Puppies, puppies and more puppies!
Well, it's almost spring and that means for many it's either Car trading or Moving "season", but for me spring brings around a different kind of urge. It's puppy season!
No, I'm not hunting puppies. I'm hunting FOR puppies... Ever since our Maggie got hit by a car 5 years ago, I've been asking for another puppy almost every spring. Don't get me wrong -- I ask other times too, but spring time just tends to bring out the worst in me when it comes to wanting a puppy. In the winter I can talk myself out of it, because who really wants to have a new puppy to wait outside with in the middle of the night in a snow storm? But, once the weather starts warming up and the birdies start re-appearing, I start looking at breeders web sites and at the Snookums Pets site. Jason usually tries and tries to distract me from my mission and usually manages to talk some sense into me before too long but this time I just don't know...
I've recently found this puppy at Snookums Pets and desperately want him. He's a Sheltie-Poodle cross. I had been looking at Shelties for quite a long time. They're very intelligent, easy to train and not very big. Perfect as far as I'm concerned. So, once I saw this little guy I nearly went nuts. The main thing that's stopping me right now is the cost. I know what dogs cost now a days, but I still can't get over it. A MIXED breed dog and they're selling it for $399! Plus Tax, Plus delivery. Yes, delivery. Snookums delivers in a climate controlled van once a week anywhere in Atlantic Canada for only $39. So, I figured it out, once we add tax and the delivery fee, (and possibly tax on the delivery fee) that's $500. For a mixed breed dog!! Crazy. The other thing that's really stopping me is the fact that you can't meet the dog first if you're having him delivered. When we got Maggie, we went to the pet store in Fredericton and asked about what dogs he had. He said he had one really good one in right now, and one that he didn't really recommend. I asked why he didn't recommend her and he said "Because she doesn't make up with people. She's very timid. Not a very good pet" Well, I wanted to meet her anyway, she was just too cute not to. He brought her out and she ran up to both Jason and I and started kissing us and jumping on us. She was so excited to meet us. I fell in love with her right then and there and we took her. She made up with both of us right away and was an excellent pet. The store owner wasn't wrong though, she WAS very shy and timid around others -- Mostly men, but with us she was wonderful.
This puppy is gorgeous, but he might not be right for our family and unless we meet him first, we'll really never know. I mentioned taking a day trip over to Charlottetown to visit the store in person but that's not really reasonable. By the time we paid Gas and the Bridge fees to go to PEI and back, plus stopped for lunch we're talking quite a bit more than delivery. Plus we don't have room in our car for two kids in car seats and a puppy crate. So, I guess we'd have to rent a van for the day. That costs even more. I don't know... maybe he will manage to talk me out of it again after all.
Some (but not all) blinkies adopted from:
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5 comments:
You can have lunch at my house for free.
Have you considered a shelter? That's where Benny came from and she was a pretty well perfect dog. They cost much less from a shelter and part of the payment is for the neutering or spaying.
I mentioned the possibility of weekending at your place. Going up on Friday and home first thing Sunday morning, picking up the dog in Ch'town on the way by... but then we still would have to rent a mini-van for a weekend since we don't have room for two car seats and a dog carrier plus a weekend worth of kiddie stuff.
The only problem with a shelter is that most of the dogs (around here) are all large shepherd mix. I don't want a large dog with the kids so young, and I especially don't want a Shepherd. I'm terrified of Shepherds.
Check out other shelters. Most are on-line. You may find one in Moncton, SJ or Fredericton. I'll send you a link of ours by e-mail tomorrow.
Woah Woah!! Please, I beg you Please do not buy a puppy from snookums!!!!! If u want it to live more than a week, and you dont want to add another $1000 in vet bills to your total!!! That place is a disaster!!!
I would definatly recomend you get a puppy from the shelter or a breeder, or even from someone who put an add in the paper or on kijiji. Please NEVER buy a puppy or a kitten from a pet store. By doing so you are supporting the puppy mill industry. I know that they will say they get there puppies from breeders, but this simply isnt true. No reputable breeder would sell their puppies to a pet store. Soo much work goes into careing for a litter, there is no way a breeder would let their puppies go to a pet store and not even have a say in who buys them. I cant believe that puppy mills are still in existence...but they are. Its all in the name of money$$$$!!!
Thanks for reading,
Vanessa C.
Thanks for the warning Vanessa.
However, this post was written nearly a year ago, so if I'd been sure enough about getting the puppy we would most likely already have it by now. :)
In the end we didn't end up getting a dog at all because of the age of our kids. Instead, this summer we ended up getting a cat.
(There's a post all about it, click on the label "Sherbert" to see it.)
And, when we do get a dog in a few years time, we've got a breed and breeder in mind already, No way we're going to buy from Snookums. I heard all about them from my Aunt Cuidado, who lives on PEI and filled me in about their horrible reputation on the Island.
Again, thanks for the warning!
Christine
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