Well, at least here's one more person who won't get their dog from a puppy mill.
I was at the local pet supply store picking up some things, it was near closing time, and a girl dashed in and said, `Do you sell dogs? Do you have any puppies? I want a puppy soooo bad!'. Well, first thing I thought was `That's a bit weird, running into somewhere at closing time looking for a dog - think it might be a bit of an impulse buy'.
The shop assistant said, `No we don't sell any animals here' and I piped up and said, `You are actually looking for a dog? A real dog to buy?' The girl said yes, so I said, `Why don't you go to a shelter?' She told me I was the second person who had told her that today. I then said (because again, I was worried it was just an impulse buy) that had she ever had a dog before, did she know how much hard work they were, and that I would never recommend anyone to get a dog unless they were prepared to put in the hard yards and spend a lot of time with them - forever, not just when they were a puppy. She said she had grown up with dogs, had seven (!!) in South Africa, and that she and her boyfriend missed having animals around since moving to Australia. They wanted to get a small dog (preferably a beagle) and a cat, at the same time, so they could grow up together. She asked me what I meant when I mentioned puppy mills and BYBs, and was very interested.
By this time the shop assistant had got involved and we gave her all kinds of information on ethical, proper breeders, and shelters. She was under the impression that all shelters routinely pts their dogs every two days. So I explained that most shelters in Australia are no-kill, they are cheaper than buying from a pet shop, the dogs are spayed, vaccinated and wormed, and that 2.6 million dogs are abandoned each year in Australia - one in four of them purebred.
She asked me for my card and I also gave her Chaz's website address so she could educate herself all she liked on the world of dogs, puppy mills and BYBs. Her boyfriend had come in from the car and we all had a good old chat.
YAY! So, another person on the road to an educated life about dogs, who will now go to a shelter and adopt a puppy and a kitten. I was very happy that she was so receptive - a lot of people get quite miffed when you tell them the kinds of things I told this girl - most folks don't like getting lectures! - but I will never miss an opportunity to educate and if you can change one person's way of thinking, then you've done your good deed for the day, and put them and the other people they will hopefully tell on the right path.
Sorry for the long post but I just feel happy!
I was at the local pet supply store picking up some things, it was near closing time, and a girl dashed in and said, `Do you sell dogs? Do you have any puppies? I want a puppy soooo bad!'. Well, first thing I thought was `That's a bit weird, running into somewhere at closing time looking for a dog - think it might be a bit of an impulse buy'.
The shop assistant said, `No we don't sell any animals here' and I piped up and said, `You are actually looking for a dog? A real dog to buy?' The girl said yes, so I said, `Why don't you go to a shelter?' She told me I was the second person who had told her that today. I then said (because again, I was worried it was just an impulse buy) that had she ever had a dog before, did she know how much hard work they were, and that I would never recommend anyone to get a dog unless they were prepared to put in the hard yards and spend a lot of time with them - forever, not just when they were a puppy. She said she had grown up with dogs, had seven (!!) in South Africa, and that she and her boyfriend missed having animals around since moving to Australia. They wanted to get a small dog (preferably a beagle) and a cat, at the same time, so they could grow up together. She asked me what I meant when I mentioned puppy mills and BYBs, and was very interested.
By this time the shop assistant had got involved and we gave her all kinds of information on ethical, proper breeders, and shelters. She was under the impression that all shelters routinely pts their dogs every two days. So I explained that most shelters in Australia are no-kill, they are cheaper than buying from a pet shop, the dogs are spayed, vaccinated and wormed, and that 2.6 million dogs are abandoned each year in Australia - one in four of them purebred.
She asked me for my card and I also gave her Chaz's website address so she could educate herself all she liked on the world of dogs, puppy mills and BYBs. Her boyfriend had come in from the car and we all had a good old chat.
YAY! So, another person on the road to an educated life about dogs, who will now go to a shelter and adopt a puppy and a kitten. I was very happy that she was so receptive - a lot of people get quite miffed when you tell them the kinds of things I told this girl - most folks don't like getting lectures! - but I will never miss an opportunity to educate and if you can change one person's way of thinking, then you've done your good deed for the day, and put them and the other people they will hopefully tell on the right path.
Sorry for the long post but I just feel happy!
