Have you heard all the buzz about “the puppy place” in Grandville? Have you and your friends visited this “puppy place” to pet dogs? If you have frequently visited this “puppy place” also known as The Barking Boutique, you have most likely seen a group of people standing outside of the building, angry with signs. There is a lot of controversy and arguments that center around the idea that The Barking Boutique could be unethical because many believe that they acquire their puppies through puppy mills. A lot of people are so passionate about this argument that they feel compelled to protest.

Students from GHS have protested at The Barking Boutique. Katie Kaiser, a senior at Grandville, chose to protest at The Barking Boutique because she and her mom have always been concerned about animal rights. “We think they get almost all of their puppies from puppy mills,” Katie stated. “The conditions at puppy mills are terrible, they are always in cages, barely get fed, and just in general don’t get the attention that they need.” Katie chose to protest to create awareness and bring attention to what is really going on behind the scenes. “People deserve to know what they are buying into,” Katie reported, “people put a lot of value into their pets, it is their right to know the conditions upon their purchase.”

In contrast to Katie’s beliefs, The Barking Barking Boutique’s website says that they “work with a variety of quality breeders and make sure the same quality of facilities and puppy treatment is present with every breeder.”

What do you believe? Is the barking boutique an innocent place to pet puppies, or is it an unethical social trap? It is up to us, our society, to either continue to encourage The Barking Boutique’s businessor help to put an end to it all together.