NJ Complaints Pet Shops
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NEW JERSEY PET SHOPSHow much is that puppy mill puppy in the window? New Jersey has about 50 pet shops that sell puppies and kittens - about a fourth sell puppies purchased exclusively from Pennsylvania Amish and Mennonite puppy mills - and we’ve received complaints on most of them!
These puppies are the offspring of intensively confined (caged) parents who have little or no socialization, so chances are great that your puppy will suffer from inherited emotional and behavioral disorders such as nervousness, hyperactivity, fear, and food aggression. Non-congenital illnesses seen in pet shop puppies are typically kennel cough, pneumonia, coccidia, giardia, parasites, and sarcoptic mange, among others. Serious illnesses include distemper and parvovirus, which can be fatal. The mark-up of a puppy sold in a pet shop can be as high as 1,000 percent. Many brokers or pet shops pay as little as $10.00 for a puppy or as high as $300.00, then turn around and sell the puppy to you for as much as $3,000.00! High price and registration papers do NOT mean a quality or healthy puppy. Remember, pet shops are only interested in making the initial sale – most are not interested in providing follow-up support or additional resources and information to buyers. Paying for veterinary expenses cuts into their profits and many store owners will fight you every step of the way should your new puppy become ill shortly after purchase, even blaming you, the buyer, for your puppy’s health problems. The pet store trade is one business where, once you leave the store with a puppy, the customer is never right! It's the law!Puppy cages in NJ pet stores selling dogs or cats must have a label listing: Actual sign posted in a NJ pet store!Commercial breeder vs. Puppy Mill There is a distinction between a legitimate commercial kennel, which also exists to produce and sell puppies, and a puppy mill. The former is generally clean, provides veterinary care for the pups and adults, and socializes the pups before shipping them to retail outlets. The latter is a vile death trap for dogs, cluttered, overcrowded disease-ridden, and foul smelling. Commercial kennels are registered with the USDA under the Federal Animal Welfare Act; puppy mills fall through the regulatory cracks. At the Pet Shop, we purchase our puppies only from legitimate commercial kennels. In other words, puppy mills, right? What is the true monetary value of your pet shop puppy?A few years ago we obtained wholesale price lists from Hunte and Lambriar, the nation’s two largest puppy brokers. We know the economy is currently unstable and the pet industry has its ups & downs but wholesale prices appear to be remaining stable, as reflected by what we’re told by breeders. With that in mind, we thought readers and potential puppy purchasers would like to see what astronomical markups there are on the heads of little pet shop puppies! Hunte in 2005 was offering most breeds starting at $199 and up to $499. Puppies 11-13 weeks old started at $50 for Hunte’s special one day sale in June 2005! Lambriar on the other hand, offered deep discounts for the same period. Black Labradors and Cocker Spaniels were going for $49.00, the lowest price, while Yellow Labs and Siberian Huskies were offered at $79. For the low price of only $99 each, a store could order limitless Soft Coated Wheatens, Pomeranians, Corgis, Maltese, Jack Russell Terriers, Daschunds, Boxers, and Norwegian Elkhounds. Bichons were $149, while Yorkies topped off at $330. A breeder in Texas reported being paid only $200 and $260 for male and female Yorkies, respectively, from Lambriar. The NJ pet store sold the Yorkie for $3,700.00! Articles of InterestPets, Lies & Videotape: Exposing NJ Pet Shop Consumer Fraud and Abuse |
Most pet shop employees have limited knowledge about different breeds. They do not properly screen buyers to match them up with the “best” companion animal, resulting in a puppy that needs lots of exercise but is confined to a crate all day while no one is home or a puppy that is not good with children.