This entry was posted on Thursday, August 6th, 2009 at 7:22 pm and is filed under Articles, Dog Stories, General Dog News, Health & Nutrition, Los Angeles Dog News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
I have a client from a few years ago who is a very nice woman and is now a friend. She hired me when she got a cocker spaniel/poodle mix from a local pet store. I refuse to call it a breed, because it isn’t, it’s a mix. I have absolutely no issue with mixed breeds as most of mine have been mixes. What I do have a problem with is people purposely breeding 2 different breeds to make mixes and then selling them for exorbitant amounts of money and calling them “designer” dogs. Especially when there are so many perfectly great mixes, and purebreds I might add, sitting in the shelters being euthanized every day. Sorry for the rant, I’ll get back to my story now.
So although I was disappointed in her choice of dog, and more so the store where she bought the dog, the dog needed training and she needed help doing so. After we became more friendly we talked about the “pet store” where she got the dog. I told her the dog came from a puppy mill & she said “noway, they said the dogs are well taken care of & come from a nice breeder in the Mid-West. And anyway, isnt’ she a great dog?” As if that made up for the horrible living conditions the dog’s parents are most likely living in.
After training was finished we remained friends and had coffee a time or two. A while later one of her other dogs died very suddenly. In her grief she contacted the “pet store” and told them. A couple of days later they called to say they had a very nice golden-doodle (their term not mine) that she’d just love. I told her the dog is from a puppy mill. Again she told me the girl swore to her the breeder is a very nice lady who raises her dogs in a clean and happy environment. I told her to ask if the girl had actually traveled to Missouri, Iowa, or Oklahoma, or wherever the place was to take a look for herself. Of course the girl had not. For some reason my client/friend decided to listen to me and chose not to get the dog and went to a rescue instead.
Within a couple of months the “pet store” was closed down for selling dogs from puppy mills and not informing the clientele. The case has gone to trial and yipee they have a judgment against them for a whopping $4.8 million!!! Many of the dogs they sold were sick and some even died. Many of the people who spent thousands, even $10k on vet bills and their pups still died. I truly feel for the people and especially the puppies who were innocent in all of this.
In this day and age, with so many news shows, and so many ways to keep up (hello, Internet??) it still amazes me that people are so naive, and I won’t say the other words I’m thinking, as to buy a dog from a pet store, or a even out of a newspaper, the Recycler, or the Pennysaver for that matter. Any reputable breeder should have a waiting list for their puppies and shouldn’t have to advertise for buyers. They also want to know where their pups are going to be living and with whom. They don’t want them shipped across the Country and being sold by a broker to someone they’ll never meet. A reputable breeder also makes you sign a contract which states that should anything happen at any time during that dog’s life which forces you to not be able to keep their puppy, they will unconditionally take the dog back. THAT is responsiblity. If you bring a life into this World you are responsible for it for the rest of it’s life.
Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox now 
.
http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/get_the_facts_on_puppy_mills/
http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/puppy-mills/
August 7th, 2009 at 12:59 am
YEAAAAAA…!! Strike one up for the dogs!
I’m also shocked at how many people still purchase dogs from what I would consider shady sources. Pet stores, newspapers, even signs on the street advertising puppies at a house…about the only thing I don’t see anymore is people outside of grocery stores (thank god!) It’s really sickening. Even if it’s not specifically from a puppy mill, you’re right, reputable breeders are not just looking to “off load” their puppies to anybody with a bit of green stuff. And they certainly don’t want to pack them off half way across the country to a store who will sell to anybody with the money to buy them.
It used to be that people would say things like, “If somebody will pay that kind of money for a dog, then certainly they’ll take care of it.” I would hope there’s nobody out there who would still be naive enough to believe that . I know that there are NO REPUTABLE breeders who would.
And don’t even get me started on “designer breeds!” I, like you, have absolutely nothing against mixed breed dogs, but the whole designer breed concept is such a scam! And, it’s so COMPLETELY driven strictly by commerce. Certainly, they aren’t breeding to try to produce quality dogs of mixed breed heritage to meet a standard or to show in a conformation ring. And as such, the ONLY reason that they can possibly be doing it is to turn a quick dollar. By it’s very nature, this trend is “designed” to be a puppy mill owners dream.
Please don’t misunderstand me on this, I think that breeders of pure bred dogs can be equally guilty of this, and certainly puppy mills are filled with pure bred dogs, BUT at least there are some ligitimate breeders out there. I can’t imagine that being the case in a so called “designer breed.”
Anyway, IT’S A MIXED BREED DOG FOLKS!! A perfectly wonderful, make a great pet, deserves to be loved, mixed breed dog….BUT, NOTHING DESIGNER THERE!!!
Go to the pound or an adoption center and find an equally cute, lovable, wonderful dog to be your beloved pet. And then take the rediculous sum of money that you would have poured into purchasing a “designer (scam)” dog and spend it on cool toys and pet supplies and the best possible care for your new precious pooch!
Thanks for bringing this to our attention Laura,
and again, STRIKE ONE UP FOR THE DOGS!!!
August 7th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Forgot to add: careful about buying a dog over the internet. Yes, there are reputable breeders with websites, but the web is also a great place for puppy mills to sell puppies.
Watch out for people who 1) don’t screen YOU for the quality of home that you can provide. 2) don’t provide a health guarantee 3) don’t have you sign a contract that requires you to contact them if the dog doesn’t work out in your home 4) has a problem with you coming out to meet their dogs prior to purchase — you might not actually want to do this, (although I would,) but you should find out what kind of attitude the person has when you suggest it. 5) and this ones a BIG RED FLAG…breeds more than one or two different breeds of dog.
August 13th, 2009 at 4:27 am
oh it is very great and very informative thanks for sharing with me
February 1st, 2010 at 10:08 pm
So nice of you to share this with us.
March 10th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
thanks,