Why not to buy a puppy from a pet store: Tilly

Tilly is one of our two new fosters and was one of five 6 year old females that were surrendered to a high kill shelter in Texas. Two of the five were adopted in Texas and the other three were pulled by Ratbone when they were listed to be euthanized.

It is pretty obvious that these girls were breeder dogs for a puppymill or backyard breeder. Tilly is terrified of people and will roll onto her back in submission if you even glance in her direction, even from across the room. She will relax when she is held, but it takes her a good 10 minutes before you feel the rigidity leave her body.

Potty breaks are quite a chore, because the wide open space of a fenced back yard is intimidating to her after 6 years in a crate. I stay outside to make sure that the fosters have done their business, however, with Tilly I have to sit on the hammock in the back corner of the yard and watch discreetly. She wanders back and forth from the sliding door (hoping she can find a way back into the house) and the flower beds around the deck. After about 5-10 minutes of thinking that no one is paying attention to her she will finally go. This would be no problem, except we are having a very wet summer and so I have to be out there in my rain jacket, getting soggy and wondering why it is I live in a place where it rains in August.

Today is her first day with the freedom to roam the house independently. For the most part she chooses to lie next to her crate (not in it) and watch what is going on around her. Every once in a while she will skitter nervously around the edges of the room, pushing her bravery to the limits when her curiousity about her new living space gets the best of her.

It will be a long road for this girl before she is fully able to trust people. I think she'll make it though because she is already showing some positive signs (approaching us from behind to sniff ankles.) Tilly is a prime example of why people should not buy dogs from pet stores. If the market for pet store puppies disappeared, then so would the puppymills that supply them. If you know someone who wants a puppy so badly, tell them to call a shelter, look on petfinder.com, or contact a breed rescue organization. There are plenty of dumped puppies out there to choose from. Better yet, sacrifice those few months of puppyhood for a 2 year old or older dog who doesn't have much of a chance to be adopted because they've outgrown that cute puppy look. You'll get to skip the housetraining and teething phase and have the chance to be a hero to a new furry family member.