- Feb
- 12
Myths About Pet Stores and Breeders
Posted by Lisa Towell at 5:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Each year, 6 to 8 million lost and unwanted dogs and cats end up at animal shelters across the U.S. Half of those animals must be euthanized because of simple math: There are too many animals and not enough good homes. This overpopulation crisis is a national disgrace. While I take some comfort in knowing that animal shelters are at least able to give these animals a humane death as an alternative to starvation, disease, or abuse, I would much prefer to focus on some of the real roots of the problem–pet stores and breeders, and barriers to spaying and neutering. (I’ll cover spaying and neutering in a future post.)
We have a moral obligation to end the overpopulation crisis in order to reduce the number of unwanted homeless dogs and cats. When people buy animals from breeders and pet stores instead of adopting from animal shelters, they deny a needy animal a chance at a good home. As long as people support a market that treats dogs and cats as profit-generating commodities, we will struggle with the overpopulation crisis.
So why do so many people still buy animals from pet stores and breeders? Here are some of the myths that keep those dog and cat profits rolling in.
Myth #1: “My family needs a young puppy or kitten, not an old, ’secondhand’ animal.”
Fact: Most pet stores get their “stock” from puppy mills and other sources that raise animals in unspeakably cruel conditions, and each purchase motivates these places to breed more. If your heart is set on a puppy or kitten, animal shelters have plenty of healthy and happy young animals to choose from. And consider this: For many people, the best choice for a new animal companion is actually an adult dog or cat. Adult animals are calmer and less destructive, and you can see exactly what you’re signing up for in terms of personality, size, and energy level. Animal shelters are a great place to find that perfect match.
Myth #2: “But isn’t it a good thing to rescue that puppy from the pet store?”
Fact: It’s a simple matter of supply and demand. As you take your new puppy home, the empty cage at the store will be filled with another puppy from the same puppy mill. Only when customers stop buying will the suffering end.
Myth #3: “The animal shelter is so depressing compared to the pet store-I just can’t go there.”
Fact: If you think it’s depressing, imagine what it’s like for the animals who have been abandoned there. When you adopt an animal from an animal shelter, you have the satisfaction of saving a life–nothing depressing about that! The pet store is actually an awful place if you think about where those cute animals came from. That puppy’s mother is probably living without any human contact in a barren wire cage and most likely has extensive health problems from constant breeding and stress.
Myth #4: “It’s fine to get a dog from a responsible breeder.”
Fact: There is nothing responsible about bringing more animals into a world where there are already too many. Just as with pet stores, each time breeders sell a litter, they’ll be motivated to breed and sell another one. There are only so many homes available for dogs each year, and for every slot filled by a dog from a breeder, there’s one home fewer available to a dog in a shelter.
Other Viewing Options
Myth #5: “With purebred dogs, you can predict their temperament and behavior.”
Fact: Pet stores and breeders aren’t the only source of purebred dogs. Rescue groups exist for every breed of dog, and up to 25 percent of dogs in shelters are purebred. But if temperament and behavior traits are paramount, your best bet is an adult dog from an animal shelter. You could buy a Labrador puppy in hopes of having a dog who is gentle and good with children, but that puppy could grow up to be nervous and short-tempered–there are no guarantees. And many purebred dogs have been bred over the years for working behaviors that in this day and age are just not applicable anymore, like aggression, chasing, and digging. By selecting an adult shelter dog, you can get exactly the companion you’re looking for.
Myth #6: “Purebred dogs are healthier and longer-lived than mutts.”
Fact: On the contrary, purebred dogs are increasingly suffering from limited gene pools and have many breed-specific health issues. Cancer, respiratory issues, joint problems, heart disorders, and epilepsy are all seen frequently in purebreds. The BBC recently suspended television coverage of the prestigious Crufts dog show (the equivalent of the Westminster show in the U.S.) because of concerns about genetic illness in pedigree dogs in the U.K.
When you choose to share your home with an animal, support the lifesaving work of an animal shelter or rescue group by giving it your business. Animal shelters currently provide only 10 to 20 percent of the animals people take into their homes. By making animal shelters the first choice for finding an animal companion, we could dramatically reduce dog and cat overpopulation and save countless lives.
Have you heard other myths about pet stores and breeders? Let me know in the comments.
Posted to Money | Posted to Tags: breeders, dog, pet store, rescue
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Karen Taggart says...
February 12th, 2009, 10:21 am
Your post could not have come at a better time! I was just over at a friend’s house while Westminster was on. She is a dog lover but had never really thought about these larger issues… I am going to make sure she reads your post!
kerry says...
February 13th, 2009, 3:16 pm
Lisa, you are my hero. especially Your October 16 blog “Common Arguments Against Vegetarianism and how to anwer them”, and now this blog about pet stores and breeders you have given me so much helpful information. thank you.
There are lots of ways to adopt a shelter dog without walking down the rows and feeling bad you cant adopt them all. When we are ready to adopt we call the shelter and describe the qualities we are looking for. The volunteers know the dogs, and have always been willing to bring the potential adoptees outside to meet us and our dogs. Most areas also have pictures and descriptions of local shelter dogs online through websites like petfinders.
Moira says...
February 13th, 2009, 3:36 pm
I worked as a volunteer in Battersea Dog’s home in London ,They are so many” pure breed”,mixed bread,pupies,old ,any type but all in need of a loving,responsable person or family to adopt them.I will never go to a breeder or a pet-shop,i think it is unethical .Buying the first step of a selfish chain of greed for some people and misery for animals.I highly recommand to adopt ,it’s also give you so much joy to know you are giving not just a home but also saving them from euthanasia in some cases.I wosh for a worls free of Pet-selling businesses and breeders….
Elaine says...
February 15th, 2009, 2:07 am
Have you noticed that rescue animals tend to have the sweetest personalities? Animals know when they’ve been rescued - and their little hearts are expanded to shower their human families with even more love than normal. This I believe.
Annamaria sette de paolis says...
February 18th, 2009, 3:22 pm
Hello friends !
In Italy, we finally have no longer those irresponsible barriers on spaying or neutering dogs. Dogs and cats cannot buy … ‘condom’: thus, I welcome your next post on this specific, painful mattter (for them and for all of us) to at least contain such a huge numbers of poor stray dogs.
Oops !
annamaria- roma
Lisa says...
May 19th, 2009, 1:15 am
I get so distraught when I see “free kittens” signs in yards as I drive about my community. I get too agressive with people so I often shy away from knocking on doors to approach the subject of pet overpopulation and spaying/neutering. It seems the same houses have the same signs over and over. I wish we had laws to prosecute people who allow their pets to breed irresponsibly.
Corrie says...
May 28th, 2009, 4:03 pm
Thank you so much for your post has just confirmed my personal goals and made me want to do this “something” so much more. I think it would be wonderful to create a pet store where instead of taking from puppy mills and breeders, link up with the local SPCA or Humane society, and be that helpful hand to get those poor animals a home. Plus its a big step in helping to eliminate puppy and kitten mills, and put them out of business for GOOD!…it is true that more people will buy from a pet store, due to “impulse” buyers, and I just think that this would be a solution in the right step. This is definitely a goal I have, along with many others, so you can bet that you will be hearing from me again soon!!
Animal lovers unite
heidi masalha says...
July 21st, 2009, 5:29 pm
People believe that if they dump their pet in shelter, he/she will be rescued so it is fine to do that.
People believe that their pet gets adopted by nice home even if they could not have handled their pet, due for example not being house trained, have health issue that is too expensive for them to take care, behavior problems etc.
PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THAT THEIR PET MOST LIKELY WILL BE PUT TO SLEEP.
PEOPLE SHOULD LEARN TO BE MORE RESPONSIBLE NOT TO EXPECT OTHERS TO DO THAT.
IF PEOPLE WOULD KNOW THAT THEIR PET PROBABLY WILL BE PUT TO SLEEP, THEY MAYBE WOULD TRY LITTLE HARDER TO DEAL THEIR PETS ISSUES AND CARE.
MORE THERE WILL BE PET GETTING ADOPTED, MORE PEOPLE WILL BE DUMPING THEIR PETS.
PEOPLE WILL THINK, I CAN JUST DUMP THIS ONE, SOMEBODY WILL TAKE GOOD CARE OF HIM/HER AND I CAN JUST GO AND GET OTHER ONE AND IF THAT ONE DOES NOT WORK OUT EITHER, I WILL JUST DUMP THAT ONE TOO.
PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THE TRUTH WHAT HAPPENS TO THEIR PET IF THEY LEAVE HIM/HER TO THE SHELTER.
IN SOME COUNTRIES WHERE THERE IS NOT SO MANY SHELTERS AND ADOPTION CENTERS, PEOPLE TAKE CARE OF THE PETS THEY GET. THEY WOULD NOT WANT TO TAKE THEIR PET TO PUT TO SLEEP THEMSELVES.
Also in this country, pets don’t have any value and many feel that their pet is not even worth to spend money to spay or neuter.
If people would keep the pets they have, there would be less puppies sold in pet stores !
People should pay pet dumping fee like they need to pay for dumping their cell phone. There should be $500 pet dumping fee because it does cost lot of money putting pet to sleep or rehoming. That would also make them think if they should dump one and get new one or keep the one they already have. Tax payers are paying $2 billion each year for dumped pets. About 8 million dogs and cats and dumped to shelters and about 5 million are put to sleep.
THERE SHOULD BE ADVERTISING: TAKE CARE OF YOUR PET instead of ADOPT A PET !
Christy Summerfield says...
August 15th, 2009, 11:29 am
I actually “rescue” my dogs from a breeder when they are no longer capable of breeding. She also shows dogs and many are prize winners. As a result, my dogs are always older and often worn out. They have or develop health problems and die much earlier than dogs who have not been used as breeders. This breeder takes good care of her dogs, although it pains me to see so many of them in cages. They do have plenty of outdoor time and they do get taken into the main part of the house on occasion. She clearly loves them, and suffers right along with them when they lose puppies. The dogs I have gotten from her are not only well-behaved but very loving. Still, I wish she’d stop breeding them. Now she finds herself with lots of puppies she can’t sell because of the economy. I occasionally check rescue sites but to obtain a dog from these sites generally costs at least $200 which I can’t afford and they have requirements I can’t meet, like a fenced-in yard. My breeder friend carefully checked my references before giving me the first dog. She also welcomes the opportunity to take care of them when I travel and doesn’t charge me. She misses them and they are always glad to see her. Plus she can see for herself that they’re well taken care of and love me too. If I had to pay someone to care for my dogs, I could never visit my kids & grandkids. And I would frankly never trust my precious little ones to any kennel even if I could afford it. So this has been a good relationship for both of us and for my dear, sweet little dogs. But, still, I’m conflicted. This breeder runs nothing like a puppy mill but I’m not entirely comfortable. One dog I got from her was returned to her when the people who bought her lost their home and could no longer afford to take care of her. She called me, feeling fairly certain I would take this poor little girl and I did. But she clearly was never given good care and is old before her time. She’s very dear to me and I’m so happy to have her so she can live out the rest of her life in a loving home. I believe no one loves their dogs more than I do. I know I will continue to get dogs from this breeder because I really feel like I’m rescuing them. It’s a breed I know well and know how to care for, plus I just love them. Many of the animals we’ve had over the years have just come to us in various ways. They’ve been strays, throw-aways, or mistreated animals their people no longer wanted. I guess I’m just writing to say I feel a bit guilty about taking used-up dogs from this breeder, but I won’t stop. They’re so happy to one a few instead of one of many and the reciprocal situation is a good one for me and I believe for my sweet girls.
John P says...
November 6th, 2009, 3:27 pm
Hi from Montreal, your blog is unfortunatly so true, recently here the subject has been on news a few times and they say we have some of the most important dog breeders and they often discover more with bad conditions unfortunatly. At least they consider these bad treatments as a crime and are punished as so. I myself currently have 3 cats in my family, 2 rescued cause 2 people I’ve known somehow were going to put them to the shelter for many reasons and the 3rd one I found her at a petstore but she is my exception as she has serious health issues that can’t be cured and I’m considering she couldn’t have found a better place for her conditions since she need few vetirinary care which are often expensive, these are unfortunatly rarely the first to be picked wether they’re at a petstore or in a shelter. I’ve never regreted it. In fact she’s the one who helps me cause she bites me each time Im having an epileptic crisis(my conditions) which I find very amazing for a cat. I would have personnally liked to see her being a mom but because of this situation the decision was since day 1 sure that she would have been operated to not becoming one. Unfortunatly I see people around me who let their cat and dog reproducing like … they just have no limit. I would have liked if we adopted laws like in Australia, in NSW at least, to make sure they all have an electronic ID and been sold already operated and castrated. Yes some places finally got it.
But here what I think is not only the myths your talking about that cause people going to the petstore instead but most of them just doesn’t know about it. The pet store is right a the corner and clearly identified while shelters are in shadows and are rarely advertised. it has to become widely known by population and become a norm to adopt in shelters.