Tails: How much is that puppy in the window…

Okay, so it is one week until Christmas Eve and I know many people are scurrying around the mall thinking about what to get “so and so.” Many might find it tempting to walk into a petstore and buy a puppy. I mean what is cuter that the image of a puppy hanging out of stocking or in a big (ventilated) wrapped box.

We have been mesmerized by the very image since we were children. Oh, the joy and delight of a puppy under the Christmas tree. Truly, a lifelong memory not to mention the perfect Kodak moment.

But, since this is my blog and I get to say what I want – I want nothing more than to burst that precious bubble and explain to many what exactly hides behind that cute puppy in the window.

I feel it is important to note that I don’t preach these things because I read them in the newspaper or on the ASPCA website. I preach them because I have actually seen the reality of these puppies with my own eyes and I have two dogs who have survived it laying next to me as a type.

Sure that puppy in the window is adorable – but what it not adorable is the life that his mom and dad are living back in the crappy old barn where that puppy was born.

The moms and dads of these pet store dogs live in filth with little regard to their well-being. Cheap food, dirty water and no human interaction. They live in squalor in wire cages only 2-3ft in size and they never have a blanket or a toy or a soft human touch.

These breeding dogs live this way for as long as they are useful. Once their bodies give out from breeding they are tossed away for nothing or if no one wants them they are shot dead.

It is a horrible hidden truth from the majority of consumers…but once people give the idea some thought they realize that no good breeder would ever sell one of their puppies to a pet store. Good breeders interview potential buyers, and have contracts that itemize expectations, such as: getting the dog spayed or neutered, guaranteeing the health of the dog, and overall ensuring that the puppy they poured so much of their attention into will have a forever home.

A breeder would never get any of this if they sold their dog to a pet store.

Puppy mills and mass breeding facilities will never go away even with the laws changing and the regulations for these places becoming more cumbersome. These horrid places will never go away until people stop buying dogs from pet stores. And instead, research quality breeders or even better: adopt from a shelter or rescue.

It is my blog and I get to say what I want – and I want to preach: PLEASE adopt this holiday. There ARE puppies, there ARE purebreds out there – most of all, there are millions of dogs (and cats) out there who want nothing more than to have a family to love them this Christmas.

Sure, it is easy to walk into a pet store and fall in love with a puppy…But, isn’t the saying, “Good things come to those to who wait.” So, take a deep breath, envision what that puppy’s parents are living in, turn around and walk right to the nearest shelter. I can guarantee there will be a puppy or a dog there who WILL steal your heart.

And just in time for Christmas you can place him in a stocking or a (ventilated) wrapped box… And, that childhood dream and Kodak moment can still be yours.