Where NOT to get a Puppy                    updated 12/31/2008

    Please do not buy a puppy for a gift.

    A puppy may be cute, but it comes with a lot of needs and expenses.  Puppies
    grow quickly.  As as they grow, they need constant supervision, training,
    exercise, food, medical care, attention and a ton of your patience, time, and
    money.  Puppies are a lot of work.

    The time to get a puppy is after you have carefully thought about your lifestyle
    and how a puppy might or might not fit in.  You need to research breeds and
    learn all you can about the characteristics of breeds you are interested in. If
    you are a quiet person who isn't interested in having to walk a couple miles a
    couple times a day, then a Husky is not the breed for you.

    Puppies do not make good gifts. The recipient may not even want a pet.  The
    pet may be all wrong for that person.  A person needs to research the type of
    pet that is suited to their life style and decide if they even want the
    responsibility of a pet.  Pets do not make good gifts for children.  Children
    cannot assume responsibility for the complete care of a pet.  Often the novelty
    wears off and the pet is no longer wanted or cared for.  Then what happens to
    the pet?

    Where NOT to get a Puppy
  • Online Sellers
  • Pet Stores
  • Unscrupulous "Breeders"
  • Someone selling puppies on the street

    Online Sellers sell puppies to anyone who can pay the price. Online sellers are  large
    puppy mills who breed and house dogs in substandard conditions.  The parentage of
    the dogs is most often unknown.  They ship puppies all over the place and have no  
    interest in the welfare of the puppy.  Often these puppies arrive ill, terrified,
    unsocialized and come with health and psychological problems that can last a
    lifetime.  The motive for online sellers is to make money no matter what.  They do
    NOT care about their puppies.

    Pet Stores get puppies from puppy mills from all over the country or from local
    backyard "breeders" interested only in profit.  Pet stores do not care who buys the
    puppy - if you have a credit card or cash, you can have the puppy.  They don't care if
    the breed is suitable to your lifestyle or if you are buying on impulse.  Walk into a pet
    store, hand them your credit card and you own a puppy.  If you change your mind, you
    have to find someone else to take on the puppy.

    The truth is that pet store puppies come from puppy mills which are houses of pain
    and horror for the dogs kept there.  Puppies are shipped in large quantities to stores
    and then sold to anyone who has money.  The health and psychological problems
    such dogs face can last a lifetime.  

    Unscrupulous "Breeders" are people who indiscriminately breed puppies in their
    homes and backyards for the sole purpose of making money.  The dogs are often
    kept in basements, backyards and sheds with minimal care and little to no
    socialization. Their dogs are not of good quality and often have genetic defects such
    as hip dysplasia, heart problems, eye defects.  

    Let's talk about American Kennel Club (AKC) registration.  Pet stores, online sellers
    and unscrupulous breeders brag that the pups are AKC registered.  The key word
    here is "registered".  Your car is registered, but does the Dept of Motor Vehicles
    guarantee that your car is a high-quality well-maintained car?  No, it does not.  
    Neither does AKC registration.  The AKC is simply a registry that depends on the
    integrity of the people registering dogs.  AKC in no way can guarantee quality, health
    or temperament of a dog.  A breeder fills out paperwork and mails in a fee to register
    the dogs.  That's it.  

    Stay away from anyone who

  •  refuses to let you meet the mother dog
  •  refuses to let you see where the puppies are kept,
  •  will meet you in a parking lot or deliver the puppy sight unseen to you
  •  keeps the puppies in a pen in the basement or back yard 24/7
  •  keeps the dogs in a filthy area
  •  doesn't interview you as if you were adopting a child
  •  will sell you a dog under 8 weeks old (Selling a puppy that is under 8 weeks
    old is against State Law and for good reason.  Puppies learn important canine
    social skills by staying with the mom and litter until 8 weeks minimum.  Dogs
    taken from the litter before 8 weeks have serious social skill deficits that can
    lead to behavior problems such as aggression, fearfulness, and inability to
    cope with new experiences.)
Dogs, Puppies, Birds Seized In Kennel Raid
Complaints Against Breeder Leads To Investigation

POSTED: 11:19 am EST December 10, 2008
UPDATED: 8:12 pm EST December 10, 2008


BETHANY, Conn. -- State police served a search warrant at a Bethany dog kennel
Wednesday.

Animal control officers arrived at the kennel on Oakridge Drive Wednesday morning. Animal
officers from several cities and towns, including East Haven, Naugatuck and Milford, were called to
the home.


38 Puppies Among Animals Found In Kennel Raid


Department of Agriculture officials said that 11 adult German shepherds and Labradors were seized
in the raid as well as 38 puppies.

They said 56 birds, including finches, doves, pigeons and parakeets were also taken from the kennel,
as well as about 50 waterfowl of various breeds.

Police said the property was zone for, at most, 30 dogs.

State officials said the kennel is owned by Jeffery Boyarsky, 41. They said the Department of
Agriculture had recently received complaints from citizens who said their puppies became ill after
being purchased from Boyarsky.

One complainant said that their puppy had to be euthanized because it was so ill.

Officials said an investigation into the care and conditions at the kennel was launched after the
complaints were filed. State officials said the property was inspected on Tuesday and that frozen
water buckets, thin dogs and a lethargic puppy were found.

All of the animals seized Wednesday will be examined by a veterinarian and housed in local shelters
pending a court case. Officials said one puppy had been admitted Wednesday to an animal hospital
for treatment.

"It appears that these animals were not receiving proper care including veterinary care and adequate
water," said Commissioner of Agriculture Philip Prelli. "This may have contributed to the puppies
Mr. Boyarsky sold becoming sick. The department takes all animal neglect complaints seriously and
acted in the best interest of these animals."

Members of the State Environmental Conservation Police said that Boyarsky also owned birds for
which he needed a game breeder's license.

Prelli said the department may pursue criminal cruelty charges in the case.

The investigation into the kennel is ongoing, officials said.

A woman who identified herself as one of the kennel's owners told Eyewitness News that all of the
kennel's animals are legal and being taken care of properly.
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