The Puppy Store

the owner is really down to earth and takes great care of the puppies. This store has lots of varieties of dog accessories where you can’t find any where else. Great services-​especially dog grooming services. Very courteous and professional staffs-​not pushy to sell like other stores. Convenient hours and I would recommend to my friends and family for their pets’ needs. Great Job for the owner for choosing to adopt!

I got a puppy here around Feb. of this year. After losing a dog recently I asked the people there personally if this puppy was healthy and in near perfect condition. They said «Oh yea he is fine». I called the place a few days later just to ask some more questions where they said to me «Well don’t get mad but, your dog at one point had PARVO». PARVO is a very SERIOUS health condition that effects puppies. Not only did I find out that my dog had parvo, and survived that I was the SECOND OWNER. The previous owner returned the dog after taking it to the vet, because he got sick. They neglected to tell me ANY of this when I first got the dog. Thankfully today he is growing up to be a healthy dog. I think that this place should be shut down, because I’m am one of many people on here that have gotten a dog from here that had PARVO. Today I took my dog to the vet again, in the office there was a dog there very sick that someone had gotten from «the puppy store», the vet later told me the dog had PARVO as well. This place needs to go or needs to seriously clean up its act. If your looking for a dog, go to a shelter don’t go here.

I got my puppy from the Puppy store BEFORE they changed their model into adoption. I’m quite peeved because I was mislead. I thought the puppystore sold dogs from reputable breeders near by, kind of like being their middlemen. This is a quote from their cached webpage. «We DO NOT support puppy mills! All of our puppies are from USDA certified licensed and reputable private breeders. All the puppies are examined every week by a licensed veterinarian to insure their perfect health. Each of our puppies are housed in custom designed, temperature controlled holding units and are only here for a couple days until they go home with their new loving families. Also, we feed our puppies the best of the best, organic puppy food with purified drinking water. Last but not least the store is fully equipped with a new generation ultraviolet (UVC) light technology system to insure the air quality and to protect the health of the puppies.»
I bought my baby girl maltese from them October 17, 2008. We took her home with us after visiting LA on October 19. That night we were back, she would not eat and was throwing up water. I thought perhaps she was carsick or something and the throwing up was just something temporary. I was worried since she wasn’t eating and she was a tiny little thing that could go into hypoglycemic shock if not fed. The next day, she couldn’t keep anything down. No food or water. I rushed her to the vet that evening. She was in my care for less than 24 hours and was diagnosed with having Parvo (pre-​existing, since it takes a few days for symptoms to show), which can be fatal for puppies if not treated. Parvo basically is bacteria attacking the digestive system… they vomit blood and diarrhea blood. (At the point of that symptom, it’s often too late). We got her into see the vet right before she vomited and had bloody diarrhea. I had the option of treating her for around 3K (depends on how they take to treatment) or putting her to sleep. I decided to pay for my mistake of purchasing a puppy mill dog and help her to live. Luckily, she survived and is a bouncing puppy.
I cannot express all the anger, frustration, sadness, and financial hardship the puppy store caused. My poor little puppy is probably traumatized for life since she spent her first week in her new home in isolation at the vet. Thankfully, I was covered by the puppy lemon law and the puppy store paid her FULL bill (usually they pay 150% of the puppy’s paid value). I am thankful for that. However, it doesn’t make up for everything we went through, since we were dumb and too trusting. I thought I did my research, but I guess just taking the store’s word and googling them doesn’t always help!
I find it hilarious that they now admit «OrangeBone is the first store of its kind to evolve from selling purebreed puppies (puppymill dogs) to shelter and rescue animals.» that they sold puppy milled puppies, especially after stating in person and on their website that their dogs came from private breeder and not puppy mills. I am thankful they are taking steps to change, and I guess that I can thank my puppy for helping that process along.

Instantly giving this place one star because cleanliness is important to me when it comes to caring for animals.
I’ve been to this place a total of two times. BOTH times I had the displeasure of smelling puppy pee that had been waftering from the back room where one could make themselves aquainted with puppies.
I feel incredibly sad walking into this place. The first time I walked in was day after new years, and saw the saddest looking dog peering at me from one of the windows. Almost a full month later and he was still there it was truly breaking my heart. Both times I have been in this store, none of the puppies were up and playing, they were all sort of laying about.
I agree with a previous poster that perhaps this store should have been focused more on a sort of dog-​fashion element. The puppies in the «meet and greet» area in the back were filthy, and sleeping in their own pee which had trickled out almost into the entrance way of the room.
I really hope the owners read the Unilocal reviews and at the very least, keep it clean.

supposedly the owner has agreed to get his dogs from Los Angeles Animal Care Shelters… NOT puppy mills.
yay!!! well done.

The only cool thing about this place was the front window display where they had TV’s showing the camera feed of some of the puppies in their cages. It’s not as cute as those webcam puppies.
Once you’re in the store, there’s a lot of space for their overpriced dog accessories. The inside looks cool with the play area to play with the puppies, but that’s the only thing they got going. The puppies do look sad.
It also makes me sad to think some dumb LA girl that’s shopping along Melrose Ave will stop in, buy a dog, stick it in a Juicy Couture dog carrier and make it her little accessory. Walk your dog bitch.

It would be one thing if they sold neat little outfits for dogs… ONLY.
Problem is, they sell fucking puppies. From puppy mills. They claim to be «members of the ASPCA». All that takes is joining. I called the ASPCA and they are revoking their membership, AND considering charges for the false affiliation.
This place is a fucking horror. They treat the puppies like crap. Please, I beg of you BOYCOTT this place. If you want a dog, check out the pound first:
If your heart is dead set on a pure-​bred pet, that is ok, but research RESPONSIBLE BREEDERS, not ones that come from a puppy mill.
Supporting this store DIRECTLY costs an animal a life. This is not an extreme statement, it is the truth. Boycotting stores like this causes the puppy mills to produce less puppies, etc. etc. You can not imagine the torture that the mother dogs go through. 10 – 15 litters per lifetime, no social interaction, just complete horror.
The Puppy Store is also run by rude, gross people (i went in and checked it out). When I confronted the person about the ASPCA affiliation, he got completely paranoid, and just started double talking.
Please please please go get your cute dog outfits somewhere else, and whatever you do, do not buy a puppy from here.
Shame on you Puppy Store. Shame.

5 stars for the décor and modern feel to it, but 1 star for the selection/​concept. they focused more on the dog outfits and the décor of this place rather than the comfort of the dogs being sold. I felt bad :(
the only reason i would ever encourage anyone to get a puppy from here is to free it from living in this place. Poor thingsss.
I’m a huge animal rights kinda gal. I hate going into pet stores, zoos, etc. It just makes me sad everytime. :[

Puppy’s can make a meaningful and enriching companion to many. Unfortunately I didn’t get a sense for that here. Rather they focus on kitchsy dog outfits and elaborate overpriced dog beds.
The décor has the sleek sheen of an upscale mall shop — except they’re selling live puppies instead of flashy handbags. BTW LA’ers, there actually is a big difference between the two.

here is the story about this evil store and the pain it brought my family and friends: my husband bought me a teacup yorkshire terrier from this store as a gift, the man who sold it to us swore up and down that she was in good health and not from a puppy mill, liar. three days later i noticed my tiny little bundle of joy wasn’t eating and then through out the night she proceeded to get become extremely lethargic and even vomited. so i took her to the vet the next day and they told me that she had the parvo virus and that she would need to stay with them on an i.v. in quarantine. i called the puppy store and they gave me such an attitude now of course they payed for the vet bills because they didn’t want to let the world know that they had sick puppies that probably came from sick puppy mills, no reputable breeder would let you have a sick dog. anyways the tragic ending was that my little yorkie baby died seven days later at the vets. it was the worst phone call i have received to date. we were offered another dog, and instead opted to get reimbursed, as was signed in the contract. my heart is still broken. please do not buy puppies from this store put these liars outta business

This place is nothing more than a sparkling clean front for a dirty puppy mill. Do not buy from this place! If you must have that baby puppy purebred — buy from a reputable breeder. Otherwise, there are hundreds of thousands of puppies and dogs, mutts and purebreds in shelters waiting for someone to take them home and love them.

Don’t be fooled by appearances, Yes this place is nice. But that doesn’t change what goes on behind the scenes & the root of the problem.
BUYING PUPPIES IS BAD! By buying from this or any pet store you are contributing to puppy mills, you too are part of the cycle (supply & demand). It’s not just so called «mutts that end up in the shelter «full bred» dogs are not immune to ending up in shelters or unwanted after the novelty wears off. If you MUST have a pure bred for whatever reason look into a pure breed rescue. And to the brainiac who posted not everyone wants a mutt, what do you think a «designer dog» is? A cross between 2 breeds = «mutt» I will never understand why people are so blind by all these marketing techniques. I bet you wouldn’t like people placing your value on your «breed» & bloodline.

It’s sad that people give this place a bad review when they walk in all of 5 minutes and generalize this as an abusive puppy mill.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. We randomly walked in there one Sunday evening at 7:30pm and fell in love with our Maltese Bella. We needed to make a decision right then and there because we needed to drive back to San Francisco that evening for work the next day. Furthermore, the place closed in 30 minutes at 8:00pm!
So what did all 3 employees there do for us? They patiently stayed there with us until 9:30pm to give us as much information, good and bad, to help us with our decision. They waited and were engaged with us the entire time, not being pushy at all.
They also able to lower the price without us even asking, and since they knew we were traveling from SF, the gave us a $ 100 kennel so that we could travel with her safely that night, not to mention dog food, pee pads, and vitamins.
So if this is in fact a puppy mill, I would recommend people to go to this puppy mill. I don’t know what more you can ask for than the happiest, healthy little munchkin i the world, and top quality customer service. Dope.
I’ll update this review later with the health status of our dog…

I am editing this review based on new information/​experiences. I will leave the original review, though, so you can get my original impression to make a fair judgment. Here are my reasons for editing…
1. A month after I bought my pup, when I got my puppy’s I.O.E.B.A. (the registration for Olde English Bulldogges), the breeder was listed as «The Puppy Store». This is very shady to me… why would the business where I bought the puppy be listed as the breeder? That makes me afraid that they are running the breeding… aka puppy mill. Also, the info on the glass of the cage listed a different name as the breeder, why would these be different?
2. The last time I went to the vet (The Century Vet Clinic recommended by the store, which is actually a pretty good vet), the vet asked me if my dog was one of the Bulldogges from The Puppy Store that came down with parvo… WHAT?! Apparently, several pups came down w/​parvo, but at least some of them survived.
3. A fellow Unilocaler recently emailed me with a horrible story involving her dog and parvo. Long story short, she bought a dog, drove home to San Francisco, dog started showing symptoms on the drive home, tested positive for parvo, the puppy store tried everything in their power to get her to bring the dog back to LA rather than get it immediate treatment. Kept insisting the the test could be wrong. Even flew a person up to try to get the dog released from the vet w/​o the owner’s consent and take it home to LA. SHADY.
My dog is healthy and happy, but I don’t know if this place is really on the level like I had originally thought.
This the best pet store I have ever been to! It is incredibly clean, well lit, the staff is incredibly knowledgeable and protective of the puppies.
I went in to consider buying an Olde English Bulldogge that I had seen the week before. When I asked if I could get him out and see him in one of the viewing/​petting areas, the manager immediately began asking if I was looking for a boy or a girl, and asking me questions. When I said I wasn’t sure, he replied…“we don’t get the dogs out just to play.” At first I was offended, but when I told him that I had been in last week and was returning with my boyfriend to consider buying, he immediately relaxed and said he hoped he didn’t offend me, but they ARE located on Melrose and 100s of people come in every day, and for the best interests of the puppies’ health, they didn’t get them out for anyone but serious buyers. I though this was a very smart policy.
When we went into the glass-​divided play areas, he asked us to use some hand sanitizer before we played with the puppies… again, smart move.
While we were playing he told us the pros and cons of the breed of dog we were looking at, the breeder that he came from, the care he would need, etc.
We stayed in the playing area for about an hour before making the decision to buy. Our puppy was groomed, we were given his shot history, food, pee pee pads, deworming medicine, vet recommendations, etc. He thoroughly explained the care schedule we would need for follow for everything from feeding to shots, etc.
They specialize in designer and toy breeds. They also have a great selection of high end accessories like clothes, collars, carriers, etc. They are expensive, but that’s they client base they are catering to.
I know this is long review, but I figured the more details when it comes to bringing a pet home, the better!
Also, it sucks that people are giving bad reviews based on they fact that THEY are against pet stores. That has nothing to do with the quality of this great store.

This store has a great design and layout. Politics aside, IF I was gonna buy a pet store dog (which I wouldn’t– I’d buy from a breeder), I’d buy it here, because they specialize in «designer dogs.» One star off for the politics, but ho-​hum, everyone’s heard that argument. Some people just don’t want a stray dog or a mutt– spay and neuter your pets and solve that problem!
They had two beautiful bull terriers in here when I came in, both for only $ 999– I almost brought one home with me except I have nowhere to keep a dog like that. There were also some cute toy Yorkies and French Bulldogs. The store also has a wide selection of pet merchandise and apparel, more than you can shake a stick at! Heh. Of course, it’s pricey, but it’s LA, babe!

A large orange bone identifies this store from the plethora of Melrose clothing stores. Slick displays of doggy toys/​clothes along with large plasma TV’s attempt to seduce you with their über-​coolness. But walk inside and you’ll be transported to the ugly side of pet trafficking.
Clunky orange ceiling lights match the small plastic rooms that separate puppies craving some serious lovin’. I noticed adolescent French bulldogs and bull terriers in minuscule nyc-​like rooms. In the back of the store were four pens where you could trial the love deprived puppies.
Their website claims they do not support puppy mills and that their puppies come from UDSA certified licensed breeders. Yet, they isolate and display their puppies like any other retched pet store. Puppy Jail, if you want to act on this rhetoric, let the puppies play together!
FREE THE PUPPIES! Better yet, ADOPT A STRAY RAY!