[pepino]

Hello:

Just wondering if the puppy mill laws are helping with more humane treatment of the animals. I recently bought my puppy from a pet store in Illinois. They gave me the name of the breeder who is also in Illinois. I am assuming it is now ok to get puppies from pet shops? I hope I wasn't fooled... this is the article that I read prior to buying. Are other states following with similar laws?

"Animal advocates are celebrating a win for companion animals with a federal ruling that upholds an ordinance in Cook County, Ill., banning the sale of dogs and cats from mills in pet stores."
Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/victory-court-upholds-puppy-mill-ban-in-illinois-county.html

Thoughts?

 

[RonE]

Perhaps Cook County is playing fast and loose with the definition of a puppy mill.

Some pet stores are showing rescue/shelter dogs and making them available for adoption. It seems unlikely that any responsible breeder is selling puppies to a pet store.

 

[Appaloosa]

It looks like the law passed in 2015, which usually means it takes affect Jan 1 of the following year unless otherwise specified by the law itself.
As far as helping with humane treatment... I would say no, but it does supposedly encourage people to adopt rather than buy from puppymills. IMO if people want puppies they'll go where the puppies are, if not at a petstore they'll buy them online.
And yes, many states have already passed the same or similar laws which will be amended in 2016.

Here is a list of petstore sales bans. I'm not sure how up to date it is though:
http://bestfriends.org/resources/jurisdictions-retail-pet-sale-bans

 

[Amaryllis]

Yeah ... unless you went through an adoption process with a shelter or rescue, you've been had. Responsible breeders do not sell through pet stores.

You live and you learn.

 

[pepino]

I was going to go to a merit AKC breeder but I saw lawsuits pending against her online. She wanted me to meet her in a location other than what AKC listed it made me a bit skeptical. This puppy (Charlie) was born on the same day that our precious Golden Retriever, Joni died. It seemed like it was meant to be...Charlie is a happy, exuberant, mouthy lab and Im hoping he will give our family many years of joy as our last dog did. I did not want to support the puppy mills though, and from the above article it sounded like things were better. The law went into affect in 2014 but was upheld in federal court in 2015.

 

[RonE]

Getting a dog from the pet store doesn't mean you automatically got a bad dog. It just means you unwittingly supported a despicable industry.

 

[MM1234]

A reputable breeder will never sell puppies to a pet shop. At this point that is water under the bridge....now you got your Charlie! Just love on him, neuter him, & give him a great home like you seem to be. But for future reference even though those laws have been passed, puppies in a pet shop are never a good idea.

 

[Willowy]

It's true that a good breeder would never sell to a pet store---they want to know where their puppies are going, and have some control over it, not just hand them off to whoever has cash in hand. So the breeder is at least somewhat irresponsible in that regard. And it's always a good idea to meet the mother dog and the breeder's other dogs (of course this may not be possible with rescues, but if you're paying breeder money it's the least you could ask for), so you have some idea of how your pup will turn out, and see how they're being kept. Honestly, why don't people insist on meeting the mother dog? It seems to me that a lot of people talked about that when I was a kid but lately I never hear anyone discuss it.

IF they're enforcing that law well, that should at least mean that he didn't come from an actual puppymill, but someone having 5 or fewer breeding females doesn't guarantee that they treat their dogs well.

So personally, no, I still don't think it's a good idea to buy a puppy from a pet store. But if they enforce the law well enough, that should at least cut down on the mass producers. I guess it's better than nothing.

If you have the breeder's name and address you can Google for more info on them. I think that info is required to be on the papers they give you.

 

[Effisia]

My guess would be that the puppies now come through puppy brokers, who get them from mills. (If they're not associated with a shelter or rescue in the area). A puppy broker wouldn't have ANY breeding females, themselves, and I could see the unscrupulous puppy mill folks using this as a loophole kind of thing.

 

[PatriciafromCO]

My guess would be that the puppies now come through puppy brokers, who get them from mills. (If they're not associated with a shelter or rescue in the area). A puppy broker wouldn't have ANY breeding females, themselves, and I could see the unscrupulous puppy mill folks using this as a loophole kind of thing.

yes... commercial byb networking puppy mill group.... new term Breeder front / aka dog broker very organized and everyone earns a commission, that and advertising they breeders who take in rescue litters... tricky tricky ...

 

[InkedMarie]

IMO, if you're buying a purebred puppy, go to a reputable breeder. Choose one that you can go visit OR one that a trusted friend or family member can. There are great breeders that ship; as long as you know they are great, thats fine.