# Pet Store Prices



## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

All I can say, is be glad they didn't pay more!


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## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

Yikes!! Wow 

A friend of a friend paid well over $1000 for a something-poo from a pet store. My jaw DROPPED. That is more than we paid for Oscar! For many people, I honestly think they think the 3 ways (of interchangeable importance) to get a dog/puppy are (1) shelters, (2) pet stores, and (3) "breeders" with classified ads. They couldn't find the x-poo they wanted in newspapers or in a shelter, so why not the pet store. :doh::doh::doh:

Also, one REALLY sad thing I've heard from multiple (20-something-year-old) friends looking to get their first dog is that their applications from rescues, shelters and breeders were denied because (1) they were college/grad school students and (2) didn't have a fenced yard. Now I realize that many of them probably aren't in a good place to get a dog in the first place (not just because of their living arrangement, but financially -- a dog is a lot of money!), and I totally agree that many times they should just wait until they get a little more settled... BUT it is just SO sad to me that their only option is a pet store :yuck:... not even our local animal shelter would let them adopt! :no: So they actually can afford to buy from a breeder (along with other care costs of course), but they just wouldn't be able to. That somehow makes me sad (although I totally understand why breeders do, and must, screen their buyers!). But... ugh... pet stores... they are the worst!! :yuck:


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## Jamm (Mar 28, 2010)

Ya i agree with Reddogs, at a pet store in my old area, they charged over $1500 for 'pure bred' mix's. "Oh would you guys be interested in buying one of these pure bred multipoo mixed with a shcnoodle? only $2500!" Give me a break.


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## Jackson'sMom (Oct 13, 2007)

Until the world is educated enough to avoid making these stupid decisions, pet stores, Internet breeders and puppy mills will continue to rake in the money. Sadly, many people are not only ill-informed, but have no desire to be educated. And the animals, as usual, pay the biggest price.


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## booklady (Mar 3, 2009)

When a person has had their application turned down by multiple rescues, the humane society, the county animal shelter - maybe a lightbulb should go on - this is not the right time to get a pet. 

Plus, every college town I know of has a problem with puppies and kitties being snuck into dorms and apartments in September; if they are found out, they take the animal to the shelter. If they manage to keep it for the school year, it often is taken to the pound in May or June. " Mom and Dad won't let me move it home".


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

zephyr said:


> Yikes!! Wow
> 
> Also, one REALLY sad thing I've heard from multiple (20-something-year-old) friends looking to get their first dog is that their applications from rescues, shelters and breeders were denied because (1) they were college/grad school students and (2) didn't have a fenced yard. Now I realize that many of them probably aren't in a good place to get a dog in the first place (not just because of their living arrangement, but financially -- a dog is a lot of money!), and I totally agree that many times they should just wait until they get a little more settled... BUT it is just SO sad to me that their only option is a pet store :yuck:... not even our local animal shelter would let them adopt! :no: So they actually can afford to buy from a breeder (along with other care costs of course), but they just wouldn't be able to. That somehow makes me sad (although I totally understand why breeders do, and must, screen their buyers!). But... ugh... pet stores... they are the worst!! :yuck:


The sad part about that, is there is also quite a lot of twenty somethings that do have quite a lot of expendable cash and time to spoil a pet. At that age I was caring for my elderly childhood dog, but if I didn't have him, I probably would have done anything to have another.

At that age, since my only responsibilities were my job, car and apartment (other than my 2 cats, bunny and dog ), I had more extra cash and time then, than I do now.


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## maggiesmommy (Feb 23, 2010)

booklady said:


> When a person has had their application turned down by multiple rescues, the humane society, the county animal shelter - maybe a lightbulb should go on - this is not the right time to get a pet.



Not always true...when I lived in Ohio, I had a job, a home, and a support system (history of caring for animals at a shelter, brother that is a vet, etc.) and was turned down by 3 shelters last minute (the day before I picked up the dog) because I was a college student...I know the norm is for college students to discard animals come May, but, I was not the norm...later, I was given a cat by an ex and this cat was well cared for and came with me when I moved to DC because I believe when you get an animal, it is your responsibility to care for it for life...I lived on Ramen noodles to make sure I could keep my cat and give him what he needed...including 3 different vets to try to help his issues with my now husband.


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## booklady (Mar 3, 2009)

Maggiesmommy, I definitely didn't mean to discount all college agers from adopting a pet and most of the organizations I am familiar with don't either. It just takes some more in-depth research and a few more hoops to jump through for the potential adopter. Experience makes the organizations a bit wary.

And this is one of the reasons the only fairly high-kill shelters in my state are in college towns. They get flooded with expendable animals several times a year.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

That makes me sick. That people are dropping that kind of money for a MIXED breed when there's probably a dozen sitting on death row or in a shelter. I think part of the problem is that pet stores market these mixed breeds as "hybrids" or the cutesy-sickening names ending with "poo", so people are deluded into think that the poodle/cocker spaniel at a petstore with the name "cock-a-poo" is somehow better-bred than the poodle/cocker spaniel at a rescue. The rescue dog is a "mutt" and the pet store dog is a "designer breed". Sickening. 

I'm always a little curious to see that people don't get approved for adoption from a rescue for something like "college aged" or "no fence yard". I completely admitted to the rescue when I adopted Ranger that my yard at the time was not fenced. There was a 4 ft wide gap from me trying to weild my truck/trailer in and then getting distracted from seeing a baby bunny. They adopted him out to me no problem. 

I think what people sometimes don't think of is that rescues will sometimes say you're not getting a dog because of an unfenced yard or apartment living when really it's something else. Like the clubs here that won't let asian people in and say it's because of their shoes, instead of the fact that they're asian.

Maybe the reason SOME college aged people don't get dogs is because they're giving off a flakey vibe and the rescue is worried the dog's going to come back in 8 months later, under socialized and under-exercised, once the novelty has worn off. So, in order to protect the dog, they use the "not fenced yard" or "college age" excuse since that's harder to fight than "we think you're going to get bored and we're going to get the dog back". 

I think that's where rescues sometimes get a bad reputation. I'm sure some people are reading this and thinking "where does the rescue get off judging people like that?". All I'm going to say, after being involved in some of the rescues around my area, is that the animals ALWAYS come first. You get pretty bitter when you adopt dogs out and think they've finally made it: that they've found their forever home at last after all the crap they've been through. Only to find 6 months later, Joe and Suzy are returning the dog because he's "too high energy", or "not the same dog they adopted". Then you find out there was no walks, no play times, no visits to the off leash park, and no obedience classes....everything they had promised to do when going through the adoption process. Now the dog's back with more issues than when he had been first adopted out, not to mention the mental fatigue of a dog who's gone from home to home to home because no one cares enough to make a commitment to him. It starts to make you not trust people and go with your feelings...if you had gone with your original vibe of "gee, these people say they walk 3 miles a day but they're huffing after walking up the stairs...I wonder if the dog will get enough exercise since he's pretty high energy..." then the dog wouldn't be in the position he's in and maybe if you had turned down their application, a forever home would have happened. Instead of a "transition" home. 

I've seen it more and more times and it's hard on everyone involved. That's why rescues develop a bit of a "shield" that's sometimes hard to break. It might be hard for people on this board, who give such amazing, dedicated homes to their goldens, that other people will adopt dogs and NOT do anything possible to make it work. So when Impulse-Buy Ian and Spur-of-the-Moment Suzy try to adopt a rescue dog and their application gets turned down...it's the rescue that gets blamed for being too "picky". Rescues are set on this earth to protect the dogs and cats who have had people take advantage of their good nature. Sometimes they err on the side of caution but after seeing the things they see, in my opinion, it's completely understandable.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

Ranger,

What has happenned to me in the past, not that applications were rejected, but the applications were never filled out because I did not have the qualifications for the rescue I called or looked into: no fenced in yard, children under 10, had invisible fence, lived outside the county or state. 

A rescue has every right to deny somebody or to make up rules, but I really wish some were more flexible, and was based more on home visit or interviews.

I did get MacKenzie from a rescue over 250 miles away. The guy that ran the rescue really did not want to adopt to me because of our distance,( he actually hung up on me ), we had a home visit, I had references from this board who had met me, Brady and my kids, sent in my current dogs 3 years of vet visits, and had Mary from this board ( one of the very active volunteers their pulling for me ). We drove all the way there, the whole family and Brady, and that was when he decided to reluctantly give his approval.

Unfortunately, his fear was that if we gave up on MacKenzie, we would not drive her all the way back to the rescue. So it is not necessarily the person that is trying to adopt.

Because he gave us a chance, we have a very happy dog - I swear she is the happiest dog I have met. She has a couple of invisible fenced acres to run and catch birds and butterflies in the country. She has three children and neighbors kids to play with, and her best friend Brady.

I have continued to donate to that rescue, and will continue to, and will hopefully have the option to adopt from them again if we need another golden in our lives.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

cubbysan - oh, it's definitely not always based on the person who's trying to adopt. I'm sorry if that's the way my post was coming across as. I was just trying to say why some rescues are SO picky about who they let adopt their pets. You're right, some rescues are over-the-top picky and that's why I wrote my post in defense of their practices and criteria. While I think some dogs can live in apartments with no yard as long as the owner takes them for walks frequently and goes to the off leash park, rescue societies can't always believe the people that say they will do that. It takes more commitment from the owners and in today's throw-away society, lots of people are not willing to make that commitment to their dogs every day. If people aren't willing to walk for _their_ health, why would they do it for a dog's?

It's easier (not right, but easier) for rescues to have strict questions to fill out so it helps weed out the people who won't meet a dog's physical and mental needs. Unfortunately, sometimes the people who maybe aren't in the "ideal situation" - I was one of them - but who WILL go the 110% to make the dog's life a GREAT one don't get approved and that's a real shame. 

My post was merely to show why sometimes people don't get approved when they should. If 90% of apartment dwellers return their adopted dogs after a few months, you can see why the rescue would start to say they'll only adopt to people with yards, right? It's not fair that a minority gets judged based on the actions of a majority, but it happens all the time. 

I am glad you got your dog! I was turned down by one rescue since I rented...even though I had written permission from my landlord that it was okay for me to have a dog. I didn't think it was fair at the time, but now after all my work with the rescue societies and seeing all the dogs that get returned because their owners are moving and can't find another place that takes dogs, or not being able to afford the rent and getting kicked out...I can certainly understand it, even though it's not fair to other renters who want to adopt a dog.


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## xSLZx (Jul 25, 2010)

Jackson'sMom said:


> Until the world is educated enough to avoid making these stupid decisions, pet stores, Internet breeders and puppy mills will continue to rake in the money. Sadly, many people are not only ill-informed, but have no desire to be educated. And the animals, as usual, pay the biggest price.


 
This.

I have to admit, when we first got our dog Zeppelin, we bought him from a pet store. He was $700. Now at the time, we had NO idea. We were very naive and ignorant when it came to getting a dog. Now that we've had Zeppelin for 4 years, and we're looking around for our golden, we have learned so much more about dogs and what to avoid. Zeppelin has been an amazing dog so far, with no issues. So, i'm really hoping for the best. I can't believe we paid this much for a dog who we knew nothing about pedigree wise or anything. :no:

People are just ill informed. We lived and learned.


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## DianaM (Feb 18, 2010)

My aunt paid $1500 for a "morkie" from a pet store who almost died about a month later and still has potty training issues 10 months later.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

The last time I went to the puppy mill store, the mixed dogs were more expensive than the "purebred" Goldens (they were CKC registered). Yorkiepoos (or something equally silly) were something like $1400, which is substantially more than I've paid for the three purebred, AKC Goldens I've owned, all of whom came from lines with multigenerational clearances and a mix of serious obedience, field, agility, and conformation titles.

The problem is that the pet stores provide convenience and the appearance of a special dog, and that creates market value that people are willing to pay, even though it's worthless in reality.


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