Drunk Puppy-Buying Banned by New York Stores

Almost everyone has had the urge at some point to buy or play with those adorable puppies when passing by a pet store. But apparently the urge is even stronger while drinking, whuch has led two New York pet stores to ban drunken people from trying to play with and purchase dogs, according to DNAInfo.com.

Fernanda Moritz, the owner of Le Petite Puppy in the West Village, has had enough with inebriated customers flocking in from local bars to try to play with the furry animals.

I feel like they always come in drunk, Moritz told DNAInfo.com. They come from (happy hour) and say, 'Let's stop by to see the puppies.'

After a string of events, Moritz has now banned customers from even holding animals if she detects they've been drinking. She remembers one particular experience in which she thought the customer might be drunk but sold her a Chihuahua anyway only to have the dog returned the next day in very bad shape.

We took it to the vet and he found five pills in the dog's stomach, she said. It almost overdosed.

One might question just how frequent of an occurrence this is, but another local pet shop manager has had similar issues.

Leandro Jacoby, the manager of Citipups, remembers one particular instance when a drunken couple came in and spent $3,500 on an English bulldog and a Miniature Pinscher only to have buyer's remorse and return the two dogs the next day.

They were just having fun, Jacoby said.

Jacoby said that these types of experiences typically happen during holidays or parades, most notably on St. Patrick's Day and Gay Pride events.

In order to try to prevent any unintended consequences on the stores' dogs, Jacoby usually encourages customers to come back in the next day to make sure they still want to buy the dog and aren't making a rash decision. He admits most don't come back but would rather be safe than sorry.

We make sure they can take care of the dog. We make sure they go to a good home, Jacoby said.