The Lies Pet Stores and Puppy Mills Tell You

My friend Amy over at Go Pet Friendly wrote a great piece detailing her friend’s search for an Akita and how they determined that the breeder wasn’t a responsible breeder at all. I encourage you to go read it – Internet Puppies for Blog the Change – and walk through their decision-making process.

I thought I would tag onto Amy’s piece with a list of lies that pet stores and puppy mills use to get you to buy their puppies. The truth is that the average consumer is often no match for these savvy salesmen and women. They know just the right words to say and key phrases to use to get the unsuspecting pet owner to buy their puppies (and kitties). They use emotion and act like your friend in order to sell you a puppy, but they are only focused on two goals – selling puppies and making money. Period.

I welcome any of you who have other lies to add to the list to share them in the comment section below.

The more we share, the more we educate.

The Lies Pet Stores and Puppy Mills Tell You

We only get our dogs from “good” or “responsible” breeders
Our dogs are only from USDA licensed facilities
We pick up our puppies directly from select breeders that we have chosen to do business with
We only deal with private breeders
I visit every breeder personally (to make sure they are not a puppy mill)
Our puppies are raised in our home with our family
All our dogs are inspected by a veterinarian before we sell them to the public
You can go visit or call the breeder to make sure your puppy is from a “good” breeder
The breeders don’t like to have people come see the puppies because they are so delicate
We stock the largest selection of puppies around
One-year health guarantee
Each puppy is checked by our veterinarian
All our puppies are AKC registered
We don’t buy from puppy mills
We deal with only the top breeders from across the country
We only sell healthy/happy puppies
Any breed can be special ordered

Meet me in X parking lot and I’ll bring your puppy to you
We operate a clean breeding facility
I love my puppies and will only give them to loving families like yours
I only raise show dogs (but sell them in the paper)
I’ll bring the dog dog to you (i.e., I don’t want you to see my facilities)

Key words to watch for…
USDA certified
USDA licensed
State issued proof
Home raised
Home bred
Top breeders
Select breeders
Private breeders
Triple health checks
We ship!
Puppies will be ready for (name of holiday)

Getting a pet should require more forethought than a last minute gift idea.

I recently watched an adorable video on Life With Dogs featuring puppies playing amongst Christmas presents. I’m not going to lie. I was conflicted. The video was absolutely adorable, but a part of me worried that people would come away thinking that getting a puppy for Christmas was a good idea. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people comment on the cuteness of the video, but also include a statement reminding people not to purchase or adopt a pet for a Christmas present. I wish more people would heed this advice.

Recently, I was reminded of the importance of this message when a friend sent me an email regarding a co-worker who was looking for a new home for a relative’s Sheltie. The dog in question had been purchased as a gift by adult children for their elderly father, who was already suffering the beginning stages of dementia. The dog was supposed to become a beloved companion for the father as he declined in health. Amazingly questionable logic isn’t it? Why give a dog to someone who won’t be able to care for it in the future? Why put a dog in a home to become attached to someone knowing that some day soon they will have to be separated? I cannot fathom why someone would choose to do this, but they did.

Sadly, this is story is not all that uncommon. I still remember the little ball of fluff (a cute little Yorkie puppy) that was surrendered at our shelter a few years ago because the daughter it had been purchased for did not want it. The parents had spent nearly $1000 on a gift that could not be returned to the store like any other Christmas or birthday gift (although I would argue that surrendering a puppy at a shelter might as well be considered like any other gift – returnable, expendable, exchangeable).

I know that somewhere this Christmas some child or girlfriend or elderly parent will receive a pet as a gift. It’s a reality I accept. I just hope that THIS pet will be treated as the living, breathing being that it is, and respected and loved and cared for – for ALL of it’s life and not just for the short time in which it is a gift. Getting a pet should require more forethought than a last minute gift idea.

Note: I wrote a post back in 2009 listing the reasons why getting a pet for Christmas is a bad idea. I think it is still applicable today.

Favorite Video Friday – Cats Just Sittin’ Around

This week’s Favorite Video Friday continues the our cat theme from Wordless Wednesday. I found the fist video quite some time ago but was saving it for a special day. Then, I happened across the second video and couldn’t resist sharing both of them together. You’ll see why when you watch them.

Personally, the first one is my favorite one, despite being a bit blurry, the music is so perfect that it makes me laugh every time I watch it. I hope you do too. Enjoy!