All the dogs in the pet store are so cute , right ? However, pet stores are NOT happy places! The dogs in that store are the likely harvest of PUPPY MILLS. Puppy mills are commercial organizations whose main commodity is puppies. The bitches that these puppies are born to are bred to death (literally!), and when their usefullness has ended (ie: they don't meet quota), they are "downsized" via euthanasia. These are NOT carefully planned matings between two quality animals for the betterment of the breed or to produce quality puppies for family enjoyment! These are matings to make a profit and they are WRONG. Some pet stores insist that their pups come from local breeders, and while this may be true in some cases, you still have NO guarantees about the parentage of the pup, because the parents are not there for you to see. Besides, NO GOOD BREEDER would EVER sell puppies to a puppy store, so local or not, these are not good pups! They cannot have been properly socialized living in a store, being prodded by the public like so many ripe tomatoes on the grocery shelf. They are forced to live in a cage in their own mess and the only people who care for them are only doing so because they get minimum wage to do it!
The other side to all of this is that I have found that I can buy a show-quality bitch in my area with a great pedigree, excellent titled parents, and a stable life experience for TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS LESS than what a cocker pup sells for at the mall from a puppy mill!! WHATEVER!
I am in the business of raising animals, not sermonizing. MaineWoods Cockers does not support puppy mills, commercial pet establishments, wholesalers or brokers...period. I will not even buy toys or treats at these establishments because I do not want my money even inadvertently ending up in their pockets. I urge you to investigate these things further for yourselves and formulate your own conclusions. How much is that doggy in the window? He'll be free at the shelter after Christmas...
For more information on puppy mills CLICK HERE |
