Where Did You Acquire Your Pet?

Little did I know back in the beginning that a war was raging between private breeders and pet shops. If I had known then, what I know now I would have gone about things differently. I hadn't had a pedigree dog in over 20 years when I bought my first OEM. While I was growing up I worked for my cousin Louie Prisco, an owner of Dale Pets in Massepequa, Long Island.

I was in SUNY taking college courses and would drive to the pet store every evening and Saturdays for work. They carried a full line of pets & pet products. They were successful and soon opened a second store in the five towns area of Queens, NY.

All the pets were flown in to Kennedy airport and part of my job was to go with my cousin for pick ups. We are talking about the early 1970's, and Dale Pets had an excellent reputation and the three owners treated every pet as if they were their own. So you could imagine my surprise when in 2007, thirty some odd years later "pet shop" had become a dirty word.

I understand the concerns and agree with many of them. However, I am not apt to condemn a pet solely based on where you found yours.

The point here is to make sure you know from where your pet comes from. Make sure your pet has accurate records, reach past the point of sale to previous breeders, parents, etc. Make sure you have all health related testing done to insure your pet is healthy. Then love your pet no matter who has anything to say!