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 )

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.

[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!

[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!!

[Sevaede]

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

[Giselle]

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 () 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. 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!