Puppies 'N Love

Today, my family and I went to a mall to visit a pet store my father told me he sees when he goes on his runs. The store was called Puppies 'N Love and the first thing you'd notice is that there was dogs in the window of the store.

Yup, dogs in a window. Like they are fancy items to lure you in. And then you go into the store. The cages are tiny for puppies, completely unacceptable. The floors of the cages were uncomfortable and the dogs tried their hardest to stay off of it. They gave the dogs blankets, but they didn't cover the entire floor.

The dogs, to me, looked like they were generally unhealthy and unhappy. There was one that didn't move the entire time we were there. When we were there, I saw at least two other people who looked like they were there to check out the treatment of the animals. 

They had stickers up that said that they could guarantee that the dogs didn't come from puppy mills. They also had up signs about the breeders they got the dogs from (which I'm 80% sure is a lie, both of them). The employee sounded like she was saying that often the dogs get returned, then noticed that we looked shocked and started to say instead that customers came back for more dogs. Which leads me to my next point:

PUPPIES ARE NOT IMPULSE PURCHASES! You don't go to a pet store for a toy and say, "eh, might as well get another dog!"

Overall, even if the dogs looked like they were healthy and happy, I would try to put a stop to this store. They blatantly lie, and never before have I seen a store that genuinely made me feel sick. But this one did. It made me sick to my stomach to look at those innocent puppies that were in tiny cages with flooring that would hurt their paws. It made me sick to look at those dogs in the front window, treated as nothing more than future money.

If you ever see a Puppies 'N Love, please don't shop there. The animals are treated horribly, and no matter the justifications or lies it isn't okay.

Guinea Pigs!

By Mira P

We've (my family and I) had two pairs of guinea pigs, the first, a pair of girls named Kiki and Whiskers and our current pair, two girls named Sugar and Charkie (like charcoal). Guinea pigs are a great pet. I, unfortunately, am allergic to them.

As much as I hate to admit it, my gut reaction when someone tells me they're getting a guinea pig is "no! Don't get a guinea pig!" Mostly because most people I know (not most people in general) don't really know how to take proper care of a guinea pig; they are oftentimes seen as an over-sized hamster.

This myth that a guinea pig is a big hamster can be deadly. Guinea pigs are actually rather complicated to take care of, and aren't the same as hamster at all. The first and most important thing - cage size. People commonly get the wrong sized cage for a guinea pig. Guinea pigs need a lot of space, because they like to run around and popcorn. (visit Cavy Cages for more info on cage size) I have never seen an appropriate sized cage for a guinea pig at a pet store - never.

I once read a book where the author most likely mixed up "hamster" and "guinea pig" or "rat" and "guinea pig". It included a scene where the "guinea pig" ran away and got lost (guinea pigs are not small and would likely be found moderately quickly, but of course, they could also get lost. My guinea pigs have never shown an interest), where they picked the guinea pig's cage up (a cage shouldn't be small enough that you can pick it up) and one of them said "close the top or she will climb out" (a guinea pig could jump out if their cage is low enough, but they can't climb out).

It was a minor mistake, but it just shows that guinea pigs and hamsters are too easily mixed up. What do you guys think?

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?

If you put one in a cage, then why not the other?

Why would you put a rodent in a small cage if you wouldn't put a human in a small cage? Is there really a difference? Is this really fair? Treat any animal the way you treat yourself, or a different human. Be compassionate to rodents and other animals, please. They need space to move around and do other things, just like us. We are animals too.
Thank you.



By Hanna, age 11