of all I didn't know about puppy mills when I got my puppy... second, I had my dog already when I found YT, and third just because you would never buy from a pet shop does not mean you are any better a person then me or any one else!!! Your idea and my idea of THE RIGHT THING may not be the same...I am not making excuses.. I believe in each puppy as a living, breathing, loving, God created animal...Be proud all you want but that doesn't make you RIGHT! I think respect on both sides of this would be the best way to handle it here. I can respect how you feel. I even agree to a point but can you respect me???

You're right, girl. It's all about respect no matter what we believe. But, I'm gonna keep my mouth shut on this thread, b/c I already got "in trouble" talking about brokers. ;)

How weird. Just today I was in a local feed store (looking at doggy clothes) and I walked in the back because I could have sworn I heard a little Yorkie bark! :p Sure enough, when I walked back...there are 2 BIG Yorkie babies in cages for sale! Or they looked "big" to me anyway, as Stedman is already over 8 months old and only weighs 4lbs. I asked the lady how old they were and she said that they were 4 months. These 2 babies had to weigh anywhere from 5-8 lbs easy! They were $900 each.

They were sticking their little paws out of the cages and licking my hands all over. One of them kept staring me down - he watched every single move I made! If I looked the other way, he watched. If I went over to pet the other Yorkie, he watched! He kept giving me that "please take me home look" :( Of course, I'm not looking to buy another one (my hubby would probably kick me out of the house :p) but I DID feel sorry for them. No one can help but to feel sorry for them. They looked very healthy (although one needed his/her bangs trimmed from his/her eyes) - but of course you never know "what lies beneath".

I can say that I personally would never buy from a pet store unless I KNEW, FOR SURE, EXACTLY where the pups came from (which would be very unlikely). HOWEVER, I do not blame anyone who does. One cannot help but wonder what would happen to ALL of these precious puppies if NO ONE EVER bought them. When you are LOOKING for a puppy, and see one of these little guys...sometimes your heart just aches for them so much that it hurts. Sometimes people bond with them right away...sometimes they just KNOW. Again, I wouldn't do it, simply because of all the "what ifs", and because if I DID happen to purchase a sick pup, I'd probably die of heartache - (and I normally don't go and look at the pet shop pups that are for sale for this very reason)...but I say, to each their own.

I would never look down on someone who purchases a puppy from a pet store....it's a difficult thing to do, to walk past those little cages and see those sweet little faces. Even knowing what I know now, I know it would be difficult to resist the temptation. Thankfully no pet stores in my city sell dogs.

I agree somewhat with the original poster when she said that to stop the mills one has to take down the mill itself...BUT... like any other 'product' (I use that term only to describe how puppymills look upon their dogs)...it is 'supply and demand'. If no one bought the dogs, there would be no need for more dogs to be bred. Just think...if not ONE person purchased a dog that came from a mill...there would be no need for them to breed more.

With human nature as it is, though, that will never happen and the mills will continue to breed more puppies to replace the ones that are sold. So each mill will have to be taken down one by one at the source. Puppies are just too darned cute and we humans have a hard time resisting their sweet faces and also many feel the need to rescue the ones in the shops that they do see.

I'm sure there are situations where the pups in the store come from a more reputable breeder, but for the most part, pups in pet stores do come from mills. It's a sad truth.

And another truth...we ALL love our babies...no matter WHAT their origin!!

I wish the laws would change so that each and every mill would be out of business TOMORROW. How wonderful that would be!

okay, putting the possibility of a puppymill aside, why would someone buy an animal from the petstore and promote that way of keeping animals? Those poor puppies are stuck in little cages all day learning how to poop and pee in their own environment. Many times there aren't even toys available and they are by themselves. I saw one at the mall last week that made me sick because their fur was matted and they smelled from pee and poop all over them. Not to mention MOST of the time they are yanked from their mothers TOO early and sent off in a truck to a petstore states away. Dogs are pack animals and they need socialization, not to be stuck by themselves all day in a cage!