Rant: Impulse buying pets

[littleindiangirl]

Pet stores make money on supplies. Not animals.

That's the driving force behind moving those animals as quickly as possible to whoever has the cash. The longer they have them, the more money they are "losing" towards housing, feeding, caring and potentially the death of the animal while in their care.

The quicker they can sell it, the higher profit margin they earn.

[tigerlily]

We each have our own preference and viewpoint on the situation, and that is to be expected. I do see some of the merits of your opinion. Maybe you see some merits of mine, maybe not. We respectfully disagree with eachother. How often do you see that on "teh internets" these days!?!?

Not too often.

I completely understand the urge to want to educate and give information to these type of people. My husband has walked me out of stores before because I was laying into the staff because of dead animals in cages, or emaciated/dehydrated animals. All I can positively say that came out of that situation is that an animal was taken to the backroom to recieve individual care, although I doubt it survived. (well that and my increased blood pressure) I try now to not get as worked up, as it just makes me crazy.

What's important is that no matter what approach either of us may believe in, the message is the same: a pet is not something to buy on a whim or impulse.

Impulse buying is definitely not a good thing, but there are still many animals that find good homes this way. So not all impulse buying is bad, which is usally how this world works. Absolutes are very rare in my opinion.

I want to get a puppy Daschund right now more than anything in the world. I have ever since the Daschund of my childhood passed away a few years ago. But I know that I don't have the time and means to give it the life it deserves, so I will have to wait, most likely many years, before I can get one. But when that day comes it will be well worth it.

I'm really wanting another dog as well. I'm wanting a bigger dog, but I would like to wait until my older dog passes. At this point I could handle another dog, but I'm waiting for just the right dog and the right situation to come along. So when the time comes it will be a bit of an impulse, although a planned impulse?

[simplechamp]

So when the time comes it will be a bit of an impulse, although a planned impulse?

That is a good point you bring up. There are different levels of impulse buying. Not all can be lumped in together. I should have addressed this in my OP to avoid any misunderstandings.

You might decide on a whim to go get a new dog one day, but you have been thinking about it for awhile, you have experience with dogs, and you are confident you are capable of providing that animal a good life. This would bring up a logical question; if you have thought about this in depth, and over a peroid of time, is it really an impulse anymore? Going out and buying a dog ON THAT PARTICULAR DAY may be spontaneous, but the idea of wanting another dog has been instilled in your mind for quite some time. Going out and buying another BP on a whim when you have a collection of many is impulsive, but not the type of behavior I was critisizing. Going out and buying a new fish to add to a healthy and well established aquarium could be an impulse, but again, not the type I was meaning to bring up here.

The type of behavior I disagree with is when someone gets the idea in their head that they want a certain pet, and act on that desire immediately, without any of the required planning and research. Situations where the person buys first and asks questions later, almost as an afterthought. "Oh by the way, what does this animal eat?" as they're walking out of the store. These are the type that must be avoided. I would suggest, as a rule of thumb, if someone becomes interested in a certain pet they hold back the urge to buy immediately, research as much as they can for no less than a week, and then decide if the pet is right for them.

It can be summed up by saying EDUCATED impulse buys can be alright at times. UNEDUCATED impulse buys are the type that get my blood boiling.