• @lvoss:

    Puppy mills bring in tax money for the states where they operate. The United States Department of Agriculture is the governing body for these operations and they do not have enough staff to inspect all facilities. These operations will continue to operate as long as it is profitable for them. Every time someone buys a petstore puppy they condemn its parents and future siblings to this life. The puppy mill does not care whether you buy the puppy because you think they will make a great addition to your family or if you do it to "save" the poor thing from the horrible start it has gotten, it is all money in their pockets and a reason to breed the next generation in those same deplorable conditions.

    The only way to stop this cycle is to not buy from a pet store EVER and educate every person you can about puppy mills and how important it is that NO ONE buys a pet store puppy EVER. No responsible breeder will ever allow their puppies to be sold in a pet store. Any responsible breeder takes on the responsibility of screening homes and placing pups where they will do their best to keep track of them for their entire lives because that is what being responsible means.

    AMEN! education is the key to all of it on the consumer end.. if people really care about the dog they are buying, if they knew where it came from i would hope they wouldnt buy it.. i try to tell anyone who will listen, but sometimes i feel like people dont care! its really annoying!


  • Right on Lvoss… your post says it all.... To DiegosMom... it would be good if you dropped off information about about Basenjis to the store and asked them to give to the people that might purchase the pup...

    And for the pup in the shelter, has anyone contact BRAT? Will the shelter released to pure breed rescue? If she or you contact BRAT they will try and get that B out of the shelter and into a foster home.


  • About the shelter basenji: One of the reasons why the owners turned it over is because as it grew up they were told from their vet that it was not pure basenji but was a mix. That was yet another excuse the owners gave for why they were getting rid of him. They had another vet look him over & that vet also said it was a mix. My sister said looking at him she could tell he was mixed, but I cannot remember with what for the life of me….

    Also, she went in on Saturday to get in some hours & said that they told her the basenji had an application on it after this couple came in & fell in love with him. They have to ensure they are fit for the dog but she goes back on Tuesday & will find out more. I typed a little quick info sheet, including some websites like this one, & asked her to make sure the new owners got it. I hope he finds his forever home & maybe the owners will end up on this site...


  • Minnesota has a bill pending that would regulate any animal breeder – I haven't read the whole thing (so don't know all the good/bad points) but I did see it has requirements for minimum cage sizes, shelter, outside shade, food and water, a yearly inspection, and a fee based on number of animals. Maybe the fee alone will drive out the puppy mills.


  • Check the law carefully. Many of the newly proposed state legislation exempt commercial breeders and yet wish to apply commercial standards to home based hobby breeders. Most hobby breeders have their dogs as house pets and therefore do not have kennels and will not meet such regulation.


  • Its so weird that I saw this post today. My boss just told me she was at the petstore over the weekend and saw a Basenji puppy for sale. She asked me about it. She said she was shocked to see one there because she assume they were so rare they would never be in a petstore. BTW she was there buying supplies for a new Ragdoll kitten that she is getting from a breeder. She's not a "dog" person.:D


  • Another thing people can do is not buy supplies from stores that sell puppies and kittens. There are many pet supply stores that sell just supplies. Pet stores that sell puppies and kittens want you to come in that door and then fall in love with one of their animals and take it home. Any time you buy something from them you help pay their rent and keep them there.


  • Another thing people can do is not buy supplies from stores that sell puppies and kittens. There are many pet supply stores that sell just supplies. Pet stores that sell puppies and kittens want you to come in that door and then fall in love with one of their animals and take it home. Any time you buy something from them you help pay their rent and keep them there.


  • tanza- when i was there i was thinking about how i wish i had info to give them.. i can go back up there and ask if they would take some info for the buyer.. what do you think the best things to give them are??


  • Exactly what happens to pet puppies animals if no answer buys them at all?


  • I talk nicely to the manager and tell them I can help the new basenji owner with behavior issues, share about the lure coursing, local basenji clubs, try to make it informative, nice and something the owner will put with the b's paperwork.
    Mostly, I put my contact info all over the sheet so that if they decide to get rid of the dog, they will contact me.
    Good luck.
    I have done this, and then cried all the way home…cause I had to leave the pup there..sigh!


  • @JazzysMom:

    Exactly what happens to pet puppies animals if no answer buys them at all?

    Typically, they keep reducing the price and someone usually buys the pup.. but they can return to the broker they got the pup from…


  • @lvoss:

    Check the law carefully. Many of the newly proposed state legislation exempt commercial breeders and yet wish to apply commercial standards to home based hobby breeders. Most hobby breeders have their dogs as house pets and therefore do not have kennels and will not meet such regulation.

    I would say that all the new legislation is not geared to puppy mills… but will directly effect hobby breeders... just check out California AB1634 that is popping up in many, many states. This will effectively stop all responsible breeders


  • @Ninabeana26:

    Hated the basenji or the ex girlfriend :p

    bahahahhaahahahahhahaha:D 😃

    the basenji.. but when he fell in love with her .. he started to hate the ex 😃


  • @lvoss:

    Another thing people can do is not buy supplies from stores that sell puppies and kittens. There are many pet supply stores that sell just supplies. Pet stores that sell puppies and kittens want you to come in that door and then fall in love with one of their animals and take it home. Any time you buy something from them you help pay their rent and keep them there.

    this i disagree with. People have will power.. thats like saying shut down petsmart. the same thing can happen there. you're "adopting" but how many people just walk in.. fall in love.. and then realize they cant take care of them. I'm sure this happens with dogs bought from breeders too.

    Not everyone can afford to spend all types of money on a "purebred" dog. Most over $600. I know growing up that my dog was a mix.. picked up on the side of the turnpike after her original owner just dropped her off.. shes almost 15 and is still going. Never had a health problem either. my parents NEVER could of afforded to buy a dog from a breeder. Does that make them bad people?

    As for trying to put them out of business by not shopping there.. i think thats a little harsh. If someone can't go into a store and ignore the puppies then that is their problem IMO. Selling puppies in a petstore is a lot better than taking them to the pound where they dont get adopted right away and have to get euthanized.


  • Do BYB's destroy dogs that are sent back to them if someone doesn't end up buying from the pet store? I just read through this and the thought of a B (or any dog, for that matter) in a pet store just disgusts me. I want to hurt them. Badly.

    I saw some vids online regarding the fur trade in China and what they do to dogs over there. It's a good thing I don't have access to 'the button'. Normally, though, I'm a pretty calm and nice guy… 🙂


  • If you buy your pet supplies from a store that sells puppies and kittens then you are indirectly supporting the puppy mill cycle by supporting their sales outlet. Your money that keeps that store open and operating gives puppy mills a place to sell their puppies.

    Pet stores that sell puppies and kittens are very different then stores that have adoption drives at their site to place homeless animals. I stand by my statement, if you want puppy mills with their horrible conditions, zero health testing, and no concern about whether their pups end up a euthanasia statistic to go away then the one power we all have is to stop supporting the cycle. Do not spend money at stores that support puppy mills, do not buy a pet store puppy.


  • @Ninabeana26:

    My sister volunteers at the animal shelter by her college & told me there was a basenji there that was turned over to them because the owners bought it from a Petstore & didn't know what they were in for. They claimed the dog was "crazy, untrainable & evil" so they released it to the pound & now my sister is trying to get it moved to the Humane Society because otherwise it may be put down 😞 She said she'd adopt him if she weren't in college, thus no dogs allowed.

    Tell her to contact BRAT. They should step in and rescue the dog, don't you think? It can be fostered and trained and placed in a good home.


  • BRAT doesn't buy a dog from a pet shop or a puppymiller unless the puppymill is closing down.
    Otherwise, we can go in and say we will take the dog if they are not able to sell it, but usually the price is reduced enough someone uninformed will buy the pup.
    That is why giving the pet shop your contact info is the way to get the word out that you will help the new owner and maybe take the dog if its not working out.


  • so what happens when the dogs that are bought at a pet store are taken to shelters because they cant be taken care of and are re-homed because they are homeless? regardless those dogs are going to be adopted out again.

    The cycle doesn't end because like it was posted before, the dogs either get sold for really cheap, or sent back to the breeder to be sold somewhere else or used to continue the problem. I dont understand how not buying from pet stores solves this problem at all. Especially with the internet and all of the sites to buy dogs on it.

    To say dont buy a dog except from a breeder who does all kinds of testing is crazy. Not everyone can afford that. That's like saying if you cant afford to buy from a breeder you shouldn't have a dog. Beings that "responsible" breeders will take back a dog if there are ANY problems.. why are there so many dogs in shelters? adopting dogs, then, seems to be supporting mills.. at least thats how it sounds.

    BRAT fosters out B's that were once pet store dogs. Does that mean that they are supporting mills?

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