Be cautious of buying an animal from a pet store
Last week, I wrote about the animals-as-garbage mentality that stems from the overabundance of unwanted puppies and kittens.
I shared how offensive it is when someone asks of a responsible breeder if that breeder was able to "get rid of" their puppies or kittens, as if referring to garbage or something distasteful.
This week, I'm writing about the differences between the responsible and irresponsible or "backyard" breeders and the importance of patronizing only responsible breeders and not the backyard breeder or pet stores.
First, let's discuss pet stores. As a past humane investigator who went on numerous undercover and sting operations involving puppy mills and pet stores, I know as fact that all of the pet stores I investigated bought their puppies from puppy mills and lied about it when questioned by customers.
This may not be fact with all pet stores, but, again, it was with those I investigated.
It is my experience that pet store personnel are instructed to lie about where the puppies come from, saying that the breeders are good, responsible, caring people. They may even show AKC paperwork listing the name of a kennel.
Be aware that puppy mill operators can register their puppies with the AKC. This is in no way a guarantee of quality. Puppy mill kennels do not have "this is a puppy mill" as part of their name. A credible-sounding kennel name can still be a horrible puppy mill.
Be careful about buying a puppy from a pet store because you may be buying a puppy mill animal and contributing to the misery of thousands of animals.
Only purchase a purebred puppy from a responsible, knowledgeable breeder.
A responsible breeder is going to be interested in you and your family. The breeder will ask you many questions. They will not simply take your cash and hand over the puppy. A good breeder will want to make sure that you can take good care of the puppy and that it will be in a life-long, loving home.
A responsible breeder will have done numerous genetic tests on their dogs in order to insure that the puppies are healthy and free of genetic problems. A responsible breeder may hesitate to sell a puppy to its new family and have the infant puppy go home right before or on Christmas Day. Recognizing the chaos and excitement of the holidays, the breeder may suggest taking the puppy home after Christmas when things have calmed down and a structured routine can be followed.
It is easy to buy a purebred puppy. There are many available. It is difficult and painful to part with it when it dies, is sickly or unsuitable for your family. To avoid this, do yourself and the puppies a favor and support only responsible breeders.
Terry Jester is a nationally recognized companion animal behaviorist. To learn more about companion animal training, visit www.rockymountainrawhide.com. For questions about your own pet, call Jester at (970) 568-7585 or send e-mail to arriniranch@aol.com.
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