I spent this past week antiquing and “picking” in a rural part of Virginia. While perusing at a flea market, my excitement over a couple cool finds I’d made was quickly squashed when I came across the sight above: a pen of puppies for sale. Puppies! At a flea market! I had read about this practice but to see it in person shocked my system. I was so disheartened I couldn’t even bring myself to ask the people selling them any questions. I wish I had so I could share a better report with you.

This particular “vendor” had four or five different breeds which leads me to believe there are many breeding dogs wherever these puppies came from. Maybe the people selling these particular puppies are ethical breeders but maybe they’re “backyard breeders” or a small-scale puppy mill. Selling dogs at a flea market is legal in most areas unless there is a specific local ordinance prohibiting it. And a google search of “flea market puppies” yields the saddest search results.

 

Images via Katie Redmiles Pierson