Is adopting from a shelter supporting puppy mills?
HAHAHA good question! i like it. Unfortunately to surrender a litter to the shelter costs money, and discourages BYB. But, because the owner is paying money to drop off the pups, most likely they will not spend money neuter/spay their dog, and its a vicious cycle…. But yes, shelters pretty much catch all the dogs that started out as BYB, then get dumped when they realize they take time, money, vet bills, so its actually a cr*p shoot. Instead of getting a dog from an irresponsible breeder, you get an adult or ruined dog from an irresponsible owner!!!!!! BOTH deserve a good home. We have a pet store here, and some of the puppies have known no other life than a 2×2 cage- rough handling, and are 6 months old, having arrived at 5 1/2 weeks. Both are sad realizations of our society. Just like foster care and adoption are for PEOPLE, not just pets. If laws got tougher on breeders, there would be less profit from Back yard breeding, and destroy the cash cow….
Come on, now, think about it! A pet store puppy is SOLD to you, the money goes to the BREEDER (and pet store) who then produces more pups to sell for more money. On the other hand, a shelter pup will probably make no money for anyone, will end up DEAD if not adopted out. The paltry sum you might pay to adopt a dog goes to help paying for the dog’s care, neuter/spay surgery, vaccinations. It pays for the workers, the building, etc etc. Most of the money to run shelters actually comes from private donations, not from the adoption fees. Breeder pups don’t end up going directly in shelters if the breeder can’t sell them, they usually end up dead. Pet store pups are SUPPOSED to be purebred–they might be. At least they come with registration papers. Shelter pups usually are not purebred and even if they are, they don’t come with registration papers. So no, you are not supporting breeders by adopting shelter pups because, believe me, their rejects don’t go to shelters. It’s a pitiful busines
It’s not the same at all. Buying a pitiful pet store puppy puts money in the petstore’s hands and the petstores are paying the puppy mills for their puppies. If a dog at the petstore costs $1000, the puppy mill is probably getting $500 for that puppy. Even if that puppy stays in the petstore long enough that the store has to lower their price, the puppy mill is still getting $500 for that puppy regardless of what the petstore eventually sells it for. Plus it opens up another cage in the store so the petstore can buy another puppy from the puppy mill. Shelter puppies are GIVEN to the shelter…sometimes the person dumping the dog even pays the shelter. The shelter does not give a single cent to the puppy mill. When that puppy is adopted out another cage does open…but if by some miracle there isn’t another puppy in need of a home then the shelter has an empty cage that they are happy to not fill. The shelters may provide an outlet for their castaways…but they do not allow the puppy m
This is like asking “are we supporting drug dealers by having rehab centers?” NO. The dogs end up in the shelters because of other reasons, but the transaction to the backyard breeder/puppy mill has been made. When a puppy is bought from BYB or pet store, the BYB/PM gets money. When a dog is bought or adopted from a shelter, the BYB/PM doesn’t see a CENT. It’s not as simple as being about getting a dog out of a bad situation. It’s doing so and making sure that other dogs aren’t put in the same situation. Supporting BYBs/PMs means MORE dogs are put in the same situation as a “demand” is created.
I think most of the people on here have given you very good answers. It is not the same. Fancy_M….yes it is pet stores that support puppymillers, but by buying a puppy from a pet store people are encouraging the pet store to continue supporting puppymillers. If people stop buying from pet stores than pet stores won’t buy from puppymillers because there will be no market for the puppies. In that sense your argument really doesn’t work. People are still supporting the puppymillers by supporting the pet store that supports the puppymillers. Yes, pet stores should quit carrying live animals, but that won’t happen as long as people buy them. Not only that but not all pet store buy the puppies right out, some of them sell them on consinement, which means when the puppy is bought the money goes go to the puppymiller, which again is supporting them.
