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Thread: R.I.P. Sweet Little Babies (Puppies)

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Methuen, MA; USA
    Posts
    17,105

    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. 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. Grrrr.
    .

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Windham, Vermont, USA
    Posts
    40,828
    That is why people should never, ever, ever, ever buy from pet stores. These are puppy mill products.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
    Posts
    20,164
    How sickening.

    Whenever I see one of those places that sells kittens or puppies, I shudder. But reading the details of the kinds of things that go on in them makes them even more horrible.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    22,005
    Is there no one the office manager could report this to? Puppy mills have to be stopped...

    Even getting the license plates of the delivery trucks would be a great start...

    I hope someone DOES something.
    "Do or do not. There is no try." -- Yoda

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    130
    So sad.

    On canine genetics and registry related forums, sometimes discussion comes up about a mention that another person not on the forum is looking for a pet of some type.

    Some of the people give advice and guidance off forum to the potential pet owner, letting them know that rescues and shelter animals are available, and if they want to get on a waiting list, some members of the given forum might be able to screen them to see if they are an appropriate home.

    However many MORE times than not ----- these people don't want to get involved with contracts, health testing a bloodline, registrations and periodic checks with a breeder. They are not interested in binding agreements, in waiting for sometimes as long as two years or more for a well bred animal with a known background and health tested parents. So reputable sources won't have anything to do with them.

    There is appeal to the anonymous ease of just walking into a pet store, plonking down money and instantly having a cutie to love on for a while. Shelters in many ways have filled this need as well, and go so far as to import animals from other shelters and even other countries to sell in order to meet the demand. Shelters do not keep long term agreements with their placements nor do they follow up to see if pets they place develop problems over their lifetimes. And if some animals can't be placed from shelters, they too are often PTS.

    While not all puppy/kitten providers to stores are actually abusive mills, I can't speak in their defense. They do not have a long term genetic or responsible interest in how their animals turn out or they would not put the placement of their pets into such an uncontrolled situation where the buyer only need meet the demanded price. Critters that go to the pet stores always have to ultimately fit into the bottom line.

    I think one aspect of the real problem is this issue of popular demand. As long as there is a demand for 'easily acquired' purchases of anything, there will always be businesses, legal and not, that benefit from these. The same goes for the illegal sale of firearms and drugs. It's controlled by demand.

    It is a very complicated subject.

    Even the selection of a long term life partner (human) is rife with failures due to the nature of people and circumstances of chance.
    Semavi Lady Visit the blog!


  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Bexhill, UK
    Posts
    8,815
    Quote Originally Posted by Karen
    That is why people should never, ever, ever, ever buy from pet stores. These are puppy mill products.
    Exactly!!!! I wouldn't buy a thing from that shop! Boycott them now
    Give £1 for a poundie www.songfordogs.co.uk

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