Three-month-old Chihuahua puppies, Princess and Sapito (‘little frog’ in Spanish) playfully mouth each other in their cage.

Named for their affectionate kisses, the two are ready to be adopted at Kritters and Fins pet shop on View Street – just in time for Christmas.

“They’re not going to last long,” said Jason Smith, co-owner of the shop.

Customers stop to watch the tiny pups, charmed by their quivering bodies and adorable faces.

But Smith’s partner, Mara Szyp said many customers don’t ask the right questions before adopting a pet.

“People don’t understand the breeding process, and they don’t care to understand either,” Szyp said, which leaves people all across the province at risk of adopting a dog bred in a puppy mill.

Princess and Sapito come from a breeder in Cowichan Lake, said Szyp, handing over the papers to prove it.

She said they don’t deal with puppy mills or kitty factories, meaning their cages are often bare – especially at this time of the year when Mother Nature doesn’t usually make kittens.

“Why do you think (other pet stores) always have kitties and dogs?” Smith asked, guessing that most who do come from animals forced to breed.

“We are very picky about who we take our animals from,” he said.

But it frustrates him when customers take their business elsewhere when they don’t see animals in cages.

Smith said that’s hard on his business, and keeps puppy mills running.

Szyp and Smith have owned Kritters and Fins for about a year, registering with the Better Business Bureau last month. So far, they have an A+ rating with no complaints.

But the B.C. SPCA recommends getting animals from the shelter or a reputable breeder to be on the safe side.

“They can ask (where a pet comes from) but pet stores don’t have to tell them,” said B.C. SPCA spokesperson Lorie Chortyk.

“Unfortunately, most pet stores get their puppies from puppy mills. It’s really about profit. It’s not about the animals’ welfare.”

Puppy mills churn out oodles of puppies, trading animal welfare for profit while putting little or no emphasis on health, exercise or sanitation.

If you buy a puppy-mill pup, you’re supporting animal cruelty, Chortyk said.

Szyp wipes the urine from each of Sapito’s paws after he soils his cage from excitement, while musing the disgusting conditions of a puppy mill.

“Once you know how to control the breeding process, anyone who has no heart can lie to nature and make a baby. If you want to make money, sell clothing, sell $300 shoes,” she said.

Smith and Szyp handpick their animals by going into homes to see the animals’ living conditions. They arrange veterinary care and inspect the mother.

“If the female has very enlarged nipples then she’s being overbred,” Smith said.

Chortyk learned about puppy mills the hard way after adopting a pet in Vancouver before working for the shelter. She paid about $4,000 in vet bills before her animal died of intestinal problems.

Chortyk, Smith and Szyp said education is key.

“I realize now I was just contributing to part of the cycle of (puppy mills) and I think there’s a lot of people who just don’t know and they wouldn’t participate in that if they knew that they were keeping the puppy-mill operators in business,” Chortyk said.

For more information, visit www.spca.bc.ca.

lweighton@vicnews.com