When looking for a puppy, please skip pet stores and internet sites and consider a shelter or rescuefirst.
Are you getting a new dog or thinking about it? We're so excited for you and we know you'll give your new companion a great, loving home.
Once you've decided you're ready for a dog, the next big decision is where to find this lifelong family member. You'll want to make sure to not get an animal from a puppy mill and that's not always easy to recognize.Our Animal Rescue Team often deploys to rescue abused dogs from puppy mill operations in cooperation with local law enforcement.
Sadly, some places that seem like great puppy sources may not be, but if you follow our top puppy-buying tips, you'll be far more likely to secure a healthy, well-socialized dog who doesn't drain your emotions or your wallet.
Top 10 pet tips
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Consider adoption first
Adopting a dog who needs a home is one of the best things you'll ever do. Your local animal shelter orrescue organization can help you find the right match for your family. There are also breed-specific rescue groups for every breed of dog, including "designer" or "hybrids" like labradoodles and puggles.
Find a responsible breeder and visit the premises
Responsible breeders provide a loving and healthy environment for their canine companions, one that they will be proud to show you. You should never buy a puppy without seeing where the dog and theirparents were raised and housed with your own eyes, no matter what papers the breeder has. Beware: AKC and other types of registration papers only tell you who a puppy's parents were, not how they were treated.
Don't get a puppy from a pet store
Despite what they may tell you, most pet stores do sell puppy mill puppies. Unless the store is "puppy-friendly" by sourcing homeless pupsfrom local animal shelters, you have to be very careful about a pet store'slink to puppy mills.
Don't believe promises that puppies are "home-raised" or "family-raised"
Many puppy millers pose as small family breeders online and in newspaper and magazine ads. We have often helped local authorities in the rescue of puppy mill dogs. In almost all cases, the puppy mills sold puppies via the internet using legitimate-looking ads or websites that made it look like the dogs came from somewhere happy and beautiful—claims that couldn't have been further from the truth.
Avoid the temptation to "rescue" a puppy mill dog by buying them
Unfortunately, that just opens up space for another puppy mill puppy and puts money into the pockets of the puppy mill industry. The money you spend goes right back to the puppy mill operator, ensuring they will continue breeding and treating dogs inhumanely. If you see someone keeping puppies in poor conditions, alert your local animal control authorities instead of buying the animal.
Do your part: Pledge to help stop puppy mills!
Choose not to buyyour next pet from a pet store or internet site, and refuse to buy supplies from any pet store or internet site that sells puppies.
