Pet Shops Who Sell Rescue Dogs, Hmmm, Wtf?

[Eileen]

it still feels like Im telling the public that pet shops sales are O.K. I think - Its only a small jump for public perception from buying a dog in a pet shop is O.K. as long as it comes from a rescue org to buying puppies in pet shops is O.K. as long as they come from a puppy farmer who is registered with Kate's new commercial breeders group or even that its O.K. to buy puppies in pet shops if they come from registered breeders.

This is exactly how I see it. Just because we might see the difference, I think it splits the hair too finely. ie saying one sort of live animal sale in a petshop is ok, but not another.

[mita]

It's an excellent idea to highlight rescue dogs & cats in pet supply stores. When it's run properly. AWL Qld & RSPCA Qld have Adoption Centres in such stores here. Shelters are located a long way from where people live, so it's good to use local stores as adoption centres. Emphasis is on 'adoption'....so there's screening & counselling on responsible pet care.

I was in a nearby store yesterday & commented to the assistant about their AWL Adoption Centre. She didn't go into a sales pitch, but an explanation of why screening & matching are required & how that includes going thro' all the responsibilities & costs which go with pet ownership. There was no doubt that animal welfare was the priority. That store also hosts activities which can provide follow-up....like training classes & grooming services, as well as monthly pet education seminars (the next one is on diet, the last one was on grooming care at home).

Turned out that the shop assistant was a vet student.

The AWL cats (never more than 3 or 4) are kept in large cat enclosure, with all mod cons....like little hammocks & feeding trays & lots of toys.

I'm always amazed at how social these pusses are...& in beautiful condition being desexed, vaccinated, microchipped etc.

The AWL dogs (never more than 2 at a time) are kept in a room-sized pen with low glass fencing around & handwash is supplied for people to clean their hands before being allowed to handle them. There's lots of toys & facility for toileting.

Volunteers are scheduled to provide cuddling & walking.

There's also provision for the pets to be cared for in homes at night.

All moneys stay with the AWL, no profits to the store.

Such Adoption Centres in pet supply stores get from me.

Edited March 11, 2010 by mita

[Shmurps]

And if it's done properly, why not. The stores that are affiliated with RSPCA or Lort Smith would have to follow their guide lines.

I know with the one mentioned before all money goes back to the rescue group, which covers the desexing and micro chipping.

[juice]

i think its a great idea, too many people know nothing about rescue and where to get one from ;)

they do it in the states, my sister got her last dog over there , the rescue takes a few dogs on a saturday to the store, and they still have to be screened before they can adopt. ;)

we have a petstock near us, would be happy to take rescue dogs up for people to meet.

[Trisven13]

I guess my largest concern with rescue pets in petstores is it still is the impulse buy thing, people see them, fall in love and then want them, regardless of whether they are ready for them. And when someones there with their heart set on a dog, it's alot harder to turn them away then if they are on the phone or have just seen photos or whatever. I'd still be worried the workers wouldn't have the time and resources to screen adoptees properly.

My understanding is the potential home stills goes through the same screening process as if they were adopting from the shelter.

Completely. It is done very successfully here through Petstock. We place dogs in suitable pens on weekends for the hours that the business is open (the dog/pup is dropped off at opening and picked up at closing) and any enquiries about the dogs are referred to us. We then do the normal screening process we would do for someone who saw the dog on the website. I don't think that it encourages impulse purchasing anymore than petrescue and the like do (ie not much at all )

ETA - whilst the dog is in store it is toileted and fed as required. The staff at the stores here love having the dogs in store.

Edited March 12, 2010 by Trisven13

[Steve]

So if we say rescue dogs are O.K. to be sold in pet shops because the shelters are a long way from shopping centres and people cant get to them how do we then say its not O.K. for puppies to be sold in pet shops because the puppy farms are even further away from people than shelters? If puppy farmers cant sell their stock those puppies are in more dire straights than rescue dogs because breeders will bump them off if they cant sell them past a certain age or they will be eating their profits. Both rescue and puppy farm puppies are at risk if they dont find them new homes - in fact for some it may be they are more at risk as many rescue will hold onto the dog indefinitely until they find it a home. We could argue that if there is no sales and puppies have to be killed that this will stop them breeding so many but we're talking about dogs which are already born , already on the ground and are at equal or greater risk than a rescue dog.

The way Trish has described it the pet shop isnt selling live animals if the rescue group is taking the enquiries and screening the buyers and doing the transaction. In my opinion that pet shop could still be nominated as they don't sell live animals as long as they dont sell any other animals.

[luffy4688]

There is a pet shop at Chadstome shopping centre (not PP) who had a rescue dog for sale last itme we were there. A cute little 2 yo black curly oodledoodle. He was in a big run, had plenty of space and was having a blast interacting with the people shopping there. They don't sell puppies, apparently just rescue dogs, one at a time. Hopefully to well-screened homes.

That would be Pets At Home as mentioned.

[Sheridan]

I would also like to say for me personally that since I attended the seminar at Monash Uni and heard what we did from Kate Scoffeld that I am even more sure than ever that Im not prepared in any way shape or form to give any sort of perception out to the public that selling puppies in pet shops is a good thing.For me even though I get why selling rescue dogs in pets shops is a good thing it still feels like Im telling the public that pet shops sales are O.K. I think - Its only a small jump for public perception from buying a dog in a pet shop is O.K. as long as it comes from a rescue org to buying puppies in pet shops is O.K. as long as they come from a puppy farmer who is registered with Kate's new commercial breeders group or even that its O.K. to buy puppies in pet shops if they come from registered breeders.

According to the survey so far most people 84% dont want to see us allowing the exemption.

I don't know what survey it is but I recall the angst over a rescue group placing dogs with Pets at Home well before they affiliated with Lort Smith (I think at the time they were still selling puppies). I don't like it but it would probably depend on the circumstances and a very strictly hidebound criteria.

[Bow Wowy]

In my opinion all animals deserve a home. They don't choose to come into this world, often they are just a consequence of human greed/ignorance. If instead of selling puppies and kittens purchased from backyard breeders, pet stores sold rescue animals, I think this would be a step in the right direction. Its about educating the public and lets face it a lot of people go to a pet store because they think thats where you buy pets. If instead of being bombarded with oodles of oodles and designer dogs the public came face to face with rescues in desperate need of a caring homes, it could go a long way in raising awareness about rescue.

Of course every new owner should be screened and provided with realistic information in what would be invovled in adopting that particular animal. I obviously goes with out saying that all the rescue animals should be desexed before being rehomed as well. If people go into animal ownership educated and with their eyes wide open, hopefully none of these animals will end up back in the system.

Edited March 13, 2010 by Bow Wowy

[mita]

I have no problem at all with the AWL (& RSPCA )store-adoption system that I've seen up close. It's not a skerrick different from how the rescue dogs & cats are adopted from the shelters. But with the chance of being closer to where the pet buying public are. If anything, the dogs & cats in each store get an opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

Having played the 'dumb customer' the other day, I was chuffed how the store assistant went straight into the 'perfect' adoption spiel. Starting with telling me how impulse buying is anti-welfare. She got top marks from me. Obviously, the staff have been trained in the AWL's policies & procedures.

All the singage outside & inside the store, makes it clear that they're hosting an AWL Adoption Centre. The pets aren't store 'products'.

The store's back-up activities re training, grooming & pet care education take care of follow-up support. There's also the AWL's own support program of advice & resources, for any specific problems when an adopted pet is settling in to a new home.

I'd actually like to see a lot more stores get into this system. Incidentally, this store also has large posters all around the adoption area, telling customers about Friends of the Hound Greyhound Adoption.

Breeders of pure-bred dogs could well get info out into such stores, too. With Purebreds as Pets Information Centres & with visits by various breeds. Adoptions strictly direct from breeder.

This would get over the problems for purebreds, too. With many people believing that prurebreds are only for showing & that pet people can't buy them....& also the lack of knowledge about how to contact breeders. Or deterred by distance. Great to have a Breeders' Index in the store, for reference.

Edited March 13, 2010 by mita

[JD19]

PetsMart here in the US have a program like this. We got one of our cats this way. We were in PetsMart wasting some time and went over by the Adoptions area to look at the cats/kittens that were available. We'd been talking about adding a cat/kitten for some time and we saw a littler of kittens in one of the larger kennels. We filled out the adoption application and a couple of days later we were contacted by the rescue that had the kittens up for adoptions. A week later we were approved and brought Baxter home.

http://adoptions.petsmart.com/index.php

[Jake-K9]

So if we say rescue dogs are O.K. to be sold in pet shops because the shelters are a long way from shopping centres and people cant get to them how do we then say its not O.K. for puppies to be sold in pet shops because the puppy farms are even further away from people than shelters? If puppy farmers cant sell their stock those puppies are in more dire straights than rescue dogs because breeders will bump them off if they cant sell them past a certain age or they will be eating their profits. Both rescue and puppy farm puppies are at risk if they dont find them new homes - in fact for some it may be they are more at risk as many rescue will hold onto the dog indefinitely until they find it a home. We could argue that if there is no sales and puppies have to be killed that this will stop them breeding so many but we're talking about dogs which are already born , already on the ground and are at equal or greater risk than a rescue dog.

The way Trish has described it the pet shop isnt selling live animals if the rescue group is taking the enquiries and screening the buyers and doing the transaction. In my opinion that pet shop could still be nominated as they don't sell live animals as long as they dont sell any other animals.

Er, WTF?

I don't think this thread was ever actually about nominations for the awards, at least that's not how I took the OP... It would seem most others have taken it as a debate as to whether rescue animals should be allowed to be sold/promoted in pet shops, not whether said shops should be eligible for nominations.

If we remove the means for puppy farms to make profits then wouldn't they cease to exist? If we educate the public and promote registered ethical/responsible breeders and rescue animals, perhaps the public would stop buying oodles? If they walk into a 'pet shop' and all they see are ads for breeders and rescue animals, instead of cute cuddly 'take me home now' kittens and puppies, and the staff in the pet shops were trained to educate instead of spinning some bullcrap spiel about how wonderful oodles are, the world would be a very different place...

[spanky]

So if we say rescue dogs are O.K. to be sold in pet shops because the shelters are a long way from shopping centres and people cant get to them how do we then say its not O.K. for puppies to be sold in pet shops because the puppy farms are even further away from people than shelters? If puppy farmers cant sell their stock those puppies are in more dire straights than rescue dogs because breeders will bump them off if they cant sell them past a certain age or they will be eating their profits. Both rescue and puppy farm puppies are at risk if they dont find them new homes - in fact for some it may be they are more at risk as many rescue will hold onto the dog indefinitely until they find it a home. We could argue that if there is no sales and puppies have to be killed that this will stop them breeding so many but we're talking about dogs which are already born , already on the ground and are at equal or greater risk than a rescue dog.

The way Trish has described it the pet shop isnt selling live animals if the rescue group is taking the enquiries and screening the buyers and doing the transaction. In my opinion that pet shop could still be nominated as they don't sell live animals as long as they dont sell any other animals.

Er, WTF?

I don't think this thread was ever actually about nominations for the awards, at least that's not how I took the OP... It would seem most others have taken it as a debate as to whether rescue animals should be allowed to be sold/promoted in pet shops, not whether said shops should be eligible for nominations.

If we remove the means for puppy farms to make profits then wouldn't they cease to exist? If we educate the public and promote registered ethical/responsible breeders and rescue animals, perhaps the public would stop buying oodles? If they walk into a 'pet shop' and all they see are ads for breeders and rescue animals, instead of cute cuddly 'take me home now' kittens and puppies, and the staff in the pet shops were trained to educate instead of spinning some bullcrap spiel about how wonderful oodles are, the world would be a very different place...

I think you'll find the OP asked about this issue in relation to a question on an MDBA survey about nominations for their annual awards. As Steve is a board member of the MDBA, she is providing an explanation on why this question has been asked in the survey.

Perhaps you need to re-read the OP.

[Shmurps]

PetsMart here in the US have a program like this. We got one of our cats this way. We were in PetsMart wasting some time and went over by the Adoptions area to look at the cats/kittens that were available. We'd been talking about adding a cat/kitten for some time and we saw a littler of kittens in one of the larger kennels. We filled out the adoption application and a couple of days later we were contacted by the rescue that had the kittens up for adoptions. A week later we were approved and brought Baxter home.

http://adoptions.petsmart.com/index.php

Last week I bought "Dogtown" series by National Geographic. Just watched the episode where Dogtown took 2 dogs to an adoption day

at PetsMart

[Jake-K9]

I think you'll find the OP asked about this issue in relation to a question on an MDBA survey about nominations for their annual awards. As Steve is a board member of the MDBA, she is providing an explanation on why this question has been asked in the survey.

Perhaps you need to re-read the OP.

The OP says that they are making the post because they read the info as part of a survey, yes, but Steve seems to be the only one who is posting anything in regards to what should and shouldn't be allowed to be nominated, everyone else has said why they think rescue in pet shops is a good or bad idea...

The only actual question asked by the OP was do the dogs live in the pet shops.

EFS

Edited March 13, 2010 by Jake-K9

[Koemi]

PetsMart here in the US have a program like this. We got one of our cats this way. We were in PetsMart wasting some time and went over by the Adoptions area to look at the cats/kittens that were available. We'd been talking about adding a cat/kitten for some time and we saw a littler of kittens in one of the larger kennels. We filled out the adoption application and a couple of days later we were contacted by the rescue that had the kittens up for adoptions. A week later we were approved and brought Baxter home.

http://adoptions.petsmart.com/index.php

PetStock over here got the idea for rescue adoptions from PetsMart

Steve - I think the places that are doing it properly (not keeping 'rescue' puppies and kittens in the store all day every day) are doing it solely to raise awareness ABOUT rescue, which a lot of the general public still have no idea about. Like has already been mentioned a few times in this thread, not all rescue 'sales' work the same way. We do not 'sell' animals on the day, nor have them in the store every day. The rescues are properly promoted, the public are made aware, it's more so to get the dogs out and mingling with people so the public can understand that rescue dogs are not always 'broken' and pet store puppies are not a 'clean slate'.

I do agree that there are some pet stores out there that sell very young 'rescue' pups and kittens (we have one nearby that has very small kittens and pups from 'rescue' in their store constantly) but not all stores are out there to make a buck, and some genuinely want to help.

[WoofnHoof]

I have no problem at all with the AWL (& RSPCA )store-adoption system that I've seen up close. It's not a skerrick different from how the rescue dogs & cats are adopted from the shelters. But with the chance of being closer to where the pet buying public are. If anything, the dogs & cats in each store get an opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

Having played the 'dumb customer' the other day, I was chuffed how the store assistant went straight into the 'perfect' adoption spiel. Starting with telling me how impulse buying is anti-welfare. She got top marks from me. Obviously, the staff have been trained in the AWL's policies & procedures.

All the singage outside & inside the store, makes it clear that they're hosting an AWL Adoption Centre. The pets aren't store 'products'.

The store's back-up activities re training, grooming & pet care education take care of follow-up support. There's also the AWL's own support program of advice & resources, for any specific problems when an adopted pet is settling in to a new home.

I'd actually like to see a lot more stores get into this system. Incidentally, this store also has large posters all around the adoption area, telling customers about Friends of the Hound Greyhound Adoption.

Breeders of pure-bred dogs could well get info out into such stores, too. With Purebreds as Pets Information Centres & with visits by various breeds. Adoptions strictly direct from breeder.

This would get over the problems for purebreds, too. With many people believing that prurebreds are only for showing & that pet people can't buy them....& also the lack of knowledge about how to contact breeders. Or deterred by distance. Great to have a Breeders' Index in the store, for reference.

I recall putting forth an idea such as this a couple of years ago it was fairly well shut down because no one wanted to have an affiliation with any pet shop, nice to see that people are no longer as keen to tar all pet shops with the same brush

[mita]

Breeders of pure-bred dogs could well get info out into such stores, too. With Purebreds as Pets Information Centres & with visits by various breeds. Adoptions strictly direct from breeder.

This would get over the problems for purebreds, too. With many people believing that prurebreds are only for showing & that pet people can't buy them....& also the lack of knowledge about how to contact breeders. Or deterred by distance. Great to have a Breeders' Index in the store, for reference.

I recall putting forth an idea such as this a couple of years ago it was fairly well shut down because no one wanted to have an affiliation with any pet shop, nice to see that people are no longer as keen to tar all pet shops with the same brush

I agree with you, that the pet stores which have Adoption Centres for ethical rescues, might have changed perceptions. If those with a genuine welfare policy would also host a Purebred Info Service, it would help prevent dumping. Evidence is that the puppies coming from registered breeders are less vulnerable to being dumped....& the breeders produce far fewer accidental litters.

But I could understand registered breeders not wanting their puppies actually in any pet store ....& worst of all, being next to puppies sourced from puppy farmers. And would agree. It should be an info & awareness service only.

Maybe we can keep plugging away.

[Steve]

PetsMart here in the US have a program like this. We got one of our cats this way. We were in PetsMart wasting some time and went over by the Adoptions area to look at the cats/kittens that were available. We'd been talking about adding a cat/kitten for some time and we saw a littler of kittens in one of the larger kennels. We filled out the adoption application and a couple of days later we were contacted by the rescue that had the kittens up for adoptions. A week later we were approved and brought Baxter home.

http://adoptions.petsmart.com/index.php

PetStock over here got the idea for rescue adoptions from PetsMart

Steve - I think the places that are doing it properly (not keeping 'rescue' puppies and kittens in the store all day every day) are doing it solely to raise awareness ABOUT rescue, which a lot of the general public still have no idea about. Like has already been mentioned a few times in this thread, not all rescue 'sales' work the same way. We do not 'sell' animals on the day, nor have them in the store every day. The rescues are properly promoted, the public are made aware, it's more so to get the dogs out and mingling with people so the public can understand that rescue dogs are not always 'broken' and pet store puppies are not a 'clean slate'.

I do agree that there are some pet stores out there that sell very young 'rescue' pups and kittens (we have one nearby that has very small kittens and pups from 'rescue' in their store constantly) but not all stores are out there to make a buck, and some genuinely want to help.

If the pet shop doesnt "sell " animals but has them featured in their store then they dont sell live animals - I have no problem withthat and even though the original post wasnt asking about the issue of nominations if its O.K. with everyone or not Im answering that this pet shop would be eligible for nomination in that award category because it doesnt sell live animals.

The RSPCA pet shop in Sydney for example which does sell live animals would not be eligible for nomination if we leave that category as it stands.

[casowner]

I have no problem at all with the AWL (& RSPCA )store-adoption system that I've seen up close. It's not a skerrick different from how the rescue dogs & cats are adopted from the shelters. But with the chance of being closer to where the pet buying public are. If anything, the dogs & cats in each store get an opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

Having played the 'dumb customer' the other day, I was chuffed how the store assistant went straight into the 'perfect' adoption spiel. Starting with telling me how impulse buying is anti-welfare. She got top marks from me. Obviously, the staff have been trained in the AWL's policies & procedures.

All the singage outside & inside the store, makes it clear that they're hosting an AWL Adoption Centre. The pets aren't store 'products'.

The store's back-up activities re training, grooming & pet care education take care of follow-up support. There's also the AWL's own support program of advice & resources, for any specific problems when an adopted pet is settling in to a new home.

I'd actually like to see a lot more stores get into this system. Incidentally, this store also has large posters all around the adoption area, telling customers about Friends of the Hound Greyhound Adoption.

Breeders of pure-bred dogs could well get info out into such stores, too. With Purebreds as Pets Information Centres & with visits by various breeds. Adoptions strictly direct from breeder.

This would get over the problems for purebreds, too. With many people believing that prurebreds are only for showing & that pet people can't buy them....& also the lack of knowledge about how to contact breeders. Or deterred by distance. Great to have a Breeders' Index in the store, for reference.

I recall putting forth an idea such as this a couple of years ago it was fairly well shut down because no one wanted to have an affiliation with any pet shop, nice to see that people are no longer as keen to tar all pet shops with the same brush

I have offered my store for this aswell and have tried to work with the RSPCA for 5 years to no avail. Some pet shops do try to educate but can't do it on their own.