pet store GSD heartbreak - Page 3

I do not shop in pet stores that sell pets. There is only one in the county where I live as this is a very militant SF Bay Area place.

I very rarely go to Petco, they sell birds and reptiles and fish.  They do however, host rescue groups for cats and dogs to find adoptive parents.  So, that is why I go there occasionally. 

Pet Food Express only sells supplies and dog food that is 100% source in the USA.  I go there regularly and Pharaoh loves it there.  They have wonderful self-service all tile bathing facilities and the new store has a scale for weighing.

Then there are several boutique shops that sell stuff that is top quality and usually has to be ordered online.

I shop there as much as I can to keep them alive.  Their price may be higher but I don't pay for shipping.

Vote with your dollars as best you can.

I went to the pound to rescue my cat Joey, my friend and I had gone on a day just to see, because I had recently lost my cat. A couple of days ago, he was the only one I recognized from the day and was one of those that I considered taking  home, and so I did! An older cat, because the kittens always have a wider chance of getting adopted.

But the day, just as we were leaving, a woman was being drug in by her Siberian Husky. Now yes I love German Shepherds, but when I see a Husky my heart like snaps in two. But this was all before I even knew Lukas was coming into the pictures. They said they were going to have to put him down imediately because they "had no room" I assure you they did, it's not like people were not adopting dogs as we were leaving. But I could not stop gawking at those mismatched eyes, not even considering it, I took him home, yes along with Joey. I kept him for a couple of days and had  found him a good home. I would have kept him, but they are notorious for chasing cats and he surely wanted Joey to be supper. Broke my heart, but I did my good deed. I would do it more often too if I had the money.
 Too gorgeous not to be loved.

 USDA? Next stop research labs. Yikes, talk about a rock and a hard place.

A local pet store (not part of a chain) was selling two GSD pups for 1400 USD each. They claimed the pups were imported from Germany. Later they said they were born in Oklahoma. They also said they were sired by a "champion" German police dog that weighed 143 pounds (never saw any police or military K-9 that HUGE). They were evasive about providing name of dam and sire. 

I asked because I would never purchase a puppy from a pet store and I was curious what they would say. Needless to say, they did not disappoint me. They were lying through their teeth to misrepresent puppy mill animals in order to sell them for much, much more than they are worth. As they sold quickly, there is obviously no end of gullible people. Ironically, these same people often will not go to a breeder to buy a far better, healthy puppy with a documented pedigree.

 

People! The best thing you can do is not go into Petland! Think about it, you buy the pup...."rescue it"...it gives them money, they turn around and buy more!

If everyone quit doing damn impulse dog buying from there, they would go out of business.

We do not have Petland here in AZ.  We have Animal Kingdom.  We rescued one of our GSDs from there.  She is the best dog we have ever had.  She did, however, come with a host of medical problems.  Mange, food allergies, urinary problems.  It took us 2 years and several thousand $$ to get her healthy again.  I feel guilty about getting her from the store but she looked so decrepid at the time, we thought she had been abused and neglected, we paid the money and took her home.  The injuries were actually mange.  When I contacted them with my vet bills, imagine my (not) suprise that the "warranty" does not cover allergies or mange.  Still I am glad she came to us.  She could have ended with someone who didn't have the finances or patience to take care of her medically and left her on the side of the road or euthanized or abused.  BTW she came from Missouri.  Now we only get our dogs from reputable breeders.  I would love to get a part time job in one of these stores simply gather info.  Why does the media not get too hot over this topic? 

I am proud to say I hope I "helped" close the Petland we had here in one of our malls.  I totally lost it when I saw the pair of Rainbow Lorikeets with a huge bowl of sunflower seeds and an even huger bowl of grit.  These are fruit and nectar feeders. They don't even possess a gizzard in which to store grit. I made a huge scene and later called the news which did a story.  PL only lasted a couple of months after that. YAY!

Unfortunately the horror stories told here are all too true...

A friend of mine picked up a Collie pup (8wks) for her mom from a Puppy Mill around here... I had offered to help them look for one from a reputable breeder, but Mom's B'day was on that Sunday and they needed it NOW. I guess my hackles went up a bit when she told me they'd gotten "Trigger", and from where. As she got quite PO'ed with me and accused me of insulting their beautiful lil puppy.  I told her he was quite cute, but looking @ his pedigree, his father was his grandfather, and great grandfather on the dam's side as well.  Her  response was "WELL WE GOT A GUARENTEE WITH HIM!!"

 Fast forward 6 months... Trigger is having trouble, seems to walk into things... Vet certifies that he's 100% blind.   She calls the kennel and they said, "Bring him back, and we'll replace him."  She asked me what would happen... and I told her that probably the dog would be euthanized, or taken out back of the barn and shot... unless his Father had died in which case they might use him as stud... AND that the puppy they'd replace it with was almost certainly 100% the same bloodlines as the one who was blind.  By this time they dearly loved Trigger, and chose to keep him. I helped them learn about living with a blind dog.

Lesson learned.... unfortunately they gave a HORRIBLE breeder major cash for him which only encourages them to continue breeding inferior and unhealthy dogs.  Raise them cheap, sell them off quick... and count on the new folks never coming back even if the pup has problems. 

The place that has that sad eyed dog has now dropped the price, most likely to just over what they spent to purchase her. Plus expence of shots, etc.  Lots of Petstores (especially chains) do the same thing... after 4 months they just want to break even on the doggie in the window... and put the next 8 week old victim in the window at an inflated price.

Not 100% of petstores are this horrible, and some breeders are... but the chances of getting a problem decreases the more research goes into the purchase.

No breeder of any self-respect sells a pup to a pet shop. Only retards buy pups from pet shops.