Canton, Texas
- February 03, 2003
- 14 comments
Yesterday, I went to Canton, Texas where there’s one of the largest flea markets in the US. It’s only a couple hours drive away, so the trip wasn’t too bad. The way my mother had been describing it, I expected something gigantic and chock-full of interesting items. It ended up being just a overgrown flea market. About 50% of all booths sold either candles or cheap jewelry. There were only a couple of booths that had interesting items. One guy made different things like airplanes, cars and helicopters out of mahogany wood. Every one was very detailed and looked awesome. He also made very nice chess sets. Another booth had these swivel rocking chairs that reclined with a rocking ottoman as well. After walking for what seemed like 500 miles, those chairs felt like you were sitting on a cloud. It was hard to get up from one of those.
My favorite part of the market was the animal section. This is where they sell just about every pet and farm animal imaginable. They had your typical farm animals like cows, goats and horses to your more unusual ones like llamas and guineas. There also must’ve been about 500+ puppies of all kinds from Rat Terriers and Chihuahuas to Italian Greyhounds, Weimaraners and even Rhodesian Ridgebacks. The prices ranged from $100 to $450+ on special breeds. I would’ve loved to have bought a Weimaraner, but they were out of my price range. I also came super close to buying this cute Mini-Dachsund puppy. He was registered and had all of his shots. It was hard walking away from that one. I was beating myself up over it the whole way back home. I’ve got a soft-spot the size of Dallas for animals, especially puppies. If I would’ve had a lot of money, I would’ve ended up buying about 10 dogs yesterday. I’ll buy one soon, but from a more local place. Any one have opinions on which is the best breed for an indoor dog?
Chris
February 19, 2004
Thanks for the tips! I was extremely lucky several months back and was given a pure bred, young, male mini-Dachshund. His name is Shorty. He is a perfect pet. Completely devoted to me. Loves to play and snuggle. He’s very athletic and has the muscle-tone to prove it. All in all, he’s the perfect dog for me. Now I just need to find him a female mini-Dachshund and he’ll be in doggy heaven.
lsherman
September 16, 2004
re: dogs in canton;There are so many puppie mills in that area, the SPCA cannot keep up with the rescues in van zandt county. the largest raid was in Willis Point which included 275 dogs, and that was only ONE incident, not to mention all of the others in that area. Sad situation for a few bucks! wish we could end that dog alley
Katie
May 30, 2008
The fact that the puppies did not look mistreated is silly…most if not all of them come from puppy mills where the parent dogs are never given the attention and care they need. Of course they will clean the puppies up for first monday they wouldnt sell if they didn’t. I saw one little aussie that was all white, blind and deaf….sitting in a pin dirty and sad…he was free cause he has bad genes. Never buy a dog from there…you are supporting puppy mills. Go to the shelter they have healthier dogs for much cheaper.
Lori McRae
July 31, 2008
alisha bennie
August 9, 2008
not all of the puppie sellers in dog alley are puppy mills. really the only ones that are puppy mills are the sellers that have 10 different kinds of puppies. if you find a seller that is only selling 1 breed then they are most likely not a puppy mill. i have a few friends that sell their puppies and goats and a few other animals in dog alley and they aren’t even close to being a puppy mill!
lorraine Lonergan
December 30, 2008
I went to dog alley six yrs ago and bought a chinese pug. She was six weeks old. She is the best quality pug I’ve ever seen. She is small and not long legged. She has a really flat face. I took her to the vet and she checked out to be very healthy. Her tail even curls over her back.
It was snowing in Canton that day, and the lady even gave me a price break. I bought a second puppy that day for my daughter in law and grand children. He was very healthy also. The puppies were wearing hand made turtle neck sweaters, and the breeder had larger heaters blowing in the tent area to keep the puppies warm. She also had the pups under lights. My pug has never been sick.
She lights up my life and makes me smile every day. I am going this weekend to look for a companion for her. I had a little Peke for 14 yrs and lost her to breast cancer a few months ago. My pug misses her and so do I…..
So I really can’t say anything bad about the Dog Alley at Canton.
Stephanie Clements
June 28, 2010
April Granger
July 21, 2010
DO NOT BUY ANY DOG FROM DOG ALLEY. I think many people have the misconception that they are not puppy mill dogs, but they are. Any dog can be AKC, it’s just paperwork, no one actually verifies were the actual litter came from (it’s like an honor system). Sure all the dogs look cute, but these people are breeding for money, not quality of the breed. You might get what looks like a Weimaraner or other breed, but in the end the temperment and health issues will be for from the standard. You pay more for a dog from a reputable breeder, because thay have a lot of occured cost and they do health testing to ensure the litter will be heathly also. So when you buy a pet you will pay more, but in the end it’s actually cheeper, because you don’t have all the problems and health issues that will end up costing you a fortune. When buy a pet from one of these people you are supporting them, which leds to supply and demand, if you don’t buy a puppy from them they will no longer have any reason to breed, because they are only in it for the money. If you would ask anyone of those breeders selling their pets there if they have health testing done or even if you asked them to see where the parents of the litter are, they will tell you no or that they don’t know. If you have ever seen a puppymill you would never support this kind of act that is going on in dog alley. They might look like the sweet lady that shows so much interest in her dogs or the ones that look like it’s a family that does the breeding, because they just love the breed, but if you were to follow these people home at the end of the day, YOU WOULD BE SICk TO YOUR STOMACH see how the parents of these litters look and the conditions they breed them under. I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO PASS UP A CUTE PUPPY FOR WHAT YOU THINK IS A FAIR PRICE, BUT PLEASE THINK TWICE ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE BUYING, IT REALLY SUPPORTS THE SAYING “YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.”
maegan evans
October 25, 2010
Kathy
October 29, 2010
Lorraine
November 3, 2010
Yep, I did it again. Bought another dog at dog alley. Got a chihuahua. A tan and brown male. Cute as a button. He is healthy. Got him in June. He was born in March. He is a deer chihauhua, and not an applehead. He is just what I wanted. All 3 1/2 lbs of him. He was neutered today 11/3/10. I am not interested in breeding. He sleeps with me, and lives on my bed most of time. He’s a cutie and very loveable. The breeder was from Ok. She had Aussi pups also. All her dogs were clean and healthy.
Went back there this past sunday, and they still had alot of pups left. I couldn’t get into any trouble, as the puppy I would have bought (a french bull dog) was $600. I didn’t have enough dough to make the purchase. That puppy was georgous. Excellent quality. I know what I am looking at, because I showed dogs years ago in AKC. Most of the breeders now days are not using akc anymore because of the high price of registering their litters, and having to do dna testing on their males in order to register litters.
If a breeder is going to cheat on registering litters they are going to do it. SOme get away with it and some don’t.
Its like everything else.
So when you go to canton theres a mobile vet right on the site, and you can have your pup checked out there. I did.
The vets name was dr. wright…
There was nothing wrong with my pup.
You can usually tell when a puppy has been well taken care of…
If you can’t tell or don’t know, be sure and have the pup checked out before you leave the area. Just enjoy your time there and just try not to fall in love with those adorable pups. And…. whats wrong with them trying to give dogs away there and find them homes? You can visit the vet with one of those too.
Afterall, thats what the pounds do, and it cost you a fortune to get a stray from them or from a rescue. Besides, they are usually older dogs with little history. And they are usually on expensive heart worm treatment… So six on one and half dozen of the other. Check the news paper adds and see the prices and compare. Some breeds advertised are $1800. Much less in canton…
taylor
Hi!
I live in an apartment with 3 other roomates and I have a basset hound.
he is the perfect apartment dog because bassets are a lazy breed. but be careful not to leave them outside alone or else they will follow their nose to no end. before buying a basset, check the validity of the breeder. be sure his operation isn’t a puppy mill. ask about the parents, background, license.
make sure he is a good, responsible breeder. the same is with any pure bred dog. not to say that mix breed dogs are not just as good.
good luck in your search for a puppy!!