It’s been awhile since I’ve been to Thomson, I knew there were quite a few new pet stores set up there and curious to see for myself the condition and if it has improved ever since my last visit in 2013.
On my first stop, I noticed one pet shop that had closed down and taken over by another pet business, they sold puppies so I went in right away. The whole shop was clean and bright with individual space to hold individual puppies, there were with no grills underneath their paws unlike what I’ve seen with the previous store. The condition of the puppies looked okay at first glance, but after awhile I started to notice a number mixed breeds being sold as well as weird labeling, price was also rather high, with some up to 2 times the market rate.
Some examples - Toy poodles selling at $2600, Chi hua hua with bloated stomach and a Maltese being labeled as “Compact Maltese”. What does compact means? Maybe they were replacing the overly used Mini? Other than that, I honestly felt they were doing a good job keeping the space clean and well maintained.
The next visit was to another pet store nearby, I wanted to enter but it wasn’t open, the shop was very dark and when I tried to look through the tinted glasses I could see a groomer table hidden behind a wall. Out in front was a poster emphasizing on scaling services. Everything looked a bit shady if you ask me.
Lastly, I managed to find another pet store along the same stretch. They also had puppies for sale and I remembered seeing this name on my Facebook feed, right away I went in! At the entrance was a barrier and in there were a couple of large breed dogs and some small ones, they looked a little curious but not overly excited. Beside were stacks of crates with glass door, they looked okay but not as spacious as the first shop. I saw 2 puppies on that day, one was a toy poodle. As there were no one around I decided to wait while interacting with the other dogs there, then out of a sudden a guy greeted me in a loud tone, I started to ask if they were selling dogs and he said yes. He looked busy and had a weird look on his face, I couldn’t explain what but finally knew why in the end. I will share my conversation below and you can judge for yourself.
Me:
May I know if you are selling dogs?
*Expecting him to invite me in*
Guy:
Yes, what breed are you looking for? Breed, size, color, gender?
Me:
You mean you can get any dog I want based on my description? As I can only see 2 dogs on display here.
Guy:
Yes I can. So what breed?
Me:
Poodles? I’m asking for a friend
Guy:
*Points at the 2 dogs on display*
There, there’s a standard poodle and a toy poodle
Me:
How about red toy poodle?
Guy:
Who is your friend? Girl? Boy? Age?
Me:
*started to feel a bit weird but answered anyway*
eh... male, 30+
Guy:
Is he a first time dog owner?
Me:
Yes
Guy:
*speed up his voice out of a sudden*
Then he will definitely throw the dog away after awhile
Me:
*confused with what I heard, thinking that I may have heard wrongly*
Excuse me, what does this have to do with it?
Guy:
*raises his voice a little*
You know it’s not easy to raise a dog, need to take care everyday, not just buy and leave it there
Me:
*nod my head, still trying to keep my smile*
Guy:
Grooming not easy, 2 hours daily brush and now I am taking 6 hours to full groom a poodle, bath, brush, blow dry, comb, cut
*goes on and on till I was a bit dizzy and confused*
Me:
*trying to assure what I’ve heard*
So you are saying my friend will throw his dog away just because he’s a first timer?
Guy:
Yes! Male owner and first timer, surely will throw away one! Then throw to shelter!
Me:
*what the hell...*
What does this have to do with first timer?
Guy:
No la, your friend not suitable one la
Me:
*starting to get pissed off so I changed subject, looking at the price tag I was shocked*
Is this black toy poodle $3600?
Guy:
*firmly*
Yes!
Me:
With pedigree certification?
Guy:
*raises voice again*
NO, you are not bringing to dog show why need cert, want cert $5-6k!
Me:
Are you the breeder?
Guy:
No, I am not
Me:
So where you get your puppies from?
Guy:
*makes a weird, cocky unhappy face again*
Pet farm
Me:
So if I want a red toy poodle, you can find for me?
Guy:
Nope don’t have, what you see is on the display
Me:
Okay.....
*so all the "what breed you want" bullshit is just nonsense talk?*
Guy:
Your friend not suitable, first timer sure throw....
*starting all the nonsense again*
Me:
*started to raise my voice too*
If first timer sure throw, then why are there second timers?
Guy:
*continue repeating and shouting, even cutting off my speech a lot of times*
I then turn my back and left without a word, he was still mumbling as I left. I do not know why he was acting like he did, if he did not like selling dogs, then why put them on display? If he did not like dogs to be abandoned, why import from farms and then sell them at exorbitant prices?
So maybe he don’t wish to sell to first timer that is a male and has no children, but is this the way to judge if a person is responsible? I have many single male friends that owned dogs and had owned them responsibly for many years and generations.
Was there a need to be so aggressive?
Is this the way to treat customer?
Is this how a business should educate a customer on dog care?
I don’t know why this guy was even hired to tend to the store, I definitely won’t return anytime soon. Overall, it seemed that Thomson's pet store's condition had improved over the years, but the pricing is above average for the quality given.
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