# You do not "adopt" puppies from PET STORES! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 11, 2003, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-do-not-adopt-puppies-from-pet-stores/200984 "2003-09-11T15:21:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Aries28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Aries28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aries28)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-do-not-adopt-puppies-from-pet-stores/200984/41 "2003-09-12T19:19:14Z")
We bought our dog, Baxter, from a pet store. They had a deal with a local vet and had Saturday adoption days. His mother was a sheltie. His father was an Australian shepherd. He is a great dog. Very healthy. Very playful. Very happy. We have had him for almost 4 years. Paid $50 for him which included his first appointment at the vet and to have him fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horrifying_Howler_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-do-not-adopt-puppies-from-pet-stores/200984/42 "2003-09-13T02:56:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by adam yax \* > \*\*USDA? The US Department of Agriculture? They are responsible for regulating pet breeders? The same people who grade meat? That doesn’t fill me with confidence. \*\* It’s a joke is what it is (not one of those funny jokes, one of those sad ones). According to the Humane Society of the US. > [@](#): > > The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is charged with enforcing the AWA; however, with 96 inspectors nationwide who oversee not only the thousands of puppy mills, but also zoos, circuses, laboratories, and animals transported via commercial airlines, they are an agency stretched thin. AWA standing for Animal Welfare Act. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-do-not-adopt-puppies-from-pet-stores/200984/43 "2003-09-13T09:50:10Z")
I’d never get a pet from a pet store. Never, never, ever. My grandmother has a nice enough beagle that my uncle got her from a breeder. This was a reputable breeder, incidentally – she went out to their home, they talked for quite some time before she came home with her puppy. He’s a good enough dog, though he does seem to have some anger issues. All my family’s pets have been rescues and adoptions, with the vast majority being the former. My childhood dog was adopted from the SPCA, my first cat ever we found running across the road on the beach in Mississippi, the next cats we found here and there when we moved to Texas…two as kittens from a litter a neighborhood cat bore in our back garden, one from a neighbor, one from an unfortunate homeless guy who couldn’t take care of it. Dog #1 died recently after a very long and happy life. Around that time my parents have gotten two more dogs, both lucky finds from friends and neighbors. The boxer pup is rather hard to train, but the basenji mix is a wonderful mother to her, showing a side that we’d never seen before. The cats are likewise wonderful, and though they chase each other like mad around the house, they seem to get on well enough. And they’re all healthy. Kitty #2 came with a nasty case of worms and ear mites, but she was the only unhealthy pet we’ve had. And we think Kitty #4 is a little retarded. Certainly she seems to think she’s a dog. 😃 Adopted pets are the best. They’re often very healthy and very loving as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-do-not-adopt-puppies-from-pet-stores/200984.md?page=2)