Ever Bought From A Pet Store?

I have one BYB dog who is extremely unhealthy-- even though she SEEMED healthy for the first year. Stupid BYB... Stupid "Imperial" Shih Tzu! I have one RESCUE dog, an AmStaff, who is the sweetest thing I could ask for! *gasp* Jennifer T said "shyt!" Next, someone will call my female dog a b*tch! lol.....

Yep. I was 18 and dumber than shyt. Didn't know where they came from, (in his case, it was a byb that sold him to a pet store) and had just gotten my own place. He was a springer spaniel mix. He lasted all of four days, and I gave him away. I realized suddenly that I didn't have time for two jobs and a puppy. If someone would have TOLD me about these things, or if we'd have had the internet in those days, it might never have happened. ADDED: I had a shelter dog I adoted when I was a shelter employee. I just put him down three weeks ago tomorrow. God rest ya Rusty dawg. He was at least 17 since I had him for 16 years, and he was an adult when I got im. He was the sweetest old dog you ever met. Used to help me raise orphan bunnies, kittens and puppies. I'd feed, he'd clean them up. Not a single health issue until this year. We suspect it was cancer, but didn't put him through the testing. I couldn't have had him operated on since we found at when he was neutered that he would react to the anesthesia. Besides, at 17, chemo and surgery wouldn't have given him any more quality time. Rusty was my chow/secret agent mix. Never could figure out what else he was made up of.

~ *holds head down in shame* Yes, I did get a dog from the pet store. This was a long time ago and thankfully never had any problems with her. I'm ashamed now of it but I was naive back then and very young wanting a dog. She is now 8 years old and I had a senior out of office blood panel done on her a few weeks ago and everything came back top notch. I owe a lot of that to how I take care of her and how much reading and learning I have done to give her the best of everything. I'm confident she will be with me at least another 10 years!!! I will never again buy from a pet store, even though my experience has not been a bad one, most pups aren't so lucky and it's the breeding stock that is the unfortunate ones.

- guilty!!!! i was young and didnt inform myself... i am also guily of getting my dog for "how cute it was" both my dogs are extremely healthy - fortunately they are both yorkie terriers and i bought the first one and the second was a gift...unfortunately this person did not know better - much like myself... they are lovely dogs ... i love them and they are my favorite mistake...although if in the future i plan to get other dogs ... i plan on rescuing...

Not personally...but my Dad bought a puppy for my brother from a petstore 15 years ago...it was very common back then to buy your pets at the store in the mall. Anyhow...Bear was a Black Lab/Samoyed mix and he passed away last Sept. at the age of 15 years old. My Dad and step Mom are very different dog owners than me (they think I'm crazy) (I think they're negligent). Bear had his initial puppy shots, but never went to the vet again after that. He was fed Ol'Roy dog food (although they tried Science Diet and he wouldn't eat it...not that it's much better). They always scraped their leftovers into his dish. He lived outside in the backyard for 15 years and loved it out there. Hardly was walked and the list goes on :) I honestly was shocked that he lived to be so old, but I guess he must have had good genes or something. I don't think this is common...especially these days with the puppymills producing dogs left and right. I'm sure Bear came from some random accident where the irresponsible owners didn't spay their dog. To conclude: I lived with my Mom growing up and we had a cocker that was always vetted and walked and taken care of (must be where I learned my dog ownership skills). I only saw Bear on weekends and I was 15 when he was brought home. He was a great dog and always seemed very happy. They were very lucky! Edit: I have a shelter dog right now and he's very healthy! So far so good! He's a wonderful dog and we honestly feel like we hit the puppy jackpot when we brought Loki home! Oh...he's a mutt...we think Boxer/Pit/Lab mix :D

We did purchase a dog from a pet store and I have since found out he came from one of the biggest clearinghouses of puppy mills - I am completely disgusted, but we didn't know about puppy mills 10 years ago! Thankfully we don't have any health issues with Harley ( a Corgi) We also got a dog from a reputable breeder- Tanner (a Golden) - after MUCH research to make sure she wasn't a byb. We have adopted numerous dogs over the years from local shelters. One did have health issues, our lab Oneida, who died relatively young, one we adopted very late in his life Pee Wee, a cairn terrier (13) and he lived with us for almost five more years - with no health issues and one who lived to be 17- Sophie who was a corgi mix, we just had to put her down yesterday :(. She was by far the most loyal and loving of all our dogs. She had great intelligence and was very in tune to our emotions. She was a GREAT dog and will be missed tremendously. I honestly have to say, if I ever get any more dogs, I'm going to go to a shelter. I've served on the board of our local Humane Society and have spent countless hours working at the shelter and raising money. These dogs (and cats) need someone who is willing to look past what kind of dog they are and just look into their eyes and see the love and loyalty they have to give.

No such thing as a teacup chihuahua, or teacup anything but china. Chihuahuas are in the toy group, plenty small by normal standards. I've never bought a dog from a pet store or puppy mill. I am with a breed rescue and have adopted my last 3 dogs - they are purebred, needed homes through no fault of their own - and are terrific dogs. I have also adopted 2 german shepherds (one is a lab/shepherd mix actually) from our local kills shelter, Animal Services. Wonderful dogs also, they certainly deserved to live - and did to be almost 18.

Absolutely not, but I believe my shelter shih tzu was originally from a BYB or mill. She's a year old now (as far as we know she was 8m/o when I got her), and about 6lbs smaller than my 3y/o shih tzu (whom I acquired from a family who could no longer keep him). She seems to have some mental issues, and I've noticed other things that signal imbreeding, including possible mild retardation! She also has SEVERE separation anxiety (mine is at least the 3rd house she's had in her one year of life), and GI problems. I get frustrated with her sometimes, but I couldn't think about NOT having her now! She tears at your heart! She's my little baby, and I only hope she can have a nice, long life!

I bought my japanese chin, had no idea what breed she was, we were just looking in the puppy store for no reason, but just bought her. Im very made at that but happy. Mad cause i bought her and gave money to a puppy mill. happy cause i found her breed and have her. She has had gastrel intestinal disease, that was a few thousand dollars and few more things but cant think right now.