Do you have a problem with buying an animal from a pet shop or individual, or do you only adopt from the shelter?

I am all for getting an animal from a shelter, but I did buy our boxer from a breeder.

I prefer animals from shelters. I have had a lot of pets in my life and my yorkie is the only one that I bought. I did buy him at a discounted rate from a family who had never taken him to the vet and he was also very neglected so I guess its kinda like adopting one. I saved him.

me personally, i dont think i could buy an animal knowing there are so many animals needing to be adopted. i must admit those pure bred puppies do look adorable though!

I don't have an issue with obtaining animals from REPUTABLE BREEDERS.
I do, however, have an issue with pet shop purchases because a reputable breeder (one who has invested in the proper testing of their stock animals, has provided the proper medical attention to the litter, has taken the time to screen prospective homes and place the animals carefully) will not sell their animals via a pet shop. A vast majority of pet shop animals are STILL coming from puppy farm/mill operations and that is NOT something I can support. At the least, those not coming from actual mill operations are usually coming from backyard breeders and they, imo, are not much better (in some cases worse).

I don't buy from pet shops cause most getting them from puppy mills. All of my dogs have been pure breeds.

I will only adopt from a shelter. I don't want my money to go to breeders, puppy mills, or pet shops.

I'm open to both, but I do strongly advocate that people adopt from a shelter. We got one of our dogs from an animal shelter, and our other 2 dogs we got from a breeder.

I get mine from family friends that I can trust. :D And I only buy mutts lol

I prefer animals from shelters. I have had a lot of pets in my life and my yorkie is the only one that I bought. I did buy him at a discounted rate from a family who had never taken him to the vet and he was also very neglected so I guess its kinda like adopting one. I saved him.

i did the exact same thing with my chihuahua bella! she was soooo neglected :( i adopted my pit mix zeus from a "bully breed" rescue organization.. all 3 dogs and 2 cats at my parents house were adopted/rescued

I don't have a problem with it. It does seem strange to me paying for what basically is a new addition to the family. Growing up people just gave away animals or we paid very little for a pet at the feed store.

i prefer to adopt but we got cosby from a breeder that was respectable. i will NEVER buy from a pet store

I dont care as long as I fall in love with the dog as soon as I c it...I could care less where it come from.

we actually have both, a shelter dog and a pure breed.. Our pure breed was from a reputable breeder that we knew and had seen other puppies from. To me I am open to both, I won't buy from just anyone nor from a puppy store.

One of my friends used to work at a pet shop and I wont buy animals from one unless I know the owner and trust him/her. But otherwise I wouldnt.

I will only adopt from a shelter. I don't want my money to go to breeders, puppy mills, or pet shops.

I agree, working with the MSPCA has really opened my eyes. So many dogs are given up which is difficult enough but many females are surrendered RIGHT AFTER GIVING BIRTH so the owners can sell the pups :( It is disgusting some of the animals that come in from puppy mills. One was emaciated to the point when it barked it sounded like it was going to die.

i would prefer to get them from a shelter. however, both of our dogs were bought from a pet store. when we lived in WA we had a 35lb weight limit for pets. i was on the waiting list at the humane society for MONTHS, but the smaller dogs were adopted almost as soon as they came in. i had always had a dog and i wanted some companionship (and a barking alarm lol) so i broke down and we bought them from a pet store.

well we have done both.

The first two we bought both from the pet store. We had to make sure they were under 25 pounds and we knew the breed at the store.

Then we got Abby who turned out to be completely abused and couldn't adjust to us.

But both the cats have been adopted. I think that the cats are ok because they were so young when we got them, but the older dog had a lot of problems.

One of my dogs is from the shelter, another is from a woman who does rescue, and took in a stray that was pregnant.

I'm not against reputable breeders really - I guess I'm just not that picky and at this point, I'd rather help the dog who needs it and make room for the next who needs a space.

I'm definitely against pet shops, and won't buy from there, but sometimes I feel like those puppies need to be rescued more than the shelter dogs - from a well being standpoint. That pulls at my heartstrings.

What do they do with the puppies that don't sell before they get too big? I remember a Labradoodle that was almost 6 months at the pet store - he had been there since he was 2 months. I almost bought him just because I thought it was so cruel to have him in that little cage, and never getting walked or exercised. He was definitely getting too big for any of their cages, and now I wonder what happened to him. Ugh, I hate pet stores.

I refuse to adopt from the shelter here again. We had a beautiful puppy that we adopted from there that dh and I both got attached to very quickly....she died 4 days later from parvo despite me trying my best to save her :(

The vet said she was pretty sure she already had parvo when we got her, sense she started getting sick less than 24hrs after we brought her home....so yeah the shelter here sucks.

I've never gotten a housepet from a pet store...

Whatever you want to do, I don't have a problem with either....We got Our lab mix from a lady who lived in a country area and she would take in the puppies from the neighbors dog's and take care of them and find them new homes..we got Annabell from a breeder.

Either a family or a shelter...sometimes families have to get rid of their pet due to not being home and such and I would rather get that pet than have it go into a shelter...I would also look into shelters because no matter what the animal we get has to be good with my kids and with us.

I would never ever buy from a pet shop...and I honestly think that pet shops should not be allowed to carry cats or dogs at all.

I would never ever buy from a pet shop...and I honestly think that pet shops should not be allowed to carry cats or dogs at all.

Where I disagree with that is when you have the stores that act as satellite locations for shelters, rescues, etc and handle adoptions on their site. Many are staffed by the shelter/rescue staff but there are several in our area where the store personnel themselves handle all the care and process involved in keeping the animals on site and placing them with families.

Where I disagree with that is when you have the stores that act as satellite locations for shelters, rescues, etc and handle adoptions on their site. Many are staffed by the shelter/rescue staff but there are several in our area where the store personnel themselves handle all the care and process involved in keeping the animals on site and placing them with families.

yep i know some petstores like petsmart or petco use their stores as adoption sites at least once a week

I will do either. I tend to go with individuals and such before the shelter.

I never bought from a petstore, and I never adopted from a shelter. Most of my animals were rescued though, from neglect and abuse. The horse I own now I bought, along with another horse, from a person who shouldn't be allowed to have as much as a stuffed toy. My old dog had most likely been abused. He was about 9 months when he moved in, and when called he'd come crawling and stay out of kicking range. He was scared of things like umbrellas, rakes and pretty much anything on a stick. He'd even pee himself if someone raised their voice at him. This would be the longest post on the history of SOS if I continued. :grin: My point is, I rescue from individuals most of the time, but I wouldn't hestitate buying from reputable breeders. The only thing I'd buy from a petstore are smaller pets like rats, birds, fish etc. The petstores in Sweden don't sell cats or dogs.

I won't buy from someone in the paper, and I won't buy from a pet store (unless it's a rescue type thing). I have two shelter animals, one from a reputable breeder, and one a private rescue. Even our bird was purchased from a breeder and not a pet store.

well... when i bought sammy my pit bull i got him from a pet store... i call it rescuing...

he was in a bird cage with no water:tired

i hate pet shops

All of my animals except my jack are rescued/shelter animals. One of my cats was a stray and the other was from the pound. My jack was purchased from an individual though. I looked into getting a jack from a rescue association but many of them were anti-social with other animals and I already had a dog and 2 cats, so I ended up with a bought puppy.

We got our boxer from the breeder who was my Aunt. I am not for getting animals from a pet shop. Breeder(one with a good rep,not a BY breeder),shelter or rescue.

I got our deaf cat from a client, she was on her way to the shelter. I got our pit mix at Benning animal shelter. I don't have a problem w/ reputable breeders, but I'd rather adopt from a shelter.