R.I.P. Sweet Little Babies (Puppies)
We have a pet store nearby. Not a PetCo / PetSmart, but a real pet store, which sells puppies, and pure bred kittens. :(
I haven't been in there in . . . 5 years? Maybe more. Even then, I didn't buy, I just looked at the options as they carried more fish items that the local PetCo, and I'd want to see something before ordering it on line.
The vet I use is also their vet.
So when I had Sugar in there last Thursday, I was speaking with the asst. office manager. She nursed 2 pug puppies, one died, the other survived and went back to the store. After 3 days, she went in and got it; it was just about house trained, and it would scrape at the walls when it had to "go." Didn't want to mess it's cage. She was worried someone would adopt it who wouldn't care for it well. Next, she had 2 dachshund puppies. Again, one died. The other is now back in the store, and it is killing her thinking about it.
She said the pups spend 80 hours or more in trucks getting to the store. All arrive dehydrated, some are quite ill. Near as they have been able to figure out at the vet' office, about 50% of those which arrive die. Of the rest, about 1/3 don't get adopted and get PTS. She said it hurts so bad to nurse one back to health, only to have it brought back in a few months to be PTS because it didn't sell, is too big and taking up cage space. :( :(
None of the pet store employees take any of the pets home for nursing care. (to be practical, for many of them this is just a job, they are not intereste in animal careers). The ones which the vet staff foster, they do that on their own; the store manager brings them in to be PTS.
One Weimeraner puppy was brought in from the pet store, to be PTS, it was about 9 weeks old, and it could not stand. When the larger breed dogs are kept in cages, their growth plates don't develop properly. The legs develop deformed and in some cases, so badly the animal cannot even stand. The dog was brought in to be PTS. The office manager (I had this story from HER, the week prior when I was in there) got them to sign the dog over to her and she took it home. She thought she was just going to give it some loving and human touch for a few days, something it had never known, before being PTS. Well, her boyfriend did some research online, found an experimental surgery. The vet agreed to give it a try. The dog wasn't going to lose anything, it was going to be PTS anyway. After 6 intensive weeks of around the clock care, bringing the dog back and forth to work with her etc. the puppy is now walking, running, jumping and playing like a normal pup! She has one issue which may be for life, but it doesn't stop her (she knocked over the Christmas tree regularly! :) ) And yes, after all that TLC, she is in her forever home.
I don't know how the store employees, manager, can do this. :mad: I don't know how the vet staff can see this going on day after day and not lose their sanity!
All those poor sweet little puppies, who did nothing wrong to deserve such a short, sad life. :( :( :mad: Grrrr.
