My dragon Zoey is a rescue from CA. I had her shipped overnight DHL to me in AZ. The young woman that rescued her had her on craigslist for the San Diego area, however, no one was interested due to Zoey's severe snout damage (missing toes and part of her tail). She had been kept in a rabbit cage and fed cabbage before Jenny rescued her. Jenny had to go back to school and could not continue to care for her. I arranged to have her shipped to me - so, she could have a loving home regardless of her injuries. Zoey is about the same age as my other female, Emmie, that I raised from a hatchling (both about 2 years old). However, Emmie has no snout damage and is really healthy. Her size is a lot larger than Zoey and her color is more vibrant too. So, I think there is a lot to be said about the importance of proper care early on. There are just too many people that are not informed or prepared for the WD. I think they see a tiny little lizard (no bigger than a gecko sometimes) at the petstore and don't even have a clue what they are getting themselves into. When I am at our local petsmart and I see people looking at the dragons - I tell them exactly what to expect and usually talk them out of it. I think that in doing that - I am preventing (at least for that moment) a potentially harmful situation for the poor little guy on the other side of the glass. And you are right - the petstore will usually encourage (and misinform) you whether intentional or not. That is just WRONG.