ST. PAUL – On Jan. 15, a man stopped by Pawz ‘n’ Klawz in St. Paul, a pet store that also provides pet grooming services. He brought in “Lil Zeke,” a 12-week-old puppy, for a shampoo wash.
Debby Hunter owns the shop. She said the man dropped off the pup and “asked for us to groom him,” But hours passed and the man never came back to pick up the dog.
“I tried calling the phone number… it’s ringing, but nobody answered. There’s no voicemail. And for us, the number comes up as a no-service,” she said, telling Lakelandtoday.ca that she posted the story on social media, asking if anybody from the community recognized the name that had been left. She also asked if anyone would like to help care for the pup — the second request the business owner had made in a week.
Just days before Lil Zeke was abandoned, another person came in and left a dog at the pet store. In that case, after it was obvious the dog had been dumped, a groomer at the shop took the dog home. Hunter said Lil Zeke has also found a new home.
According to Hunter, the local animal shelter has no room for dogs, and even if they did, she said the surrender fees required to be paid for dogs can be problematic for a lot of people who cannot care for their pet.
Although both dogs were left at the store within a week, she says there has only been one other instance — and that was 10 years ago.
Hunter, who also runs a social media page for lost and abandoned dogs, says the recent drop-offs were likely because someone realized they couldn’t care for an animal they first thought they wanted. She cautions people looking for a new pet, reminding them to do their homework before making the commitment. The local business woman also cautions people about where they get their animals. Even though she is a pet store owner herself, Hunter doesn’t encourage people to buy dogs from pet stores.
She believes many pets sold at pet stores can from puppy mills, and while pet stores do sometimes have rescue dogs or puppies available, she asks people to exercise caution when searching for a new furry family member.
Ironically, even though she has found homes for two puppies that found their way into her store over the last week, Hunter says she does sell fish and some live animals, “but no puppies.”