Petland stores across Illinois have closed after a puppy mill sales ban went into effect.
.A Maryland ban on puppy sales in pet shops kicked in January 1, 2020.
The pet shop business is a dying one in general, as the markups on things that are identical to what you can get at deep discount on Amazon or other online retailers is transparent. As the pet store business has shrunk, so too has their selection of leashes, collars and dog toys. The business now appears to be in boutique dog food (which is not better, and frequently worse than Purina or Pedigree), as well as grooming and veterinary analogs owned by candy companies and third-party holding companies.
Pet store puppy sales have been disappearing for 40 years, a phenomenon I have documented in the past.
That’s a good thing.
Here’s why: that pet store puppy being sold at 8 weeks was snatched from its mother at 6 weeks, bundled with perhaps 100 or more other dogs from other breeders, and then transported hundreds of miles in the back of a truck.
Setting aside socialization issues, puppies from 6-10 weeks old do not have stable immune systems and so vaccination schedules have to be adhered to and puppies should NOT be mixed with other dogs or even allowed in a pet store or park during this critical time.
The result of disobeying the rules and mixing a lot of very young puppies is predictable: a significant number come down with distemper and parvo, to say nothing of lung and eye infections.
Ever read Better Business Bureau reports from pet store and “every breed” online puppy sellers??
Disaster, disease, debt, and death is the storyboard again and again. This is structural. It’s the “deal with the devil” that every puppy mill and pet store has made.
Pet store puppy sales have been disappearing for 40 years, a phenomenon I have documented in the past.
That’s a good thing.
Here’s why: that pet store puppy being sold at 8 weeks was snatched from its mother at 6 weeks, bundled with perhaps 100 or more other dogs from other breeders, and then transported hundreds of miles in the back of a truck.
Setting aside socialization issues, puppies from 6-10 weeks old do not have stable immune systems and so vaccination schedules have to be adhered to and puppies should NOT be mixed with other dogs or even allowed in a pet store or park during this critical time.
The result of disobeying the rules and mixing a lot of very young puppies is predictable: a significant number come down with distemper and parvo, to say nothing of lung and eye infections.
Ever read Better Business Bureau reports from pet store and “every breed” online puppy sellers??
Disaster, disease, debt, and death is the storyboard again and again. This is structural. It’s the “deal with the devil” that every puppy mill and pet store has made.
And, of course, in the case of Petland, the American Kennel Club was very much part of the deal that left dogs diseased and dead in its wake.
The AKC even created a special computer program to register Petland puppies and gave them registration discounts not available to more ethical breeders.
Does that mean there are no dogs to be had at PetSmart, or whatever pet store is located near you?
Not at all.
Most of these locations hold rescue roundups several times a month, with volunteer foster-folk showing up with vaccinated spayed and neutered dogs that have stable immune systems because they’re more than 4 months old.
One such dog is curled up in my lap right now — a pure North American Pocket Lurcher descended from the famous ratting dogs once owned by Richard Toner. Look it up!
Has these pet shop puppy sales laws had an impact? It has on the big mid-western puppy mills in places like Missouri, Nebraska and Indiana. I’m told many are simply folding up.
Is that a bad thing?
Not at all!
It’s good for more responsible small-volume breeders, and it’s good for rescues too.
A handful of failed cattle farmers can no longer make money off misery puppies shipped off to gullible fools making spur of the moment purchases in a pet store?
Cry me a river.
And by that I mean ... fuck ‘em.
Does that mean there are no dogs to be had at PetSmart, or whatever pet store is located near you?
Not at all.
Most of these locations hold rescue roundups several times a month, with volunteer foster-folk showing up with vaccinated spayed and neutered dogs that have stable immune systems because they’re more than 4 months old.
One such dog is curled up in my lap right now — a pure North American Pocket Lurcher descended from the famous ratting dogs once owned by Richard Toner. Look it up!
Has these pet shop puppy sales laws had an impact? It has on the big mid-western puppy mills in places like Missouri, Nebraska and Indiana. I’m told many are simply folding up.
Is that a bad thing?
Not at all!
It’s good for more responsible small-volume breeders, and it’s good for rescues too.
A handful of failed cattle farmers can no longer make money off misery puppies shipped off to gullible fools making spur of the moment purchases in a pet store?
Cry me a river.
And by that I mean ... fuck ‘em.
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