Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Truth about the Dogs You See In Pet Stores

Sometimes people are determined to have a pure-bread dog and there is nothing wrong with this. However, please do not buy one at a pet shop. They will tell you what you want to hear but the truth is that the puppy is from a puppy mill. They will assure you that they are not but they are. Don't give any money to the large business of producing cute little puppies.

Dog rescue organizations, and humane societies across the county, have been trying to shut down puppy mills for years. Puppy mills are horrible places where female dogs are bred every time they come into heat. Puppies that come from puppy mills are most often low quality dogs that are prone to health problems and phycological problems as well.

If you buy a puppy from a pet store you are buying trouble, and heartbreak, for yourself. You will also be adding to the profits of the greedy puppy mill operators. Even if you buy one to help it out you will be contributing to the problem - just don't do it.

Don't be fooled, and don't let people you know be fooled. The pet stores and puppy mills put a beautiful face on an ugly problem. Dogs at puppy mills live in very small cages, sometimes many dogs to a cage. A cage, not a crate, because cages do not require as much effort to clean. The urine and feces falls through the cage and can be hosed up. These dogs have very little human contact and when they are no longer profitable they are killed.

Dogs (and all animals) deserve better than that. You know it, I know it, and frankly I think puppy mill operaters know it; They just don't care.

If you want a pure-breed dog find a responsible breeder. Go and visit the site where the dogs are kept (the mother, father, and all dogs of the litter) before you offer to buy one. Check to see that the conditions are sanitary and the breeding dogs are healthy. Look at the mother dog and the father dog to determine their general health and temperament before you consider purchasing a puppy. Traits from the mother and father are passed on to the litter. Ask if you might contact people who have purchased puppies from the breeder in the past. And don't forget that there are many rescues and shelters crammed to their maximums with dogs that need a home and someone to love them.

If you avoid puppy mills, and encourage people you know to do so, it will be good for the new parent of the puppy and for puppies everywhere.

Now let's get busy training.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024

Sometimes people are determined to have a pure-bread dog and there is nothing wrong with this. However, please do not buy one at a pet shop. They will tell you what you want to hear but the truth is that the puppy is from a puppy mill. They will assure you that they are not but they are. Don't give any money to the large business of producing cute little puppies.

Dog rescue organizations, and humane societies across the county, have been trying to shut down puppy mills for years. Puppy mills are horrible places where female dogs are bred every time they come into heat. Puppies that come from puppy mills are most often low quality dogs that are prone to health problems and phycological problems as well.

If you buy a puppy from a pet store you are buying trouble, and heartbreak, for yourself. You will also be adding to the profits of the greedy puppy mill operators. Even if you buy one to help it out you will be contributing to the problem - just don't do it.

Don't be fooled, and don't let people you know be fooled. The pet stores and puppy mills put a beautiful face on an ugly problem. Dogs at puppy mills live in very small cages, sometimes many dogs to a cage. A cage, not a crate, because cages do not require as much effort to clean. The urine and feces falls through the cage and can be hosed up. These dogs have very little human contact and when they are no longer profitable they are killed.

Dogs (and all animals) deserve better than that. You know it, I know it, and frankly I think puppy mill operaters know it; They just don't care.

If you want a pure-breed dog find a responsible breeder. Go and visit the site where the dogs are kept (the mother, father, and all dogs of the litter) before you offer to buy one. Check to see that the conditions are sanitary and the breeding dogs are healthy. Look at the mother dog and the father dog to determine their general health and temperament before you consider purchasing a puppy. Traits from the mother and father are passed on to the litter. Ask if you might contact people who have purchased puppies from the breeder in the past. And don't forget that there are many rescues and shelters crammed to their maximums with dogs that need a home and someone to love them.

If you avoid puppy mills, and encourage people you know to do so, it will be good for the new parent of the puppy and for puppies everywhere.

Now let's get busy training.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Almost $8K for Otay Mesa birds

Polly wants a high bid
Next Article

Puppy-mill protesters vs. Escondido Fire Department

City holds out on banning stores that sell pets of poor provenance
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader