Will Oprah's exposure of pet stores make a difference?

I certainly hope so. I hope people really learned something from it. The more exposure about puppy mills the likelier something will be done about it. (at least I'm praying for that)

We need to write to congress and get a law passed to shut down puppy mills.

A few years back, I got my dog from a pet store. He was riddled with problems (still is) and upon looking for an answer why, I found out about puppy mills.

Now, I love my dog. But, if I had known about puppy mills when I went into that pet store, I would have not fallen so hard for him. I would have known better.

But, thanks to research, I do now. And I think Oprah bringing to light where these dogs come from will have some impact. Maybe not a huge one. People will still breed their animals un-responsibily because they feel it's THEIR animal and they can do what they want. And puppy mills will probably still churn out puppies. Just hopefully, because of that episode, less and less people will buy those puppies.

I LOVED the fact that they talked about shelters and what happens to the animals there. Those numbers are true. My local shelter's head vet came in to talk at my clinic and told us that they euthanized 53% of the 24,000 animals that came into their shelter last year.

Most people don't know what the problem is until they see it presented to them. There was someone on here not to long ago talking about how puppy mills were a big conspiracy to get people to not buy dogs and only get a pet from a shelter. Hopefully, this show put that person in their place!

I hope this show was a beginning to a much needed public dialog. We have 2 puppy mill rescues...a female from auction who was debarked as they described on the show and a young male another mill didn't want. They both have issues, but helping them has changed our lives.

The fact is we don't need pet stores. There are great, responsible breeders out there for those who love a breed and want a champion dog that meets that standard. And there are even more shelters with lovable, wonderful pets of all kinds who need homes. The difference is retail space in the mall for people who probably haven't done enough research about getting a dog in the first place.

I really do hope...

Reading information from a book, off the internet or being advised from a friend is sometimes not very effective. Now, when this type of information comes from a celebrity that hundreds of people idolize, it's bound to make a greater impact. (Such as fashon trends, pet trends, hair styles, etc)

It really opened my mother's eyes to the real world. She has always thought it was okay to buy a puppy from a store, and has many times attempted to do so. For years I have tried explaining to her about puppy mills, shown her websites, photographs, videos, etc - but it never seemed to get through to her. Now, today, she watched that show and vowed "We will NEVER buy a dog from a petstore, EVER".

Of course we have never purchased a dog from a pet store and surely it will never happen, but it's nice to know that she finally woke up to see the real deal.

No because people will always believe that it's some other pet store that buys from puppy mills - I went to one and they said that bought only from USDA approved kennels (which are typically puppy mills) but it's the semantics. People who want a dog NOW will not wait through the kind of process those of us who breed responsibly use to screen out potential homes.

Hopefully. I think it would definatly bring more awareness. I'm trying to make little jacket for my dog that says "from the shelter not the puppy mill"

I sure hope so!

A lot of the people that watch Oprah probably DO buy dogs from petstores and don't realize why it's bad. So hopefully, some learned. I haven't watched it yet, I had it recorded so I'm hoping they gave suggestions on appropriate places to acquire dogs.

Education, that has always been the key and what better way than with a celebrity like Oprah! Something has got to be done! And let it start here.

I really hope so, and people realize what kind of people they are making rich, they are NOT POOR OLD FASHIONED farmers, believe me, I don't live far from Lancaster Co.,Pa. can't speak for the other communities, but this community may live the old fashioned life with no frills, but, poor, I know they are very wealthy people, and pay very little taxes, don't believe in banks and such.

great. Now Oprah is exposing herself in pet stores. I'm calling the SPCA.