Today my daughter dragged me into Newtonville Pet so she could see the puppies. The glass enclosures that once held puppies instead acted as display cases for other pet needs. The dogs were gone. I had a slightly disappointed little girl (the bunnies just didn’t have the same allure).
I asked someone what happened. Apparently they found homes for their last dog about three weeks ago and are done stocking them. The main reason? Cost. The prices of both the dogs and vet bills had gone up while the quality of the puppies declined.
I never got a dog from Newtonville Pet, but I know a few people who did. The reviews tended to be positive. My son liked seeing the puppies run around the shop while he walked by on his way to or from Newton North. Though, looking at the puppies through the window doesn’t help them make money.
About thirty years ago I lived in a house on Newtonville Ave. Our downstairs neighbor had a great dog named Watson. Watson pretty much had free rein and wandered wherever he liked. It was part of his daily routine that he would walk down to Newtonville Pets and hang out on the sidewalk for an hour so where he could see the puppies inside. All of the neighbors and folks who worked in the stores got a big kick out of his daily visit to see the puppies.
Watson wouldn’t be happy with this recent turn of events.
Jerry Reilly –Respectfully, please reconsider Watson’s caring and affections.
This is very good news. Dogs sold in pet stores come from puppy mills with often horrendous abusive conditions, as well as lack of care for breeding to ensure the health and longevity of the puppies.
See http://www.humanesociety.org/news/news/2011/08/hbo_puppy_mills_081511.html for example.
Bought a Wheaton Terrier there 15 years ago. She’s still alive and been a wonderful family pet.
Jerry, is that when Newtonville Pet’s predecessor, Debbie’s, was in the building at the bend in Bowers Street near Newtonville Ave? That would be a much shorter walk than to the present location.
mgwa, my understanding was that Newtonville Pet tended to buck the trend of buying from puppy mills. At least, that’s what I’ve been told.
@Patrick – Yes you’re right it was Debbies Petland further down the block
@Hoss -???
@Patrick – When I lived there Debby’s Petland was on Walnut St. I don’t remember when it was on Bowers St.
I remember Debbie’s being one block north on Walnut Street.
Each and every puppy presented for sale was a manufactured being made attractive to retail customers (non are naturally available) . Those manufactured retail products were in no way like area indigenous floral or shrubs. Retailers thought them salable and promoted them for production. The inbreeding of salable puppies and in addition to the loss on sale of unwanted pups is so utterly crazy particularly in a caring community like Newton that I’d appreciate it if our legislators on the BoA would take this opportunity to cut this out the sale of retail puppies like they have done w other offensive products. Those that want a dog don’t buy it retail
A couple of weeks ago my bride and I had dinner in Newtonville and per our tradition went to visit the puppies. There was one, a cute scottie, left, and when I asked the woman running the place where the others were she kind of acknowledged that there would be no more.
Sorry to see that it has come to this.
If Chuck is correct and they didn’t get their dogs from puppy mills then this is bad. However, if he is wrong then this is a victory for anyone who truly loves animals.
They were always really secretive about where their puppies came from and would refuse to give outright answers, so I’d say that there’s a good chance they came from puppy mills. I think this is a good thing that they’re no longer selling puppies.
I was always surprised the enlightened people of Newton never objected to this.
I have no problem with pure-bread dogs… I grew up with them. It can be a very sick industry, but there are certainly humane ways of getting pure-bread dogs and I have no reason to doubt Newtonville Pet got their dogs from breeders, and not mills, but who knows. The more valid argument is pure-bread dogs take away a sale of a rescue dog that needs a home.
Don’t get me wrong, I grew up with a pure-bread lab, and I can see myself getting a pure-bread dog at some point in the future. Some pure-breads actually serve a valid purpose (hard to believe for most owners haha), for example I have friends with hunting and bird dogs. That said, a couple years ago we rescued a puppy from a local shelter and he has been as good of a dog as we could have asked for. Going forward, we will probably keep rescuing dogs, even if we end up with a lab or GSD down the line (which can also be rescued by the way).
I don’t know that we can get Newton to ban the sale of puppies, I think all ban efforts are currently being focused towards those hellish leaf blowers that make the people residents pay to clean up their yard have mildly easier jobs for the little money they are paid. Crazy idea… have a shelter open up in Newton! Has Newton banned pits yet?
Mike
There are so many homeless dogs in need of loving homes… I hope that this additional barrier to purchasing a purebred drives more people to consider adopting a dog (or cat) from a shelter and saving it from an early death.
We should totally have shelters for leaf-blower users. Wait, what were we talking about?
😉
Where’s the “like” button when you need it?!
Mike,
Pure bred doesn’t equal puppy farms in the bad sense. They are not all created equal.
Many people I know who go with pure breads do so for specific reasons. Sometimes it’s as simple as the look of the dog. Other times it’s around allergies and the type of fur.
We had a rescue dog who we loved for 13 years, though it was a little different of a situation.
However, now that Newtonville Pet is done with dogs, is there another retailer in Newton selling dogs? What is the trend nationwide? Is this just one part of it?
I bought two of my dogs at Newtonville Pet and could not have been happier with them. Sadly, they have both passed away now, but I would definitely have gone back to this store in the future (if my house weren’t over run by cats right now!). They were healthy, happy puppies. I purchased the first one when I worked in Newtonville and walked around each lunch hour to visit the other merchants. I noticed this adorable shih tzu who was getting older and asked Steve and Sandy if I could play with him. That became my daily ritual all summer. By mid-August, I said frankly that I desperatley wanted to buy him but could not afford the price being asked. I offered what I could and Sandy said she would get back to me. The next day, I was told that Oliver was mine! “You two are meant to be together”, I was told. “He waits for you to come every day.” And together we were, for many years. I am sad to see this end.
… Yet you fail to consider the cost of having those dogs there (which remains an unknown)
I’ve volunteered at ARL shelter and agree with Emily N. that there are many nice dogs (even purebreds), etc.. at shelters waiting to be adopted. In fact, I have 2 wonderful rescue cats. However, there are valid reasons for getting a purebred from a breeder, too, and this is something that my family is currently considering. Have looked into this issue, my feeling is there is no way that the puppies previously sold at Newtonville Pets (or any pet shop) came from responsible breeders – perhaps they may not have come from the most despicable puppy mills, but definitely not from responsible breeders. Responsible breeders screen buyers to assure they are a good match for the breed (application + interview – the most diligent may do home visits). Further, once they approve the buyers, they typically match the individual puppy (based on temperament and other factors) to each approved buyer. It’s not a perfect process and, obviously, varies per each breeder. Responsible breeders also don’t have lots of litters per year and don’t make a profit by breeding – that’s not why they do it.
Yippee. As cute as those puppies were, they were bred to cater to people’s desires. There are plenty of dogs available at shelters. Thanks, Newtonville Pets, for discontinuing the puppies.
Puppy mills went out in the 70s and 80s, people who still believe pet stores legally can get away with that grew up in a different time and haven’t been updated. Rather, pet stores are required by STATE LAW to have vet check ups every WEEK, assuring puppy health and happiness. I assure you Newtonville Pet adhered to this law. Not only this, but allowed these puppies to have puppy-puppy AND puppy-people interactions on a daily basis when they came out to play during evening hours. Thus ensuring friendly temperaments and family friendly pets. Also let’s consider the quite obvious idea that those who CHOOSE to work at (let alone, own) a local pet store must have a LOVE for animals (otherwise, why not work at CVS down the street?) and therefore surely look after the puppies with their best interest in mind.
Now “breeders” on the other hand, have NO state regulations pressed upon them. In other words, they never have to take them on vet visits to get shots or wormings. Ever. So any creepy person can make 2 dogs breed in his/her living room and sell them online.
All dogs could be considered “rescued” dogs since every dog needs a home. From a pet store, shelter, or otherwise.
Alexis – you are sadly mistaken. While conditions at pet stores may be better, the breeders who sell to pet stores are still puppy mills.