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A pet store or pet shop is a store at which one can purchase supplies for pets. Many pet stores also stock certain varieties of animals.
Animals stocked at pet stores
Pet shops commonly carry fish for home aquariums, small birds such as parakeets, small mammals such as fancy rats and hamsters, and small reptiles such as lizards and snakes. Mice, small goldfish, and other animals that serve to be live food (called feeders) for reptiles and fish are also usually sold.
Puppies and kittens
Less common in pet stores are larger mammals such as dogs and cats. In part, selling these animals have become less popular in stores because many pet stores have received bad press for inappropriate care of puppies and kittens, which need socialization and are vulnerable to illnesses, and for their purchasing the animals from puppy mills. Some shops that carry puppies and kittens charge higher prices for them the same animal from a breeder, but some stores provide valuable services or guarantees not available from a private seller. Consumers should be sure to ask about the level of care provided while an animal is in a pet stores care and then determine whether they think that level of care is adequate and responsible. There are many smaller, privately owned pet stores that carry puppies and kittens and maintain a superb level of care and get animals from small, private breeders.As a result, it is cheaper and more humane to acquire dogs and cats from animal shelters, private breeders, or rescue groups than from pet stores.
Exotic pets
Exotic pets like sugar gliders, large snakes and large parrots are available at some pet shops. Because the care of these types of animals is difficult and expensive, usually only stores that specialize in exotic animals carry them as regular stock.Potential problems with pet stores that stock pets
While many people are satisfied with the pets they acquire from pet stores, critics of pet stores argue that there are numerous problems with the way some stores acquire, care for, and sell animals. These stores give more reputable stores a bad name. Consumers should be sure to ask about the level of care provided while an animal is in a pet stores care and then determine whether they think that level of care is adequate and responsible.
Some stores acquire most or all of their stock from large-scale commercial breeding operations that may also supply animals to industries that pet store patrons could find morally objectionable (such as cosmetics testing). Overcrowded cages and long, stressful journeys via air or truck can cause the spread of disease, resulting in sick animals arriving in the store. A pet store with a responsible, educated staff should have no problem caring for these animals. It is important for the consumer to exercise his/her own judgment in determining whether they feel that a particular pet store is reputable or not.
Large pet store chains frequently house sick animals in plain view with their other stock, while a more responsible store will have a separate area for sick animals. Store employees are sometimes inappropriately educated in the handling of animals; picking up fancy rats by their tails, for example, is a common pet shop practice even though it is known to be painful to the animal. Due to the nature of some store environments, animals sometimes are not properly socialized by the time they are sold to their new owner. This can result in frustration for the owner and even the eventual abandonment of the pet. The potential pet owner should look for a pet store environment that provides for the socialization of the pets, both with other animals and with people. There are smaller, individually owned pet stores who do a better job than the chain stores with maintaining the animals health and environment. Many of these stores also use smaller private breeders from all over the country.
Some pet stores have a screening system and attempt to counsel or interview potential pet owners. Reputable stores may refuse to sell a pet to someone who appears irresponsible or otherwise unable to care for the pet they wish to buy. However, most stores do not abide by this policy, and even reputable stores (as well as animal shelters and private breeders) may mistakenly sell pets into homes where they will be abused or abandoned. Many animals are purchased on impulse (especially as pets for children); these animals suffer when the novelty of the new pet wears off. The responsibility for these animals eventually falls onto the shoulders of the consumer who failed to consider all of the responsibilities of pet ownership.
"Pet store"