As mentioned in my article "What are Puppy Mills?," there is a growing consumer sentiment against pet stores that engage in the practice of the sale of pets for profit, especially puppies. So how can a pet store remain successful without engaging in this practice?

Here's what pet retailers need to know.

More Consumers Now Frown on the Sale of Pets

Just to give one example, I spoke to the owner of a pet store in my region which carries puppies and kittens for sale and he admitted that many first-time customers will walk out of his store when they realize this.

The owner of the store also said that he has tried to partner with local animal rescue groups to host pet adoption events. But they refused because the store sells pets for profit, which they not surprisingly frown upon.

Conversely, many successful pet businesses do not and have never sold pets for profit, often opting to partner with shelters to host pet adoption events instead. Kriser's and Canadian Pet Connection, which I have written about many times before, are among them.

"Kriser's does not and never will sell any pets," said Kriser's President Brad Kriser. "We host many adoption events in store including Christmas in July, which is a huge contest during which we gave away $60,000 worth of food and supplies to shelters last year (2011) for just that event."

Brandon Forder, co-owner of Canadian Pet Connection, added: "I have never believed in selling pets because I do not believe live animals should be used as inventory. Reputable breeders who genuinely care about their animals would never consider this sort of arrangement for their pets.

I also believe this perpetuates the milling industry, which I do not agree with on many levels. Animals are not inventory, and should not be treated as such."

Another example is Cutter's Mill, a very successful natural pet shop with four locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that does not sell pets or even offer pet grooming services. The store does host numerous pet adoption events each month, often partnering with purebred rescue groups for breeds such as greyhounds and bulldogs; plus rescue groups for blind dogs, rabbits and other pets.

Even some big box stores, such as PetSmart, now partner with pet rescue groups to offer pets for adoption in-store in lieu of selling puppies and kitties.

Tips for Ceasing the Sale of Pets

There are a growing number of pet retailers who previously sold pets, but are getting away from this.
One pet retailer that took this route, with great success, is Discount Pet Supply in Salem, N.H.

Opened in 2010, the store previously sold puppies and kittens for profit, but decided to abandon this practice to instead partner with pet rescue groups in February 2012.

Interestingly, I saw online customer reviews for this store when they sold pets that were quite negative, for precisely that reason. But once the owners decided to stop this and go the adoption route, the customer comments were universally positive.

"We love it," said co-owner Judy Blackington. "This really turned everything around for us."
Blackington decided to go the adoption route after someone posted a picture of a homeless pet on her Facebook page. "I saw that there were puppies being killed that were as young as 8 weeks old," she said. "I realized that the puppies for sale were from puppy mills; they are being bred strictly for profit. It's not fair, and I decided I won't support that."

The store formed a partnership with Brookside Husky and Lab Rescue of Alton, Maine, and has kittens for adoption that are brought in by people whose cats have had litters. The dogs are also listed on Petfinder.com.

The store covers the costs of having the pets checked and tested by a vet for any potential health issues or diseases, and shots, and then offers them to customers for those costs. While the store obviously doesn't make a profit from the pets, customers have more money left over to spend on pet foods and supplies because these pets cost less than the ones sold for profit. Plus, the store's reputation has skyrocketed, resulting in increased repeat business. So it's a win-win for everyone.

A Win-Win for Puppies and Pet Shops

"We had 35 puppies adopted within three weeks, with eight more ready to go," Blackington said. "This has been worth its weight in gold."

The only downside, if you can call it that, is that other area pet businesses that engage in the sale of pets are not happy. "They're angry at us, because they're losing customers to us," Blackington said, with obvious pride.

So not only is this practice economically feasible for pet retailers, this actually can increase business.

The ASPCA's Cori Menkin agreed: "Refraining from selling pets is great P.R., and a great community relations tool."

Blackington added: "Since I started the adoption program, I can sleep at night!"
This is, indeed, the business model of the future.

This is not to say that there isn't a place in the industry for responsible, humane pet breeders. For more information about this, please see my article Ethical Puppy Breeders Guide.

For information about pet sales bans and a list of municipalities that do so, please see my article No Pets for Sale.