When it comes to buying a dog or cat the rule is: always do your research and buy from a reputable breeder. Or, better still, adopt your pet from one of the thousands of shelters in the UK bursting at the seams.
NEVER buy a dog or cat from a pet shop (you’d be hard-pushed to since 2018) and ALWAYS make sure you know a little bit about who you are buying from.
A man from the states purchased a puppy from a shop in Bensonhurst, NY only to find out later the animal had some severe abnormalities and a life-limiting disease.
Banned in the UK
Since the end of 2018, buying a kitten or puppy from a pet shop has been illegal in the UK. The legislation was put in place in order to halt the rise of puppy farms. Owners of puppy farms traditionally filtered their litters to pet shops which then sold them on without carrying out the necessary checks. Third party sales of a cat or dog less than six months old are now prohibited and any propsective buyer must deal directly with either the breeder or an authorised rehoming centre.
The US department of commerce has so far received 18 complaints from angry owners about the poor state of health of the dogs bought from the Bensonhurst shop. Buyer beware!
