Puppy Mills and Pet Stores

by Mira P.

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! Tomorrow is 2013. Crazy, right?

So, pet stores. That is, pretty much, the entire reason I started Tiny Cages. I'll admit, at times, I just think, "Hey! This pet store's pretty good!" I just e-mailed PetCo and alerted them to their less-then-good treatment of their small animals (and the attitude of their employees). 

They e-mailed back with a polite "our pet treatment is very good. The animals are happy. We've told your PetCo about your complaints". It was the average reply. It was very nice and polite, and they actually almost fooled me into believing "hey! Why not shop here? They're nice!"

And then I'm reminded of why I started Tiny Cages - because of tiny cages! Regardless of how well they treat their animals, the cage size is unacceptable. In fact, pretty much just selling the animal is unacceptable. They rarely, if ever, come from happy places. Hosting an adoption event every once in a while would be fantastic! That is how, I believe, they should do it. That would be humane and a good idea.
 
There are so many animals in shelters that are good pets, are wonderful, loyal, and fun pets. Someone, I can't remember who, I apologize, said that shelter animals are viewed as "damaged goods" - when it's not like that at all! They are wonderful, but sometimes get the short end of the stick. 

A while ago, there was an ad that played on TV. It showed a man driving up in a truck, throwing a bone out the window. Then the dog ran after it, and the man drove away. The dog said something like "I'm not a bad dog. He's just a jerk!" Then they added some humor to it, having the dog pick up something and say, "I have his wallet!" And I think that's exactly right. They're not bad dogs, they had bad owners.

I am a bit ignorant, I must say, on this subject, as I am too sensitive to look it up, but I am quite sure most pet stores dogs come from puppy mills. And, if you don't know, puppy mills are extremely cruel places where dogs are forced to mate and make babies. The babies are sold in pet stores. They're kept in small and filthy cages and often undernourished and unhealthy. Puppy mills are the ultimate "tiny cages". 

However, in the USA, they are still legal.  Why? I have no idea. If everyone pools together, I'm sure that one day, puppy mills will become illegal. And, of course, that won't stop some of them - but if we all manage to shut down one, just one, it will have made a big impact on dog's lives - and our lives. Humans and other animals should be able to live in harmony together, but we can't if we keep ignoring them, ignoring the fact that they can feel pain, happiness, and lots of other things some people view as "human emotions". And we can stop it. If humans can put it together, humans can stop it, too.

It is my opinion that pet stores shouldn't sell animals. If they truly loved them like they say they do, they would not sell them. My favorite pet store, PetClub, actually says they don't sell animals because they love them. I very strongly recommend trying to find a pet store like that. 

It may seem to you like a waste of time - after all, what's one person not buying anything from a huge chain of stores? But one person CAN make a difference. Think about it. All those times you go there, you're giving them money. Sure, PetCo and Petsmart (is it Pet-Smart or Pets-Mart? Will we ever know?) are huge and one person doesn't affect them, but one person affects another. Then another. And maybe you will prove to a lot of people that they can do better in terms of giving their money to good organizations.  

One last thing, (and I hope this doesn't come across as offensive to anyone; please alert me if it did) it may seem to you that your pet store is very good - the employees are friendly, their pets are healthy, and their prices are good. But please think about where their pets are coming from. Puppy mills, unhappy places? Is your money contributing to that? And how about their cage size? Is it large enough? 

Thank you all, and have a wonderful new year! Oh, and a P.S., check out the Humane Society's attempt to stop puppy mills. Everyone can help and make a difference - it's true! 

Multiple Things

by Mira P.

Hey, everyone. There hasn't been very much activity on Tiny Cages recently, except for an occasional Facebook status, so I have a few things to say here.

One - one thing I've been wanting to talk about ever since I made this blog is one of the first things people may think of when they think "tiny cages" and "animal abuse", but it's one that, sadly, a lot of people unknowingly contribute to - puppy mills.

Puppy mills are an inhumane yet legal thing that's been going on for years, decades, I don't know how long. They force dogs to mate with each other and take the babies away before they're ready, all to sell them to pet stores so they can make money. They keep them in tiny cages and sometimes dogs never get to see sunlight their entire lives. The people who manage them more often than not don't take care of them properly; in fact, it's downright animal abuse, there's no questioning that.

Two - onto to something a little more cheerful than the subject of puppy mills is a problem I notice with some individuals. Not puppy mills, or corporations, but just regular people. One thing I notice is that a lot of people view getting a dog, for example, as "buying a dog".

To me, this attitude of "I'm going to buy a dog" can seem fine, but can also hide bad intentions. Sometimes it's an innocent thought, but sometimes it's a "this dog is a toy" or "this dog is for shows only" or even just something like "this dog is not my pet, nor a family member". A dog, or a cat, to me, is like a child. You wouldn't adopt a child without having a loving home ready and waiting, you wouldn't adopt a child without doing plenty of research on parenting first, and you wouldn't adopt a child simply for show - so why do it when it's a dog and not a child?

A dog is a family member, just like a child. A dog may be equally as traumatized as a child if given up by a family he loved and thought loved him, or if brought into a home where no love is given.

Three - The last thing I have to talk about is something much more cheerful than the last two. Have you ever seen a video or a story of a solider returning from the war to greet his child or maybe his dog? They're pretty popular, and it's likely you have.

The SAC (Soldiers' Animal Companions) Fund helps soldiers that have found dogs or cats in Afghanistan to keep the dogs by sending them back to the USA so they are waiting for their owner to return. There are many sweet stories. If the soldier cannot keep the dog, they help get it adopted into a loving home. The dogs are always so happy to see their soldier return, and the feelings are mutual! Lots of times the soldiers say that the dog helped save their life, even if it's just that the dog was there when they were having a tough time or missing their family.

Here's SAC Fund if you want to check it out. And if you want to, please donate! It's a wonderful thing they are doing and they could use all the help they could get.

My Local PetCo vs. My Local Petsmart

by Mira P.

I've been to both PetCo and Petsmart multiple times, and while neither of them is my preferred petstore, I thought I'd compare the two to see which one is better overall.

Here's my opinion of each store, though you probably already know my opinion of PetCo:

Petsmart - While the prices are a bit more expensive than PetCo, the employees are friendlier and the animals appear to be happier than the ones at PetCo. Their store is bigger, which, in turn, is less claustrophobic. The cages are probably the same size as the ones at PetCo, however, they do seem more cheerful. The employees there seem to care for the animals, and they have a safe area where you can hold the small animals (such as rats).

PetCo - The store is pretty dark and not very welcoming. Like I've said before, the rodents section is awful. It feels like they don't care about the animals whatsoever. The whole store kind of has that feeling. I don't believe there's an area where you can take out the animals. I asked at another PetCo and they said there wasn't, so I assume it's the same in all PetCo's, but I could be wrong on this. It would be better if you could take them out, like you can at Petsmart, so you can get a feel for your potential pet's personality before buying it. Sadly, a lot of animals get returned or abandoned because owners did not get to know them before buying them. This PetCo does have okay prices, and I'm sure the employees are friendly. I, unfortunately, did not get a friendly one.


Though I would definitely prefer that people not shop at petstores that sell animals, because it's uncommon the animals get treated correctly in that situation, out of my two local ones I would vastly prefer Petsmart. I strongly suggest you check out your stores, especially ones that sell live animals, before you buy from them. Check them out, see how they treat their pets, then make your decision - do you want to support them with your money?

Preventing Abuse

We must try and prevent animal abuse, but first we must recognize the signs of an abused animal that needs your help. You can't just report a lost dog with a broken foot and say it is "abused" because there is not enough evidence in that case.


From the ASPCA:

Physical Signs

• Collar so tight that it has caused a neck wound or has become embedded in the pet’s neck 
• Open wounds, signs of multiple healed wounds or an ongoing injury or illness that isn’t being treated 
• Untreated skin conditions that have caused loss of hair, scaly skin, bumps or rashes 
• Extreme thinness or emaciation—bones may be visible 
• Fur infested with fleas, ticks or other parasites 
• Patches of bumpy, scaly skin rashes 
• Signs of inadequate grooming, such as extreme matting of fur, overgrown nails and dirty coat 
• Weakness, limping or the inability to stand or walk normally 
• Heavy discharge from eyes or nose 
• An owner striking or otherwise physically abusing an animal 
• Visible signs of confusion or extreme drowsiness

Environmental Signs

• Pets are tied up alone outside for long periods of time without adequate food or water, or with food or water that is unsanitary 
• Pets are kept outside in inclement weather without access to adequate shelter 
• Pets are kept in an area littered with feces, garbage, broken glass or other objects that could harm them 
• Animals are housed in kennels or cages (very often crowded in with other animals) that are too small to allow them to stand, turn around and make normal movements possibly with too many other animals

-Miranda J.

Welcome to Tiny Cages

Welcome to Tiny Cages, a blog dedicated to animals and stopping the abuse of them. In this blog, I'll be sharing animal facts, pictures, and videos, and charities, as well. 

Animal abuse can be well camouflaged and hard to spot. Like PetCo shows frequently, animal abuse can also be brushed aside easily, supposed to be forgotten. This blog is here to try and show that animal abuse can't be ignored or forgotten, and that it is never okay, no matter how eloquent the person denying it may be.

I've gone to the same PetCo many, many times, and only recently have I looked at their rodents section, which is pretty disgusting. There were so many rats packed into one very small cage, and while they didn't look very unhealthy, they didn't look very healthy, either. The guinea pig cage was pretty appalling, as well. Any guinea pig lover can tell you that even if you have just one, guinea pigs need a lot of space, so they can run around and popcorn (a way of expressing happiness for guinea pigs). They had two guinea pigs in a cage so small they could barely walk, much less run. And all the cages looked pretty gross. There was poop on the food bowls, and the cage just felt grimy. And if you go two or three days in a row, or possibly even more, you may notice the cages look exactly the same as they did yesterday.

When I told an employee there that the guinea pig cages were way too small, she told me rather rudely that it was very temporary and made a face at me, quite plainly trying to rush me out. True, at other PetCo's I've gone to, the employees were friendlier than that one, but they all pretty much said the same thing - that it was very temporary, that they were only in there for a week. Here's my argument for why I don't like that answer:

For a guinea pig, time is not the same as it is for humans. That's why people say, after a beloved animal has passed after a few years, that they lived a long life - because it's true. Not for us, but for them. To a rat, two years is sixty years old (give or take). So while to us, they lived for a very short time, to them, they lived a long and happy life. So putting a guinea pig in a small cage for only a week is not a good argument, because a human week is seven days, but a guinea pig week could be months or so. And even if time was the same for humans and other animals, imagine if someone put you in a box you couldn't really move around in for only a week. You'd know you were getting out, but wouldn't it be terrible to not be able to run around, exercise, express happiness in your own way, even if it's for just a week?

If you want to tell or ask me anything, e-mail me at tinycages@gmail.com.