Pet Store Double Speak - Part 1.

source: www.hsus.org

Pet stores say: "Our puppies come from breeders, not puppy mills."Understand that the word "breeder" is not an exclusive term. Anyone who puts two dogs together and produces puppies is, technically, a breeder. So don't assume that a puppy from a "breeder" did not come from a puppy mill. A responsible breeder would not sell her puppies to a pet store; she would want to meet you in person.

They say: "All our puppies come from USDA-inspected facilities, so we know they are not from puppy mills."Being USDA-inspected does not mean that the business is not a puppy mill, any more than having a driver's license guarantees that the holder is a good driver. It is extremely rare for the USDA to revoke a commercial breeder's license or even fine a puppy mill that has repeated violations. There are hundreds of USDA-licensed puppy mills in operation that have long lists of violations and problems associated with them.

They say: "We know our breeders are not puppy mills because we only deal with breeders we know."If a pet store manager tells you this, ask to see documentation that shows exactly where their breeders are located. In most cases, you will find out that the breeders they "know" are in distant states. The store manager's definition of "knowing" a breeder often just means that he or she has been receiving shipments of puppies from the same place repeatedly. In most cases, the owner or manager has never visited the breeder's facility or inspected their records.

They say: "We don't sell puppies from local breeders because our state is not regulated, but (the state the puppies come from) is."Commercial breeders in all states who sell wholesale to pet stores are required to be regulated by the USDA. Some states, such as Missouri and Pennsylvania, also require a state kennel license and state inspections. But this does not mean that puppies from Missouri or Pennsylvania are healthier. In fact, these states have two of the worst concentrations of puppy mills in the United States, with some of the worst conditions. This is due in part to the very small number of qualified inspectors, infrequent inspections, and the fact that even facilities that are found to be substandard during the inspections process are rarely penalized.

They say: "Our store's puppies are healthy—they come with a health certificate from a licensed veterinarian."A health certificate only means that the puppy has had a very brief "wellness" examination by a veterinarian. This examination does not include testing the puppy or his or her parents for genetic disorders, or testing for diseases such as Giardia and Brucellosis, both of which are contagious to humans and are frequently seen in puppy mill puppies.