Top Ten Reasons

Top Ten Reasons To Buy a Puppy From American Dog Club

1. Inspections
   State and local health departments randomly inspect pet stores. Also, pet stores are often open to the public 7 days a week and have staff on site nearly 365 days a year. Customers are the biggest inspectors of pet stores; whenever the doors are open they are being inspected

2. Veterinarian Oversight
   In most cases, pet stores have consulting veterinarians that oversee the operations of their facility. They work with the store staff to create and administer protocol supported by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

3. Choices
   Pet stores work with prospective new puppy parents to match them with a pet to fit their specific needs. Store staff take into account allergies, temperament, space constraints, and family lifestyle to counsel a customer on their new family member. Pet stores are able to offer a variety of breeds and sizes of puppies so a customer can make an educated decision.

4. Jobs
   Pet stores attract employees with a love of animals in your community, often younger staff members who look to a pet store as their first step on the way to a career in the animal field. Whether that be a veterinarian or a zoologist, you can bet that a student in your local pet store is getting first-hand knowledge in pet care that will take them far beyond their first job.

5. Locally Owned and Operated
   Most small pet stores are locally owned and operated and have been in your neighborhood and community for years. Even larger companies usually have local franchisees that operate the local stores. Owners have a commitment to your community and to your pets to make sure they operate the best store they possibly can.

6. Young Puppy Bonding
   Young puppies are offered to customers at a very trainable age. Puppies over 8 weeks old but less than 6 months are the easiest to train for a new family. Unfortunately, most dogs end up in shelters because of trainable behavioral issues. These trainable behavioral issues are easier to avoid when making a younger puppy part of your family.

7. Warranties
   Most pet stores supply warranties with the purchase of a new puppy, this is why it is in a pet store's best interest to work with the highest quality breeders. It does not benefit a pet store to sell sick puppies. It affects their reputation, and they care about the health and well-being of the dogs.
    
8. Regulations
   Pet stores are the most regulated source of puppies for sale to consumers. Federal, state, and in some cases, local laws protect your purchase of a puppy from a pet store.
    
9. Honesty
   Pet stores are in the business of pets. They often acquire outstanding pets from respectable breeders, and have a responsibility to the community to run a great business. They do not rely on donations, handouts, and smear campaigns to be successful, like some animal rights groups do. Often pet stores work in their community with their local shelters to help find homes for local displaced animals. Take time to learn the facts.
    
10. Pet Overpopulation Prevention
    Spay/Neuter campaigns have been so successful that in a lot of communities, shelters and rescues are having to import dogs just to keep up with the demand of shelter animals. Pet stores account for a very small percentage of pet sales in your community. Someone that is purchasing a purebred puppy from a pet store is not likely to give it up to a shelter. Pet stores often take back pets that cannot be cared for any more by owners and often implement spay/neuter programs with their consulting veterinarians.

   Puppy Store Fact Sheet

So Feel Good!

Your purchase of a puppy at a pet store helps a local small business and it is also the safest way to acquire a puppy in most states. Other retailers of puppies that do not sell through pet stores are not required to provide as many disclosures, warranties, or services as pet stores are. When you take home a new family member, you should feel like the place you got your puppy from is not going anywhere. This is the kind of security that your local community pet store provides. It would never be in a pet store owner’s best interest to work with substandard breeders; in fact, pet stores go over and beyond to make sure they acquire pets from the best sources. Pet store owners want to make sure new puppy parents are not going to have any issues with their pet once they take them home. The last thing anyone wants is a sick puppy and an unhappy customer.