Thursday, July 21, 2016

No Pet Store Puppies Day! #NPSP


The ASPCA has declared July 21st to be No Pet Store Puppies Day. If ever there was a holiday that should be celebrated every day, this is surely the one.


I am fairly certain that I am preaching to the choir among my readers. They know that puppies that are sold in pet stores more likely than not come from "puppy mills".  While it is true there is no official definition of a puppy mill, we all know what one is. Most FDA commercial breeding facilities are technically 'puppy mills' where there are dogs who are stuck in cages, that no sane pet owner would expect a dog to live in, and forced to have litter after litter of puppies until they are no longer viable breeders. If they are lucky they will be surrendered to a local shelter or rescued by one. If not they are put down.

No sane responsible breeder of dogs turns their dogs over to a store to be sold as if they are a toaster.

But do you know that buying pet supplies at stores that sell puppies is actually feeding the system? By giving the store your business you are giving them profit to stay in business while they wait for people who buy the story about the dogs coming from 'reputable' commercial breeding facilities that are FDA inspected. So many people don't want to understand what their dogs went through to get to them, they prefer to keep their heads down and their eyes averted because they want a cute little puppy of the breed they want when they want it and they don't want to have to do research to find a breeder or wait until a litter is born and is raised to an age when they can take them home.  Puppy mills crank out puppy after puppy so you can decide you want one and then have one - much like a toaster. It is just sad.

So, other than not buying a puppy, or shopping at a store that sells them, what else can you do to help?  According to the ASPCA website:

  1. Watch and share their video



  2. Join the Twitter chat
    Have questions about puppy mills? Speak with our experts on July 21 at 1:00 P.M. ET during our No Pet Store Puppies Day Twitter chat (hashtag #NPSP). We’ll answer all your questions about puppy mills, plus we'll be asking our fans trivia questions about this important issue for the chance to win a puppy mill message tee.


  3. Sign the pledge
    Puppy mills put profit ahead of the welfare of the dogs who live in them, many of whom never get to leave. By shopping at pet stores or websites that sell puppies—even when you’re not actually buying a puppy—you could indirectly support the cruel puppy mill industry. Sign and share our pledge that when you shop for pet supplies, including food and toys, you’ll give your business to stores that do not sell puppies.

11 comments:

  1. Luckily pet shops in the uk don't sell cats and dogs but they do sell rabbits and small animals.We do hear of the odd puppy mill or cat mill hear but not often they have almost died a death here but not quite,xx Rachel

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  2. Thank you for sharing - especially the action steps.

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  3. The head peep always feels bad for dogs and cats being sold in pet stores. It's a bad life for their parents, and they are so often doomed to illnesses from poor breeding practices and care. We hope that partnerships with shelters and rescues will be the standard someday for pet stores, but we know that the industry is fighting it. So sad and frustrating.

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  4. Yep, choir member here. My sister was given two Yorkies, one of whom was a pet store girl. She died very young, bad genetics.

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  5. Fortunately, it's illegal in our city (Toronto, Canada) but not everywhere in the country. And it's part of the reason we have such great adoption rates. Pet stores in the city (chains and independents) got enthusiastically on board with in-store adoption events, working with shelters and rescues. Many of them even offer free/discounted "new pet" packages for adopters! They get new customers, we get successful adoptions. Everybody -- especially the cats -- win. They sometimes have the same kind of events for dogs, but mostly the shelters can handle the dog numbers/adoptions.

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  6. we are purring that some day this ends. a local pet store here is fighting the city council that is trying to stop the sale of animals. it is so aggravating. and then mom sees this huge billboard and has a sudden urge to do some vandalism (she wouldn't but she had the urge)

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  7. Here in Michigan, a pet store lost their lease because folks didn't want it, see here: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/07/mall_cancels_controversial_pup.html
    I've signed the pledge, and posted on FB!

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  8. I was just about to post the same thing, Eastside Cats! Great story.

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  9. I will sign the pledge right now.

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  10. Fortunately, pet shops in Switzerland don't sell cats and dogs. They sell rodents, fishes, birds, and small animals. The situation of puppy mills, or cat mills, is sad, so sad. Purrs

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  11. We wish no puppies were sold in stores.

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