Against pet stores

I am disappointed that The Acorn has resumed printing advertisements for pet stores. Ironically, you put these ads on the same page as the "Pet of the Week" featuring one of the hundreds of pets currently at the Agoura Animal Shelter which needs a home.

Don’t you know that pet stores profit off the misery of "stock" that churn out puppies and kittens in factory environments? These pet mills over-breed their stock and proliferate the genetic defects common in the various breeds as described by the "Pet Corner" authors featured on the same page as the ad. These same authors of "Pet Corner" advised last week to adopt from a shelter in order to save a dog’s life, and to give a home to an adult dog that is more predictable in temperament and probably housebroken.

Pet stores truck in their stock of kittens and puppies from mills several thousand miles away (mostly in the Midwest). These puppies and kittens can go days without food or water while en route, let alone human socialization. Will the pet store owners show pictures of the kennels from which they buy their stock? Most of the kennels from which pet store stock come from are filthy, unsanitary and deplorable by any decent standard. Costs go up with good health and hygiene, so these are usually compromised by for-profit breeders.

Can the pet store owners show lineage of their stock of puppies and kittens that go back at least three to five generations? What does the lineage show for genetic defects? Most people don’t know they will pay more to a pet store than they would to a reputable breeder for a puppy or kitten, and then they will pay even more in vet bills for the pet store puppy or kitten, due to the failure to screen out genetic defects.

If someone is really intent on a specific breed, contact a breed rescue to adopt (and pay a low fee compared to pet store prices). Or contact a reputable breeder if you really are intent on taking on the responsibility of housetraining and socializing a puppy or kitten. A reputable breeder is dedicated to the breed, and most often runs "in the red" when factoring all costs of breeding quality puppies and kittens to breed standards.

A reputable breeder insists on taking back a puppy or kitten that doesn’t work out in your home; a pet store will not do this, or if they do, they will dump the pet at a county shelter—or worse since they can’t resell it.

Finally, the top of the page in The Acorn with the pet store ads had a banner that said "Responsible Pet Owners Have Neutered Animals." Pet stores don’t sell neutered animals, so that makes them irresponsible. Rescue groups, responsible breeders and county shelters only adopt out spayed and neutered pets.

Don’t allow pet store owners to advertise in The Acorn. For every puppy and kitten they sell to mostly unaware and uninformed customers, that’s one less home for a deserving dog or cat currently waiting for a home while on death row at the Agoura Animal Shelter or other county shelters.

Rebecca Arvizu

Agoura Hills