# Where do you put your money?



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I am curious as to where people stand with this issue.


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

in my pocket....LOL!


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## WarrantsWifey (Dec 18, 2010)

In a bank.....


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

I have an RRSP, regular bank account, and TFSA.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I got the poll in there, now, and I said I do not buy in stores that sell puppies or kittens, but I am wondering whether I should give up stores that sell other creatures. I am interested in what others think on the topic.


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## WarrantsWifey (Dec 18, 2010)

I ticked "_I will not buy puppies or kittens at pet stores, but may buy other items or services." because I shop at Petsmart and they have cats for adoption and they have doggy adoption days. I don't know of that counts as a pet store. ???
_


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## CarrieJ (Feb 22, 2011)

Yeah, I occassionally do the Petsmart thing too. They also sell birds and rodents.

When I first read the title, I thought "What money?" 
I do have a standing goal to be three carpayments ahead (it's happened before)...and at least two paychecks in savings but it's been a rough couple of three years.


*walks off singing "The sun'll come out...Tomorrow"


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## W.Oliver (Aug 26, 2007)

.....I own a pet shop, and I do not sell dogs/cats. I am very interested to see what the views of this poll are. My shop sells pond supplies, koi, aquariums, and fish....are all pet stores viewed as evil in today's world?


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I go to Petco and Petsmart for toys and other stuff, they sell fish, birds, ferrets, hamsters, lizards and other small animals. 

I have bought geckos, hamsters and fish from pet stores before. 

I do not buy from pet stores that sell puppies and kittens though.

I buy food and treats from my local feedstore and they do not sell animals there.


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

I think "adoption or placement" is different than "selling"....
I too will buy a product of two from Petsmart or Petco.....I don't buy food from there, because up till now...they don't carry a brand that I use.
*I do not buy from stores that actually "sell" puppies or kittens....


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

I don't know of any place in my area that sells dogs or cats. To me a "pet store" is a place to buy pet supplies.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

I find it really hard picturing an evil back yard breeder with tons of fish tanks in his yard mindlessly breeding fish. Maybe the evil part would be if he used mayoniase jars instead of fish tanks. 

I won't buy from a store that is the end of the brokerage chain for puppies and kittens. I'll buy from a store that holds adoptathons. 

I do admit that if I pass by a Pet Store that sells puppies/kittens I'll go in and look around. I suppose for the same reason I always have to look when I pass a car wreck. I just do.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Lilie said:


> I do admit that if I pass by a Pet Store that sells puppies/kittens I'll go in and look around. I suppose for the same reason I always have to look when I pass a car wreck. I just do.


I do this too. If I am buy a Petland I will stop in and look at the puppies/kittens, I might even hold and pet them but I definitly leave without an animal and I am almost always pissed off about the prices of their animals and the fact that they lie to their customers about where they get their puppies/kittens from.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> I don't know of any place in my area that sells dogs or cats. To me a "pet store" is a place to buy pet supplies.


To me, a 'pet store' is a place to buy pets and (possibly) supplies. A pet supply store sells pet supplies but no pets.
I'm a literal sort of person.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Impaled on my own sword. I can never make a poll properly. Yes, I am talking about pet stores that sell puppies and kittens to buyers, rather than renting or letting the space be used for animal shelters.

Yeah if they sell puppies, I always go in, look around, ask questions like an annoying buyer, waste their time, and then leave without buying anything. I am nasty like that.


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## stealthq (May 1, 2011)

I buy from pet supply stores only. I won't buy anything from stores like Petland. I also have a problem with _some_ stores that sell exotic birds since there is such an issue with verifying that they were raised in captivity and not wild-caught and smuggled in.


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## Greydusk (Mar 26, 2010)

We don't have any shops that sell puppies/kittens anymore, ran Petland out awhile ago. I do shop at Petsmart, and have bought koi and my three rats there. If I get back into rats I'd rather buy from a breeder as they are typically better socialized. 

Random question, does anybody know what happens if the puppies at pet stores don't get sold? I.e. outgrow their cage/get too old to be considered puppies...


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## Remo (Sep 8, 2004)

I go a step further - I won't even shop at any store in a shopping center that has a store that sells puppies or kittens. I realize that a lot of folks don't have the luxury of a lot of stores, but we sure do in this area. Thankfully MOST of the places selling puppies and kittens have gone out of business!


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Greydusk said:


> Random question, does anybody know what happens if the puppies at pet stores don't get sold? I.e. outgrow their cage/get too old to be considered puppies...


If Petland has a puppy for more than a month they reduce the price, I have seen Boxer puppies for $75 there.


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## Jax's Mom (Apr 2, 2010)

Lilie said:


> I do admit that if I pass by a Pet Store that sells puppies/kittens I'll go in and look around. I suppose for the same reason I always have to look when I pass a car wreck. I just do.


My bf won't let me go in when we're at the mall. He says no matter how much he agrees with me, I'm just going to upset myself and he'll have to hear about it for the rest of the day :rofl: especially since we don't spend our money at pet stores which sell puppies or kittens, why even go in...

I have no problems with normal pet stores which only sell merchandise... There is one I visit downtown on my lunch hours just to sit and pet the owner's dogs. She knows me and I buy the grossly overpriced poop bags from her just to support my dog habbit.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

If there's dogs or cat's being sold at the pet store, they will not get a dime of my money. Lucky for me, we have plenty of specialty and commercial pet stores around here that don't sell dogs or cats. 

If they sell fish... no big deal as long as they properly cared for. 

I don't really like when they sell turtles though because a lot of them don't know how to properly care for them. They need proper lighting and ways to dry off and bask in heat. I'm typically the one who goes in these stores (petco for example) and changes the light bulbs for the turtle tank and I don't even work there. It's just sad to see.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I said I don't shop at stores that sell puppies or kittens. To be honest, I get most of my supplies from a friend who sells dog food (and she is involved with rescue, most definitely does not sell animals of any kind) or supplies ordered via Amazon. The pet store I use the most does not sell any animals. They have a half dozen kittens available via a rescue and that's it. There's one other store I occasionally shop at and they do sell fish, but that's it. I stopped going to a local mom and pop type shop b/c they sold all kinds of animals like dogs, cats, rabbits, etc.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

PaddyD said:


> To me, a 'pet store' is a place to buy pets and (possibly) supplies. A pet supply store sells pet supplies but no pets.
> I'm a literal sort of person.


That makes sense, but as I said, we don't have the kind that sells pets, and I haven't seen one around here for years - well, other than fish and birds. I do remember a mall that had a store that sold puppies along with other pet stuff, but I don't remember the name, and that was probably 25+ years ago.


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## suzzyq01 (Feb 15, 2011)

I think another option should have been something along the lines of "I will only buy pet products from a store that sells small animals (rodents, birds, reptiles, etc) and fish as pets." 

I would never purchase any kind of products from a store that sold puppies or kittens. But I do frequent stores like Petco and Petsmart because they do sell fish (saltwater) and products for them and my dogs. I prefer a smaller store that is a "specialty" shop for fish or dogs/cats but sometimes it's more convenient to go to "Wal-mart for pets"


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## suzzyq01 (Feb 15, 2011)

Oh, and Debbie's Pet Land in the New England area. There was one in the Nashua, NH mall for a looong time. Shut down now (last month). Google it and read the stuff, it's awful! BUT....if you buy a dog in pet store like this IN A MALL what do you really expect!?


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I sometimes buy things from pet stores that sell small animals, but I don't buy from stores that sell puppies/kittens. I don't usually buy small pets from pet stores because they are generally unsocialized but I have bought fish and amphibians from Petco/Petsmart before.
There is a store in my area, I stopped going there because they sold puppies and I recently found out they have stopped selling puppies/kittens and instead they are now housing rescue pets for local rescue groups!


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

If most of the stores that sold puppies and kittens are becoming a thing of the past, I wonder how the brokers are going to make money.


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## Alyalanna (May 28, 2011)

I haven't seen a store that sells puppies and kittens in years. That being said, I typically buy from Petsmart now because my last couple of experiences with local stores have been pretty bad (small animal cages not cleaned, place smells, etc).


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Locally, we have Petco and PetSmart that do sell fish and birds, and I'll go there if that's the only place I can find something I need (PetSmart has my preferred cat litter, which nobody else carries), but most of the time I shop at a smallish local chain, Pet Food Express. They sell nothing but food and supplies, and they have the best selection of quality foods of any of the three place, plus they're the most conveniently located. There are 2 boutique places I use as well, one in town and one near where I work, and neither of them would sell pets in a million years.


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## W.Oliver (Aug 26, 2007)

stealthq said:


> I buy from pet supply stores only. I won't buy anything from stores like Petland. I also have a problem with _some_ stores that sell exotic birds since there is such an issue with verifying that they were raised in captivity and not wild-caught and smuggled in.


There is no importation of birds any longer....since the 80's. What is available in stores is domestically bred. You've always been able to tell what is domestically bred by a closed band on the leg. Closed bands can only be put on nestlings.


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## stealthq (May 1, 2011)

W.Oliver said:


> There is no importation of birds any longer....since the 80's. What is available in stores is domestically bred. You've always been able to tell what is domestically bred by a closed band on the leg. Closed bands can only be put on nestlings.


Not legal importation, no. Illegal smuggling still goes on. Adult birds are usually sold privately, though some have been found and confiscated in 'specialty' stores, but nestlings have been smuggled in as well. I don't know where those usually end up.


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

I checked that I wont buy from a pet store that sells puppies or kittens. 
I do go to petco for fish food, they are pro adoption and do some good as far as that goes. I don't see puppies or kittens for sale, but I have seen kittens for adoption and like most shelters they do have an adoption fee.


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## GSDGunner (Feb 22, 2011)

WarrantsWifey said:


> I ticked "_I will not buy puppies or kittens at pet stores, but may buy other items or services." because I shop at Petsmart and they have cats for adoption and they have doggy adoption days. I don't know of that counts as a pet store. ???
> _


I don't count that because the cats come from rescues or are strays. Nobody "breeds" cats to sell at a pet store. And adoptions are not nearly the same as walking into a pet store that "sells" puppies.

We have a pet store called Animal House and they have cats up for adoption, no fees.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

stealthq said:


> Not legal importation, no. Illegal smuggling still goes on. Adult birds are usually sold privately, though some have been found and confiscated in 'specialty' stores, but nestlings have been smuggled in as well. I don't know where those usually end up.


I worked in a retail exotic bird breeding facility in the 80's-90's. It was a small scale operation and we educated buyers extensively on the proper care of parrots.
Smuggling was rampant(mostly S. American or Mexican) and babies&adults were brought in illegally often. Mostly though, it wasn't to sell the birds as pets but to use them for breeding. Especially the endangered or uncommon species. It was a big business and lots of money changing hands because the smugglers were also smuggling drugs on the same runs. 

A well known breeder in Chicago who had extensive knowledge of parrots was busted for smuggling birds. He was considered a friend to many who were concerned with keeping the endangered species alive. 
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-11-19/news/9611190061_1_rare-birds-tony-silva-bird-species
Smuggling and Wildlife Crime Website - Bird Smuggling - The Tony Silva Matter - Was he set up??? | Love for Life

Where I worked all they birds had either import bands or closed domestic bands, and if they were to be removed we had a vet do it and document it. 
My pair of Moluccan cockatoos, the female lacked a band, but I bought her from a private individual and she was 12 years old at that time. Not sure what happened to her band, she was not domestically bred. My male was a recent import that I bought from a broker.

As far as me spending money in shops that sell 'pets', I don't. I shop at Pet Supplies plus and they have fish and feeders....though the other one across town sells birds, I believe.
If they are educating properly, then I have no problem with them selling small animals~not dogs or cats


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

We buy 99% of our pet supplies at petsmart, petco, pet supplies plus, and TSC. I also order things online that I can't find in stores, or if there's a good deal on it online. But since petsmart will now price match websites other than their own, I've been doing that lately for products they sell that we use.

None of these stores sell puppies/kittens. The only one around here that sells pups and cats is uncle bills, and we do occasionally stop in there to look around. I understand the mindset of "even buying a toy is supporting them" but I have in the past occasionally made very small purchases there, (a cuz, etc). I honestly can not remember the last time I bought something there. But I did select the first option because I have, in the past. I would never buy a pet there, however. I do draw the line there. Besides, they are all puppy mill dogs anyway.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

GSDGunner said:


> Nobody "breeds" cats to sell at a pet store. And adoptions are not nearly the same as walking into a pet store that "sells" puppies.


I don't consider rescue/shelter animals being hosted by a pet store as animals for "sale", but I have been to a pet store that sold kittens (not rescue animals, kittens they bred).


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## dazedtrucker (May 2, 2011)

The ONLY pet store in this town sells puppies. I HAVE to go there to buy crickets for my Gecko. (next nearest crickets are 4 hours away, and I had this Gecko when I moved here) It makes my stomach turn. They are idiots about thier fish too...they were selling TATOOED mollies. TATOOED fish. With I love u happy birthday...etc...
Stupid people :angryfire:


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## W.Oliver (Aug 26, 2007)

stealthq said:


> ......but nestlings have been smuggled in as well. I don't know where those usually end up.


The bird market was significant prior to the 80's and since has dwindled year after year to almost non-existent to what it was 25 years ago. Yes smuggling exists, but today in very high-end species...$20k-$40k per specimen of say....any black cockatoo. Today, this isn't really a retail issue. When smuggling nestlings was in vogue, most ended up in the trash....survival rates were abysmal.


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

dazedtrucker said:


> The ONLY pet store in this town sells puppies. I HAVE to go there to buy crickets for my Gecko. (next nearest crickets are 4 hours away, and I had this Gecko when I moved here) It makes my stomach turn. They are idiots about thier fish too...*they were selling TATOOED mollies. TATOOED fish. With I love u happy birthday*...etc...
> Stupid people :angryfire:


Are you FREAKING kidding me????


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

If I can, I avoid pet stores that sell any live animal. I am aware of the bird and rodent mills where the animals are kept in poor conditions. In the rodent mills the animals are bred constantly and then once they reach the end of their breeding career they're killed and/or fed to snakes. Some people might think "it's just a rat/mouse/hamster" but I don't want to support any animal being treated like that. So I buy stuff at the local feed store (which doesn't sell any live animals) whenever possible, or I'll order online, usually from PetFoodDirect. They actually allow a schutzhund club to train on the field behind their warehouse so I like to support the company. :thumbup: I feed raw so don't buy dog food, but do buy food for my rats (I have a bunch! lol), cat food, and toys/other supplies for the dogs.

There is only one store around here that sells puppies and kittens and I would never spend anything there. I wish I could stand outside the store and warn everyone away...


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## stealthq (May 1, 2011)

W.Oliver said:


> The bird market was significant prior to the 80's and since has dwindled year after year to almost non-existent to what it was 25 years ago. Yes smuggling exists, but today in very high-end species...$20k-$40k per specimen of say....any black cockatoo. Today, this isn't really a retail issue. When smuggling nestlings was in vogue, most ended up in the trash....survival rates were abysmal.


The last big bust I remember was in the early 2000's. I wouldn't have known about it except it was a large ring with members in multiple states (mine included) and made the local news. Haven't really heard much about it or looked into it since. I was curious, so I did a quick Google search - really just looked at the first couple pages of results. All the recent busts (ignoring poultry) I saw were finches, parakeets, and the like from Asia. All birds that sell for a couple hundred dollars here, but cost about 1/10th as much in Asia. Don't know if this is frequent, unusual, or what.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

dazedtrucker said:


> The ONLY pet store in this town sells puppies. I HAVE to go there to buy crickets for my Gecko. (next nearest crickets are 4 hours away, and I had this Gecko when I moved here) It makes my stomach turn. They are idiots about thier fish too...they were selling TATOOED mollies. TATOOED fish. With I love u happy birthday...etc...
> Stupid people :angryfire:


I saw "tattooed" fish like that (with patterns, not words) when I was at a farmer's market on vacation in St Louis... I was shocked! The farmer's market was a permanent building that was partially indoor and partially open air, and in the center was this tiny cramped pet store. I should never have gone in, it was really depressing. They also sold puppies and they had a bunch of kittens they were selling for $10 or something... I don't think they were from a mill or breeder but more likely "accidental litter" someone gave them or something like that. Now I normally do not buy _anything_ from stores that sell puppies/kittens let alone a live animal but I was SO tempted to buy those kittens, get them fixed/vaccinated and find them good homes because who knows what will happen to them/who will buy them for $10  I didn't do it, but I felt really bad for those kittens. 


Oh I took a photo of the fish when I saw them because I just couldn't believe it:


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## dazedtrucker (May 2, 2011)

Chicagocanine said:


> I saw "tattooed" fish like that (with patterns, not words) when I was at a farmer's market on vacation in St Louis... I was shocked!.
> 
> 
> Oh I took a photo of the fish when I saw them because I just couldn't believe it:


It's hard to stomach...whats next, tattooed hairless rats or guinea (skinny)pigs? Yeah, a living breathing greeting card?? Why not? :headbang:


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

Yeah it is pretty awful...I don't know who thought tattooing fish was a good idea (not to mention the trauma of the process itself.)


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## dazedtrucker (May 2, 2011)

Chicagocanine said:


> Yeah it is pretty awful...I don't know who thought tattooing fish was a good idea (not to mention the trauma of the process itself.)


My horrified self looked it up...they are generally done in Singapore, and shipped in. I read they sell well.......... Can you imagine? I raise fish and sell them, and that is just the most horrible thing i can imagine you could do to a fish. It creeped me out so bad when I saw that.


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## Wolfie907 (Jan 14, 2011)

WarrantsWifey said:


> I ticked "_I will not buy puppies or kittens at pet stores, but may buy other items or services." because I shop at Petsmart and they have cats for adoption and they have doggy adoption days. I don't know of that counts as a pet store. ???_


+1 on that. Petsmart is one of Wolfie's favorite places, and nearly everyone who works there knows her by name. First thing through the door she's at the register saying 'hi'.

I wouldn't ever buy a dog/cat from a pet store, but I think it's great that Petsmart offers adoption services for the cats, and they frequently allow local shelters and rescue groups to come in and hae adoption days.

For those reasons I try to shop there when I can. Petland, Petco and another (can't recall the name) aren't around here anymore, which is fine as they sold pups/kittens from within the aquarium like kennels...yikes.


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