We’ve all been there at some point in our lives, we walk into a pet store and see those cute little puppies priced into the thousands and HAVE to have them. Well as a person who’s been behind the scenes of a pet store which shall remain nameless due to legal reasons let me just fill you in on my experience. I moved here from Michigan and looked high and low for a job and being a huge animal lover I jumped at the chance when a pet store called me back since I had previously worked at one. Well this one sold puppies and in the back of my mind I had this nagging question. Where do they come from? Well the hiring manager assured me they only bought from select breeders that have been fully checked out. I’m not sure if I believed her or not but I needed a job so I accepted a job that afternoon. I started out as a cashier and then worked shipments. When a coworker was leaving the company as the head of the dogs and cats I jumped at the chance to take that role and work along side a vet. Little did I know the horrors I would uncover. Cockroaches by the hundreds lived under the dog cages no matter how much bleaching I did. The dogs that came into the pet store are crammed into pet carriers usually covered in their own feces from being in the truck all day. If they are sick its covered up by this white powder substance they put in their noses to store them from being runny. Even if I find baseball sized puss pockets the main location claims that must have “just happened” (insert eyeroll here). The management got on me daily because if I saw an illness it was treated. And they felt only serious cases needed medications. My crew and I worked endlessly to try and keep the dogs healthy but the cockroach problem was ridiculous and those little disgusting things just kept making their living conditions terrible. I stayed a lot longer than I wanted because I worried about the dogs. And for good reason. When I left I had girls calling me nonstop asking about how to treat them and that the owners were not doing anything. I feel terrible for the dogs in these places that I can’t even step foot back inside. So I asked one of the employees for a couple breeder names and these dogs had been dead for years. So if the mom and dad are forged how much else is? Trust me when I say my heart goes out to these dogs and cats inside these places but please I beg you rescue before you spend thousands on a dog that’s probably not as purely bred as you believe. With all this being said some stores fill cat cages with rescued cats and these guys have beds and toys and they are there to hopefully get homes. These are not the types I’m referring to. Let’s end this puppy mill cash flow.
***This is my personal experience behind the scenes. No facts have been stretched or embellished.