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COLOR="Black"]Well, IMO, that is just not true. Good, responsible breeders DO NOT sell puppies to pet stores. Good, responsible breeders feel it is important for them to know where their puppies are going, and to know that puppy is cared for for the rest of its life. They couldn't do that by selling to a pet store, and not knowing where the puppy ended up.
The reason no one should purchase from a pet store is not about the life of the puppy they are purchasing...it is about the life their unfortunate parents live, and the other unfortunate breeding stock dogs that will be kept in puppy mills to make more puppies to sell. You are right, it is not fair to the puppies who end up in the store. They deserve wonderful homes where they will be loved...but in the big picture, it is really damaging to pay money for puppies in a pet store, especially at a price that will provide millers the incentive to breed more.
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Well, I suppose there may be a VERY small number of independently owned pet stores that sell puppies from backyard breeders. But the very, very large majority are produced by puppymills, and then handled and shipped by the Hunte corp...look 'em up on the internet. And that was what the most recent discussion on this thread was regarding.
My intent is not to make anyone feel guilty. In fact, if someone feels guilt about purchasing a dog from a petstore, that is their issue, not mine. But I do want to educate people, so that they won't buy their NEXT dog from a pet store. I want ALL dogs to have loving homes...I don't care where they came from...but that includes the dogs that are being treated like livestock in mass production lines. This argument has nothing to do with bloodlines.
And FTR there are a BUNCH of breeders in your area...I can't believe none of them directed you to BRAT if they didn't have any dogs available fitting your interest.