[Res Judicata]

These stories are not about guinea pigs, but they illustrate the behavior of breeders, who sell pets of all kinds to pet stores. I heard both last week, and decided to go ahead and post them anyway.

A woman my friend works with lives near a breeder of beagles. She had this one puppy for eight months and had mentioned at a neighborhood get-together that she was taking this puppy in to get it put to sleep because she hadn't sold it yet and was tired of putting money into it. The co-worker was disgusted by this, offered to take the dog off her hands (she didn't pay for him) although she doesn't really want a dog around with four kids under the age of six, and is keeping him until she can find him a good home.

My parents got a cocker spaniel from a rescue three years ago. Last week they noticed her limping and since they had an appointment for her to get her rabies shot a day after they noticed the limp, they brought it up to the vet. She has a bad knee. Unfortunately I don't know the correct term for it, but it is a genetic thing caused by breeders not being careful when they mate their dogs. Right now it's not too bad, and she gets a baby asprin a day to keep the pain away, but she may need surgery if it degenerates in the future.

Breeders like these supply all kinds of animals to pet stores. They send out sick animals, dispose of the unsellable ones, and breed animals who should not for genetic reasons be part of the gene pool. People who buy pets from pet stores simply allow the breeders to continue with their horrible practices.