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How Much Is That Doggy in the Window?

by Janet Crease

How much she is that doggy in the window, the one with the waggely tail...

"Can we take it home with us mum?"

"How much is that doggie in the window?"

"For you lady it's fifty dollars" says the shopkeeper.

"So expensive" says mum. "Oh well, I guess it's something for the children to play with over the holidays."

"A home at last", thinks Puppy to itself.

"What's that on the carpet?" yells dad.

"Where are my sneakers?" says son.

Chewed sneakers, a puddle of pee on the carpet, a steaming brown pile of something in the corner, whining and crying from Pup...

"Put that thing outside" yells mum.

"I thought this was going to be a great place" thinks Pup, shivering and wet outside. "Everyone is screaming, yelling and kicking me, I just needed to pee!"

"Put that dog on a chain" yells mum, and leave it there.

More whining and crying from Pup.

"Shut up! Shut up!" yells the family and the neighbours.

Days later, peace and bliss reigns once more in the household, kids watch video games, mum and dad go about their lives. Life has got back to normal for the family.

"Anyone seen the dog?" asks dad. "No? Well, put some food out the back, it will come when it's hungry. Did it eat its last meal? Stupid dog, doesn't know when it's well off."

Tired, cold and hungry, Pup finds itself in the back of a truck and then at the Animal Shelter.

Pup thinks to itself, "This is better, food, water and no kids to pull me around and a nice warm secure place to sleep. Heaps of company, I want to stay here forever".

It's Xmas holiday time, the Shelter is overloaded, too many dumped and unwanted dogs.

"Hello Puppy" says the friendly vet. "Now, this won't hurt a bit, just a little sting."

"Night night Pup" says the attendant for more times than she has wished to utter those final words, as she cradles the puppy against her. "Off to the Rainbow Bridge".

Family at home. "I wonder what happened to that nuisance Puppy. It was a real pain in the neck, all that mess" says dad.

Peace reigns within.

How much is that Doggy in the window, the one with the waggly tail

The evils of pet shops and puppy mills have been discussed in depth by major magazines and newspapers. Unfortunately, it seems that the appeal of the impulse buy is still strong enough that people will fall all over themselves to buy a puppy off the shelf. Or, in this day and age, click a few buttons and buy a puppy over the Internet.

Let us forget, for the moment, of the rampant health and temperament problems that pet shop/puppy mill dogs are notorious for. Let's blithely ignore the filthy and cramped conditions breeding dogs in puppy mills suffer. Dwell not upon the fact that puppy mill puppies are undersocialized and placed in situations where they are forced to relieve themselves in their sleeping areas, making housebreaking hell on earth. Let's even jettison the fact that pet shop staff are also usually ignorant of the needs and traits of the breeds they are marketing to an equally ignorant public.

One of the overlooked evils of obtaining a dog from these venues is that it begins the dog-owner relationship by treating the dog as a commodity that can be bought and sold without accountability. This encourages people to think of the dog as an item rather than a living being that they are now responsible for.

Why use breeders or rescue centres for you dog? In these cases, your money is paying for the care they invested in the dog they are selling to you. A good breeder or rescue will have already invested hundreds of dollars in the dog that you are considering bringing into your life. They also are not going to treat their dog like an item you can just have for the waving of a Visa card.

The Internet is a great place to find out more information about dogs in general. Unfortunately, it is also allowing irresponsible breeders and puppy mills to market and sell puppies online. A puppy mill can sanitise its image with fancy graphics and language, not to mention pictures of cute, clean puppies. Their message is, "Why wait, when you can have a puppy NOW!" They take Paypal! Visa! Mastercard! Internet money transfer! How convenient! Don't think, just BUY! Why the hell do you have a Visa if you're not going to use it to buy a pup sight unseen?

While many reputable breeders advertise their dogs online, they are not going to just pop a puppy in a crate upon reception of an email inquiring about "teh price of UR Dogg cuz their SO CUTE!" Many won't ship their puppies at all, requiring owners to actually come for an interview. Others will ship upon the conclusion of an extensive correspondence and the favourable replies of references.

Some people are self-styled "rescuers", excusing their purchase of a pet shop puppy as "rescuing it". Yes, that puppy gets a better life - maybe, if the new owner can handle it. However, these people have nothing to pat themselves on the back for. Their money has just encouraged that pet shop to continue buying dogs from irresponsible breeders and puppy mills. There are thousands of dogs that continue to suffer because people won't vote with their dollar and go somewhere else for a pet.

Other people complain that they "have no choice" since all the specific breed breeders don't have puppies or because they want a puppy specifically for July 17 and can't find one that will be the right age at that time. In my opinion, people who won't wait for a puppy aren't people who deserve one. The attitude that a dog is something that "should" be available at a moment's notice is indicative that, to the buyer, the dog is just another item to add to their personal inventory, not a companion for life.

You do have a choice. You can buy on impulse and do your part to continue the cycle of suffering or you can wait and support people who actually care about dogs. And, yes, I think that your choice says a lot about your character.

For more information, visit this website: http://www.saynotoanimalsinpetshops.com/