Only fish.....from a store up in Hyde Park from a man and wife team. And what a team ! It was my first fish endeavor and they never told me the fish had been injected with dye ! They sold me 6 fish and a 10 gallon tank and later I found out that was way too many of this type of fish for a 10 gallon tank ! Of course 5 of the 6 fish did not survive long and they all lost their color. And I also found out later that the price I paid for the fish was outrageously high ! PET STORES = USED CAR DEALERSHIPS
Colleen - 9 years ago
Aside from some mice when I was a kid, no. And never would I again. Those animals deserve so much more than small cages, poor lighting, and shoddy diets (at best). Especially the "exotics" that are often taken from the wild and bred into captivity. These animals' tempers are all over the place... Adopt, don't shop.
zennman - 9 years ago
Those who buy puppies from pet stores have the best of intentions but are misguided. The puppies there are encaged for God knows how many hours a day. This is not a natural environment for them. Puppies can't hold their poop so they end up pooping in the cage and sleeping where they pooped. They become "dirty dogs. " Once you adopt one it is difficult to housebreak him/her.
I pity these poor puppies and the kind-hearted people who buy them. It is best to adopt a dog from a shelter. They are better cared for and most receive obedience training. All my dogs have come from shelters. Never had a problem.
Emma - 9 years ago
Decades ago when I was a child my grandmother bought me a puppy from a pet store-a Scottish terrier. He had distemper and in the end had to be euthanized. It was heartbreaking for all concerned. I am so grateful to the Poughkeepsie Journal for keeping this issue in the public eye. I don't have any faith in the legal system changing anything. The only hope is the public exposure will stop peoiple from buying...and that will put a stop both to the puppy mills and the stores who sell them. So many thousands of animals are in shelters looking for homes.
s smith - 9 years ago
One day, as we were driving past the local pet store, I told my boyfriend that I wanted to stop in. He asked me why, as we had four cats and a beagle at that time. I told him that I just had a strange feeling. Once inside we saw horrible conditions; dirty animals, over crowding and unclean crates. The manager, the owner's son was not that clean himself. I had been toying with getting a pocket beagle and, sure enough, there was a tiny beagle in a temporary round pen with eight or so other young (four to six months) puppies. Long story short, the tiny beagle was actually over a year old. They were passing her off as a puppy due to her demure stature. After being told by this unscrupulous moron that it would be cheaper for him to have her put down, we agreed on a price and I took "Lil One" aka Lilly home. I wish I could have saved all of those pets. It was a terrible place. At least we were able to rescue her. We would normally never by a dog from a pet store, as there are so many great pets to be found at shelters and rescues. This girl, however, needed to be rescued, and I am so glad we stopped in to that house of horrors. About two months after rescuing Lilly the pet store closed down. They also own another store in Yonkers and after numerous complaints and violations, they were fined thousands of dollars. I can only hope that the Yonkers store will be shut down as well. I do not condone purchasing a pet in a pet store, but in this case, it was fate.
s smith - 9 years ago
One day, as we were driving past the local pet store, I told my boyfriend that I wanted to stop in. He asked me why, as we had four cats and a beagle at that time. I told him that I just had a strange feeling. Once inside we saw horrible conditions; dirty animals, over crowding and unclean crates. The manager, the owner's son was not that clean himself. I had been toying with getting a pocket beagle and, sure enough, there was a tiny beagle in a temporary round pen with eight or so other young (four to six months) puppies. Long story short, the tiny beagle was actually over a year old. They were passing her off as a puppy due to her demure stature. After being told by this unscrupulous moron that it would be cheaper for him to have her put down, we agreed on a price and I took "Lil One" aka Lilly home. I wish I could have saved all of those pets. It was a terrible place. At least we were able to rescue her. We would normally never by a dog from a pet store, as there are so many great pets to be found at shelters and rescues. This girl, however, needed to be rescued, and I am so glad we stopped in to that house of horrors. About two months after rescuing Lilly the pet store closed down. They also own another store in Yonkers and after numerous complaints and violations, they were fined thousands of dollars. I can only hope that the Yonkers store will be shut down as well. I do not condone purchasing a pet in a pet store, but in this case, it was fate.
Only fish.....from a store up in Hyde Park from a man and wife team. And what a team ! It was my first fish endeavor and they never told me the fish had been injected with dye ! They sold me 6 fish and a 10 gallon tank and later I found out that was way too many of this type of fish for a 10 gallon tank ! Of course 5 of the 6 fish did not survive long and they all lost their color. And I also found out later that the price I paid for the fish was outrageously high ! PET STORES = USED CAR DEALERSHIPS
Aside from some mice when I was a kid, no. And never would I again. Those animals deserve so much more than small cages, poor lighting, and shoddy diets (at best). Especially the "exotics" that are often taken from the wild and bred into captivity. These animals' tempers are all over the place... Adopt, don't shop.
Those who buy puppies from pet stores have the best of intentions but are misguided. The puppies there are encaged for God knows how many hours a day. This is not a natural environment for them. Puppies can't hold their poop so they end up pooping in the cage and sleeping where they pooped. They become "dirty dogs. " Once you adopt one it is difficult to housebreak him/her.
I pity these poor puppies and the kind-hearted people who buy them. It is best to adopt a dog from a shelter. They are better cared for and most receive obedience training. All my dogs have come from shelters. Never had a problem.
Decades ago when I was a child my grandmother bought me a puppy from a pet store-a Scottish terrier. He had distemper and in the end had to be euthanized. It was heartbreaking for all concerned. I am so grateful to the Poughkeepsie Journal for keeping this issue in the public eye. I don't have any faith in the legal system changing anything. The only hope is the public exposure will stop peoiple from buying...and that will put a stop both to the puppy mills and the stores who sell them. So many thousands of animals are in shelters looking for homes.
One day, as we were driving past the local pet store, I told my boyfriend that I wanted to stop in. He asked me why, as we had four cats and a beagle at that time. I told him that I just had a strange feeling. Once inside we saw horrible conditions; dirty animals, over crowding and unclean crates. The manager, the owner's son was not that clean himself. I had been toying with getting a pocket beagle and, sure enough, there was a tiny beagle in a temporary round pen with eight or so other young (four to six months) puppies. Long story short, the tiny beagle was actually over a year old. They were passing her off as a puppy due to her demure stature. After being told by this unscrupulous moron that it would be cheaper for him to have her put down, we agreed on a price and I took "Lil One" aka Lilly home. I wish I could have saved all of those pets. It was a terrible place. At least we were able to rescue her. We would normally never by a dog from a pet store, as there are so many great pets to be found at shelters and rescues. This girl, however, needed to be rescued, and I am so glad we stopped in to that house of horrors. About two months after rescuing Lilly the pet store closed down. They also own another store in Yonkers and after numerous complaints and violations, they were fined thousands of dollars. I can only hope that the Yonkers store will be shut down as well. I do not condone purchasing a pet in a pet store, but in this case, it was fate.
One day, as we were driving past the local pet store, I told my boyfriend that I wanted to stop in. He asked me why, as we had four cats and a beagle at that time. I told him that I just had a strange feeling. Once inside we saw horrible conditions; dirty animals, over crowding and unclean crates. The manager, the owner's son was not that clean himself. I had been toying with getting a pocket beagle and, sure enough, there was a tiny beagle in a temporary round pen with eight or so other young (four to six months) puppies. Long story short, the tiny beagle was actually over a year old. They were passing her off as a puppy due to her demure stature. After being told by this unscrupulous moron that it would be cheaper for him to have her put down, we agreed on a price and I took "Lil One" aka Lilly home. I wish I could have saved all of those pets. It was a terrible place. At least we were able to rescue her. We would normally never by a dog from a pet store, as there are so many great pets to be found at shelters and rescues. This girl, however, needed to be rescued, and I am so glad we stopped in to that house of horrors. About two months after rescuing Lilly the pet store closed down. They also own another store in Yonkers and after numerous complaints and violations, they were fined thousands of dollars. I can only hope that the Yonkers store will be shut down as well. I do not condone purchasing a pet in a pet store, but in this case, it was fate.