Pet Store Cav

[Cicero's Mummy]

It is sick and sad and all together horrible... but unless people are educated... it is just going to keep happening..

as you can tell I am a big fan of education about how bad puppy mills are... I try to slip it into every conversation that I have with someone who is looking to get a puppy.

[Mic]

Wanna hear something that'll make you even MORE sick? If the miller DOESN'T sell a pup, he/she gets to claim an $800 tax deduction (or write off) for defective merchandise or faulty inventory. BUT, they have to get a receipt from a vet saying that the pup was put to sleep.

Vomit bags for everyone!

[My Wesley]

Ok... that just royaly pissed me off. I REALLY hope that pet store don't actually put the pups to sleep if they don't sell. How sad!!!

[Shay]

I am new to this subject and thanks for the vomit bag, I needed it, but why are puppy mills legal? It is disgusting and why is it not considered animal cruelty. I just don't understand.

[Mic]

I don't know how the pet stores handle it, but if a miller has a pup that's been returned for any reason, putting them to sleep for a tax deduction is an attractive option for them. Sad, but true. That's how each pup I've rehomed has come to me...the vet refused to pts good pups.

[My Wesley]

Oh yeah... I think I recall you mentioning that. That there's one bad breeder that does that and you have a deal w/ the vet or something and everything is kept anonymous. That's a great way to help. I wish it worked that way in all cases. Still too bad the miller gets the deduction.

I can't believe some of the people in this world and their lack of "humanism".....

[moniechris]

What is just as bad is that the HUNDREDS of people who buy pet store puppies have no idea what they are getting themselves into. Mathis: I am the same way about getting my puppy fix, I go into the stores just to play with the babies. Every puppy you pick up in that store, especially cavaliers is deathly ill and you can feel the rattling in their chest from a respiratory infection.

A few months ago I overheard the sales girl tell a customer that the puppy had a "small patella issue" that it would just grow out of. YA RIGHT!!! They were charging this person $800 for a SICK "designer dog" !!!!!

On top of that they now have a display with "designer dog" books for each "breed" to make them look more legit (schnoodles, cavapoo's,puggles bla bla bla). These books attempt to describe the personailty traits and care of these mixed breeds!! How the heck are they supposed to know because there is ZERO consistancy from one pup to another!!!

[Karlin]

The way these situations change is by lobbying for them to change and finding groups that will work to do this or setting one up yourself or writing yourself on your own and getting others to write too. Write to the AKC and ask why they have been willing to work with the mills to give AKC reg. if the millers get tax deductions for putting down dogs that don't sell in time.

Write your representatives, state and national, to ask why this deduction is given and why this industry is given state and national support.

Change comes from people uniting together to work for it -- or acting on one's own -- rather than feel distressed and helpless, write a polite and firm letter and on each, put in the relevant elected reps nme and then send them out.

We have helped push some change through here in Ireland by making noise and we do have anti puppy farm legislation in the offing though it is now a battle to make sure it remains tough on issues. We made this a noticeable issue by organising petitions, demonstrations, releasing press releases, setting up photo shoots with celebrities, talking to politicians behind the scenes, etc etc. but mainly letters and phone calls to make it clear a voting puvblic cared. We raise the issue on the doorstep when the politicians come around. In my district, that's the prime minister and he does go door to door so that is a real opprtunity.

The irony here is that the pet shops are charging buyers the same or even MORE than a really good breeder would charge for top grade puppies. They are relying on the impulse buy.

Cavaliers from puppy farms here only cost the brokers/importers around $50-100 each and they can be shipped 25 to a box on Aer Lingus and other carriers for just €100 ($130) to the US, so just an extra $7 per puppy or so for transport costs. Then you will be charged $2000 or $1500 or whatever for that irish 'champion lines' puppy.

That's what fuels the Irish import business into the US -- we have no rabies so the pups can be imported directly at 8 weeks. Brokers make one heck of a lot of tax free money.

[babyC]

nothing could be worse than all these puppy millers stuffs.. the worst experience so far that i had is when i went back to Singapore, it's a very high-tech country and developed.. one of the most beautiful and CLEAN city i've been to.. but the problem was, i could not find any proper dog breeder!

I went to this so-called pet farm with my friend, heard that they have Cavaliers so I thought why not take a look. it's a hugeeee piece of land, full of dog farms.. about hundreds of dogs ..and the thing that i couldnot believe is the STENCH.. how yucky, dirty it was.. i have two dogs, and NEVER ever i had smelled something like that ..

so it's a row of different dog "companies"/farm/mills.. don't even know what they are.. and the 1st farm has a shop (not all of them have shops with Air-conditioned etc, some are just like a huge farmhouse), with cages stacking so high.. different kinds of dogs, the cages are about 0.5mx0.5m.. and can you imagine inside one of this cage,these 5 tinyyyy.. little blenheims.. about 5 weeks old, (and they say they are ready to go) with their white colour already turning yellow/brownish colour..most probably has been sitting in their own pee/poo.. and did i mention the stench ??? my heart was hurting looking at them.. ! they were crying and crying.. and some of the older cavaliers who are not sold,about 8 month and 15 lb was also inside this tiny cage! just litterally standing, and can't even move.. there was one with red eyes,just pacing around in circles,crying,howling, looking.. (sorry) crazy.. !

It's so sad.. that after that one shop, i decided to go home. didn't want to look further. it's pathetic, when i entered that 1st shop, i pretended to be interested in buying, and was asking, about their health and so on, whether there's a history of SM or pattela, and the seller was like " huh ? what ?? they are dogs! " I was stunned!
There was this little chihuahua cross, that was tied to a tree, trying to follow me home.. looking all sad, skinny.. wanted to help him so badly, but what can i do! My parents are not dog-people.. oh well..

VERY FEW dog breeders in Singapore that I know of.. pet farms are what people know at that one place.. Dogs are bought from Australian breeders.. wish the Singaporean dog lovers could be more educated!
Went to see the quarantine that Cherrise is going to be (for 1 month!!) ,if one day I'm going back for good to Singapore.. i wasn't happy AT all.. would rather let her be here with a good family, or just never go back home.. ( yes, i do love her that much ..)

[Shay]

I am in tears reading your post. These are living breathing beings. The "They are just animals" mentality I will never understand. Don't they realize that these animals feel pain, fear, sadness, happiness, and just about every other emotion, or sensation that a human feels. This just sickens me. I still can't understand why puppy mills are legal. IMO, it is animal cruelty at the highest level.