For those of us who have noticed the new Columbia store off of Snowden River
that sells puppies, here is the text of a recent Baltimore Sun article.



Outcry erupts over new Columbia store selling puppies
Coalition opposing puppy sales forming

By Andrea F. Siegel, The Baltimore Sun
10:28 a.m. EST, February 5, 2012


The opening of Charm City Puppies, a store in Columbia that sells purebred and
other boutique puppies, as well as pet accessories, has prompted an online
protest by some area residents.

The family-owned store, which displays expensive puppies in cribs, has
galvanized a local movement against puppy shops. The shops, opponents say, help
keep "puppy mills" in business at a time when an overabundance of dogs at
shelters is forcing those animals to be euthanized.

The owner of the store says the animals he sells have been bred and handled
humanely.

"There's definitely going to be an educational demonstration," said Julianne
Brown of Linthicum, leader of the fledgling movement opposing puppy shops. She
said the group is not focusing exclusively on the Columbia store and wants to
stage events elsewhere that promote adoptions of animals from shelters and
rescue organizations.

"We would just like them to change their business model from the antiquated
model they have now to incorporate adopting out shelter puppies," Brown said.

Store owner Tony Cossentino disputed any implication that he is trading in
puppies bred in poor conditions.

"We would never deal with any breeders that have substandard kennel conditions,
with no exceptions. We encourage anyone who wants to find out for themselves to
come in and see how much pride we take in our store. We have nothing to hide,"
Cossentino said in an email. He declined to comment further.

In the past month, an online petition calling for Charm City Puppies to end
puppy sales has gathered more than 870 signatures. That stemmed from an article
on Patch.com that announced the opening of Charm City Puppies and criticism of
the store in the website's public comments section after the article appeared.

Brown said the shop's owners haven't taken her up on her offer to speak with
them.

"We will continue to keep that olive branch extended," she said. "In the
meantime, our goal is to start educating. If we can't change the business, we
are going to start educating the consumers."

On a recent visit, the store displayed about 10 puppies — mostly small purebreds
and popular cross-bred puppies. Toward the back of the store were places where
customers could play with the dogs. Pet toys, clothing and collars were among
the accessories for sale.

Commenters have suggested online that people complain to the store's owner and
landlord. They say responsible breeders do not provide puppies for sale at
stores and carefully screen would-be buyers. They also argue that people who buy
dogs at pet stores lack information about breeders and their kennels.

"There is real outrage, but it is not all directed at this particular store,"
Brown said, noting that stores throughout the state sell puppies. "Right now, we
are basically trying to start some sort of grass-roots coalition."

She has begun to form a nonprofit organization that she plans to call Relove.

She said she wants to ensure that whatever actions her group takes fall within
the law. Ideas include having opponents of the stores "gather in a public place,
have signs, voice our opinions about puppy mills and hand out educational
brochures." That would be done in the vicinity of stores that sell puppies.

The Maryland General Assembly is considering a bill that would require stores
selling dogs to post information about where their animals come from.

I'm not defending that particular store, because I've never been there, but I bought my dog at a puppy store, and I would do it again. It's easy to judge people who buy dogs instead of adopting a dog from a shelter or rescue organization. But what you may have never considered is how hard it is to get a dog from those places if you don't meet all of their rigid, and often ridiculous, criteria to adopt (unless you'll take a dog that's elderly, blind, crippled, huge, or in need of surgery or expensive medical treatment). Those you can have.

I've had dogs all my life, and my parents always got our dogs from the shelter. That is what I tried to do when my previous dog had passed away, I separated from my husband, and, at the age of 40, for the first time in my life, was living alone. I needed a dog, and I set out to find one. I visited shelters in Howard, Frederick, PG, Anne Arundel, Carroll, Baltimore, and Harford counties on a regular basis for several months. I went to adoption fairs. I contacted rescue groups. I read the classified ads, searched online, etc. Whenever I found a dog that I liked, I was told that my application would be put at the bottom of the pile, because I was single, lived in an apartment, worked outside the home, and had no children. After months of this, feeling very discouraged, I walked into a puppy store on a whim, and walked out with my new best friend. Judge me, and that store, if you want, but my little darling, Malaika, is as happy as I am with our arrangement. We've been together 10 years, and I don't think she cares a lick that she gets to sleep all day and has me all to herself in the evening and on weekends.

As for how hard some of the shelters and rescue organizations make it to adopt, please read this article, so you'll know it happens to many people: No Pet for You

Yes, I agree that the process is frustrating and very disagreeable! The first time I ever got an animal from a shelter, I was really surprised at the attitude and hoops to jump through, also. (They even asked whether I was married to my partner!)

It took me becoming an active volunteer with a local shelter for me to understand that everything they do is ALL about getting the pet into the best possible home, so that the ANIMAL will not have to suffer being returned and having the procedure repeated with another home.

As a long-time foster home for unwanted dogs & cats, and as a volunteer with several rescue groups, I can sympathize with the frustration of trying to adopt. You want to do the right thing, a good thing, but then you face the people who actually spend the time & money & worries about taking care of an animal, sometimes out of a dangerous or problem home. And they are defensive and overly protective of their rescues, so they sometimes make it impossible for a regular person to adopt!

I agree that many of the nosy questions and challenges are irritating to the extreme. Most ethical breeders also require a lot of details from potential owners. (And they also require you to return animals to them if your life situation changes.) No ethical breeder allows their animals to be sold to 'strangers'.

The problem with the pet shops that sell puppies is that 100% of the store-bought puppies are from 'factory farm' -type operations, that do not take excellent care of the animals. They breed pets with obvious physical deformities and medical conditions that cause pain & suffering. They breed parents to children, with no regard for ethics or genetics. They kill dogs with 'substandard' appearances. In fact, it is all about appearances & money. The animals do not get medical treatment or even basic humane treatment. And the pet shop industry is fueling the inhumanity.

Please do not blame the volunteers for their overly enthusiastic protectiveness over their charges. Consider the source of the pain the dogs from the mills go through in the shops. Thank you.

My 2 labs are "resuces" but from the home that did not want them anymore. I found one on freecycle and I was looking for a companion Lab once we spent 2 years calming the one that had had obviously been ignored a great deal and NEVER walked. He did not even know how to go n a walk when we first got him. They just let him out in their very small fenced yard to do his business. The second came from a friend who knew we were looking.

I had previously tried to take on a dog that was a military owner whose tour had been extended and the parents of the service man could not afford the vet care for the dog. He was way behind in his vaccines and tests. I did not want to bring the dog into the home w/out his shots as I had the 1st dog and cat. So, the parents took him to the vet and I called the vet w/my debit card number to pay the $250+ bill to update all his vaccines and testing and for the exam. We had previously met w/the dog at a park near my home for a period and again with our current dog before I paid for the exam. The parents of the service man really did not want to re-home him but could not afford to keep up vet care. The first day the dog was in our home for re-homing, he bit me in the face. Needless to say I called the previous owners and explained. They agreed to come take the dog back and said they felt he could not be re-homed and they would work out a payment plan w/me to pay off the vet bill. I told them that God obviously needed someone to step in and help them care for their son's dog due to his extended deployment and they did not need to re-pay me and that it was my thank you for their son's service and that he should be able to come home to his dog. They were quite thankful, but I was a little gun shy.

About 1 yr later, at a friend's son's football game, a mom brought their lab to show him off and ask if anyone was interested in adopting him as the kids "lost interest him." He was 18 months old and was an outside only dog. She got the information on how to contact the woman and called me right away. After a quick conversation w/the owner and information from my friend [also a dog owner and knew my current dog well] I agreed to take the dog, my friend delivered him to me a few days later.

Both these labs were purebred "papered" dogs. The first one was purchased from a breeder in Georgia. The owners drove from MD to p/up the dog. He is a Field Lab breed for hunting and/or field competitions. This was not their first one. They were childless when they got him, but when the kids came along, he was obviously neglected a great deal. The only reason they were re-homing him was that they were military and were being re-stationed and would be living in a long-term motel for 1 month before military housing became available. Mom was so pregnant she could not go to the basement to get him out of his crate when I went to meet him after a great deal of communication prior. We planned to leave w/him if the meeting between my son and I. The meeting in the house went well and we agreed to take him, but it was quite surprising when the dad took him to the van he could not control him on the leash from the front door to the van. He explained it away that Cam loved car rides. While I did find that to be true, I also found it to be true could not go on a walk, he lacked the skills. The only way he knew to interact w/us was to sit on our laps--at least try to :) and jump on us for a hug w/out permission. This is a dog they spent a great deal of $ on when they purchased him. The also sent him to a 3 week training program as a puppy that he lived at the training site for most of the time alone and they went down for the last few days for their training to see what he learned and what commands they needed use w/him. They may have used them in the beginning, but did not continue. We essentially spent 2 years re-teaching him those commands and calming him so that he could be around people beyond ourselves and go on a walk w/out freaking out at every person or animal who came near. It was clear he spent a great deal of time in his crate as he could only sleep in his crate and had a hard time learning to be comfortable to lay on the floor or furniture. It is only in the last year he has been able to sleep outside of his crate on the floor of one our our bedrooms or in bed w/one of us. We have had him for about 7 yrs.

The second dog a traditional Lab was a dog purchased at a Puppy Store. There was some kind of surgery during that time according to vet records, but no details on what the surgery was. We think he had an altercation with a small dog as he is quite fearful of them. It may have been another dog in the home or it may have been the cost of the surgery, but he was re-homed around the same time at 6 months old. The second family who adopted him kept him one year and kept him chained outside 24/7. The kids did not play w/him anymore now that he was not a puppy and the mom knew he needed more attention. They lived in Calvert County so dogs as outside only pets are not uncommon. We received him at he age of 18 months old. He was so starved for attention and he was very snugly. As he was outside 24/7, he needed to be house trained again. The first time we left him home alone w/ the other dog in the room he typically stays in while we are gone so that he did not get into mischief. There was a comfy couch for them and toys and crates if they wanted to go in them. We came home and he had destroyed the couch in the room, so he need a bit more training including crate training as he escaped them regularly. Luckily, I did not work so I home most of the time and it was only short periods we had to be gone at a time. Eventually, we figured out he a great deal of anxiety. The worst anxiety trigger was being left alone. Despite being w/us for 4 years now, the anxiety has not settled and he still gets out of crates regularly but no longer destroys the room they are in. Despite his anxiety, he has become very helpful and has learned to do some assistance jobs as I am disabled. He is smarted than the small breeder field lab. I do not think his being purchased at a puppy store has anything to do w/his anxiety issues and that they are due to his previous owners' mistreatment and the fact that he was in 3 homes w/in 18 months of his life [actually 4 if count the breeder].

Who knows what type of breeder sold to the puppy store? It could have been a small breeder who had a few puppies left in the litter that he/she could not sell on their own? I have a friend who breeds labs and does so on a very small scale, but her momma has litters of about a dozen each time. The momma recently gave birth to an un-planned pregnancy to 12 pups [show owns the daddy too and could not keep him away, he got to her sometime, he was determined]. She needs to pay for the vet care and treatment for all these pups and if she cannot place them all individually, why should she not have the option of placing them with a reputable puppy or pet shop?

The proposed law that those stores who sell puppies disclose where each one came from so the consumer has the ability to research the breeder before purchasing the dog is a great idea. But, why condemn a store that you do not the practices of?