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Why are folks still getting dogs from pet shops and enjoying them?

Because dogs are wonderful creatures. At heart, they are a companion of mankind and respond to love with love. They enrich our lives no matter what they look like. No matter what kind of health problems they have, no matter how sorry their beginnings, we just love them. And they love us.

So, if you can get a loving companion from a pet store, what's the big deal? Who cares where the pup came from if you can love it and it loves you?

Well, its mother cares. Because while the puppy is sitting in a pet store, even a clean pet store with kindly employees, the mother may be pregnant with her sixth litter of pups by age 4. The mother may be currently living in a tiny pen covered in her own filth and badly in need of a bath, some good food and a little bit of the loving attention her puppy is about to receive when he goes home with his new owners.

Your kids care. They care when their beloved dog, who has loved them faithfully ever since coming home from the pet shop, dies an early death from a genetic disoder such as epilepsy, Von Willebrandt's disease, or hip displasia because the puppy mill that produced him doesn't do health checks.

And you DO care, when you've spend thousands of dollars on allergy treatments, special diets, and expensive veterinary surgery to correct health problems the puppy mill never checked for.

But, you say, the pet shop swears this dog doesn't come from a puppy mill, but from a "private breeder" or an "AKC breeder." What does that mean?

AKC is a registry. They keep lists of dogs and their pedigrees. That is their primary role in the doggy world. They also put on dog shows and other performance competition, but they really aren't the doggy police, or the breeder police. There are some AKC regulations and checks, but the laws simply are not stringent enough to curtail puppy mill breeding. And those that are on the books are not enforced 100 percent of the time.

Many AKC registered dogs are puppy mill dogs. The puppy mill owns AKC-registered dogs, and an owner is listed on the AKC registration papers. The dog might not even live with the owner. When the dog is bred, an owner's signature is required on the AKC papers, and that's about it, excepting the fee. So what seems to be a private breeder could really be anyone with an AKC registered female, bred to an AKC registered male.

Dogs are wonderful. They love you. The puppy mills are counting on that. They are counting on you seeing that face in the petshop window, and falling in love. Cause for the most part, dogs love us. They just do. And... we love them.

So how can we love them better?

People are beginning to learn that getting a dog from a pet shop is not such a good idea. They are learning that pet shops are the "fuel" that feeds the puppy mills of this country. They are learning that getting a dog from a reputable breeder (not a "private breeder" or an "AKC breeder"" is the way to go. They are beginning to learn how to find a reputable breeder.

Understand that a reputable breeder is breeding a better dog. Why? Because they love the breed, and the dogs, as much as you do, and they want you to love their pups, and give them that love for a long, fulfilling life. They are checking out health problems in their breed, and trying to avoid them. They are less concerned with your money than they are with whether you have time to spend with their pups, or facilities to safely house and train them.

They want the best for those pups. Puppy mills want as many adorable babies as they can get so you loving homes will continue to spend money on canine love. And if your beloved dog has a short life, well that's OK. Because then they can sell you another. There's nothing wrong with the hearts of those pet shop puppies. Of course they love us and we love them. Even reputable breeders LOVE pet store puppies... But they also know what puppy mill breeding dogs are subjected to, and they know the only way to help those dogs, and to improve health and longevity for those puppies we adore, is to do everything we can to educate folks about why pet shop pups shouldn't be purchased, to steer folks towards a reputable breeder who is trying to eliminate health problems and who raises their pups with love and cares for their breeding animals as family members.

Love your pet shop puppies. Care for them as family members. But the next time you are looking for a canine companion, consider whether you can tell, by looking at those puppy faces in the pet shops and reading their AKC papers, what kind of conditions his mother is living in right now. Consider whether your purchase price goes into the pockets of someone who might be torturing dogs to produce those cute little bundles of love.

If you feel like you have been helping out a puppy in a shop by giving it a loving home, consider what effect your purchase is having on those puppy mills: More incentive to keep those poor mothers in their miserable conditions. Want to really help a poor canine soul? There are hundreds of dogs in shelters and rescues who could use a second chance. Often, these dogs are adolescents who did not make it in their original home due to impatience and lack of training. They can often be a bit unruly to start, but if you think of them as "big puppies" you are on the right track. With a little of that patience and some training, you can save a wonderful dog and end up with a lovely family pet who is grateful and know that you have done a truly good thing.

So, adopt a rescue or a shelter dog, or find a reputable breeder who can give you a pup who will love you, but whose life may be a little bit nicer due to good health. Find a puppy whose mother will spend her retirement playing nanny to her grandpups and being given her own special spot on a breeder's couch. And just maybe, if enough folks learn to choose a reputable breeder, there won't be any dogs who are being treated the way puppy mills treat their breeding animals.

Copyright 2002 by Tammy Albee. All rights reserved. Used with permission.