Beware of Pet Stores Selling Pupplies
Written by Laurie in NY
I actually had gone to the mall to the Dollar Store to buy more dish towels. Our mutt/mix Cole thought the best game in the world was snagging the dish towel and running around with it just begging to be chased. LoL I had my bag of towels and had to walk past the pet store to the exit. Well, somehow those 2 boxers caught my eye and in I went. About an hour and $1300 later, out I came with that adorable puppy who was as yet unnamed.
I called our room-mate and told her not to tell my fiance that I had bought him a boxer puppy as a wedding gift. This puppy was just the cutest, sweetest little bundle and I was sorry I couldn't afford to buy his brother too.
Duke's first vet appointment was, needless to say, very sad. The doctor at the vet hospital marked his paperwork "Unfit for Purchase" due to bronchial pneumonia. She informed me that the decision was mine, but to know that if I chose to return the animal to the pet shop, he would be placed in a cage in the back and not seen by the public. There he would most likely not survive.
If I chose to keep him we could 'baby' the puppy and he had a pretty good chance of surviving. Well, after having him sleep in bed with us already how could I give him back knowing he would end up dead? So, out of the office and back home I went with "Baby Duke" and I cried the whole way home. So, we all agreed, no way was this puppy going back!
We have been extremely lucky ~ since he recovered from the bronchial pneumonia, Duke has had no other serious illness/injury or major veterinary bills.
Since buying Duke on Sept. 30, 2000 I have become more familiar with the puppy mill puppies that get sent off to pet shops.
Duke was born on July 22, 2000 at a kennels in Missouri. I still am unsure how soon he and the sibling who was with him were taken away from their mother, because I really have no idea when they arrived at the pet shop in the New York mall.
In the summer of 2001 some guys from the city were cutting down the dead tree in front of my house on the ROW. Of course Cole and Duke just love people, so out we went on the leashes to watch from the front porch. All of the guys oohd and ahhd over the dogs and finally came over to get slobbered all over. One guy said something about a friend of his had a boxer pup that looked just like mine but that the pup had died after only a couple days. I told this man the story about Duke being with a sibling at the pet shop and that Duke had been very ill when I got him. We concluded that his friend must have acquired Duke's brother.
To this day I wish I had been able to afford both dogs. I still believe that if I had given that other puppy vet-care the couple of days earlier with Duke, that they both would be alive today.
Hind-sight is always 20/20 and I am aware that I cannot change the past. What is done is done, but when the time comes for me to have other boxers in my home, I will look at rescue and other resources instead of the pet shop in the mall.
~Laurie -- NY
BoxerK9mom@nycap.rr.com
Laurie had shared her story on a Boxer email list I am on. I asked if she would not mind letting me share her story with others. I am grateful she has shared this experience.
CODE OF ETHICS
Remember: All breed clubs have it in their Code of Ethics to prohibit members from selling to either a Pet Store/Retail Establish or to a broker. This means the truly reputable breeders who are breeding the true top quality dogs are not supplying the Retailers. This further means the Retailers must buy from lesser quality breeders where profit is their only motivation to be breeding. Is that the type of breeder you want to buy your puppy from?
Important Topics
[Beware Irresponsible Pet Breeders] [Beware of Pet Stores]
[Get Rid Of Your Dog?]
[Letter From Your Puppy]
[What Is A Breeder?]
[How Could You?]
Humorous
[How To Read Dog Show Advertisements ] [Dogoholics Anonymous]
[Why Dogs Don't Use Computers] [Things Dogs Must Remember] [The Puppy's Prayer]
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