Where to Find a Dog?

Pet Stores

Pet stores and pet shops are excellent sources for food, supplies and free advice; but we generally advise against buying your pet itself from a retail store. There are exceptions to this advice though. Some pet stores, especially the larger chains, are now offering on-site adoptions from local humane societies or animal shelters on certain days of the week or month. These types of joint efforts between pet stores and shelters are a very worthwhile means to obtain a new pet. Most of the pets involved in these programs have gone through the screening process of the shelter, and therefore you will generally find pets with very good quality and temperament.

Aside from the community adoption programs available at some stores, there can be large differences from one pet shop to the next, with regards to the quality of animals they have for sale. You may have heard about the unfavorable publicity that some pet shops have received because of their buying dogs from commercial "puppy mills". Puppy mills are actually disreputable breeders who specialize in selling large quantities of animals with very little attention to quality. Puppy mill operators frequently maintain their dogs in dirty conditions, offering minimal medical care, and with very little opportunity for social interaction. As a result, puppies obtained from these types of sources can suffer from both medical and behavioral problems.

While it is not impossible that a pet store could be working with reputable breeders, it is just another link in the chain which distances the buyer from direct contact and evaluation of the source of their pet. Buyers must do research into the original source of their potential pet to ensure that the breeder they are buying their pet from, is truly a reputable source.

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