My group rescues Shiba Inus and Miniature Pinschers and our first rescue originated at a local pet store. The owners paid an exorbitant amount of money for a puppy mill bred Shiba. One day she suddenly showed up in our yard! Someone must have put this scared shiba that was in a starved state into my yard and when we traced it to its owners, we learned that they had keep her tied to a tree in their back yard and in the end didn't want her. The next three Shibas that we rescued from our local SPCA came from the same pet store! ALL these dogs were bought from the largest broker in North America, the Hunte Corp, that ships out an average of 2500 dogs a week!

Richmond has the same bylaws as North Vancouver. I have complained SO many times to the SPCA about the store here breaking laws and they do NOTHING. The dogs often sit on wire-bottomed cages which is against the bylaw! You can read the bylaw here:

http://www.city.richmond.bc.ca/council/bylaws/docs/bylaw_7538.pdf

We saved a Min Pin that came from the same store. He had cost the owners $15,000.00 to keep alive because he had many genetic problems from bad breeding. Again he was bought from the same broker.

I have the USDA reports on the first dog we rescued who came from a kennel in Missouri who at the time of inspection had 263 Shibas!!! Think that little Shiba puppy was shipped out at 5 weeks of age (so she would be 6 weeks when she arrived at the store) she spent most likely a week, traveling across the country in a semi-trailer to be stuck in a cold cage and sold to people who didn't care about her.

The local pet store used to proudly say on their website that they were proud to purchase their dogs from the Hunte Corporation, when Dateline did an expose on puppy mills and the Hunte Corp, the statement on the website was suddenly gone.

Pet stores not only support puppy mills and back yard breeders they are ripping people off. NO puppy is worth $2500.00. I have talked to reputable breeders, who health test, show, prove their dogs and only breed the best of the best and the average price for a properly bred and cared for puppy is $600.00. As well that puppy comes with a health guarantee and the breeder is there to support the new puppy owner. If at anytime the family can't keep the dog a reputable breeder will happily take the dog back at any time in it's life. A reputable breeder also, either has a spay & neuter contract or does a pediatric spay or neuter so their puppies can not be irresponsibly bred.

Just recently I got the paperwork on a dog that was bought at a local pet store, same broker but they are getting smart, they seem to be buying from puppy mills in Quebec now, as we have NO registry NO way to trace these mills in Canada.

Pet stores that sell animals SHOULD BE ILLEGAL, they do a disservice to the community and more important the animals that suffer because of them.