Shifty
New member
Well, I was thrown out of my first pet store yesterday! I've always heard the "rules" regarding pup's in the pet store, supply & demand etc., but I've never been personally confronted with the issue until now.
We were shopping yesterday and my father in law called me cell phone & said there was a newfie at the pet store. Wifey & I headed over there and it became a rather rough experience from there on. They had a male newf pup @ 8 wks old, and I must admit he was absolutely beautiful! Jet black with a white blase on the chest and four white socks. I asked to see him and the young girl got him out for me.
They have an exercise pen for the dogs and I kid you not, the walls are probably about 4.5' high. This girl picks up the dog, leans over the wall and drops him!!! Picture an 8 wk old pup in a four foot freefall onto concrete. I was actually in the "I did NOT just see that happen" mode when my wife politely asked "are you an idiot?" I wasn't exactly certain if she was speaking to the girl for dropping the dog or to me for not saying anything.
Anyway, I end up speaking with the manager. I hate to pass judgement on anyone but she was just a FOUL woman, hard as I tried I still cannot find any redeeming qualities about her. She proceeded to attempt to sell me the pup so I played along and started asking all of the questions you would ask your breeder in a "first interview"--hips, elbows, heart, pedigree etc. The majority of my questions were answered with the catch phrase "look how cute he is". I even brought up the drop incident and was informed about how rescilient these young guys are and that it cannot hurt them except in extremely rare cases. then took the manager around to the pen again and asked her if this was a rare case since at 8 weeks old this poor guy is still spending half his time trying to swim with his rear legs & hips rather than walk?....."that's fairly normal, look how cute he is".
We parted ways after I told her that "just because his breeder didn't take the proper responsibilities for this dog doesn't mean that you can't start right now." (no offense to any breeders on this site, I made a judgement call after seeing what I did yesterday)
It got really ugly when a young couple came in 2 minutes later to see this lil guy and I was still standing in the exercise pen with him. (turned out they thought I was working there since I was behind the wall withthe dogs). The young girl was trying to make her sell to the couple and I was cross-examining them at the same time, my guess is that it would have been rather comical from a distance if this little pups future wasn't involved in it.
They asked "how much?"
I asked "do you have a fenced yard?, are you willing to put in the time necessary to properly care for an animal as noble as a Newfoundland? and are you willing to handle all of the necessary annual vet visits as well as any additional expenses that would occur due to medical/health issues?"
They responded "no to the fence & how much would it cost?" to the other two questions and I told them that "I'm sorry but I can't sell you this dog".
I was then asked to leave the premesis by the manager. But Istill stand my ground even a day later..."I can't sell you this dog" (I never said "why" i.e. I'm not an employee of this store
)
Anyway, sorry for the ramble/vent but it still disturbs me. My wife cried half the night last night because I wouldn't buy the dog on the spot.
This little pup was as close to pure innocence as you can get, and he's not getting the proper care he needs to develop and that angers me. Even his fur was reeking of urine & feces because of the pen he shared with the other dogs.
Jeannie or Annie if you catch this, do you hve a Newf Rescue contact in southern Ohio/Northern KY I can at least call or email to see if maybe they can help out? If I don't do something today I know by this evening we will go and purchase this dog to get him out of there.
Sorry again for the length and maybe I'm seriously over-reacting but my wife is still upset & angry of this poor guy's future which tends to help me along that same path.
We were shopping yesterday and my father in law called me cell phone & said there was a newfie at the pet store. Wifey & I headed over there and it became a rather rough experience from there on. They had a male newf pup @ 8 wks old, and I must admit he was absolutely beautiful! Jet black with a white blase on the chest and four white socks. I asked to see him and the young girl got him out for me.
They have an exercise pen for the dogs and I kid you not, the walls are probably about 4.5' high. This girl picks up the dog, leans over the wall and drops him!!! Picture an 8 wk old pup in a four foot freefall onto concrete. I was actually in the "I did NOT just see that happen" mode when my wife politely asked "are you an idiot?" I wasn't exactly certain if she was speaking to the girl for dropping the dog or to me for not saying anything.
Anyway, I end up speaking with the manager. I hate to pass judgement on anyone but she was just a FOUL woman, hard as I tried I still cannot find any redeeming qualities about her. She proceeded to attempt to sell me the pup so I played along and started asking all of the questions you would ask your breeder in a "first interview"--hips, elbows, heart, pedigree etc. The majority of my questions were answered with the catch phrase "look how cute he is". I even brought up the drop incident and was informed about how rescilient these young guys are and that it cannot hurt them except in extremely rare cases. then took the manager around to the pen again and asked her if this was a rare case since at 8 weeks old this poor guy is still spending half his time trying to swim with his rear legs & hips rather than walk?....."that's fairly normal, look how cute he is".
We parted ways after I told her that "just because his breeder didn't take the proper responsibilities for this dog doesn't mean that you can't start right now." (no offense to any breeders on this site, I made a judgement call after seeing what I did yesterday)
It got really ugly when a young couple came in 2 minutes later to see this lil guy and I was still standing in the exercise pen with him. (turned out they thought I was working there since I was behind the wall withthe dogs). The young girl was trying to make her sell to the couple and I was cross-examining them at the same time, my guess is that it would have been rather comical from a distance if this little pups future wasn't involved in it.
They asked "how much?"
I asked "do you have a fenced yard?, are you willing to put in the time necessary to properly care for an animal as noble as a Newfoundland? and are you willing to handle all of the necessary annual vet visits as well as any additional expenses that would occur due to medical/health issues?"
They responded "no to the fence & how much would it cost?" to the other two questions and I told them that "I'm sorry but I can't sell you this dog".
I was then asked to leave the premesis by the manager. But Istill stand my ground even a day later..."I can't sell you this dog" (I never said "why" i.e. I'm not an employee of this store
)Anyway, sorry for the ramble/vent but it still disturbs me. My wife cried half the night last night because I wouldn't buy the dog on the spot.
This little pup was as close to pure innocence as you can get, and he's not getting the proper care he needs to develop and that angers me. Even his fur was reeking of urine & feces because of the pen he shared with the other dogs.
Jeannie or Annie if you catch this, do you hve a Newf Rescue contact in southern Ohio/Northern KY I can at least call or email to see if maybe they can help out? If I don't do something today I know by this evening we will go and purchase this dog to get him out of there.
Sorry again for the length and maybe I'm seriously over-reacting but my wife is still upset & angry of this poor guy's future which tends to help me along that same path.
