Are there puppy selling pet stores near you?

[Giselle]

Recently, I saw an MSNBC exposée that showed people stealing puppies from a pet store called "Precious Puppies" in Plantation, FL. Out of curiosity, I found the website of the store, and I'm a little more than disgusted:
http://www.preciouspuppies.net/index.php

(I'm also using this opportunity as a little call to arms :p )

To be quite frank, I was a little amazed that puppy-selling pet stores are still in business. They virtually do not exist in my area, and most pet stores here have a rule against selling ANY animal at all. I figured that there is so much education regarding pet store puppies that some organization or some group of people would have shut these type of pet stores down already. So now I'm curious; do you know of a pet store that sells puppies near you?

[3muttsandaboston]

Yes there is one just a few miles away that has everything from boxer's to "teacup" chihuahuas on a regular basis. :mad:

[Karen]

Yes, there is one not far from us. It is small, independent, and keeps pups until they sell, even if they grow into that gawky stage. Breaks my heart, knowing where the pups probably come from, but at least they are in decent conditions in the store itself, and get to run around and play in the store a few at a time each day, and are not in wire cages when they aren't out.

I don't buy anything there. It's next door to my bank, but I'd drive across town to get supplies rather than give the store my business.

[Freedom]

There are 3 in m city. One is part of a "chain," the family has 4 or 5 in our state. The other 2 are, I think, stand alones.

Talk to people when you walk your dogs. Talk to people when you are NOT with your dogs; in the grocery store, where you get your hair cut, in the doctor and dentist office waiting room. I am amazed how many people never heard the term "puppymill." We need to do a whole lot more educating!

[AllAmericanPUP]

the one in the mall got shut down here!:D

[elizabethann]

There's quite a few around here. A while back, I went to the Mall and there were a ton of pets being sold. One of them broke my heart because it looked sick. I never in my life wanted to steal something so bad. I even looked around to see if anybody was looking. If I knew 100% that I wouldn't have been caught, I would have stolen that little puppy in a heart beat.

There are quite a few pets that get stolen from pet stores around here. They are usually caught because the stores have security cameras everywhere.

[chocolatepuppy]

Thank goodness, no puppy stores near me. There used to be one in our mall, many years ago. Both of our pet stores have cat adoption centers in them. Our Petsmart holds adoption days for dogs from rescues.
Sandie, you're so right, tell everyone! I am amazed how many people have no idea about puppy mills and pet over population. Even some people who have pets aren't aware of it!

[Ginger's Mom]

The chain types in stores are no longer in the malls in this area, but there are three independent stores that sell puppies, The Puppy Barn and The Puppy Stop and Animal Kingdom. I have never been in any of them, and I refuse to go in, so I do not know how the dogs are kept in the store. But I do know that a LOT of people get puppies from the Puppy Barn, they do a very big business.

[RockyRoad]

There are a lot where I live. Puppy Depot is probably the saddest one I`ve seen, and it`s about twenty minutes from me. I`ve been there and the dogs are not well kept and most of them look sick. Poor things. There is one called Country Critters near me, that has sold puppies for a long time. Now it is under new management and the new owner does not seem to think any of the animals are worth caring for; my dad told me all of the coral reefs and fish there are dead or nearing death, but he didn`t get a chance to see the pups. They sell kittens there, as well. And I know of two or three more that are around as well, that I don`t remember the names of but know exactly where they are. I also know of one in a mall nearby, but it`s not the mall that I go to so I don`t know if they still sell puppies. It`s truly saddening. :(

What is sadder is that since they are around my area, many of my friends have considered purchasing dogs from these stores. That would be why I have been inside them before. Their families are the type that believes the more a thing costs the better it is. :( I`ve managed to talk most of them out of it, thankfully.

[cali]

yup.

puppies-Petland, Pats pets

cats-petland, pats pets

common rodents and birds-pretty much everywhere.

exotics-petsmart(a few), petzotica, and cowtown

do I consider it a problem? well I wont shop at stores that carry puppies and kittens, but the rest I dont have issues with. there is only about 2 petstores her that DONT carry animals, even the pet sections multi purpose stores here carry pets for petes sake lol.

I dont have a problem with petsmart..I have 4 animals from there and I have been nothing but impressed. cowtown is a good store, they take great care of the animals they have, great living conditions, and the store employees socalize them. petzotica is the best one, only carries animals, not supplies, but the guy who owns it is GREAT, you ask him about animals he sold a year ago and he can tell you about them..then inform you as to how they doing now. how? because he builds a repore with his custamers, he helps his buyers so much that they want to come back, bringing their pet for visits and giving him updates. he has built quite a clientel just by word of mouth lol, people get such a great impression that come come back for all their future pets, and reccomend him to eveyone else looking for one.

[critter crazy]

There is two still operating in my area. There was three, but one just closed last week Thankfully! Now to get the last two to close!!

[molucass]

There is one about 30-45 minutes away from us in Louisiana.. I've never been there though.. They have 2 stores in Louisiana.. One in Sulphur and one in Lake Charles.

http://www.mishaspets.com/gpage1.html

I thought about stopping at one of them before, but didn't. I figured it would make me mad to see those poor puppies.

They sell anything from puppies, birds, ferrets, goats, guinea pigs, etc.. etc..

[CathyBogart]

Nope, and thank doG for that! There are a few places that work with rescue groups to adopt out cats though, for which I am happy.

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Well, there WAS one around the corner from us, but thankfully they are out of business, or they got shut down... I'm thinking they got shut down.

These poor babies were kept in this teeny tiny room, in wire cages, and were let out maybe once a day. They NEVER went outside, even to get fresh air. Were never walked, nor socialized. I hated this pet store, it was soooo dirty, and smelled like crap.

[Sevaede]

Yes, there are several, unfortunately. :( One is right in one of the malls!

[Giselle]

:eek: Wow, I had NO idea there are still so many left in operation! I was SURE that the majority had closed by now, especially after TV God- I mean, Oprah (:p) had that exposée on puppy mills.

If I had any near me, I'd offer my help, but I'm wondering how we can all contribute to closing down whatever stores still exist? Granted, we can send angry e-mails, but that just widens the schism between responsible pet owners and puppy-selling business owners.

Any ideas? Has anybody tried to petition or shut these stores down? What about the local humane societies? I know SPCAs sometimes try to hold petitions and group stake-outs.

[Grace]

The county where I live has a law against the sale of pets in stores. It's been in place for a very long time.

[Alysser]

Yeah, there are several. One in the mall, one called Pet Asylum right down the road, this is the most disgusting one. Let's just say you walk in and the smell alone makes you want to vomit. :rolleyes: They also sell kittens, hedgehogs, rats, snakes, MACAWS, and possibly every animal they can cramp into such a small place. It's a horrible place and I refuse to buy even pet products I need in there. Also, there is Pet Paradise not too far away but I don't really go in there much. There used to be a REALLY bad one down the road, and around X-mas it would say "PUPPIES Make great gifts!" and stuff like "Christmas Sale!!" Thank goodness it closed a long time ago!

[Flatcoatluver]

The only thing I can think of is our local feed stores will sometimes sell mixed breed or golden pups. They don't get them from puppy mills, just from irresponsible owners. Our actual pet stores around here are to educated to sell puppies.

[moosmom]

Yup. And they're under investigation for selling sick (Parvo), under age puppies. I believe it's called The Dog House.

[anna_66]

Yep, just a few miles from me is a Petland.

[Pam]

Yes, one opened up about 10 minutes from me but I forget the name of it. I had seen the ad in the newspaper and was intrigued because it said "we only sell dogs from local breeders." Being less than two hours from Lancaster, PA I thought I wonder what they consider local? My daughter and I went in just to check them out. (Neither of us have any plans to get a puppy so don't read anything into that! :) ) There were maybe 20 wooden bins, or stalls, with hay inside and maybe a dozen breeds available. I checked out the info on the front of the stalls and most of them came from breeders in Ephrata, PA, which is the HEART of puppy mill land. :mad: As you looked at those little faces (I fell hard for a little pug boy) it was impossible not to think of the squallor that their parents were most likely living in.

As I was leaving the store the man said "did you see anything that you liked?" I said "Yes, the little pug" and I continued toward the door. He then said, "He won't last long. Oh by the way, were you the one who phoned today about him?" Of course the was baiting me and I wanted to tell him that I realized exactly what he was doing but decided to leave with my mouth closed but it was hard! :mad:

[Spiritwind]

Yes.. there are 2 stores that sell puppies in my small town... they are both horrible places... with the puppies kept in small, wire, rabbit cage looking cages.... with puppies that are obviously not well taken care of and sick..

Then in Greensboro, about 35-45 minutes north of me there are also 2.... "Friendly Pets" and Puppies to Guppies"...

Friendly pets is the better of the two, meaning the dogs are atleast clean and they do let them out to play, but still they are kept on wire floored cages with glass fronts kinda like petland does...

Puppies to guppies is horrible, and the dogs are SICK and nothing close to healthy and sold for over $1000 or more... the only reason I know this, is they brought in their puppies to the vet clinic I used to work at.... I can't even recall how many times they brought in sick puppies for treatment that didn't make it... or sold puppies to clients, who brought them into us sick and half dead not 2 wks after they got them from the pet store... we consitantly got sick "puppies to guppies" puppies, coming in ALL the time..

[Taz_Zoee]

There aren't any in my town or the neighboring towns. But there is (or was) a place about 30-45 mintues from us that did. It was after DJ died and before we got Zoee that we were out in Brentwood (not in LA) to get our hair done and we stopped in a small shop in the center where our hairdresser was. They had about 5 or 6 puppies. Two of them were little Cocker Spaniels like DJ. We looked at them, but they were very expensive. Remember, this is in my pre PT days, so I didn't know any better. I just asked Bruce and he thinks that place is no longer there. Thank goodness for that!! I'll have to check next time I go out that way.

[molucass]

Yes, there are several, unfortunately. :( One is right in one of the malls!

When we were living in Knoxville TN, there was 2 different malls there, and they both had pet stores at the malls. They were called "Pass Pets".. Both of the stores were horribly disgusting. The puppies never looked healthy, and their cages always had poop in them.. One time we went there, and there was a dead baby ferret in the cages. :(:mad:

[Giselle]

Oh goodness, Cindy, if there is a puppy selling pet store out near you I'd be more than happy to gather up an army and petition or stake out in front of them!! Do you remember the name of the place?

If there is one thing I CAN NOT tolerate, it is puppy mills and pet store puppies. I really hope the education gets around and everybody boycotts these stores...

[Catty1]

I think if you go to the Best Friends website, they have a plan to get puppy mills closed...there might be something there to get on board with.

Writing to city hall, your government reps might help - how about your member of Congress? There IS an election soon!:D

[krazyaboutkatz]

Since I've lived in CA, I've never seen any pet stores that sell puppies. Petsmart, Pet Club, Petco and a few other smaller independent pet stores have cats/kittens, and sometimes dogs for adoption through rescue groups. There are plenty of backyard breeders though. I see many ads about purebred dogs in the newspaper or in the Pennysaver which is a free flyer that I receive every week.

When I lived in S.C., there were pet stores in the mall that sold puppies and kittens. I used to love to go there and look at them. This was before I knew anything about puppymills. A friend of my mom's ending up buying a purebred cat at one of these stores and the cat had ringworm and a few other things wrong with it. She also paid several hundred dollars for it and this was back on 70's.

[MuttMomXOXO]

I live in NJ and there are still several pet stores that sell puppies here. Granted many have gone out of business, I can think of at least 10 that are still in business in my area. Many of them are strictly puppy stores selling more mixed breeds than anything else. :mad: It's so sad.

[pitc9]

Yes, :(

There is a Petland near my work that sells puppies and there is also a Petsupplies Plus that sells birds, ferrets, rabbits and small reptiles.

:(

[Ramble On Rose]

I have a couple of Petlands near me. A friend's son works at one because he loves dogs and he means well. I didn't like to hear that they make commision on selling them though. That means lots of people probably have selling tactics used on them as well as outright lies to get the sale.

We also have one called Happiness Is Pets. I checked it out once. The dogs looked sick or sedated.

[caseysmom]

There are a few around here in my area of California.

[Uabassoon]

Petland is very popular here. I'm shocked that so many people will buy dogs from them, I remember taking Payson to the vet once and the people that got there before us had a Petland puppy that seemed to have a ton of medical problems! The other thing that irks me is that they sell mutts for a huge price, don't people realize that the humane society sells mutts that are usually healither, about a quarter of the price and come already fixed and UTD on shots.

We also have an Animal Kingdom in the mall, and two other local shops that sell puppies.

[cassiesmom]

Petland. I wish they wouldn't sell puppies, but they do, so I don't shop there.

One called Archer Puppies. They've been in business for a good 35-40 years and as I understand it, pretty reputable.

Another called Happiness is Pets. I've only been there once and it broke my heart into pieces.

Local Petco has fish, and local Petsmart has fish, amphibians, birds and a small selection of lil furry creatures. They both have big notice boards with local adoption programs, business cards, and rescue organizations if you want a dog or cat.

[shepgirl]

Selling cats or dogs in pet stores was banned here years ago.

[lute]

Yes. There is one new store about 20 mins from me. They sell a lot of English Bulldogs, Yorkies that are all tan colored, puggles, min pins and TINY chihuahuas. I asked one time where they get all their dogs. The owner didn't hesitate when he said "I have a large farm I raise them on. My jaw dropped. It sickens me that he's so proud of owning a mill.

[lute]

Selling cats or dogs in pet stores was banned here years ago.

Oh I wish that would happen here!

[Giselle]

:eek:

Why aren't they shut down yet!??! Do we have names and locations of these stores? We need to shut these down!

Caseysmom, where in your neck of the woods are they?

[Shelteez2]

There are also several Petlands here that sell puppies and kittens. :( I've been boycotting them for years. I also tell everyone I know not to go there and why.

[caseysmom]

:eek:

Why aren't they shut down yet!??! Do we have names and locations of these stores? We need to shut these down!

Caseysmom, where in your neck of the woods are they?

There are two that I know of, one I haven't been in for 4 or 5 years but I think its still around another one for sure because I went in there earlier this year and had to bite my tongue, they are both in Citrus Heights a suburb of Sacramento.

My brother actually got his westie 8 years ago from one of them and told me they only use good breeders blah blah blah but his westie had lots of medical issues.

[lute]

There are also several Petlands here that sell puppies and kittens. :( I've been boycotting them for years. I also tell everyone I know not to go there and why.
There is a Petland in Terre Haute,IN. About 1 1/2 hrs from me. When I lived there I boycotted them non stop. I even got told to leave a couple times because I was convincing people to go adopt from the local humane society instead of buying from them. Most of the puppies in there even look sick. When Debbie and I went to Terre Haute this year to the dog show we stopped by that Petland. They had an Aussie. It was so poorly bred it didn't even look like an Aussie. We brought our Aussies in and showed them what a REAL Aussie looks like. Talon was a big hit. Everyone loved him.:D