Think again about Pet Stores

Things to know about Pet Stores

Those puppies look so cute in their cages don't they? Yes, they do deserve a loving owner a safe place to live. But there are little things you need to know about purchasing an animal at a pet store.

Most puppies sold at pet stores come from places called "Puppy Mills." Puppies are taken from their mother when they are too young, usually 4 -6 weeks of age. The ideal length of time a puppy should stay with its mother is up to 10 weeks, that's 2 1/2 months. During the first ten weeks, cleanliness, caring attention, and training are extremely important to allow the puppy to be healthy during its most important time of growth. Pet stores like to sell puppies at an age that is too young because some are never sold soon enough and most people would rather buy a puppy than an adult dog. They think, "Hey, the younger the cuter means it will sell fast!" When the puppy is taken from its mother at 4 - 6 weeks of age, they are sold to a broker and "fattened up" then shipped off to pet stores. By the time you see a puppy at a pet store it is probably 8 weeks of age. That means the puppy has been alone without contact with other animals or people for a month before they are sold. By not giving these puppies the attention and love they deserve and need, their behavior may lead to aggression with people, including young children, and other animals.

Puppy mills are very filthy. The dogs and puppies are not fed and given water on a regular basis. The dogs are not taken care of so they become very thin, dirty, matted, and most will likely have a bacterial disease called coccidia. Coccidia includes diarrhea, blood in mucous, vomiting, and loss of appetite. Other innocent animals may grow to have respiratory diseases, worms, eye and ear infections. Even when you think you have raised your cute puppy to good health, most likely it will pass on its diseases to its own babies or to other animals.

Even if you try your hardest to care for this puppy some may never grow out of the way they have been treated and your parents may end up over spending on an animal that may have no hope. A friend of mine purchased an adorable Pomeranian and ended up giving it up cause it got really sick and the vet said it would eventually die. The pet store owner lied about the puppies health, so you can't really trust the store owners themselves.

Another bad thing about purchasing animals from pet stores is that the pet store owner will not take responsibility for anything that may happen to your pet afterwards. Pet store owners will not offer medical treatment and have absolutely no history of the mother's health or the puppy itself.