the REAL truth about Petland. fuck you.
And here goes the most information you will EVER read.. i beg you to read and fully understand. please. do it.
okay, okay, okay, OKAY, OKAY!.......i am WAY overdue for a livejournal post about puppy mills. not just puppy mills, but the whole "Petland gets their puppies from puppy mills" thing. I have been wanting to make this post for a LONG time. And i am SO sick and tired of hearing that bullshit, that I am going to tell the TRUTH and try to educate all you unknowledgable, close-minded, and BRAINWASHED individuals out there, and im going to stick up for MY Petland store.
I'd like to start off by saying that i am sticking up for MY Petland store. the one that I work at. The one that i HAVE been working at for 2 years now. I am sticking up for my store, and my store only, because every single Petland store around the U.S is independently owned and operated, and all Petlands deal with different breeders. This is why I am only speaking for my store, as i do not know exactly where any other Petland store gets their puppies from or what breeders they deal with, but i do knoe where we get OUR puppies from, and i just want to end the claim that ALL Petland stores get their puppies from puppy mills, and ALL pet shops are bad.
So listen, NO. Not ALL pet shops are bad. I'm sure there are many, many Petland stores and other pet shops that ARE bad, and in fact, DO deal with puppy mills. Many stores often argue and insist that they do NOT deal with puppy mills, when in fact, they actually are clueless, and what they think are the good breeders that they are dealing with, are actually not good breeders. This is why my Petland store differs from others, and why we know that we are selling healthy happy puppies. And if there is anyone to talk to about this situation, it is ME. Nobody but me. NOT the Humane Society of the United States. Why? Because HSUS is not what they appear to be. They are NOT a not-for-profit organization. They are out there to make money. Just like every other business. So do NOT be fooled by their "8 month investigation" into Petland stores, in which they concluded that apparently, all Petland stores deal with the same breeders, and all of those breeders are actually puppy mills. This is not true, because Petlands do not deal with the same breeders, as I know this. My store was NEVER investigated or asked to comment on any of this, because if it was, they would have indeed found out that my store actually DOES deal with good, reputable breeders that do NOT have ANY violations and are in fact breeding healthy happy puppies in a healthy environment. In this HSUS investigation, they list numerous breeders and show extensive video footage of their secret trips to the breeders that Petland deals with. I HAVE watched that investigation video and did see the breeders name and locations, and i will stick up for my store and say that my store deals with absolutely NONE of those breeders. We never have, and still have not ever gotten a puppy from any of those "breeders" that were featured in the video footage that supposedly "All Petland stores deal with." After reviewing hours of footage on the HSUS web site video archive, I have [along with many Petlands around the US, not just my store] has discovered that numerous images and footage in the video released about Petland were actually taken from unrelated stories.
Petland is outraged that HSUS would use video footage of unrelated kennels in the report. They say nothing about the videos that were taken from their actual kennels.
Also, so many times have I heard that Petland only cares about the money. Oh really, and you think that the Humane Society of the United States was actually doing this to stop the suffering of innocent puppies and to shut down puppy mills? HSUS is a CORPORATE fund raising business that does not truly care about animals. Dont believe me? Ask YOURSELF this question: Why has the HSUS NOT reported Petland or any said breeders to the USDA or law enforcement?
Good question! If these puppies were suffering, the breeders and Petland should be reported immediately! If you saw somebody mistreating an animal would YOU wait a few months before stopping it? I would hope not. OH, but wait, of course HSUS has to wait until it gets to the media, so that they can make money off of it. Nowwww it makes sense... Forget about the animals, they can wait, right?
HSUS does not SUPPORT or is AFFFILIATED WITH local humane society shelters as their name may suggest. The true humane societies are struggling everyday to take care of these helpless animals. HSUS could fund and run ALL humane societies in the US. It makes me sad how they spend the donations of unsuspecting donors. Only 4 cents of every dollar donated goes to hands-on caring of animals. Proof? Look at their public tax return posted on their site and do the math. They are the richest animal right orginization in the world. And people don't realize this.
Donate to local humane societies and STOP believing the bullshit that HSUS is trying to send out about Petland. I am not denying the fact that there aren't puppy mills out there, because i know there are. I am just trying to lay out the FACTS and discourage anyone from being so close-minded as to believe these people and their "investigation." I don't want people to believe false information about Petland. Because think about it, the employees at all Petlands are there because they love animals. I'm sure some people are there to make money of course, just like any other person at their job, but I am one of those people that are there because of the animals. They are my life. And employees DO have a conscience, and I'm sure Petland stores would be short of employees if they all knew they were at a bad Petland.
IM the one who has done the research, as I'm sure you're asking yourself, "Well okay Leesa, you're saying this because you work at Petland and you love animals, but you're probably oblivious to whats going on, and how do you REALLY know that you are sure of the breeders you deal with?" And to answer that, it's because I HAVE done the research. I just don't believe what the managers at the store tell me. Idon't believe whats on the media, i don't believe any investigation, without doing a little investigation of my own...so that's exactly what I did. So to actually give you PROOF that the breeders that my Petland deals with are actually USDA approved, licensed, and inspected, i did a little research and looked into it. After all of this puppy mill crap starting surfacing, I decided to get the facts MYSELF so that I could stick up for my store, because you have NO idea how many people come into my store and start bitching about how horrible we are for selling puppy mill puppies and blah blah. So ANYWAYS, what i did was take down all of our breeders information, the dogs information, the USDA numbers, license numbers, registration numbers, EVERYTHING. So then, what you can do, is actually look up their records on the USDA website, and request a copy of a puppy report, where they will give you ALL the information on their inspection reports, inventory reports, AKC suspensions, and any and all violations, and what they were for. We do not deal with just one breeder who breeds all different kinds of breeds, because then you get a red light saying, okay this is bad. We deal with atleast 8 or 9 different breeders in ALL different locations, to make sure that we are getting quality dogs. Needless to say, it took about a week to get all the reports back, but when i did, ALL of my breeders were clean. NOTHING to report. No violations, nothing. I made sure to go into depth to make sure that all these breeders were not only USDA approved, licensed and inspected, but to make sure that there were no over breeding, to make sure that they have enough money to be breeding in their facility, to make sure that they have CLEAN facilities that were not over crowded, and also to make sure that the puppies parents are also healthy, and that they were OFA tested and certified for hips, because if you don't have healthy parents, you're not gonna have healthy puppies. So anyways, all of the breeders we deal with had reports that came back from as far back as 2004 and all of them had no violations! So THERE.
I know i'm rambling, but i just have so much to say on this topic. I have defended my Petland extensively, but it goes way more in depth than just talking about HSUS and where we get our puppies from. We still have people come in and complain about how horrible it is to keep puppies locked up in cages all day. poor little puppies want to run around and play, not sit above the ground in little cages on grates. And this is another point i want to bring up about my store, and once again, I'm only saying this about MY petland, not any other store, because i don't knoe their procedures or what they do. All Petland stores run differently, but anyways, every SINGLE day, ALL of the puppies get to come out in "puppy play groups" where we let them run around the entire kennel [the kennel runs the entire length of the store and is huge] and give them an abundant amount of different toys to play with and just let them go nuts. We get to pick whoever we want to take out and we can sit and play with them and socialize them with us and with other puppies. That's what i like most about my job. I personally take out 6 or so dogs at a time from different kennel cages and let them play for hours. Then i switch and put those guys back and take out another group and rotate everyone so they all get hours and hours of play time. Not only do I do this, but everyone else on staff who works in the kennel does it. Someone does it in the morning shift, then whoever works the night shift does it. So the puppies get to come out double the time, not to mention how often they are taken out of the kennel and into puppies rooms with customers to play and be loved. Also, when they go back in their cages, they get atleast two different chew toys, then two nylabones, and two beef hoofs to chew on and play with. and every dog ALWAYS has a buddy with him in a kennel. I do have feelings, and i am not trying to support puppies sitting in cages until they are sold for large amounts of money. I get attached to so many puppies and i do feel bad for them, but to tell you the truth, most of the puppies that come in are sold already and placed in loving homes before people even get a chance to get attached and feel bad for them. Puppies come and go so fast. Sure, there are some breeds that stay longer than others, but thats why we make sure everyone gets to come out, and for the larger breeds, thats why we do training while they are still AT the store. We teach them sit, down, come, and stay, so that when people take them out in a play room, we can tell them what the dog has learned, so that when they take the puppy home, they dont have a wild and crazy puppy, they have a dog that is well socialized and trained. We have NEVER had a puppy not find a home. Never do we euthanize, or give our puppies to shelters if they don't sell, which is another question asked so often. "What happens to the puppies that don't get sold" And the answer is: Every puppy finds a home. We have never had a puppy get too old or not find a home.
I have personally purchased 3 dogs from my own store, and couldn't be happier with my dogs. We also have many many happy customers who return to purchase numerous dogs from us.
Another point to bring up, which is really important to me, is that in saying all of this and sticking up for my store and buying a puppy from my store, i do NOT want to create the illusion that i do not support shelters or i do not condone adopting pets from shelters. All of our kittens and cats at our store are actually rescue kittens and are for adoption. We never get kittens from breeders, they are strictly rescue kittens that people bring in to us that they have found or litters that they do not want. I in no way am against adopting a pet from any shelter. If anything, i encourage it. It's a GREAT thing to do to rescue an animal from a shelter, and I am so happy that many people do it. The only thing I want to bring up is that there is a huge difference between shelter animals and pet store animals. Some people want puppies. They just want puppies, and i'm not saying i support that, but we just have so many people that just want puppies, and they want to make sure they have a purebred dog so that we can educate them on the individual personality on the breed, and the puppy itself, and a lot of people have certain weight restrictions, or they need to make sure it's a hypo-allergenic breed, and they just want to be certain of the overall general temperament of the breed, and when you go to a shelter, it's just simple: sometimes you don't know where those dogs came from in cases when they were found on the street, you don't know their past, you don't knoe what kind of family it was raised it, you just simply cannot be sure of any of those things. And plenty of people want to make sure that they get a puppy at a young age so that they can bring it up and train it into the environment that they live in. And i know that shelters DO get puppies sometimes, and i know that these dogs are screened to make sure they aren't agressive and whatnot, so most times when you get a shelter dog, you DO in fact get a wonderful loving pet, and it can be the best dog you ever had in your whole life, but it's just the fact that some people just want to make sure. and you just can't be sure with a shelter dogs past, or how it has been trained and whatnot. And of course, you can't even be 100% sure that getting a petshop puppy is going to turn out exactly like the "breed standard" because dogs are just like kids, where anything can happen. You never know. But that's why we also give you a warranty with the purchase of a puppy. You can have two 4 pound yorkie parents, and then have every puppy in their litter end up being 10 pounds, way over what they're supposed to be, ya knoe? BUT ANYWAYS, there's my two cents on that.
AND HERE COMES EVEN MORE! haha, but i really need to get everything out, because this goes to show you how extremely passionate I am for my animals and how much i care about what people think about this whole thing. I'm just so sick of hearing things that are not true, and I have to clear it up. And ya knoe what, sometimes i do agree with people on some things, I won't lie. So many people complain about the price of our puppies, saying how over-priced they are and how expensive this breed is and how they can get it cheaper here and there and how you can get one of those at a shelter, but shelters don't offer warranties on their dogs, because they cannot guarantee that their dogs won't have medical problems. But when it comes down to it, i DO agree that our puppies are really expensive, cause nowadays i sure as hell couldnt afford to get a full priced puppy. I mean, i bought Sierra there when i was 18 for $899. But with tax and all the shit, the total was $1049. I could never afford that nowadays. When our puppies are there for a couple weeks, their price goes down. down and down and down until they get sold. We've had puppies start at $1000 dollars go down to $114 and have been there for 3 months. so that means it's a 5 month old puppy. So you're still getting a puppy. But anyways, i ended up getting Benny for 630 but his starting price was 899, and i got Kirby for 235, and his starting price was also 899. So yes, needless to say, the starting price for our puppies are pretty damn expensive, but let me explain what we give you with the price of the puppy:
*All of our puppies have had all of their shots and de-wormings up to date and are current on all vaccinations.
*All of our puppies are microchipped and registered in your name. It's in the dog for its entire lifetime and if it ever gets lost the dog will always be able to be traced back to you.
*Our puppies have been vet checked 3 times and certified with a clean bill of health
*We give you a free first vet visit and parasite exam to get them checked up
*We give you two different health warranties:
2 week on viral- which means that within two weeks of you bringing your puppy home, if it comes down with cough, cold, or upper respiratory, we cover the vet visit, the medicine, everything. It's VERY common for a puppy to go home and get stressed out and come down with a cold. With the stress of changing environments, their immune system is low and it's easy for them to get sick. It is nothing to worry about. A lot of times puppies will go home and catch colds [nothing more serious than a case of a mild cold for you or I] and customers will freak out thinking that they have a sick puppy, but we cover the simple anti-biotics that they go on for 7 days, and it clears up. Most often though, puppies go home and DONT get sick, we just want to make sure in case it happens, we cover it for you.
1 year on hereditary or congenital- which means that within one year of you bringing your puppy home [not until it's one years old, but one year from the date of purchase] if your puppy comes down with any hereditary or congenital conditions, or needs surgery, you can either choose a replacement puppy, which most times people are already attached to their puppy and dont want to do that, so in that case we cover all medical expenses and surgery costs up to the purchase price of the puppy [which like i said earlier, is a lot of money, lol] like i have extensively explained, our puppies come from USDA approved licensed breeders, so we don't run into a lot of health problems, but we back you up with that warranty just in case. Some breeds like English Bulldogs are prone to lots of health problems, for example, Cherry Eye. If your puppy gets Cherry Eye, which is considered congenital in origin, then we cover all costs of surgery to correct the problem. Another common hereditary condition to develop before one year is luxating patella or hip dysplasia in large breeds. We also cover those surgeries because it is necessary to correct the leg for normal limb function.
*We also have a 48 hour return policy, because we understand that under special circumstances, sometimes people realize they may not have made the right decision, and we would rather take the puppy back to find a new home, instead of having another dog end up at the shelter.
*We also give you 20% off spaying and neutering, as most puppies do not come neutered, [although some do] they usually do that at about 6 months of age.
*Another thing we give you is 50% off grooming for your puppy, as we have professional grooming services at the store
*In the puppys booklet we give you that has coupons, the vaccination record, household hazards, and plenty of other information, we also give you a Training DVD, which is done by Brian Donovan, who has done dog training on Animal Planet. The DVD goes over housebreaking, biting, chewing, walking on a leash, training commands, and covers all puppy obedience. It also comes with an 800 number in which you can call and talk to a live trainer in case you have any problems or questions and they can walk you through solutions.
*All purebred puppies come with dual registration papers AND pedigrees, so you have the registration numbers of your puppy AND your puppies parents, along with the litter registration number. APRI does monthly drawings and re-imburse the selected drawing for the purchase price of the puppy!
Alright [3 hours later...] I think I'm finally done writing my novel, hah. So in conclusion, HSUS is not who they appear to be, and I just wanted to lay down the facts and clear up some of the LIES. I am in no way trying to deter anyone from adopting a shelter animal, and in fact, i encourage it, but I just had to stick up for the Petland store that I work at, because i DO know the facts, and I'm completely sick of people coming into my store thinking that they know a god damn thing about our kennel conditions and where we get our puppies from. Sure, the Petland in fucking Bufu Motherfucking Rabbit Fuck town might get their puppies from puppy mills, i honestly don't knoe, but the Petland in Tinley Park DOES NOT. So THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK. Get the facts, do some REAL research on INDIVIDUAL Petlands, THEN you can talk to me. I really hope i change a lot of peoples minds about a few things. And if you ACTUALLY read this ENTIRE thing, and you still want to come into my store and bitch about puppy mill puppies, or sign that god damn Facebook petition, then fuck off, because before you get the chance to finish your sentence, i will get all of the puppies out of the kennel to chase your stupid uneducated ass out of the damn store.
Peace, Love, and PUPPIES!!!!!!
okay, okay, okay, OKAY, OKAY!.......i am WAY overdue for a livejournal post about puppy mills. not just puppy mills, but the whole "Petland gets their puppies from puppy mills" thing. I have been wanting to make this post for a LONG time. And i am SO sick and tired of hearing that bullshit, that I am going to tell the TRUTH and try to educate all you unknowledgable, close-minded, and BRAINWASHED individuals out there, and im going to stick up for MY Petland store.
I'd like to start off by saying that i am sticking up for MY Petland store. the one that I work at. The one that i HAVE been working at for 2 years now. I am sticking up for my store, and my store only, because every single Petland store around the U.S is independently owned and operated, and all Petlands deal with different breeders. This is why I am only speaking for my store, as i do not know exactly where any other Petland store gets their puppies from or what breeders they deal with, but i do knoe where we get OUR puppies from, and i just want to end the claim that ALL Petland stores get their puppies from puppy mills, and ALL pet shops are bad.
So listen, NO. Not ALL pet shops are bad. I'm sure there are many, many Petland stores and other pet shops that ARE bad, and in fact, DO deal with puppy mills. Many stores often argue and insist that they do NOT deal with puppy mills, when in fact, they actually are clueless, and what they think are the good breeders that they are dealing with, are actually not good breeders. This is why my Petland store differs from others, and why we know that we are selling healthy happy puppies. And if there is anyone to talk to about this situation, it is ME. Nobody but me. NOT the Humane Society of the United States. Why? Because HSUS is not what they appear to be. They are NOT a not-for-profit organization. They are out there to make money. Just like every other business. So do NOT be fooled by their "8 month investigation" into Petland stores, in which they concluded that apparently, all Petland stores deal with the same breeders, and all of those breeders are actually puppy mills. This is not true, because Petlands do not deal with the same breeders, as I know this. My store was NEVER investigated or asked to comment on any of this, because if it was, they would have indeed found out that my store actually DOES deal with good, reputable breeders that do NOT have ANY violations and are in fact breeding healthy happy puppies in a healthy environment. In this HSUS investigation, they list numerous breeders and show extensive video footage of their secret trips to the breeders that Petland deals with. I HAVE watched that investigation video and did see the breeders name and locations, and i will stick up for my store and say that my store deals with absolutely NONE of those breeders. We never have, and still have not ever gotten a puppy from any of those "breeders" that were featured in the video footage that supposedly "All Petland stores deal with." After reviewing hours of footage on the HSUS web site video archive, I have [along with many Petlands around the US, not just my store] has discovered that numerous images and footage in the video released about Petland were actually taken from unrelated stories.
Petland is outraged that HSUS would use video footage of unrelated kennels in the report. They say nothing about the videos that were taken from their actual kennels.
Also, so many times have I heard that Petland only cares about the money. Oh really, and you think that the Humane Society of the United States was actually doing this to stop the suffering of innocent puppies and to shut down puppy mills? HSUS is a CORPORATE fund raising business that does not truly care about animals. Dont believe me? Ask YOURSELF this question: Why has the HSUS NOT reported Petland or any said breeders to the USDA or law enforcement?
Good question! If these puppies were suffering, the breeders and Petland should be reported immediately! If you saw somebody mistreating an animal would YOU wait a few months before stopping it? I would hope not. OH, but wait, of course HSUS has to wait until it gets to the media, so that they can make money off of it. Nowwww it makes sense... Forget about the animals, they can wait, right?
HSUS does not SUPPORT or is AFFFILIATED WITH local humane society shelters as their name may suggest. The true humane societies are struggling everyday to take care of these helpless animals. HSUS could fund and run ALL humane societies in the US. It makes me sad how they spend the donations of unsuspecting donors. Only 4 cents of every dollar donated goes to hands-on caring of animals. Proof? Look at their public tax return posted on their site and do the math. They are the richest animal right orginization in the world. And people don't realize this.
Donate to local humane societies and STOP believing the bullshit that HSUS is trying to send out about Petland. I am not denying the fact that there aren't puppy mills out there, because i know there are. I am just trying to lay out the FACTS and discourage anyone from being so close-minded as to believe these people and their "investigation." I don't want people to believe false information about Petland. Because think about it, the employees at all Petlands are there because they love animals. I'm sure some people are there to make money of course, just like any other person at their job, but I am one of those people that are there because of the animals. They are my life. And employees DO have a conscience, and I'm sure Petland stores would be short of employees if they all knew they were at a bad Petland.
IM the one who has done the research, as I'm sure you're asking yourself, "Well okay Leesa, you're saying this because you work at Petland and you love animals, but you're probably oblivious to whats going on, and how do you REALLY know that you are sure of the breeders you deal with?" And to answer that, it's because I HAVE done the research. I just don't believe what the managers at the store tell me. Idon't believe whats on the media, i don't believe any investigation, without doing a little investigation of my own...so that's exactly what I did. So to actually give you PROOF that the breeders that my Petland deals with are actually USDA approved, licensed, and inspected, i did a little research and looked into it. After all of this puppy mill crap starting surfacing, I decided to get the facts MYSELF so that I could stick up for my store, because you have NO idea how many people come into my store and start bitching about how horrible we are for selling puppy mill puppies and blah blah. So ANYWAYS, what i did was take down all of our breeders information, the dogs information, the USDA numbers, license numbers, registration numbers, EVERYTHING. So then, what you can do, is actually look up their records on the USDA website, and request a copy of a puppy report, where they will give you ALL the information on their inspection reports, inventory reports, AKC suspensions, and any and all violations, and what they were for. We do not deal with just one breeder who breeds all different kinds of breeds, because then you get a red light saying, okay this is bad. We deal with atleast 8 or 9 different breeders in ALL different locations, to make sure that we are getting quality dogs. Needless to say, it took about a week to get all the reports back, but when i did, ALL of my breeders were clean. NOTHING to report. No violations, nothing. I made sure to go into depth to make sure that all these breeders were not only USDA approved, licensed and inspected, but to make sure that there were no over breeding, to make sure that they have enough money to be breeding in their facility, to make sure that they have CLEAN facilities that were not over crowded, and also to make sure that the puppies parents are also healthy, and that they were OFA tested and certified for hips, because if you don't have healthy parents, you're not gonna have healthy puppies. So anyways, all of the breeders we deal with had reports that came back from as far back as 2004 and all of them had no violations! So THERE.
I know i'm rambling, but i just have so much to say on this topic. I have defended my Petland extensively, but it goes way more in depth than just talking about HSUS and where we get our puppies from. We still have people come in and complain about how horrible it is to keep puppies locked up in cages all day. poor little puppies want to run around and play, not sit above the ground in little cages on grates. And this is another point i want to bring up about my store, and once again, I'm only saying this about MY petland, not any other store, because i don't knoe their procedures or what they do. All Petland stores run differently, but anyways, every SINGLE day, ALL of the puppies get to come out in "puppy play groups" where we let them run around the entire kennel [the kennel runs the entire length of the store and is huge] and give them an abundant amount of different toys to play with and just let them go nuts. We get to pick whoever we want to take out and we can sit and play with them and socialize them with us and with other puppies. That's what i like most about my job. I personally take out 6 or so dogs at a time from different kennel cages and let them play for hours. Then i switch and put those guys back and take out another group and rotate everyone so they all get hours and hours of play time. Not only do I do this, but everyone else on staff who works in the kennel does it. Someone does it in the morning shift, then whoever works the night shift does it. So the puppies get to come out double the time, not to mention how often they are taken out of the kennel and into puppies rooms with customers to play and be loved. Also, when they go back in their cages, they get atleast two different chew toys, then two nylabones, and two beef hoofs to chew on and play with. and every dog ALWAYS has a buddy with him in a kennel. I do have feelings, and i am not trying to support puppies sitting in cages until they are sold for large amounts of money. I get attached to so many puppies and i do feel bad for them, but to tell you the truth, most of the puppies that come in are sold already and placed in loving homes before people even get a chance to get attached and feel bad for them. Puppies come and go so fast. Sure, there are some breeds that stay longer than others, but thats why we make sure everyone gets to come out, and for the larger breeds, thats why we do training while they are still AT the store. We teach them sit, down, come, and stay, so that when people take them out in a play room, we can tell them what the dog has learned, so that when they take the puppy home, they dont have a wild and crazy puppy, they have a dog that is well socialized and trained. We have NEVER had a puppy not find a home. Never do we euthanize, or give our puppies to shelters if they don't sell, which is another question asked so often. "What happens to the puppies that don't get sold" And the answer is: Every puppy finds a home. We have never had a puppy get too old or not find a home.
I have personally purchased 3 dogs from my own store, and couldn't be happier with my dogs. We also have many many happy customers who return to purchase numerous dogs from us.
Another point to bring up, which is really important to me, is that in saying all of this and sticking up for my store and buying a puppy from my store, i do NOT want to create the illusion that i do not support shelters or i do not condone adopting pets from shelters. All of our kittens and cats at our store are actually rescue kittens and are for adoption. We never get kittens from breeders, they are strictly rescue kittens that people bring in to us that they have found or litters that they do not want. I in no way am against adopting a pet from any shelter. If anything, i encourage it. It's a GREAT thing to do to rescue an animal from a shelter, and I am so happy that many people do it. The only thing I want to bring up is that there is a huge difference between shelter animals and pet store animals. Some people want puppies. They just want puppies, and i'm not saying i support that, but we just have so many people that just want puppies, and they want to make sure they have a purebred dog so that we can educate them on the individual personality on the breed, and the puppy itself, and a lot of people have certain weight restrictions, or they need to make sure it's a hypo-allergenic breed, and they just want to be certain of the overall general temperament of the breed, and when you go to a shelter, it's just simple: sometimes you don't know where those dogs came from in cases when they were found on the street, you don't know their past, you don't knoe what kind of family it was raised it, you just simply cannot be sure of any of those things. And plenty of people want to make sure that they get a puppy at a young age so that they can bring it up and train it into the environment that they live in. And i know that shelters DO get puppies sometimes, and i know that these dogs are screened to make sure they aren't agressive and whatnot, so most times when you get a shelter dog, you DO in fact get a wonderful loving pet, and it can be the best dog you ever had in your whole life, but it's just the fact that some people just want to make sure. and you just can't be sure with a shelter dogs past, or how it has been trained and whatnot. And of course, you can't even be 100% sure that getting a petshop puppy is going to turn out exactly like the "breed standard" because dogs are just like kids, where anything can happen. You never know. But that's why we also give you a warranty with the purchase of a puppy. You can have two 4 pound yorkie parents, and then have every puppy in their litter end up being 10 pounds, way over what they're supposed to be, ya knoe? BUT ANYWAYS, there's my two cents on that.
AND HERE COMES EVEN MORE! haha, but i really need to get everything out, because this goes to show you how extremely passionate I am for my animals and how much i care about what people think about this whole thing. I'm just so sick of hearing things that are not true, and I have to clear it up. And ya knoe what, sometimes i do agree with people on some things, I won't lie. So many people complain about the price of our puppies, saying how over-priced they are and how expensive this breed is and how they can get it cheaper here and there and how you can get one of those at a shelter, but shelters don't offer warranties on their dogs, because they cannot guarantee that their dogs won't have medical problems. But when it comes down to it, i DO agree that our puppies are really expensive, cause nowadays i sure as hell couldnt afford to get a full priced puppy. I mean, i bought Sierra there when i was 18 for $899. But with tax and all the shit, the total was $1049. I could never afford that nowadays. When our puppies are there for a couple weeks, their price goes down. down and down and down until they get sold. We've had puppies start at $1000 dollars go down to $114 and have been there for 3 months. so that means it's a 5 month old puppy. So you're still getting a puppy. But anyways, i ended up getting Benny for 630 but his starting price was 899, and i got Kirby for 235, and his starting price was also 899. So yes, needless to say, the starting price for our puppies are pretty damn expensive, but let me explain what we give you with the price of the puppy:
*All of our puppies have had all of their shots and de-wormings up to date and are current on all vaccinations.
*All of our puppies are microchipped and registered in your name. It's in the dog for its entire lifetime and if it ever gets lost the dog will always be able to be traced back to you.
*Our puppies have been vet checked 3 times and certified with a clean bill of health
*We give you a free first vet visit and parasite exam to get them checked up
*We give you two different health warranties:
2 week on viral- which means that within two weeks of you bringing your puppy home, if it comes down with cough, cold, or upper respiratory, we cover the vet visit, the medicine, everything. It's VERY common for a puppy to go home and get stressed out and come down with a cold. With the stress of changing environments, their immune system is low and it's easy for them to get sick. It is nothing to worry about. A lot of times puppies will go home and catch colds [nothing more serious than a case of a mild cold for you or I] and customers will freak out thinking that they have a sick puppy, but we cover the simple anti-biotics that they go on for 7 days, and it clears up. Most often though, puppies go home and DONT get sick, we just want to make sure in case it happens, we cover it for you.
1 year on hereditary or congenital- which means that within one year of you bringing your puppy home [not until it's one years old, but one year from the date of purchase] if your puppy comes down with any hereditary or congenital conditions, or needs surgery, you can either choose a replacement puppy, which most times people are already attached to their puppy and dont want to do that, so in that case we cover all medical expenses and surgery costs up to the purchase price of the puppy [which like i said earlier, is a lot of money, lol] like i have extensively explained, our puppies come from USDA approved licensed breeders, so we don't run into a lot of health problems, but we back you up with that warranty just in case. Some breeds like English Bulldogs are prone to lots of health problems, for example, Cherry Eye. If your puppy gets Cherry Eye, which is considered congenital in origin, then we cover all costs of surgery to correct the problem. Another common hereditary condition to develop before one year is luxating patella or hip dysplasia in large breeds. We also cover those surgeries because it is necessary to correct the leg for normal limb function.
*We also have a 48 hour return policy, because we understand that under special circumstances, sometimes people realize they may not have made the right decision, and we would rather take the puppy back to find a new home, instead of having another dog end up at the shelter.
*We also give you 20% off spaying and neutering, as most puppies do not come neutered, [although some do] they usually do that at about 6 months of age.
*Another thing we give you is 50% off grooming for your puppy, as we have professional grooming services at the store
*In the puppys booklet we give you that has coupons, the vaccination record, household hazards, and plenty of other information, we also give you a Training DVD, which is done by Brian Donovan, who has done dog training on Animal Planet. The DVD goes over housebreaking, biting, chewing, walking on a leash, training commands, and covers all puppy obedience. It also comes with an 800 number in which you can call and talk to a live trainer in case you have any problems or questions and they can walk you through solutions.
*All purebred puppies come with dual registration papers AND pedigrees, so you have the registration numbers of your puppy AND your puppies parents, along with the litter registration number. APRI does monthly drawings and re-imburse the selected drawing for the purchase price of the puppy!
Alright [3 hours later...] I think I'm finally done writing my novel, hah. So in conclusion, HSUS is not who they appear to be, and I just wanted to lay down the facts and clear up some of the LIES. I am in no way trying to deter anyone from adopting a shelter animal, and in fact, i encourage it, but I just had to stick up for the Petland store that I work at, because i DO know the facts, and I'm completely sick of people coming into my store thinking that they know a god damn thing about our kennel conditions and where we get our puppies from. Sure, the Petland in fucking Bufu Motherfucking Rabbit Fuck town might get their puppies from puppy mills, i honestly don't knoe, but the Petland in Tinley Park DOES NOT. So THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK. Get the facts, do some REAL research on INDIVIDUAL Petlands, THEN you can talk to me. I really hope i change a lot of peoples minds about a few things. And if you ACTUALLY read this ENTIRE thing, and you still want to come into my store and bitch about puppy mill puppies, or sign that god damn Facebook petition, then fuck off, because before you get the chance to finish your sentence, i will get all of the puppies out of the kennel to chase your stupid uneducated ass out of the damn store.
Peace, Love, and PUPPIES!!!!!!