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Another One Bites the Dust!

April 23, 2009, 10:25PM MT

By Roni Raczkowski

Hats off to Puppies ‘n Guppies in Tustin-they are no longer selling puppies from breeders!

Hats off to Puppies ‘n Guppies in Tustin-they are no longer selling puppies from breeders!

By Roni Raczkowski, Network Volunteer

It hit them one night this past February when watching the news on T.V. Greg and Stacy Gillis, owners of “Puppies ‘n Guppies” pet store in Tustin, were kicking back after a long day in the store, when a piece about the OrangeBone pet store on swanky Melrose Avenue came on.

The Beginning of the End
The show detailed the owner’s commitment to setting new standards for pet shops by selling rescue dogs instead of puppy mill dogs. That was the beginning of the end.

Formerly Fish 2000, Puppies ‘n Guppies has been serving fish fanatics and dog lovers in Orange County for three years.

They are a small pet shop boutique located in La Fayette Plaza in the city of Tustin. Owners Greg and Stacy Gillis have prided themselves on only working with reputable dog breeders, but the show about OrangeBone pet store really opened their eyes to their true purpose.

“My husband spends more time in the store than I do, and he had been coming home lately telling me that customers were accusing him of selling puppy mill puppies,” shares Stacy. “Although this was not true, it was taking a toll on him.

We are very honest, hard-working people and the breeders we were working with are very reputable. But when we heard about the OrangeBone store, we knew this was something we had to do.”

Now Offering Dogs for Adoption
The Gillis’ sold the remaining puppies in their shop in February, and are currently in the process of obtaining non profit status. In the meantime, the shop is still open for fish, aquatic supplies, dog food, and high quality pet products. During this transition, Friends of Orange County's Homeless Pets is hosting occasional dog adoptions in front of the store. The Gillis’ are offering 15% off merchandise in their store when a customer adopts a dog during these events.

According to Stacy, “This change of focus from selling puppies to working together with rescue groups like FOCHP will help place more rescued and abandoned dogs into loving “forever” homes. And that is what our true calling is.”

For More Information
To see what Orange County Best Friends volunteers are doing to stop puppy mills, Puppy-Store-Free-OC Launches.

To learn more about the Puppy Store-Free LA campaign, go to A puppy-store-free-LA.

To learn more about puppy mills and how you can stop them, go to Puppy mill resources

To join in the Puppy-store-free-LA campaign, contact Jennifer Krause at Jennifer Krause or Barb Holcomb at Barb Holcomb

Photo courtesy of Cindy Dobbins with FOCHP

Comments

Posted April 28, 2009, 7:28PM by GeorgeBailey47

I dont know, maybe my attention span is low today, but I didnt see any mention of making sure that cats dont come breeders. Only puppies. I hope that this store (and every pet store) adopts out only shelter/rescue cats also.
Cats are killed in "shelters" even more than dogs are, and we need to stop that, and we need to stop the kitty mills equally as much as the puppy mills.

Just want things to be fair and companion animals treated equally and saved equally.

Posted April 27, 2009, 2:29PM by ktsmom

Way to go!! Thank you.

Posted April 30, 2009, 2:58PM by karihartkorn

I have met Greg and Stacy and they are great! They really want to do the right thing. Let's encourage and support them in their efforts.

Posted April 25, 2009, 1:5AM by dcdawn

Thank you Puppies and Guppies..you did the right thing....and let's keep the pressure on....

Posted April 28, 2009, 5:6PM by babs1171

What a great story. Thanks Puppies and Guppies for helping shelter animals to be adopted. You did a great thing!

Posted April 27, 2009, 2:56PM by tiffani

Congratulations, Puppies & Guppies!