How to Convince a Pet Store Owner to Go Humane

The overwhelming majority of stores that sell dogs get them from puppy mills (or puppy mill brokers). This is simply the only way that pet stores can meet the demand and turn a substantial profit, since there are always dogs readily available from puppy mills and they can purchase these dogs for a fraction of what they sell them for. The major problem with this is puppy mills are simply inhumane “factories.” Breeding dogs are kept in cramped cages where they are bred over and over for most of their lives and then disposed of when they are no longer "useful." They aren’t given adequate medical care; they aren’t socialized and they aren’t given the things dogs crave most: love. Their puppies are often taken away too early and very often have serious genetic health problems due to irresponsible breeding. The owners of puppy mills care about one thing above all else: profit. What they are not considering is that puppies aren't products.

The only way to shut these inhumane puppy mills down is to close down the pet stores that keep them in business—or one other alternative: convince the pet store owners to remain open and go humane by offering adoptable dogs from shelters. It can be done. The Los Angeles area has seen quite a few pet stores adopt a humane model. Here is how to convince a store owner it is the right decision.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Ask to speak to the owner of the pet store. Ask if he/she knows about puppy mills. Odds are, they will say yes, but will tell you that they don’t get their dogs from puppy mills. This is likely not true, and they are telling their customers this as well, which is basically consumer fraud. Write down what the owner tells you. The most common tale is that their pets come from individual breeders that raise the dogs in their homes.

2. Request the breeder information on a few particular dogs they have for sale, which they are required by law to provide you with. There is a good chance the breeder is located in the Midwest, “the puppy mill capital of the United States,” or perhaps Lancaster, Pennsylvania, “the puppy mill capital of the East Coast” where many Amish “farmers” have puppy mills. The store owner should be willing to provide you with that information. Why not? They figure you’re not gonna make a trip there anyway, especially if the mill is in Missouri and you’re in California, New York or Florida.

3. Feel out the pet store owner and see if he/she seems friendly and open enough to listen. Then ask if they are familiar with all of the pet stores in the Los Angeles area that went from selling puppy mill dogs to having adoptable dogs from shelters. Keep in mind that they are in business to make money, and the only way this will work is if they offer other services such as grooming and/or have a large enough inventory of pet supplies. If they only sell dogs, they may not be a good candidate for having only adoptable dogs from shelters (they won’t be able to charge nearly as much). Suggest to them to look into these humane stores and see how they stay successful. (See Resources below for links to articles about humane pet stores. Perhaps you can print out copies and give them to the owner.) Inform the owner (without it sounding like a threat) that various pet stores in the Los Angeles area, which opted not to switch to a humane model, were forced to shut down due to continued protesting.

4. Refer the owner to Best Friends Animal Society or Last Chance for Animals (see Resources), two reputable organizations that have helped pet stores transition from selling puppy mill dogs to rescuing shelter dogs instead. They also help promote these humane stores.

Tips & Warnings

• Private, reputable, humane breeders do not sell to pet stores.
• You might also inform the pet store owners that 6 to 8 million animals are killed in U.S. shelters each year, costing tax payers millions of dollars (not to mention all of the innocent family pets that are destroyed). Pet stores that sell dogs are largely contributing to the crisis.
• Don’t allow yourself to be fooled. The owners and store employees are likely to be very pleasant and “knowledgeable.” Of course they are; they want to sell you a dog—or to go away.
• Not all pet store owners are candidates for converting to a humane model. There are many who are just in the business to make money and if their dogs are from inhumane puppy mills where the breeding dogs live in misery, so be it. They aren't going to be able to charge exorbitant amounts of money for rescued shelter dogs because the dogs won't have papers (although papers mean nothing; the AKC and other organizations sell papers to puppy mills). These are the types of owners (those who view puppies merely as products) that are not worth expending your energy on. The owner has to be a true animal lover that places the pets' well-being above all else.

Resources

• Best Friends Animal Society: About Puppy Mills
• Best Friends Animal Society: Puppies Aren’t Products Campaign
• LCA: Ban Puppy Mills Campaign
• CAPS: Pet Shop and Puppy Mill Campaign
• The Things Some People Believe About Pet Stores
• Pet Store in San Fernando Valley Goes Humane
• Pet Store in Los Angeles Goes Humane
• The Truth About the Pet Trade