I just wanted to post this real quick. I live in SoCal., Irvine to be exact and I just came back from doing some rounds to the local pet stores. There are two, (brother and sister), 3mo. old tri color at a store near me. It was late so I didn't have much time to ask about papers and breeder, (god I hope not from a mill). Anyway I picked both up to get a better look and both seem well fed and alirt. The girl is going to be a handle full, I can already tell. The boy (he is a sweety), stayed in my arms and kept trying to eat my gotee, I had chicken for dinner. If anyone is intrested or looking to save these poor guys drop me a line for more info. It would be great to keep them together.

Have a great weekend,
Jim Gloss

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yes, they are most likely from a puppy mill. The employees will tell you they are "from breeders in the midwest, not puppymills", but they are just repeating what they are taught. Puppy mills ARE breeders in the midwest, who happen to produce hundreds of puppies of all different breeds every year. They have names, and addresses...all that stuff...
If someone does buy them, the very best case scenario is to let their price drop thru the floor before you purchase...that sends the message to the suppliers that Basenjis are not worth their effort.
What was their price?

As hard as it is, the only way to stop puppy mills is to not buy their puppies which means not buying a pet store puppy. If there is no demand, meaning the puppies do not sell, then puppy mills will cut supply. It is economics and to a mill those puppies mean no more to them then a carton of milk in the grocery store.

No responsible breeder will ever allow their puppies to be sold in a pet store. A pet store is no place for a puppy, they do not recieve the type of interaction and socialization that they need at a very critical period in their lives. There is no screening the homes and no connection afterwards to make sure the new owner gets support through the difficult times of puppy rearing. So many of these dogs end up in rescue because the owners do not recieve the support they need, were not right for the dog they bought, or the dog developed serious behavioral issues after such a rough start in life.

When I bought Zahra from our pet store, she was originally marked for $1380.00 but had been there for almost a month so they sold her to us for the "discounted price" of $995.00.

They gave us the discount because we also got Chase at the same place. Personally I think they gave us the discount because they could not sell her, no one knew what a Basenji was.

We were new dog owners and didn't really understand the puppy mill thing, I always thought you went to a breeder when you wanted a show dog not a pet. I have the information now and many moons from now when it will be time to bring home another B (I wish I had time for another one now! LOL!) I will look either to BRAT or a breeder. It is funny because I feel like such a lecture person now to all of our friends about buying a dog from the pet store.

right, NO ONE should buy these puppies. if they do, the store will just get more from their "source". vicious cycle. if you do happen to go back, give them brat's information just in case the puppies do not sell. everytime i see one of the petstores that sells dogs i just want to go tell everyone shopping in there to get away. christmas time is the worst. :(

Thanks guys for responding. All good points. My only wish is that someone who does know the Basenji breed does buy them. Yes, it's a nice wish that maybe if people would stop buying from pet stores then the mass maket puppy mills would find it hard to make a buck. I just want to stop the hemoraging now>> that is a brother and sister who need a good home. It's funny because those that brought up the fact that alot of ppl go to these stores looking for a paticular dog are not really prepared. As I stood there talking to one of the employees I couldn't help but notice hardly anyone was looking at the Basenjis. During that 20mins. of me examining the pupps only two ppl new the breed and kinda had and idea of there traits : (

The concensus on this post says (no) to buying them, $800 a piece, but they are the breed that we so much want to protect.

So it's do we not buy so we teach someone a lesson or do we buy so we can teach this brother and sister that we know there capabilities and love the breed, and to protect them from noobs to the breed… Again something was mentioned about a vicious cycle, well I suppose if their life finds them in a BRAT adoption home some day then so be it but wouldn't be nice if they could find that home and care now not another 3-6yrs. form now? Again my wish is to stop sweating the small stuff now and get them into a positive environment before anymore psycho or mental damage can occure.

This is the time I wish I could win the lottery : )

Just a reminder that puppies from responsible, ethical breeders also need good loving homes. Also, puppies from a responsible breeder are often priced considerably lower than pet store puppies. Just something for folks to think about when they are seeking to add a puppy to their household.

It is not about teaching someone a lesson. It is that if you buy that brother and sister, then their mother, father, and siblings are doomed to the same life because the puppymill doesn't care why you bought the puppy just that it put money in their pocket. The only way to stop the cycle is to not buy pet store puppies. Leave contact information for BRAT and the local basenji club so if they are bought the new owners have somewhere to go for information but hopefully they will not sell so that the store will not request more.

My brother and his wife got Senji at a Petland pet store. Someone returned him. The store said that they rarely get basenjis, and they didn't know anything about them. They paid $600 for him. When they got him, he had a small growth on the back of his neck. The vet gave them some ointment for it and it healed, but his fur is a slightly different color in that spot. Otherwise, Senji has been healthy his whole life, until his liver problem was diagnosed recently. Before that, I've only needed to take him for his yearly check-ups since I got him. It seems that anytime a B shows some sort of symptoms, it IS something serious. For a B not to want to eat or to be lethargic…well, you just KNOW something's wrong.

this is another thread we had on pet store Bs
http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=331

I bought my first basenji from a pet store. It was long before the internet, and I'd researched breeds of dogs that I wanted, and the basenji stood out. I looked, and looked, but never found one. One day my vet called me, and told me that he had seen two at the mall. We brought Mowgli home on "trial".

In hindsight, the pet store did us a huge disservice in selling us the basenji without educating us. It was tough, and we did not know how to handle him.

I wish there was some way to save all these pet store puppies..it's so incredibly inhumane. BRAT and such organizations should coordinate a massive protest in front of places like these. I'm sure if people saw pictures & stories of how these animals are mass produced the public would react!

I know it may not be my place to say anything here but some people see pet stores as their only choice. Some breeders are extremely picky about who they place their puppies with and some just never even respond. I contacted so many breeders and brat in my search for a b. I never heard anything back from brat and I only heard back from two b breeders, if its impossible to get one from a responsible breeder what do these people do? Unfortunately turn to pet stores that sell puppies.

@parkersmom82:

I know it may not be my place to say anything here but some people see pet stores as their only choice. Some breeders are extremely picky about who they place their puppies with and some just never even respond. I contacted so many breeders and brat in my search for a b. I never heard anything back from brat and I only heard back from two b breeders, if its impossible to get one from a responsible breeder what do these people do? Unfortunately turn to pet stores that sell puppies.

I think that is a very valid point. When we were looking for our second basenji, we didn't want to buy from a pet store, but wanted a puppy. We talked to many breeders who blew us off completely. It really was disheartening.

Brat workers are understaffed/overworked. Don't take it personally. I know one person who volunteers for brat 25+ hours a week in addition to a full time job. They just don't have enough help to coordinate dog placements.

@parkersmom82:

I know it may not be my place to say anything here but some people see pet stores as their only choice. Some breeders are extremely picky about who they place their puppies with and some just never even respond. I contacted so many breeders and brat in my search for a b. I never heard anything back from brat and I only heard back from two b breeders, if its impossible to get one from a responsible breeder what do these people do? Unfortunately turn to pet stores that sell puppies.

That is true…some people wouldn't qualify for a puppy from a responsible breeder, or rescue...but they can still buy one from a store. I don't particularly mean you, parkersmom....but if someone doesn't want to have their pet spayed or neutered, or they insist that they won't put up a fence, or keep their Basenji on a leash...they won't be able get a dog from the more responsible people.

And it is true, that sometimes it is hard to get a breeder to respond. Sometimes their waiting list is already full, or they aren't breeding a litter this year, or they aren't sure what they are doing this year. But, I agree, it is wrong not to give a call or email back just to let the person know you are interested in them. But I recommend you keep trying, if you find one that you want to deal with! Sometimes we are very busy with life, just like everybody else :) or computers crash or spouses take bad phone messages :)

i can appreciate your point, parkersmom. i have just been/am still going through a major ordeal trying to get my moms puppy. there are 3 breeders listed as owners of the litter, none of which actually bred the litter. there are lawsuits being threatened and each breeder wants their own contract. it is h-e double toothpics for sure. i live in an area with plenty of nice breeders that i would go to for a dog of my own, but they dont want their dogs leaving the area, so they can go to shows here, or they didnt have exactly what i was looking for. i would never consider going to a petstore, even through this had made me want to rip my hair out! not to mention the fact that she had a puppy reserved, but the bitch didnt wind up getting bred.

What will happen to the puppies that were rescued by BRAT?

Update: >> Back to the store to drop off some info and to my suppries the girl is gone and her brother barooing away : '( There was a mom and daughter intrested in purchasing him so I sat them dwn and gave them the low down on Basenji life. I told them about good breeders and to think it over tonight and go home and log onto BRAT. If they felt like coming back the next day to purchase him I told them to call me so I could give them more info.

I felt sorry for the little guy. I stayed awhile and played a bit with him, funny he really thought he could eat my shoe, rofl. I took him into the little visiting pen and while still speaking to the daughter and her mom the little guy was doing the 500 around my feet, damn I wish I had my phone for video.

@ChaseandZahrasmom:

What will happen to the puppies that were rescued by BRAT?

They will be adopted out, just like adult rescues. My guess is they will have NO problem placing puppies! I could be wrong, but I think *most people contacting rescue want a dog as young as they can get? Maybe somebody will correct me, but that is my hunch.

We had a PetLand here for a short while years ago. When it first opened there was a tri boy basenji there. I dropped off a few pages of info, and asked the staff to put in his file, for whoever purchased him. It was just a little intro note, about me, that I was willing to help anyway I could; BRAT info; BCOA info; and some other websites, etc. The employee said 'thanks, and I'll put it in his file'. I don't know if she ever did, but that dog wound up at a local breeder's house on his way into the BRAT system. The owner was nice, just not a good match for a Basenji.

The pet store had dropped his price tremendouly from over $1000 to less than $500…and the owner bought him because she felt sorry for him...he had been there for months. Thankfully, that PetLand never brought in another Basenji.

Being a vet tech for several years I always heard–"Do NOT buy pet store dogs". And until 2 years ago, it would never have been a consideration. 2 years ago I went into a petland and saw a little red and white basenji. I had never seen a basenji before in Columbus and immediately went home to research the breed. I also checked the shelters-nothing, BEAR- Dayton, OHIO's rescue-nothing, and breeders-nothing. (I had not heard of BRAT at the time) I waited as long as I could and decided that Pet shop dogs need rescued too. I have never regretted my decision and I believe that even good breeders may sell there dogs to pet stores for a profit. I think the main concern with buying a pet store dog is that you do not get the support you should get from a good breeder. If you are a knowledgeable owner I see no reason why you could not buy from a pet store. Unfortunatley, that is generally not who purchases them and I agree they most likely will end up in a shelter.

It seems easy to say that ALL pet store dogs are from puppy mills but that simply is not the case. I don't feel it is fair to make someone feel guilty for giving any loving animal a home-regardless what the bloodline is.