How Much is That Doggy in the Window?

I'm feeling incredibly frustrated right now.  Earlier today I stopped in to a new pet store thinking I would pick up a new toy (or two) for my fur kids, as well as support a fellow business owner in the pet industry, but the first thing I saw as I walked in were several dozen puppies kept in cages behind a floor to ceiling glass wall.  "Oh - you sell puppies?" just sort of spilled out of my mouth as a young, pimple faced man turned to greet me.  He clearly misinterpreted the anguish in my voice for something else.  He seemed proud of the fact they could offer me this "wonderful" service and smiled saying, "We sure do!"    I couldn't even look him in the eye I was so disturbed.  Thoughts raced about my head vying with each other for positions of importance - "Do those puppies sleep in those cages all night long?  Are they scared at night when all the people go home?  Are the bitches who gave birth to them already (fill in the blank) pregnant with the next batch/alive/healthy/sick/scared/in pain?  Do people who shop here realize they are supporting inhumane practices simply by shopping here?" 

"Sorry," I mumbled as I turned for an immediate exit.  I'm sure he was bewildered - I could see it on his face once I was outside and turned to look back.  And that fact alone is proof to me that it is WRONG with all capital letters for pet stores to sell puppies.  He had no idea a person might not embrace the selling of puppies in a pet store.  I'm sure he has no idea how many dogs are euthanized each day because there are simply too many puppies being born every day, but even more importantly I"m sure he couldn't tell me where any of those puppies came from. 

I can tell you where those puppies came from.... A PUPPY MILL!  There isn't any reputable breeder alive who would allow puppies they bred for the purpose of improving, or at least of maintaining the quality of a breed, to be sold in ANY pet store.  That young salesman might not want to think about where those puppies came from or about the horrific conditions of their origination, and I didn't feel like calling him out to defend the sins of his boss, but I can unfortunately assure you those puppies didn't fall from Heaven. 

I'll blog more about this later but until then, PLEASE DON"T BUY A PUPPY FROM ANY PET STORE!  If you must, must, must have a purebred puppy, go to dog conformation shows, meet the breeders of the breed you are interested in, and purchase from the one you feel has the most integrity and knowledge about your chosen breed.  If you are not interested in a particular breed, go to Petfinder and change your life for the better by giving a previously abandoned dog a second chance.