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1) PUPPY MILLS
Think about how you felt physically and emotionally the last time you were limited to a small area for only a few hours--taking the SATs, a long car ride, flying on an airplane, sitting through a day-long conference. Antsy? Claustrophobic? Like you would scream if you had to sit there for another day? Now think about having that sensation FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIFE. That is the horrible fate of breeding dogs confined to small cages virtually from birth till death in thousands of commercial breeding facilities, commonly known as puppy mills.
A puppy mill is a facility, large or small, that breeds dogs for profit. These facilities are notorious for ignoring the dogs' physical and emotional needs. The dogs go crazy from boredom, and their bodies waste away. Dogs are usually prized for their boundless enthusiasm and zest for life, but in puppy mills, they receive no compassion, and their spirits are broken. They live and die in pain and misery.
How do you tell if a pet store gets puppies from puppy mills? First of all, pet stores that have a large selection of purebred puppies (say, 20 to 30) year-round are almost guaranteed to be getting dogs from this type of facility, since otherwise they would not be assured of a constant supply.
Second, people who care about puppies look for good homes for them. They do not ship them off to be sold in pet stores.
A third indication that a pet store's puppies are mass-produced in puppy mills is if pet store employees are reluctant to tell you the name of the breeder or where the breeder's facility is located. They may say they get puppies from "private breeders." Puppy mills ARE private breeders. Our local Petland has cited a "strict privacy policy" regarding its breeders. On registration papers provided to customers, it has in several cases, and most likely in many other cases, failed to provide any information about the dog's breeder.
In Virginia, THIS IS ILLEGAL! Section 3.1-796.78 states that pet dealers who sell dogs with registration papers--such as AKC papers--must provide the NAME and ADDRESS of its breeders. Most likely, Petland fears that customers who see Missouri, Kansas, and other Midwestern addresses will think "puppy mills," since the Midwest is "Puppy Mill Central" in the United States. If you or anyone you know purchased a puppy at the Fairfax Petland and received papers that do not contain the breeder's name and address, PLEASE contact us at all4theanimals@yahoo.com.
In the case of Petland, there is clear evidence that Petland has obtained puppies from puppy mills. During an April 2000 Dateline NBC exposé of puppy mills and pet stores, investigators visited two of Petland's "private breeders." One facility housed over 500 dogs; the other, 200 dogs, all in cages. During their investigation at the first breeder, Dateline investigators never saw the dogs let out of the cages, but they did find dogs with neurotic behavior caused by long confinement. They saw filth on and around the dogs, maggot-infested food, timid dogs housed together with aggressive dogs, untreated wounds, broken bones, mange, open sores, and rotted teeth--conditions causing the dogs tremendous pain and long-term suffering.
A former truck driver for the second Petland breeder told Dateline of how her boss ordered her to throw live puppies into a trash burner because they were sick. A sickly puppy purchased at a Petland store was traced to a third facility housing over 200 dogs. That puppy had expensive health problems including hip dysplasia and chronic diarrhea. This is not surprising, as puppy mills are also known for breeding animals with genetic defects as well as breeding dogs as often as possible, causing the mother to wear out and die young after producing many litters of sickly puppies.
After the story aired, generating a huge response from the public, Petland refused to be interviewed by Dateline. Petland merely sent a letter claiming the story was "unfair" and apparently did not pledge to change its operations in any way. If you would like to borrow a copy of the Dateline video, contact us at all4theanimals@yahoo.com.
Petland openly states on its website that it obtains many dogs from USDA-licensed breeders, as if this ensures a certain level of quality and humane care. Is that the case? The USDA requires that anyone with 4 or more breeding dogs who sells animals to pet stores be licensed. It has minimal requirements regarding food, water, sanitation, and space, but enforcement of the USDA's regulations is extremely lax. For example, the USDA requires that the commercial breeders have an exercise plan for the dogs, but they do not make sure that the plan is ever carried out. If more than one dog is housed in a cage, the dogs are not required to ever be let out at all. The USDA's head veterinarian, Ron de Haven, admits that only about half of the roughly 4,000 USDA-licensed facilities even meet USDA's minimum regulations, a disgraceful example of the USDA's failure to enforce existing animal-protection laws.
De Haven attributes this failure to the USDA not having enough inspectors, but even when the inspectors find problems, fining and closing down puppy mills is very rare. The USDA's mission is to support agriculture, and apparently it considers puppy mill owners to be "dog farmers" worthy of its protection. Bottom line: if you buy a puppy from Petland or other pet stores, it's very likely that his or her parents are enduring a lifetime of cruelty.
Petland's puppies also usually come with some kind of registration papers, such as AKC (American Kennel Club). Many people are under the false impression that this means the parent dogs are in good health. As the AKC will tell you itself, that is not true. The papers only mean that the two parent dogs were of the same breed, and the AKC takes the breeder's word that that is the case. (The sickly Petland puppy featured in the Dateline story turned out not even to be a purebred.) Parent dogs can be toothless, lame, undernourished, have serious genetic defects, and still have their litters of puppies registered with the AKC.
Haphazard breeding can result in both physical and behavioral problems. For example, one woman we met had purchased a puppy from the Burke Pet Center, which like Petland obtains puppies from the Hunte Corporation. Although she has successfully housetrained many dogs, she has never been able to fully housetrain this one.
2) IN-STORE CONDITIONS
Petland's broker (middleman between breeders and pet stores), the Hunte Corporation, is based in Missouri, often considered the puppy mill capital of the country due to its large concentration of puppy mills. Other states with many puppy mills include Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania (especially Lancaster County).
After collecting puppies from many Midwestern breeding facilities, the Hunte Corp. weeds out the sickliest ones, classifying them as "Grade B." We have been told that the Grade B puppies are sold for low prices at flea markets or to people selling animals over the Internet. Hunte Corp. reportedly used to sell its sickest puppies in Rutledge, Missouri, but now does so at a flea market in Texas. The rest of the puppies are packed into its trucks and driven to Petlands and other pet stores all over the country, usually a stressful trip of several hundred miles. At the store, having spent their whole life of 8 weeks in cages, the puppies again spend most of their time in small cages.
According to veterinarians, the confinement of large numbers of animals to a small store, with new animals being added all the time, is an invitation to rampant infectious disease. The neatly stacked rows of cages at Petland resemble isolation chambers--ideal for driving people and animals crazy, but not a proper environment for animals adapted to life on this planet through millions of years of evolution. The barren cages do not allow the puppy to experience the outdoors, where a normally developing puppy would be able to see the sky, feel the sun and wind, and run and play with human and canine companions in the dirt and grass and leaves. Small cages do not provide a rich indoor environment for the puppies to explore. Rarely do the puppies ever have a soft surface to lie on, although even in the wild, animals seek out soft nesting spots. All Petland puppies have is a mesh-floored cage (uncomfortable for their feet), maybe a single chew toy, and, if they're lucky, a hard floor tile, about 1 foot by 1 foot, that is supposed to serve as their bed. The sad faces of the puppies entice well-meaning visitors into "rescuing" puppies by buying them, even for the outrageous prices of well over $1,000 per puppy that Petland usually charges (the adoption fee for dogs at our local shelter is $85). Of course, each time they sell a puppy, Petland orders more from the Hunte Corp.--approximately 25 puppies each week for one Petland store.
Since Petland's cages are standardized, one might assume that they are in compliance with all state anti-cruelty laws as well as laws that prohibit the sale of certain species, but this is not necessarily the case. The Petland in Fairfax, Virginia, was found to be in violation of the Virginia state law that prohibits pet stores from housing puppies in cages in which their feet could fall through the mesh. This went on for many months, even though it was obvious to any observer that the tiny puppies, such as Chihuahuas and Toy Rat Terriers, could only hobble painfully around their cages, their legs falling through the mesh each time they tried to move.
The Fairfax Petland also failed to consistently provide a solid resting platform until ordered to do so by Animal Control. When it did, it used one or two hard floor tiles that were still not completely solid. Some of the larger puppies, such as the Golden Retrievers, could only fit their two front legs on the tiles, not their whole body, as required by law. Recently, when a citizen reported the absence of ANY resting platforms in the cages, Petland admitted to police that it removes the platforms each night because they make a mess. This is against the law.
Petland was also selling one or more tarantulas, even though tarantulas are prohibited as pets in our county.
Puppies are by no means the only animals suffering in Petland stores. Petland also sells kittens, rabbits, parakeets, parrots, chinchillas, ferrets, hamsters, fish, and a variety of other animals. Because even fewer laws protect these animals, they most likely come from breeding and warehousing facilities even worse than puppy mills. These animals are also housed in cramped cages or aquariums at the store and are sold with a minimum of instruction on how to properly care for them. This can lead to premature death, abandonment, and for long-lived species such as parrots, many years of suffering in an inadequate environment.
People who take jobs at Petland because they love animals sooner or later find out, as one told us, "It's all about time and money." This employee saw a lot of deaths among the small animals at the Fairfax City store, particularly birds and hamsters, and saw that many of the puppies arrived with respiratory problems. The puppies also had sores from lying on the hard mesh cage floors. Another Fairfax City Petland employee tried to nurture the puppies and was told something along the lines of (not a direct quote), "They don't need petting; they're just money. If you want to do that, go to the shelter." An employee from another Petland told us that puppies are taken from their mothers at 5 weeks old and go through so much stress and handling that Petland recommends that once the puppy arrives at the store, he or she be left alone for 48 hours. Our local Petland puts puppies on display immediately, and they are available for sale about 24 hours later.
One customer of the Fairfax Petland unknowingly purchased a dog with hereditary defect that makes simple anesthesia a grave risk to the dog's life, so that any situation requiring anesthesia, even spaying or neutering, can be fatal. Another puppy purchased at the Fairfax Petland developed a cough within a couple of days. Because it was the weekend, the dog had to be taken to an emergency clinic, voiding the Petland warranty, which requires that the dog be brought to a particular vet who works with Petland. Neighbors have seen the huge truck that arrives with its weekly delivery and heard the cries of the puppies as they are unloaded.
What happens to the puppies who are rejected by Petland's store vet and are put back on the truck? According to someone who has worked on this issue for many years, they are not sent "back to the breeder," as we have heard Petland employees state. If they cannot be passed off to another stop the truck was making, they are sent back to the Hunte Corp., who subjects them to yet another long truck ride and sells them, along with other "Grade B" puppies, at a flea market or to people selling dogs over the Internet.
Several local vets who have treated puppies purchased at the Fairfax Petland have stated that the many of the puppies are sick. One said, "I HATE Petland!" Another said of a Petland puppy, "This puppy is a walking time bomb." A local trainer working with Petland puppies found many of them unsocialized, extremely difficult to train, and mentally and emotionally ill.
If you purchased a sick puppy at the Fairfax Petland, please contact us at all4theanimals@yahoo.com. We are not going to give out names of vets, former employees, and other people who give us information about Petland unless specifically given permission. But we will encourage people to ask their vets about the health of pet-store puppies, and they will be able to confirm what these experts are saying.
3) HOMELESS ANIMAL CRISIS
All this abuse is made worse by the fact that it is completely unnecessary. Petland sells animals for one reason only--profit--in flagrant disregard for the homeless animal crisis not only in our local area but the entire country. In 2003, in Virginia alone, over 60,000 dogs and 73,000 cats were killed in animal shelters. Nationwide, year after year, a minimum of 3 million dogs and 4 million cats are killed in U.S. animal shelters due to lack of homes. For dogs alone, that's 6 killed every minute, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It's estimated that a quarter of the dogs killed in shelters are purebreds. If you have trouble visualizing this tragedy because of the huge numbers of animals involved, please go to www.pleaserescueme.com/gone.cfm to see just a few of the innocent animals who have been killed simply for lack of homes.
The vast majority of the animals killed in shelters are healthy, friendly, and young. The 7 million dead does not even include the animals being killed outside shelters (for example, Greyhounds bred for racing and slaughtered when their racing days are over). While our local shelters and rescue groups struggle valiantly to rescue homeless animals, spending their energy and money to save innocent lives, Petland's contribution is to pump mass-produced animals into our community, as well as similar communities all over the country. IN FACT, EVEN WHEN DIRECTLY ASKED, OWNERS OF THE FAIRFAX CITY PETLAND REFUSED TO DISPLAY COPIES OF "PET LOVERS COMPANION," A FREE LOCAL DIRECTORY OF SHELTERS AND RESCUE GROUPS. Fliers accepted from a local rescue group were not visible anywhere in the store shortly afterwards. A former employee also reports that they were discouraged from mentioning shelters and rescue groups. Nevertheless, a spokesperson for the same store claims, "Whether it be through us, another pet store, a shelter, a rescue group, or a breeder, I want to make sure that my customers know all of their options."
Because the number of small animals killed due to homelessness is not even counted at shelters, many people are unaware that there is a homeless animal crisis among small animals, too. Our local rescue groups cannot even begin to save all the rabbits, birds, ferrets, iguanas, and many other small animals that desperately need homes.
Please do not buy ANY animal at a pet store, but please do contact local shelters and rescue groups (both purebred and mixed breed groups) if you can provide an animal with a good home.
PET STORE HALL OF SHAME
"No animal, unless he or she is terrified, prefers to be in a cage."
--Veterinarian Michael Fox, August 23, 2005, The Washington Post, page C8.
Bought a sick puppy from a pet store? Seen animals suffering in your local pet store anywhere in the U.S.? Know a store that's shipping in puppies from the Midwest? Tell us about it at all4theanimals@yahoo.com.
To the best of our knowledge, all the information below is true; however, petstorecruelty.org is not responsible for any unintentional errors that may occur when we receive information from outside sources. We can neither support nor refute statements made by people other than ourselves. If you care about animals and come across one of the stores mentioned, we urge you to visit the store and decide for yourself.
Some names have been changed to protect the innocent. Stores are listed alphabetically by name, then by state and city.
Any pet store that sells live animals qualifies for our Hall of Shame. Yes, all animals, not just dogs and cats. Why? There is no need for any animals to be bought and sold for human amusement, so the suffering of pet store animals is totally indefensible. In addition to the suffering and death in breeding mills and during transport to the stores, the conditions in most pet stores are sickening.
Currently, the general public is often satisfied when there is some semblance of cleanliness to a pet store (although according to a local vet, the appearance of cleanliness is often an illusion, as the constant influx of sick and healthy animals makes it impossible). In addition, former pet store employees say that the appearance of cleanliness is sometimes obtained by feeding animals at infrequent intervals, especially at night, when there are no customers. This is not healthy for many animals, especially very young ones.
But what is often overlooked is that most pet store animals are confined for long periods of time to spaces so small that puppies can't run, kittens can't climb, rabbits can't hop, snakes can't slither, birds can't fly, and fish can't swim more than a few inches. (Some fish are confined to containers so small they can only tread water.) These are natural behaviors that these species MUST engage in to be healthy and happy. Freedom of movement is a terrible thing to deny to any living creature. These animals do not know they are confined for life because humans enjoy looking at their beautiful feathers or cute, furry faces. All they know is they want OUT.
Please help stop this kind of animal abuse. Report your local cruel pet store to your city or county Animal Control or SPCA, even if one animal out of a hundred in the store is suffering due to inadequate care. Explain to children that pet store animals are not happy. Save lives by adopting small animals, not just dogs and cats, from shelters and rescue groups.
Some stores are worse than others. Visit them and decide. We will be delighted to remove a store from this list. All it has to do is stop selling animals. (See our FAQ section for more details.)
ALL ABOUT ANIMALS--MASSACHUSETTS--FITCHBURG
2006: An alarming number of puppies purchased at this store have pneumonia, according to a local resident with connections at an area vet's office. The resident also says that the store claims to only get puppies from local breeders but that puppies' registration papers show they were born in the Midwest. A puppy purchased from All About Animals came from Elk Creek Kennel in Kansas. According to USDA records, in 2004 this facility had "Adult dogs 284, Weaned puppies 40, Puppies 140." In January of 2003 this facility had a total of 402 dogs.
AMERICAN BIRD COMPANY--VIRGINIA--FALLS CHURCH
Sells unweaned baby birds. This practice often causes birds to exhibit neurotic behavior or die prematurely.
ANIMALS & THINGS--NEW JERSEY--WOODBRIDGE
2006: Animals & Things on Rte. 1 in Woodbridge, NJ is a horrendous store. They sell kittens for $800, when there's tons of strays that could be rescued & adopted out.
They sell dogs that live in dirty small cages, with no toys or social interaction.
I was there once, and there was a cockatoo all white, bleeding, dripping blood from a wing or nail clip. I know certain birds can bleed to death due to low coagulating issues. I approached an employee to point this out & the person said, "He'll be fine, it's just a little blood."
This place should be shut down!
AMISH COUNTRY PETS--OHIO--BERLIN
[This is the actual name of the pet store, not a general description of the pets in Amish country.]
2007: A few months ago my grandmother, mother, and I took a trip to Amish Country, as we often do every couple of years. While on the main street for shops and crafts and the like in Berlin, OH, I saw a sign for "Amish Country Pets" and I wanted to go in. It was the first pet store I'd ever seen in the area.
At the door was a smell I knew all too well, as a result of working at a veterinary clinic. Parvovirus. The store had an entry room, another sale room, and then the room where the puppies were kept. So you could smell it from more than 12 feet away, around walls. I kept my mouth shut and kept going. I wanted to see for myself.
There were several cages and bins where puppies were being held. None of them had food or water. One chow puppy was desperately trying to eat its own feces through the floor bars of its cage. It was obviously too skinny and its eyes had horrible conjunctivitis. I was also greeted by what I believe was a bichon frise, but its fur was dirty and it just stood up and looked at you. It wasn't a happy bouncing puppy, but obviously lethargic.
There were two chihuahuas in a cage, with other cages on top of them or under them. One chihuahua, a white one with big brown run spots from its eyes, was yelling for attention and wanting to be held. I petted him through the bars while reading the information on the front of the cage. Supposedly he was vaccinated, full bred, with papers, and so on and so forth for $1,500. I felt the need to rescue him, but for that price and with one at home who might contact parvovirus, I left him there. While I was walking away, the puppy began to scream. The guy behind the counter walked over as I did. The puppy had gotten its teeth caught between the bars and couldn't get its mouth loose. Two teeth were broken as he forced its head back through.
I immediately went to the front of the store and out the door. I couldn't stand in there any longer and listen to that man talk about how healthy his dogs were. I knew better. I hadn't seen any bloody diarrhea, but I knew that smell. We moved on to some other stores while I told my grandmother and mother why it smelled so bad and that we needed to tie our clothes up in a plastic bag and not let our dogs near them before they were thoroughly washed. We weren't returning home for another couple of days.
We were all three appalled. Later, we walked behind the store to see some statues near the back of it on the other side. I looked at one of the windows in the back and saw an obviously sick puppy through the glass. A woman, whom I hadn't seen inside the store, looked out and hastily tried to shut the curtains. The window led into a room we hadn't been inside. But by the look of the puppy and how it just lay there and the grimy film on the window itself, that was where most of the smell was coming from. The sickest of the puppies were apparently kept well out of sight.
I still remember it like yesterday, particularly that poor white chihuahua's screams and its fight to bite the cage bars and get out, which is how it probably got its teeth stuck. I wonder how many made it out alive, or how many people took that virus home to their own dogs, and about the people who walked in with their beloved pets in tow. I hope that by now it has been shut down, but I cannot know for sure. When we go to Amish Country again, I'll be looking for it. And I might not be so silent if they are sick. I wish I hadn't been the first time.
[Amish Country Pets is apparently still operating. Its website is http://www.amish.cc]
BIRDS 'N THINGS--VIRGINIA--ARLINGTON
According to an observer knowledgeable about birds, the larger birds in this store seemed healthy, but their cages were not large enough, and some of them were did not have enough of the toys required for the emotional health of these intelligent animals. The smaller birds were in "intolerable" condition. One cage contained nine cockatiels in a space that would be adequate for two IF they were let out frequently for exercise. Five of the cockatiels showed signs of being plucked; one severely, with crest, belly, and neck bare instead of being covered with feathers, with a lot of wing skin exposed. The plucking is highly likely to be due to overcrowding, as cockatiels rarely self-pluck. A similarly sized cage contained eight cockatiels, also overcrowded, and in semidarkness, which is completely unsuitable for these birds.
The store owner was notified of these problems. While she seemed to genuinely care about some of the birds, she refused to make any changes to alleviate the overcrowding, dark cages, or lack of mental stimulation for the other birds. She also changed her story several times. On the first visit, she said the cockatiels are newly acquired and pluck themselves because they are hormonal. She told a second visitor that she's willing to euthanize the worst-plucked cockatiel. When the first visitor returned and offered to take the worst-plucked cockatiel instead of having her euthanize him, the owner refused, saying now that she had had the birds for some time, that they are good breeders, and the reason for him being severely plucked was that he was separated from his mate. She refused to part with him under any condition. Animal Control was notified and is investigating.
BURKE PET CENTER—VIRGINIA--BURKE
January 2005: Lady is a toy poodle purchased at the Burke Pet Center in Burke, Virginia. At the time of purchase, Lady was listed as an "Apparently healthy pet" by the Burke Pet Center veterinarian, Village Veterinary Clinic. Her guardian immediately discovered that Lady had a serious urinary tract infection (UTI), a condition which causes frequent urination. When Lady's guardian contacted the store explaining that Lady needed a specialist for her UTI, the manager agreed to pay the bill, but when she later provided the bill, he refused to pay, saying she had never notified him about it. The specialist's bill was more than half the cost of the puppy. Now about 1 1/2 years old, after extensive treatment, Lady still needs to urinate more frequently than normal and has to be carefully watched to avoid "accidents." Lady was born in Arkansas.
CC PETS--PENNSYLVANIA--PEACH BOTTOM (this is a kennel, not a pet store. This kennel was also mentioned in a news story on puppy mills. See the "In the News" section of this website and scroll down to November 2005.)
December 2006: My name is Robyn Klein. I've come under the unfortunate circumstance of dealing with Joyce and Raymond Stoltzfus of CC Pets, LLC, formerly known as Puppy Love Kennels.
My daughter's father saw a newspaper advertisement for puggles. Knowing that our daughter has wanted a puggle for so long, he decided to pick her up on December 16, 2006 to head up to 267 Riverview Road to pick out a new puggle puppy. Her name was Zoe. She was the cutest thing ever. Zoe became the instant love of my daughter's heart. It was her first dog ever and she was the most elated child I've ever seen. Joyce gave Zoe a "booster" shot before they left, informing my 9-year-old daughter that it was one of her "vaccines." My daughter's father returned to his home and I picked her and Zoe up. During the entire car ride to my house, Zoe had diarrhea and was vomiting. Not ever owning a dog of my own, I just thought the new puppy was carsick. When we arrived home, we tried to get Zoe to eat, but to no avail. She also refused to drink. We just thought it was from all the commotion of the day and we let her rest as much as possible. Later that night she was still coughing and vomiting and was quite listless. I contacted Joyce and she informed me it must have been stomach upset from the "booster" shot. She told me to try feeding Zoe cooked hamburger and rice. We tried this, but Zoe still refused to eat or drink. We all went to bed and Zoe did fine throughout the night. Sunday came and she ate a little bit of her Eukanuba small breed puppy food and some water for breakfast. We were happy to see her eating. The day went along, and although she was still very clingy, we thought heath-wise, she was improving.
Until that evening.
She vomited a total of 5 times, one right after another, then continued to have diarrhea when taken outside to eliminate. I decided to call the vet first thing in the morning. My vet, Ruby Schaupp, DVM, of Chadwell Animal Hospital on Emmorton Road in Abingdon, MD, asked me to come in right away for an examination of the puppy. I brought her in and Ruby informed me that Zoe may have Parvovirus. She asked if she could keep Zoe for a while to run tests on her. So, with an uneasy heart, I left her there and headed to home to wait and hear from Ruby. Around noon on December 18, 2006, Ruby called and informed me that Zoe tested a strong positive for parvovirus. Ruby informed us that the parvovirus was so far gone that Zoe would have to be humanely euthanized. I contacted Joyce. Joyce told me to bring Zoe back to her and she would give us a full refund.
So I made my journey to the animal hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital with my best friend, Molly Hillegas, who was there with me for moral support, I was greeted by my sister, Jennifer Schwarz, there with her 7-month-old boxer puppy, Coco. You see, Coco was over my house over the weekend, playing with Zoe, her new cousin. So now Coco had to get a booster shot to protect her against parvo, just in case she contracted it. At this time, the veterinary technician brought out little 4-pound Zoe. Zoe had a bandage on her right front paw from the bloodwork, an IV, with an attached sack of saline fluid in the same paw, and was wrapped in a blanket. She looked so pitiful, so sick. It instantly brought me, my sister and my best friend to tears. We struggled with the decision to take her back to Joyce, unaware of what she would do with Zoe, our puppy that we came to love so much in a short 48 hours. We left the animal hospital and started our trip to CC Pets. About halfway there, Zoe attempted to stand but could not and fell over in my lap. At this time, she began to expel a bloody substance from her rectum as she lay in my lap. Her eyes were glossy and my dog-loving best friend Molly informed me that she was dying. Fearing that she was suffering incredibly and was indeed dying in my arms, we rushed back to the animal hospital. When we arrived, we were greeted by the Ruby and her awesome technicians. They took us back and Ruby confirmed to us that Zoe was very close to death. She gave her a shot to stop her heartbeat, humanely euthanizing her so Zoe wouldn't be in pain anymore. As Jenny, Molly and I stood there crying, sobbing and consoling each other, looking over at the lifeless body of our former pet Zoe, I was filled with rage at what Joyce could do to a family in so little time. We paid our bill to have Zoe mass cremated and left the animal hospital.
I contacted Joyce, informing her that Zoe had died and asked what was our next step to be. She told me to just send a death certificate and she would send me a full refund for the puppy, by check, in the mail. Feeling very uneasy and untrusting of Joyce's word, Jenny, Molly, and I went to CC Pets. There we were met with the most horrific thing we had ever seen in our lives. There were puppies and dogs all cooped away in what looked like chicken coups. The mother dogs were running free all over the land. Puppies, twenty to a cage, climbing over each other in an attempt to see who was at the fence, hoping today would be their day to be free. It was then that we were greeted by Joyce, who thought we were potential buyers. She thought wrong. We were there to find out who this so-called person, this monster, was who sold sick dogs to little girls and their fathers. Once she realized who we were, without an apology or any sign of guilt, she took our papers and went up to the house to get us a check for the refund.
We went up to the house where Joyce gave us a check followed with nothing but hassle. She never admitted to anything, never took fault for the heartache that she just caused. Never once said she was sorry. We eventually left there, with just a check in my hand, and a sad and heavy heart. It was then that I realized I still had to break the news to my daughter.
We made the long road trip back to Baltimore to pick up my daughter. I sat her down, grabbed her hand and looked in her eyes. I knew at this moment what it is truly like to break a heart. My daughter is a smart girl. She knew something happened to Zoe. I told her the truth. Told her all I knew about parvo and how it killed her puppy. Told her how this evil, sad excuse for a woman that she got Zoe from was claiming no responsibility for what happened to her. She cried like I have never seen my own daughter cry. At this point, I thought to myself "WHY?! Why would God allow this to happen to us like this?"
Then someone answered me. God put this on us because He knew my family, friends, and I would never let this issue rest from here on out. Not until there was justice. Justice for all the families hurt just like we were. Justice for all the money lost. But most importantly, justice for those poor, defenseless puppies and dogs that can't speak, but you and I know are suffering. Please help me bring justice for them.
I have contacted all the animal rights and anti-puppy mill advocates in Pennsylvania, but they have asked us to contact everyone in Maryland and the surrounding areas that advertises for this woman, including the Baltimore Sun. Her bad reputation is already known throughout Pennsylvania and this is why she is targeting the surrounding areas for sales.
My email address is ItsAll4Zoe@yahoo.com. I am interested in hearing from others who have had a similar experience with CC Pets.
May God strengthen and guide me along this long journey. I hope you will join me on this road...to justice.
COUNTRY JUNCTION GENERAL STORE--PENNSYLVANIA--LEHIGHTON
October 2006: This store burned down, killing "most, if not all" of the animals inside, according to a local paper. A resident tells us that ALL of the animals were killed. No people were injured or killed in the fire. The store owners continue to sell puppies at their Wind Gap location. Article about the fire:
www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200661003005
October 19, 2005: Employees from this pet store contacted a rescue group after 30 puppies dropped off by the HUNTE CORPORATION had already died from a bacterial infection, and only 3 remained, including this sick Labradoodle. The store manager refused to send this puppy for emergency care, even after the rescue offered to pay for all vet bills. Local sources say, "The floor manager kept insisting that the puppy, who was unable to stand, shaking, and choking on its own vomit, was all right and was under proper vet treatment." The rescuers were forced to leave as they watched the weak puppy cough and "try desperately to drink out of its rabbit water bottle." The pet center's management instructed employees to throw their clothes immediately into hot water upon arrival at their own homes and to disinfect shoes before handling their own animals, to avoid contamination from the sick puppies. Meanwhile, customers, unaware of the illness, were allowed to bring their healthy dogs in the store, and these dogs were "sniffing and licking the diseased puppies." The fate of this sick puppy is as yet unknown. Complaints can be made to the store at 610-377-8400, the local dog warden at 570-629-1099, and the Carbon County SPCA at 570-622-7769 or www.hillsidespca.com.
CREATURES 'N CRITTERS--VIRGINIA--WOODBRIDGE
An Italian Greyhound purchased at this store was passed on to a rescuer after the people who purchased her decided they didn't want the dog. This puppy came from Royale Kennel in Whiting, Kansas, a facility that houses 1,086 dogs, according to a USDA inspection report from 2004. On the website for Royale Kennel is a staff photo of 6 people. If these 6 people worked 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, they would be spending 2.7 minutes on each dog every day.
CRITTERS--MARYLAND--BOWIE
2006: A visitor to the store writes: Of course I don't like seeing any animal kept in a cage, but as pet stores go, they are MUCH, MUCH better than Just Puppies!! Two puppies that I know of that came from there turned out to be very healthy and the owners were able to contact the breeder and talk with them on the phone. They were USDA licensed breeders with no adverse inspections, they had health records for the parents of the puppies, as well as pedigrees, pictures, etc... and they were registered. Again, I don't think pet stores should even be legal, but I guess at least the puppies were healthy and the place was very clean. They guarantee the genetic and overall health of the puppies and never get puppies under 8 weeks.
They did let the puppies out to run, but I have no idea how often or for how long. I let them know what I thought about how cruel it was to keep a puppy locked up in a little cage like that, especially a Border Collie, they need to run. Anyway, they said they weren't going to get those type of dogs anymore, but then when I went in later they had an Australian Cattle dog, which is about the same as far as needing to run, so I pointed that out, and they said they had already ordered him, but that was the last one, and so far I haven't seen any more of the "high energy" dogs in there again.
Of course they are all overpriced, and in my opinion, that's money that could better be used to help a shelter, but I never see a puppy stay there more than a week or two at the most (except for the Border Collie, which was there for 4 weeks and I let him know what I thought about that).
2007: Update from same visitor:
I finally got the USDA inspection report for the breeder of my friend's dog she got from Critters--DEFINITELY a puppy mill. They didn't have too many serious violations, but they had 138 dogs of varying breeds. This says to me that they are "farming" dogs. The breeders are: Roger and Marla Campbell, 266 90th, Newton, KS 67114.
All this tells me is that yes, Critters is telling the truth when they say they only buy from licensed breeders, but licensed or not, they are puppy mills. There is no way 138 dogs are living in a loving home. We are thankful the puppy is healthy, but her parents are still in Kansas suffering. Also, I had my dog at the emergency vet on New Year's Eve (she did the splits on the kitchen floor--she's fine now), while I was there waiting, I saw 4 different people come in with their puppies they had gotten for Christmas, all had been purchased at pet stores, of course they were sick.
I still believe we will see the day when it is illegal to sell puppies in a pet store like some trinket.
DEBBY'S PET LAND-MASSACHUSETTS-BRAINTREE
This store opened in 2005 in South Shore Plaza. A visitor to the store reports, "there were cockatiels in something that is for guinea pigs, and if they really wanted to, they could just hop out. Some of the cockatiels also looked sick, and one had runny eyes.
"There was one cute puppy I felt bad for. It was a miniature pinscher, and she (or he) looked sick. She didn't even have the strength to drink of the guinea pig waterer that was supposed to be her drinking water.
"They had huge dogs in little cages, and you can tell they just wanted out."
The person took out a cell phone to make a call. "The lady screams, and I mean screams, 'NO TAKING PICTURES IN MY STORE!'" Another customer asked why, and the woman didn't respond.
The next time this person visited the store, there was a poster board that said "No photo taking allowed."
A Woof & Co. pet store had been in the same spot but was closed down due to public outrage about the sick puppy mill puppies sold there.
DEBBY'S PET LAND--MASSACHUSETTS--HYANNIS
"I was just in the Debby's Pet Land in the Hyannis mall in Massachusetts. I don't normally go in there due to the fact that I can't look at the sad puppies in all the small cages, but I had my children with me and they wanted to look at the lizards. Anyway...I was disgusted to find that they had 3 dead and dried up looking lizards in the cage with about 12 live ones. One was even dried to the edge of the water bowl, meaning they probably never clean the cage or change the water very often. Another was dead in the water bowl and the third was dead and dried up on the tree branch with lizards crawling on top of it."
DEBBY'S PET LAND--MASSACHUSETTS--HOLYOKE
Herbie is a Pekingese puppy who was languishing in a cage at the Debby's Pet Land in Holyoke Mall in the fall of 2005. He was "very listless," writes his guardian. "He constantly opened his mouth and gasped for air. His sides were heaving with every breath he tried to get." When taken out of his cage, "he didn't play or even pick up his head." In order to save his life, she purchased him for over $1,000 and took him to her own vet the next day, where he was diagnosed with a severe respiratory infection, dehydration, diarrhea, and a cold in his eyes. He had a very congested nose, which is particularly difficult for flat-nosed breeds.
His guardian took a week off from work to care for him 24 hours a day. "There were a couple of nights where I slept sitting up with him on my chest," she says. During this time she kept the puppy away from her other dog to avoid infection. After about 2 weeks, Herbie's spirits were greatly improved, and he was "finally acting like a puppy," his guardian says. "He wags his tail and wiggles all over at the sound of my voice, which makes my heart soar." His health also improved, although he still had a cough and some congestion as well as a skin problem due to the dehydration he experienced at the pet store.
Debby's Pet Land is a chain store with several branches in Massachusetts and Hew Hampshire and is apparently unaffiliated with the larger Petland chain. However, Herbie was born in Missouri and was delivered to Debby's Pet Land by the Hunte Corp., the same supplier that brings puppies to many Petland stores.
DEBBY'S PET LAND--MASSACHUSETTS--KINGSTON
After local news reports featured consumer complaints about sick puppies purchased at pet stores, Dr. Mark Verbin, veterinarian for Debby's Pet Land in Kingston, was charged with unprofessional conduct by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Veterinary Medicine. He allegedly certified animals for health without conducting appropriate examinations, failed to complete medical records for a Lhaso Apso sold in 2003, prescribed medicine over the phone without ever seeing the dog, and did not have a valid Drug Enforcement Agency license at the time.
Former president of the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association Wendy Emerson spent two years working for a pet shop in an effort to help the sick puppies she saw coming from it. She said the experience "wore her out." Offered meager pay, no exam area or equipment and plenty of pressure from the store's owner to pass animals, Emerson says she was left to improvise on many occasions.
"I brought my own stethoscope, thermometer, and set up an exam table on a box," she says. "It's not like you do bloodwork or take x-rays. You don't even have a microscope to do a fecal on these animals. Basically you examine these animals for frank signs of ill health. Even when I would find something, the owners would get angry with me if I wouldn't pass a puppy on hold. The pet store ties your hands."
Emerson adds, "Even if I would find something and then prescribe an appropriate treatment, these animals were kept at the pet store; any quarantine was woefully inadequate."
--DMV Magazine, February 1, 2005, article by Jennifer Fiala.
Note: Debby's Pet Land is a chain apparently unaffiliated with with Petland. Debby's Pet Land has stores in Canton, Danvers, Hyannis, Kingston, Marlboro, North Attleboro, and Taunton (Massachusetts) and in Manchester and Nashua (New Hampshire). There may be others.
DEBBY'S PET LAND--MASSACHUSETTS--NORTH ATTLEBORO
Mindy, a 4-month old boxer puppy, was purchased from Debby's Pet Land in N. Attleboro for $1,300. She soon began exhibiting aggressive behavior, attacking adults, especially females, as well as her adoptive family's children and their other dog. Her guardian attempted to find her a new home for through two rescue groups, but they would not take her, as she was too dangerous. Mindy was also asked to leave two training classes because of her behavior. A professional trainer evaluated her and concluded that her behavior was due to "bad breeding." In addition, while at Debby's Pet Land, Mindy spent three weeks in quarantine for kennel cough, and this isolation may have intensified her aggressive behavior.
Mindy's guardian writes, "This beautiful little girl never stood a chance. After exhausting all of my options for her, my vet helped me realize that there really was no hope for her and I made the painful decision to euthanize my FIVE MONTH OLD PUPPY!!! She had to be taken in to the vet with a muzzle on and fought him all the way."
Mindy was purchased shortly after the death of the family's 11 1/2 year old boxer. Her guardian writes, "I have never seen this kind of behavior in a puppy. It's a tragedy for this little girl, and also my children. Something that was supposed to put a smile on their faces and help them with their grief ended up blowing up in my face, ten-fold."
Mindy was born in Arkansas and was sold to the pet store by the Hunte Corporation, notorious supplier of puppy mill puppies.
DEBBY'S PET LAND--MASSACHUSETTS--NORTH ATTLEBORO (same store)
Message posted to mytoos.com in December of 2004
"I saw a situation last night that got me so angry. At Debby's Pet land in North Attleboro MA at the mall they had parakeets for sale. In the center of the store there were about 12-15 birds in a 3'X 3' X maybe 15 inches high plexiglas cage. This cage is designed for small animals. That's not even the worst of what I saw. In this cage was a hamster exercise wheel, a kitty litter box used for water, bowls on the floor for food and no real perches or toys!! The water was about an inch deep and disgusting, full of fecal matter.
I went over to the register and told the girls working that the water was dirty and the birds would dehydrate quickly. One of the girls went over looked and said oh, they're ok. They mess up the water as quick as we change it. I told her that birds do not drink dirty water and she stated well, our birds do! I told her the birds would get sick and she stated our birds don't have a problem with it. None of them are sick and the state inspectors don't have a problem with it either. The kitty litter box was about 4-5 inches high so for the birds to get a drink they have to land in the water! Also on top of the box was a screen that you could just lift off.
I'm so upset. I'm calling their corporate office today to lodge a complaint. I'm also calling the MSPCA and I lodged a complaint with the Avian Welfare group on line. Just needed to get it off my chest. I've never seen such horrible conditions in that store before. Or for that matter in any store before."
DEBBY'S PET LAND--NEW HAMPSHIRE--NASHUA
2006: "I too believe that all pet stores that sell live animals should be part of the hall of shame, but this one is near my house and has more things that infuriate me! It is a Debby's Pet Land and is located at the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, NH. Every time I go to that mall my boyfriend literally has to drag me away from the store because he's afraid I'll make a scene. My first time going in there I noticed right away that they had multiple dogs in the small cages and larger breads in the small cages as well. All the puppies were in cages with the grated bottoms, which is horrible on their poor little feet.
The staff knew little or nothing about the breeds and provided no helpful information to customers looking for a new addition to their family. They were supporting and advising people who wanted to buy certain dogs because he or she liked the "look" of that particular breed, versus knowing anything about them, like they were a fashion accessory.
Recently they had a Cockapoo with an injured leg that looked like it hadn't even been treated. The poor guy had what looked like open wounds and still had to support himself on the grated bottom. When I saw this I immediately asked the sales clerk if the dog had received any medical attention from a certified veterinarian and the response I got was an unconvincing "I assume so."
I also had to point out that visit that the Weimaraner they had was in a cage far too small for its size because it couldn't even sit up. Thankfully they did put it in one of the larger crates by the end of the day, but customers shouldn't have to point that out. The fact that places like this still exist infuriates me."
FAMILY PET CENTER--CONNECTICUT--MERIDEN
2006: "I bought a Chihuahua puppy from Family Pet Center in Meriden, CT in May of this year. He seemed very lethargic and coughing when we bought him and I knew he probably had kennel cough and would need an antibiotic. We paid $1200 for him and I brought him to the vet the very next day. He was diagnosed with a very bad case of pneumonia and I was told that was a good chance he would not survive. Hundreds of dollars later, six medications that were given every 2 hours, and weeks of taking care of a very sick puppy, he did survive. I am happy to say he is now a 7 month old happy Chihuahua named Chico.
However, I contacted the pet store who told me that I could return the puppy for a new one which of course I was not going to do. I contacted the Hunte Corporation and was told we would get reimbursed for our expense. We waited from May 29, 2006 to the end of September when we finally did receive a reimbursement for a partial amount of the vet bills. I contacted Hunte Corporation on many occasions where I only received a voice mail and no calls were ever returned.
Today I went into the store to check the conditions of the puppies and found several of them covered and lying in their own urine. Two of them looked extremely sick but I was told, as I was told when I bought my puppy, that they had just been checked out by a vet and were perfectly healthy. Somebody needs to shut these people down and I would like to do anything I can to help. I don't even think my Chihuahua is a purebred because according to AKC standards, a purebred Chihuahua cannot be more than 6 pounds and Chico is 9 lbs. According to his vet, he is at his ideal weight for a dog his size and is probably a mixed breed. We paid $1200 for a purebred puppy and most likely did not even get one!
Thank you for your time and I hope to help in any way that I can to shut down Hunte Corporation."
FAMILY PET CENTER--MASSACHUSETTS--HOLYOKE
Ruby was purchased at the Family Pet Center for approximately $1,100. Her guardian found out soon afterwards that the puppy had pneumonia. It cost over $2,600 to nurse her back to health. The store's vet, responsible for evaluating the health of the puppies, also had not discovered that Ruby has a congenital defect called ectopic ureter, which causes the dog to leak urine constantly because the tubes that carry the urine bypass the bladder and go directly to the urethra. Due to the expense and extra care required to correct this condition, many dogs who have it are euthanized, but Ruby's family loves her and plans to go through with the surgery, which will cost between $2,000 and $4,000, not including follow-up. The success rate for this type of surgery is between 65-70%, and the nearest hospital that can perform it is two hours from Ruby's home. Ruby was born at a kennel in Arkansas and was brought to the Family Pet Center by the Hunte Corporation, the largest puppy broker in the U.S.
***************************************
My wife and I purchased our poodle from Family Pet Center in Holyoke, MA via Lamont Kennels in May of 2003. Our puppy had a respiratory infection, dehydration, vomiting, diarrhea and a heart murmur. We were very upset and displeased with our dog's overall health and appearance. As of November 2006, our dog is very healthy and very much loved.
[See the "USDA Records on Various Breeders" section on this website for a partial list of the USDA violations found at Lamont Kennels.]
FAMILY PETS-VIRGINIA--CHESAPEAKE
2006: My husband bought a Chocolate Cocker Spaniel from Family Pets In Chesapeake, VA. The credit card receipt says "Docktor Pet" and has an address is Virginia Beach (another mall address). I know these "Docktor Pet" shops were in the news a while back (I think 1995 or so) and I guess they are back and operating under new names.
We are a one-income MILITARY FAMILY with two children who have severe multiple food allergies (which limits them as to where we go) as well as environmental allergies such as tree, grass, pollen, mold, ragweed, etc. So, while my husband was deployed overseas, our 8-month-old puppy had to be put to sleep because he attacked me, then began showing signs of psychological problems. After he bit and wouldn't let go, he began to beat himself against walls...repeatedly. He was a Chow, Lab, German Shep, Coonhound mix that we had rescued from a family who didn't take care of him and couldn't afford to even feed him. My husband returned one month after our puppy was put down. The day after he returned home he went to the pet store and bought a puppy (it had been only 1 month and the kids wanted another puppy). The day after he purchased the pup he took her to the vet where she was diagnosed with an ear infection and kennel cough as well as a grade 1 luxating patella (he was told she has this condition from the pet store but the sales lady GUARANTEED it wouldn't get any worse and he believed her). We have had her for about 2 months and she has been on antibiotics 3 times (2 weeks each time--ALMOST the entire time we have had her), she had also had the kennel cough but now is an upper respiratory infection, and the grade 1 luxating patella AND now a grade 2 on the other patella (this one was previously normal) and 2 cherry eyes (I am assuming from the Ectropion). Ectropion is the dropping of the eyelids, which is a genetic disorder. Cherry eye is the "prolapse of the third eyelid" in which the tear duct gets infected and pops out of place, thus moving the third eyelid.
The pet store, FAMILY PETS in the Greenbrier Mall, danced around the warranty, stating that the grades need to be a 3 or higher. However, our warranty doesn't state anything about grades. I contacted an attorney who said they need to honor the warranty because it is generic and only states it needs to be a "debilitating genetic condition" and has no grades specifically listed. So, I contacted the store again, got letters from the vet and dropped them off at the store. The next day I called and was told that we would receive a store credit for a replacement puppy (like she is a cheap plastic toy that you throw away when it breaks?) I was also told that they don't take the pups back and we are responsible for either placing her in another home, dropping her at a shelter, keeping her or putting her down.
So, I attempted to find another puppy and have been visiting the store every day for several hours a day for 11 days now. Every pup we find that doesn't seem to have a temperament problem or look sick IS sick or has bad knees. One came in, we went to look at her, and she seemed to just lay in my arms, didn't want to be put down and shook a lot. The lady said it was because she was flown in from MO to VA last night. She started having a hard time breathing, so she was put back in the little cube with another pup. I was quoted the night before $1050, but when I got there they said $1300. The owner said she could do $1200--like she was doing me a favor! I walked out. They called me an hour later and said the owner decided to honor the $1050! So, I waited and later that day I called to see if she was vet-checked (just to find out what happened to her) and the lady said "she has gone off sale because she has an upper respiratory infection and is in isolation in the back"-- although she was in the little cube with another pup and around the others ALL DAY!
Another came in by plane from MO (most of the pets there come from MO--I checked many papers there). Another one came in of the same breed--he also came from MO--but when vet-checked he had 2 luxating patellas--like our pup. At that point, I knew there was no way I was finding a healthy dog and began notifying local radio stations, TV stations and newspapers, but have yet to hear from anyone. A friend has posted my story on Craigslist and has received over 25 responses--many having a similar situation in that store or another local store.
The owner wouldn't even look at me over the weekend when I asked for a refund because I wanted to be able to pay for 2 of the 4 surgeries our pups needs, and I couldn't find a healthy pup in her store over the last 7 days! At this point, she got quite nasty (even in front my 2-year-old and 8-year old--my husband is out to sea so I had to take them with me) and responded that "I could be like every other pet store and not give a warranty. Then you'd be out" and walked away! I was so hurt and angry I ALMOST left. I started to walk towards the door, turned around and headed straight for the 20+ people looking at puppies. I loudly proclaimed, "Let's look for a healthy puppy, since our puppy from here is so sick" and pointed at puppies "that one has a luxating patella, that one was in with a sick puppy that was quarantined yesterday, we looked at that one 3 days ago and wanted to just bit everything, that one looks sick" and so on. Finally, after everyone is the store was looking at me, I said in the loudest voice possible when my children asked if we could bring another puppy home, "No, We've seen all these dogs and I don't want another sick puppy, I don't want to pay thousands of dollars in vet bills. THIS IS A GREAT PLACE TO BUY A PUPPY IF YOU WANT IT TO BE SICK, SPEND THOUSANDS IN VET BILLS AND POSSIBLY HAVE IT DIE!" and I walked out before she could say anything. Within 10 minutes the store was empty. I waited 1 day and went back. Only 3 puppies had sold over the weekend (which was better than 30-40 that they normally sell).
I have researched the breeder of our sick pup--she is Pam McLin from Bevier MO. I found a USDA inspection report from 2003, and she has had 1 complaint that I could find. I called her saying I saw her website (she has 2 and they are identical EXCEPT for the breed...and the type is inserted for different breeds on different websites). Anyway, she was going to sell me a puppy for $100-200 depending on which I wanted and ship it from MO to VA by plane. I asked about temperament, her adult dogs and if disorders run in their lines. And of course she said no--they were all sound. Her website states ALL her cocker spaniels are AKC but ours is not. She told me she uses 3 registries. I then asked if she sells just locally or if she would ship the pup and if she sells to pet stores. She replied that she sells locally and over the internet, never to pet stores. I then asked why I bought a puppy from a pet shop in Chesapeake that came from her! She said she didn't know, she doesn't sell to pet stores. Meanwhile the store owner here said this breeder has physically been in her store and claims she has been out to the McLins' place in MO. So, after dancing around McLin said, "Maybe I did sell to a pet store. What's wrong with the pup and who are they?" I told her what was wrong and who the parents were and she didn't seem surprised. She asked if the pet store lied in any way. I said no, they have not lied (not at that point). Then she said since I didn't buy the pup directly from her, there was nothing she could do! and hung up.
So, after having this sick pup for 2 months and having my kids get attached to it, she is showing signs of pain and bit my husband and 2-year-old as a result. I have tried to get a refund but nothing. I would like this pet store to be posted in the "Hall of Shame" to prevent people from making the same mistake! Thank you.
Michelle in Virginia Beach
FOX MILL PETS--VIRGINIA--HERNDON--(there are two stores in Herndon, owned by the same people)
The store on Elden Street has a freezer just behind the fish aquariums at the back of the store. Recently an alert activist caught a glimpse inside, hoping it would just be people's frozen lunches. The entire freezer was FULL OF DEAD ANIMALS. They were in plastic bags, and there were smudges of what appeared to be blood around the freezer door.
Fox Mill obtains its puppies from the Hunte Corp., just as Petland does. Not only will they admit that when asked, we have seen the Hunte truck drop puppies off at Fox Mill after making its delivery to Petland. That means puppy mills. The puppies in Fox Mill have more room and seem better cared for than those at Petland, and there are far fewer of them. But as this incident reveals, appearances can be deceptive.
*****
Reese is a Chocolate Labrador Retriever purchased at Fox Mill Pets for slightly less than $1,000. She came home from the store with "a heavy infestation of internal parasites--giardia and coccidia to name a few." After doing some research on the Hunte Corporation, whose name is on Reese's papers, Reese's guardian discovered that the Hunte Corporation is a large distributor of puppy mill puppies. In addition to shipping their puppies to pet stores many states away, Reese's breeders, located in Missouri, also sell puppies for between $200 and $375 through online classified ads. They did not respond when contacted about Reese. Although the Hunte Corporation's website claims that it obtains puppies from "licensed professional breeders," Reese's breeder is not included in the USDA's list of licensed breeders.
Reese's guardian writes, "I was devastated to learn that my puppy was from a puppy mill, but I love her deeply. I want more people to be aware that it is a real issue and real people do experience the heartache of purchasing a puppy-mill pet with long and short-term disabilities such as parasites, elbow or hip dysplasia, and eye problems such as cataracts or glaucoma. If you can, please warn others to stay away from Fox Mill Pets. It is wrong and disgusting that a place would breed and sell animals strictly for profit."
*****
First photo: Ressy, cramped in an aquarium with many baby rats at Fox Mill Pets. Second photo, Ressy at home with a friend.
A person looking for a pet rat went into Fox Mill Pets on Franklin Farms Road in Herndon and saw a full-grown rat for sale. The salesman warned her that the rat was not very social and might bite her hard. She went home "feeling sad for the poor rat." A few weeks later, she returned to the store and saw the same rat. When she asked how long he'd been in a small aquarium in the store, the salesman said at least 8 months. There were dozens of other rats in the store.
She bought the rat. "He sat on my shoulder the whole way home and has never bitten me, ever." He had pneumonia and mites at the time he was purchased.
During another visit to Fox Mill, she saw a mother hamster with a litter of babies on display, which is stressful for the mother. She also saw two puppies who appeared to have eye infections.
One time when she was playing with the baby rats at Fox Mill, one was dead. She informed the salesman, but he said he would wait for the next shift to remove the rat. Only after she told him she thought that was terrible did he bother to remove the dead rat.
She says, "I really don't know many options of shopping for my pets around here. So I buy supplies online now, from rescues mostly, where the benefits of sales go to a good cause."
GIBRALTAR TRADE CENTER--MICHIGAN--TAYLOR AND MT. CLEMENS (two locations)
2006: I just wanted to inform you of two weekend flea markets in Michigan. They are both called Gibraltar Trade Center, one is located in Taylor and one in Mt. Clemens. Each location has a "pet shop," which sells puppies and kittens. In Taylor the puppies looked well cared for, but with so many animals needing homes, what's the point of breeding? In Taylor there was also a man selling reptiles. He mentioned that the tortoises he was selling (which were way too young to be sold) might look sluggish because "He hadn't turned the heat on yet this morning." He was keeping reptiles without providing heat during the cold, Michigan winter night.
In Mt. Clemens there were baby tigers being offered as props for children's photography. Apparently in Michigan this is legal, but I don't want to support a place that advocates cruelty toward any animal. I did a google search and found out that a man at the same flea market had, in the 80s or 90s been arrested for the same thing but with bears. Apparently the Gibraltar Trade Center does not care, because they still allow animals there for the same purpose.
Furthermore, the pet shop in the Mt. Clemens location was offering macaws for sale. These macaws were not provided with large cages or chew toys. They were ripping their own feathers out of their chests and were being housed outside the petshop in the high traffic area apparently to draw customers in. The sign on the shop said "Pollyworld," which disgusting me even more, because if their specialty is birds, one can only imagine how awfully they keep other animals. I searched all over for a phone number of this Pollyworld, but could not find one, or an address. Also they were selling "purebred" puppies, without papers (which struck me as being bred by irresponsible breeders at home that weren't breeding certain dogs to maintain the breed, but were breeding the same dogs over and over again...probably dogs they got from "free to good home" ads or something....). Anyway, these puppies were obviously not happy. I witnessed two of them fighting, they looked like littermates. One dog had the other pinned down and was biting its throat. A crowd gathered, and no one who worked there even attempted to separate the dogs.
I called Gibraltar Trade Center's Mt. Clemens office to let the people who actually run the facility know what I had seen. I kept being interupted by the office lady who kept saying, "Well she's passed all of her inspections." I finally interupted her and said that while I don't doubt that she feeds her animals and provides them with shelter and water, I do think they are being housed and treated in cruel and inhumane ways. I told her about the dogs fighting and the macaw, but I was so upset that I couldn't get much else out. The lady told me that she'd let the pet store owner know, but I doubt the pet store owner cares. I don't even want to know how many of the animals I saw were diseased or half-dead. I don't even like animals that much, but I can't stand to see any person treat an animal in a way which is so obviously and blatently cruel.
Anyway, I called the Michigan Dep't of Agriculture Animal Division because that's who the shelter near the flea market told me to report this to. They said that unfortunately they only are responsible for mammals. The lady I spoke to had inspected those places in the past, but told me that the inspection system is flawed because an owner can just revert back to their ways when they know there's not going to be an inspection, and that there aren't any laws about the treatment of birds and reptiles unless it comes to diseases that humans can catch. She agreed that it's not right, and I feel a little bit better that she knows so maybe she'll be less inclined to be nice about inspections of that particular store. She did thank me and said that without calls from concerned citizens they would not know what goes on in pet shops when the inspectors are not around.
Anyway, I'm just trying to spread the word about what I saw, and I'm trying to get everyone I know to boycott Gibraltar Trade Center. I'm also trying to contact any animal groups I can because hopefully it will stop people from shopping there and cause the business to go under...
I think that the problem is bigger than just the people selling things at their booths in the flea market, I think that the problem also relates to the fact that the Gibraltar Trade Center allows these vendors to have their own stores and booths. That's why I'm advocating on behalf of the animals that people boycott the entire place, so that they cannot just allow the next animal vendor to sell abused animals and perpetuate the misery of these animals.
Sincerely,
M. Sanders
HAPPINESS IS PETS--ILLINOIS--ARLINGTON HEIGHTS
Harley and Nickle
2007: I went in to Happiness is Pets in 2002. Harley would be 5 this year. He was cute at 6 months already and had a kinked tail. I should have known that something wasn't right. Well I get him home and things from the start were odd. He had discharge coming from his eyes which I thought was from being in the yard. I find out later what he has is called eye entropion (rolling inward of the eyelids). Surgery was the only option, $700 the cost to repair, which was almost what I paid for Harley. Later as the spring rolls in I notice my dog had red bumps starting to appear, back to the vet. They tell me he's allergic to something which caused the outbreak. A little while passes and the chronic ear infections start, back to the vet, more meds. By the time Harley became 3 he had hip dysplasia and had a hard time getting up from his bed. I would let him sleep on the couch so he could be more comfortable. He was easily irritated, so he couldn't be the dog that we wanted as a pet. He was miserable most of the time. Well when he was 3, my father died from a failed liver transplant and my family was doing the preparations for my father. The enclosure that Harley was kept in had a 4-foot fence. I never thought that he would try to jump the fence but he tried and didn't make it. My Harley was a tall American Bulldog and could have easily freed himself from the fence but his hips were so bad that he couldn't hold himself up. I came back from burying my father to find my Harley had hung himself on a 4-foot fence.
I contacted the ARF and requested justice for my dog and they just turned a blind eye to what Steve Kruse is doing in West Point Iowa. Happiness is Pets in Arlington Heights, IL is the avenue for Steve Kruse and for neglected puppy mill puppies. I didn't find out anything about this puppy mill until Harley died and I did some research on his pedigree. But this isn't the end. I went back to Happiness is Pets 2 years after I bought Harley and saw a little black Peekapoo. I took him out and he had some kind of skin infection and a kinked tail also. I asked them where this dog had come from and they gave me no answer. I felt bad to put the puppy back in the cage so I took him home with me. I named him Nickle aka Nicky. I took him to the vet that Happiness is Pets works with, and Happiness is Pets ended up paying the vet bill which was as much as Nicky costs. So I considered him a rescue from Happiness is Pets. I gave him to a trainer here in the Chicagoland area. The only thing I can give credit to Happiness is Pets about is that they have an excellent animal hospital that they work with—Elmhurst Animal Hospital. I have been going there for years.
I have filed a report with the Consumer Protection Division about Steve Kruse in West Point, Iowa, dba [doing business as] Stonehenge Kennels. There are thousands of complaints from IL, FL, Arkansas, Iowa and MO. What is going to be done about this puppy mill that scams unsuspecting new pet owners? I have been in contact with Al Walker, the president of the registry that Kruse uses to register all the poorly bred dogs. We are boycotting the registry, Animal Research Foundation in Texas. We have hundreds of people emailing and calling for the ARF to revoke Kruse rights to register the dogs that he mills. Everyone can help. Call or email the Animal Research Foundation at the info listed here. Your help is appreciated. Here's a link to the ARF, and the puppy miller's name is on their website.
http://www.stodghillsarfregistry.com/breeders_list.htm#AMERICAN
Please email stodghills.arf@juno.com and tell them to revoke Kruse's rights to register the dogs that he mills.
If you have purchased a sick puppy from Steve Kruse through your local pet store, please complain to the Better Business Bureau in your area--find it at www.bbb.org, "Locate a Bureau."
Also complain to Robert Gibbens, DMV, at the USDA for allowing dog breeding facilities that provide inadequate care to continue operating. E-mail him at charolette.c.cotier@aphis.usda.gov.
Thanks
Susan Gray
Chicago, IL
[The Companion Animal Protection Society visited Steve Kruse's kennel in 2004. According to CAPS, Mr. Kruse that he had 1350 adult dogs and also sells to the Hunte Corporation. For a description and photos of caged dogs, please visit http://www.caps-web.org/iowa_kruse.php.
The group In Defense of Animals collected info on Steve Kruse's facility in the 1990s. Visit http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/puppy/investigations2.html for information. According to IDA, Mr. Kruse had 806 dogs in 1995.
It is not illegal to have a huge number of dogs. However, it is extremely difficult, without a huge, attentive staff and a great deal of land, to provide that number of dogs with the love, care, comfortable living areas, and exercise that dogs should have in order to be happy and healthy. -petstorecruelty.org]
JUST PETS--VIRGINIA--RESTON
Allie, a Shih Tzu, was purchased in January of 2005. Within the next two days she began urinating frequently. Her guardians took her to the vet, who found that Allie had kidney failure of a genetic cause (that could have been detected in the parents) and gave her only a year to live. The vet recommended that the dog be returned, and her devastated guardians did so. Allie was immediately put back up for sale. According to the store, the new purchasers were informed of the dog's serious medical condition, as is required by law. Note: Just Pets advertises that it does not obtain puppy mill puppies. In this case, the breeder was apparently local and not a Midwestern dealer. However, the breeder failed to reply to several phone messages regarding Allie's illness.
November 2006: "I was in Just Pets in Reston the other day. They have puppies. The first one I held was scared to death of me, shaking out of fear, literally. The second one, a little girl, was sweet but her eyes and nose were gunky and she looked like she had some sort of a skin issue on her muzzle. The store clerk said they were 'local.'"
JUST PUPPIES—MARYLAND--LAUREL
1) Marcus, a Boxer, is the offspring of two dogs purchased at Just Puppies, a pet store in Laurel, Maryland. Marcus has chronic staph infections that his guardian manages through careful diet. He is hypothyroid and is developing hip dysplasia, both hereditary conditions that could have been detected in the parents, who should not have been bred. His hip dysplasia will most likely result in long-term pain and require expensive surgery.
2)
Jerry is a miniature schnauzer puppy bought from Just Puppies in Laurel, Maryland in January of 2005. He had kennel cough (the store admitted that ALL their dogs probably have kennel cough and provided pills for it). Within a week of his purchase, he exuded thick green mucus from his nose and was having trouble breathing. His guardians took him to an emergency clinic, where he was found to have pneumonia. For days Jerry was in an intensive care unit, hooked up to oxygen, intravenous tubes, and getting shots every hour, and it was not known if he would live. $5,000 worth of vet bills later, he has survived but as of mid-February still needed monthly vet visits. Just Puppies refuses to pay for ANY emergency care for any puppy, even immediately after purchase, and even if that emergency care is provided by its own store vets. Jerry was born in Missouri.
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JUST PUPPIES--MARYLAND--LAUREL
2006: I went in there once just out of curiosity while waiting for my appointment at a nearby shop. I was appalled at the conditions of not only the living quarters, but the puppies themselves. They looked sickly and when I tried to talk to someone in there about the condition of the puppies, they wouldn't talk to me at all unless I would fill out an application to buy a puppy (which of course I didn't). I wanted to cry when I left, it was awful.
JUST PUPPIES--MARYLAND--ROCKVILLE
Another branch of the same store, this Just Puppies also gets its puppies from puppy mills and keeps them in barren little cages in a warehouse-like setting. A visitor to the store in November 2005 found that there was a very unpleasant odor in the puppy area, where the puppies are being kept two to a small cage.
JUST PUPPIES--MARYLAND--TOWSON
2006--I went to Just Puppies last night in Towson. I was NOT planning to purchase a puppy from there, but wanted to see the different breeds as I am trying to decide which type of dog I would like. The situation there was horrible.
Some of the puppies were coughing, some were so listless they only looked at you and did not lift their heads, and one was "asleep" though I don't know how asleep it was vs. nearing death, with a thick drop of mucus hanging out of its little nose, which was resting on the rubber grid that made up the bottom of the cage. It was despicable.
I was offended at how terrible the place smelled, how dirty the puppies were, and how very sick so many of them seemed. There was an ADORABLE pomeranian puppy that was sweet and yippy and full of pep that I really wanted to scoop up, just to save it from the place. But they were selling it for $899! And I know enough not to purchase ANYTHING from that place, as it only encourages their practices. I don't think breeders even sell their pom pups for that price. I've visited a private pom breeder who was offering to sell me a puppy for $450. And her little ones were in great shape. I felt terrible for that little guy--just looking at the others around it and knowing it could very well end up like them.
MAXIE BIGGZ-NEW YORK-STATEN ISLAND
"In 2005 I purchased a beautiful 2-month-old pug puppy who we named Daxie Boy. I brought him to the vet the next day and was told he had severe kennel cough. This was the beginning of the downward spiral. Since then this puppy has had stones taken out of his bladder, a shunt repaired so he would have the use of his liver, and the head of both femurs cut off due to disease. The store has not helped at all. They gave me a false phone number and address for their warranty company. Their staff would not give me any information, and I just found out that the store filed for bankruptcy and says they are not responsible for anything to do with the purchase of our puppy.
"If you look online there are many complaints about this company. They are linked to puppy mills and are lying to customers everywhere. We would not trade this dog for the world, but I want people to know what happens when they purchase from a store. Right now I have to hold Daxie up so he can go to the bathroom. This is not how I expected to spend quality time with the puppy. Daxie will be a year old in March. Please help us show the world."
Daxie's initial price was $1,500. He has had 3 surgeries, and the vet bills so far are over $8,000. He was born at a breeding facility in Arkansas.
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MISSY'S PUPPIES AND GROOMING--WEST VIRGINIA--POCA
We received this e-mail and are awaiting further information.
"Missy's in Poca, WV has a reputation for selling puppies who wind up with parvo within a week of the sale. She does give a refund and offer to 'nurse them back to health,' but one I know personally never saw her puppy or heard from the shop again. Others I've talked to say the same thing. I don't know where they get their dogs, but they apparently don't know how to prevent the spread of disease."
NATURES NEST-IOWA-FORT MADISON
2006: I am writing because of what I witnessed this weekend at Natures Nest in Fort Madison, Iowa, 52627. I have already contacted the police department, who said that it is not something they handle. The town is approx 9,000 people, so there is not an animal control officer. The police department said it had already contacted the Department of Agriculture, who gave the pet store 60 days to clean up.
I witnessed an adult cat whose eyes were so infected that they were sealed shut. While I was there (less than 5 minutes) it vomited blood on itself TWICE. Its breathing was labored. I fear it will not make it one more day. The rest of the animals were covered in their own feces. I have never witnessed anything so cruel.
Update: The Department of Agriculture did go to the pet store and only gave it ONE violation. The owner of the store said that she had medicine for the cat with the eye problem and although she couldn't produce proof (vet records or the actual medicine itself) they did not write her up for that.
I went back to the pet store this weekend and although things were SLIGHTLY cleaned up, they still were filthy. While I was there, the owner (who was chain smoking inside her store) kicked the cage of a dachshund and yelled at it because it was barking. I have never witnessed animals being so poorly treated.
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NORTHWEST SEED & PET--WASHINGTON (state)--SPOKANE
2006: "The birds in their Sprague St. store are fed chicken feed and left in dirty unkempt cages. Mass amounts of doves in rabbit cages with babies being born on the metal. The warehouse is full of cockatiels, rats, mice, gerbils, hamsters, snakes, lizards, and there was also pregnant cat.
A lady with a bird mill was there recently selling more birds. They have an umbrella cockatoo who is fed chicken feed and is priced real high, so he's been sitting there a long time. He is not even allowed out of his cage.
They have Patagonian cavies, conures in parakeet cages. They have been busted buying stolen puppies. They had Am Staff puppies who were showing serious aggression issues and just let them attack the other puppy they had them in with. Sick kittens with goopy eyes and filthy cages.
This is a nightmare of a chain. The store on Division St. has a baby alligator that someone gave to them and the manager is fattening it up to eat it. The Sprague store has a caiman in a pool no bigger than a bathtub. This is so sad. Please post this store. The Animal Control here will do nothing about it."
PET CENTRAL--NEVADA--LAS VEGAS
A puppy purchased from this store in 2006 came from the Missouri breeders Marnita and Charles Phelps of Stones Prairie Kennel. In 2004, a USDA inspector found that this breeder was confining some dogs in a pen with less than 6 inches of headroom, and other dogs in an area with a "very noticeable" ammonia odor (see our "USDA reports on various breeders" section).
PET CITY--IDAHO--BOISE
Photo taken at Pet City in Boise, Idaho, in October of 2005. This dachshund puppy is sick, lethargic, and the green discharge coming from his nose is all over his face and ears, as well as on the mat and the window. His tongue is hanging out (not visible in this photo) and he is sleeping on a hard, dirty surface.
[From an article by Lindie Patton for KBCI 2 Boise, April 8, 2005]
Since September of 2004, Pet City in the Boise Town Square has been charged 6 times with animal cruelty by the local Humane Society. The charges include accumulated waste in the cages, inappropriate caging and overcrowding, and lack of food and water. The latest charge was on April 1, 2005, several months after the Humane Society warned Pet City the animals would be impounded if better care was not provided. Pet City is owned by Ron Hope.
Customer Jessica Brothers recently purchased a pug there who had mucus on his nose. The employees said that was normal, "a pug thing." One day after the purchase, the puppy was coughing, sneezing, and listless and was found to have pneumonia. Veterinarian Lana Roberts of Mountain View Animal Hospital said, "It was severe and I think he could've died had he not had treatment for it." The treatment as of early April has cost approximately $2,000 and is not yet complete.
PET CITY--WYOMING--CHEYENNE
Cal is a puppy sold at Pet City at Frontier Mall, 1400 Dell Range Blvd., Cheyenne, for $700. The customer very soon found out that Cal had a tumor on the umbilical cord that would require surgery costing a minimum of $200. The store offered to exchange the puppy for another one, but the customer was concerned about what the store would do with Cal and refused this offer. Unable to pay for high vet bills, the customer gave the puppy to a friend who offered to pay for the surgery and give the puppy a good home. Cal was sold as a purebred Sheltie but has unusual markings and colors for dogs of this breed. Cal was born in Nebraska.
[2007--a pet store employee not associated with this store wrote to say that this is a photo of an umbilical hernia rather than a tumor.
Umbilical hernias vary in severity. Surgery is often done to correct them. They are considered to be a hereditary condition.]
PETCO--TENNESSEE--CHATTANOOGA
August 2006: A visitor to the store located on Highway 153 writes: "Gerbils and hamsters are living in filthy cages. All are lethargic. No activity whatsoever. All appear to be underweight."
PET COMPANY (THE)--NEW JERSEY--MAYS LANDING--HAMILTON MALL
I have purchased two puppies from the Pet Company in the Hamilton Mall. I knew their situation before coming into my home couldn't have been a piece of cake, but I never expected to see thousands of stories online about these innocent animals.
I have been blessed with two healthy dogs, Murphy is my West Highland White Terrier (11 mo.) and Maggie is his new playmate, a Cairn Terrier (3 1/2 mo.) Maggie, however was not my first choice for Murphy. I was looking at another Westie whom I would have named Weston. Poor Weston looked completely calm in his cage. I thought to myself, "Wow this will be great--a dog less dominant than Murphy, he's handsome like Murph and everything!!" I asked the girl if I could see him. I noticed something was wrong right there because he cowered in his cage. When we took him out, he started running in a circle, banging his head into the walls and biting us, and when given a toy, he became completely fixated on it. I had no idea what to do...I started crying in the store. If I didn't have Murphy I would have bought him in a second and tried to rehabilitate him, but that was impossible. I went back 3 times and tried, praying he would calm down so I could take him home. It never happened. As soon as you put him in his cage though, he was fine. This dog will NEVER know anything other than a cage.
I went back a few days later, and took Maggie out. She put her head down on my shoulder and let out a big breath. I knew I needed to take her home. She received a clean bill of health today!! I thought for sure something would be wrong. Her belly was SO BIG when we brought her home and when she had her first accident in the house, while cleaning it up I noticed she tries to eat her feces. No wonder why she was so bloated, the poor thing.
Murphy is a different story, you couldn't ask for a better dog. However, we have not received any papers for Murphy yet. Nothing that says he is ours, that he's certified, that his microchip is in a database if God forbid he gets lost. NOTHING. He might as well not even be my dog.
I can't say anything good about this pet shop, not about the workers, about the living conditions of the dogs, nothing. They lie to people, and swindle money. We paid $1200 for Murphy and $705 for Maggie. Not to say that they are not worth their prices...they are worth more that that in my eyes. They are priceless additions to my life. But to know where these dogs came from, and what they suffered through is horrible to think about. I will NEVER buy from a pet store again. EVER. Murphy and Maggie did not deserve to be taken away from their mothers too early, dumped on a truck and left in a cage for 2 1/2 months until someone came for them...no animal deserves that. I will fight until The Pet Company, Hunte Kennel and their greedy breeders are SHUT DOWN. I encourage others to do so as well. These people don't care about dogs, they care about money. They would rather see innocent animals suffer. Breed until they can't do it anymore, live in filth, have awful medical problems just so someone like me can feel sorry for the lonely puppy in the window and dump hundreds of thousands of dollars on them. An animal life should not be held in any less regard that a human life. You wouldn't do it to a baby, don't do it to a dog.
-Erin Giacobbe
PET COMPANY--TENNESSEE--CHATTANOOGA
We bought a Mini-Schnauzer from The Pet Company in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on 01/13/2006, not knowing that they bought from HUNTE Corporation and puppy mills. Monday, 06/26/2006, at the age of 8 months old and after us only having him 5 months, we had to have our sweet Jackson put to sleep. He had been plagued with kennel cough since the day we brought him home and had been on numerous antibiotics for this, none of which helped. Even under our contract from The Pet Company, they never reimbursed us for our medication costs like they said they would.
Friday, 06/23/2006, he woke up and was walking in circles. We took him to our vet that morning and he diagnosed him with an inner ear infection. We spent $166 on treatment/vet bill that day and were told that within 24 hours, the medication SHOULD help and he'd be ok. On Saturday, 06/24/2006, he was still walking in circles, but we thought that the medications given to him had not had time to kick in. I placed a call to our vet and was told to give it until Sunday. On Sunday morning, 06/25/2006, we woke up to our sweet pup Jackson thrashing about, paddling his forelimbs, eyes fixed, etc. We took him straight to our emergency vet and had numerous tests run, none of which were conclusive as to what his problem could be. We could now tell that his problem was NOT only an inner ear infection, but neurological as well. After 3 doses of valium, he was finally calm and peaceful. We were informed that he was blind and was suffering from seizures as well as other problems. We wanted to take him home with us so that just in case something DID happen to him, he'd be at home where he SHOULD be. Dr. Ashley said that was ok because there wasn't anything they could do for him except give him fluids and for us to take him to our regular vet first thing Monday morning.
On Monday morning, we awoke to Jackson paddling his arms again, but he was still "asleep." We took him straight in to see Dr. Aaron Robertson at Wolftever Pet Hospital in Harrison, Tennessee. He said that it seemed as if Jackson was suffering from meningitis and we could TRY starting treatment for that, but his condition would remain grim. Not wanting to give up ANY hope that might be there, we agreed to start the treatments, see if he responded at all, and then get a referral for a neurological consult out of the University of Tennessee Veterinary Dept. I called to check on Jackson 4 hours later and was told that he was getting worse and not responding to treatment at all. He no longer thought it was meningitis. We thought when we took him in that he was still asleep from the valium the night before. He was not; he was in a coma. He was also suffering various other neurological defects and no longer showing the classic symptoms of meningitis. He never responded to any medications or people after the previous Saturday night. His body temperature was already starting to drop and his organs to shut down. We made the decision to have him put to sleep to keep from prolonging the inevitable. At the age of 8 months, our sweet Jackson had to cross the Rainbow Bridge.
The lab report listed his cause of death as "Congenital Immune Disorder." The vet said he had basically had kennel cough his entire life, had no immune system to fight it off, and the infection took over his body even after being on antibiotics for the entire 5 months we had him :(
Jackson was born at Wolf Point Kennel in Iowa, owned by Helene Hamrick.
Now I am getting the runaround from The Pet Company. We had bought a lifetime health guarantee on him and they don't want to live up to their end. They don't return calls, their actual shop knows "nothing" and the manager is never in. She also doesn't take phone calls and neither does the district manager. I'll never again buy from a pet shop after SEEING where these puppies come from and how they're treated. I'll do anything I possibly can to see them shut down. Jackson deserves me out there fighting for him as much as I can fight.
-Angela Pell
Harrison, TN
PET-GO-ROUND--VIRGINIA--VIRGINIA BEACH
Photo: Riot on his birthday. Riot is a Jack Russell Terrier purchased from Pet-Go-Round. Riot developed seizures shortly after being bred, and the puppies also developed seizures. Riot's guardian writes, "I love my dog dearly, but every seizure he has tears away at my heart. I hate to see him so out of it; it just kills me so much. I had thousands of dollars in vet bills for the puppies. There were four puppies in the litter. Three of them survived but one little angel did not. I just don't want to see any other person have to go through the pain of seeing their loved pet suffer from seizures that can be prevented by stopping the breeding of the dogs. I had my male fixed after he had seizures, but by then the damage was done to the puppies."
Riot's guardian contacted the pet shop but was never given an answer as to whether the breeder was notified. Riot was delivered to the pet store by the Hunte Corporation. He comes from a breeder in Missouri whose name cannot be found on the USDA licensed breeder list. Riot's guardian has now adopted a Jack Russell from a rescue group.
PETLAND--CANADA--ALBERTA--MacLEOD TRAIL
Cody was a mini pin purchased for over $1,300 Canadian when he was 8 weeks old. His guardian says, "In the short time that I had Cody, he never did learn even the simplest of commands, such as 'sit.' I worked with him every day, multiple times a day, and yet nothing...I have trained dogs before and worked with them for many years and never have I had so little progress with any puppy of his age. Housebreaking was a complete disaster and even with routine he never, EVER got it...not even once did he 'go' outdoors. Cody was neurotic and would run into things constantly; he shook all the time...even when he wore his t-shirts to warm him."
"Approximately three weeks after I purchased Cody, he suddenly died early in the morning...After coughing, wheezing, and an excessive amount of barking (for him anyways), he broke into convulsions and passed out dead." A necropsy is being done to determine the cause of death, and the Petland store, which provided only a 7-day health warranty, is considering whether or not it will refund the money paid for Cody.
2006: An person connected with this store wrote to us that this person would have received a refund if, within the first 7 days, a vet had declared the puppy "unfit for sale." We do not question that they would provide a refund if a puppy were declared unfit for sale within 7 days, but at most pet stores, the puppy needs to be RETURNED TO THE STORE in order for the person to receive a refund. Many people love their sick puppies and will not return them to get a refund. Some stores may allow the person to keep the sick puppy and refund part of the purchase price. We're not sure how this policy works at this particular store, as this case concerned a puppy who died 3 weeks after purchase, not one who was declared unfit during the first week.
The employee went on to say that the person who wrote to us about a "7-day health warranty" was incorrect and that "Every dog, cat and several other animals come with a ONE YEAR WARRANTY that covers pretty much every hereditary/congenital disorder an animal can get." We are awaiting a reply to the important question of what is meant by "covered." People often think that "covered" means that all vet bills incurred as a result of the dog's disability (which can easily run into the thousands of dollars for repeated surgeries, for example) will be paid by the store. That is NOT what "covered" means at many, many pet stores. If the MacLeod Trail Petland does let us know that they promise to pay all these vet bills, we will add that information here.
Our LOCAL (Fairfax, Virginia) Petland's 2006 "warranty" says "Should a veterinarian diagnose, within the first year of this puppy's life, a hereditary or congenital disorder that is currently interfering with this puppy's ability to lead a normal life, this Petland retailer will allow a full store credit of the original purchase price TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF ANOTHER PUPPY OF YOUR CHOICE." (emphasis ours). People suffering with a sick puppy from Petland seldom want another Petland puppy, so this "coverage" is useless to them. In capital letters, the Fairfax City Petland warranty states "PETLAND WILL NOT REIMBURSE OR COVER ANY SURGICAL PROCEDURES OR VETERINARY BILLS FOR ALL HEREDITARY OR CONGENITAL DISORDER (sic)."
PETLAND--CANADA--WINNIPEG
According to an article in CBC News from February of 2005, a woman bought a cockatiel at Petland. Her vet said the bird had Chlamydia psittacosis, or "parrot fever," a lung disease that can be transmitted to both animals and humans. She brought the bird back to Petland. The owners said they would treat the bird, then didn't. Then they said their tests shows the bird wasn't sick and that they didn't want to treat a bird that's not sick. The customer then took the bird back to her own vet and paid for the treatment, but the bird died.
PETLAND DISCOUNTS-NEW YORK-BRONX (5550 Broadway)
2006: Hi, I visited a Petland in NYC last night and was really upset. Dead fish, rabbits and other animals with no food, mice eating other dead mice because of no food (maybe that's in their nature but they had no food).
Just gross, flies all over the place.
PETLAND-FLORIDA-reprinted with permission of consumeraffairs.com
Paul of Ft Myers FL (07/11/05)
Purchased Yorkie on April 29, 2005 for 2,199 dollars. Dog soon began having attacks which turned out to be seizures. After many visits to their vet and ours, it was finally determined that the puppy has a liver shunt and will require major surgery to correct and will not be able to be bred. Petland has returned the price of the dog less the $300 they gave to our vet. I explained to the owner that according to the pet lemon law, she was responsible for the price of the dog plus vet bills up to the price of the dog. She shouldn't have shorted me 300 dollars when she returned the money for the dog, and she still should pay for my vet bills up to the price of the dog. At least that's my interpretation of the pet lemon law.
The dog is scheduled for surgery on July 14th, cost will be approximately $1,879.00. I really feel that they should pay for this bill. I have spoken with the owner today, she refuses to consider it, claims my wife signed all the fine print in their contract and they aren't responsible for the extra vet bill even thought the law says she is. This dog unknown to me had a very bad upper respiratory infection and was on meds until the day before my wife picked her up. A few days later when we returned with the ill dog, the same vet said, without a physical or blood tests, that she needed nutrastat, a tube of basically corn syrup. On the second visit, again without tests, we were told to feed it more often. Finally with the dog still sick, we took it to our vet who discovered the upper respiratory infection and confirmed it with the Petland vets--it's how we became aware that THEY knew the dog was sick...and said nothing.
PETLAND--FLORIDA--DELRAY BEACH
2007: "I got my puppy (min pin) in Nov '06 from a Petland store in Delray Beach, Florida. She didn't have papers when we first saw her in the store. It took them at least two weeks to get them, now I know why! They said she a little cough but not to worry and assured me it was not kennel cough. Long story short, it was, and she had to go on medication and had a terrible cough that would keep her up all night. She's getting better now but I hate to think of the terrible conditions she was in at the Jinson Kennel."
[See "USDA Violations by Petland Breeders" for excerpts from USDA inspection reports on Jinson Kennel.]
PETLAND--FLORIDA--ORLANDO EAST, N. ALAFAYA TRAIL
Celia, a Chihuahua, was born in Missouri. Petland's Certificate of Veterinary Inspection said she had a luxating patella ("soft knee," a common problem in under-exercised dogs), a problem with her cornea, and that her fecal test was negative. An eye problem was evident at the store, but the employees said it was an eyelash, took her in the back, and claimed to fix it. Celia was purchased for $1,300. At midnight, the day after Celia went home with her new family, she went into major seizures and had to be rushed to the vet. This vet (not Petland's) determined that Celia had an intestinal parasite, ghiardia, which should have been detected by the fecal test. After a two-day stay at the vet, Celia was allowed to come home, where her family tended to her "all hours of the night." Her eye got worse, and medicine was needed for that as well. After additional vet visits and more care at home, Celia's family believed she was getting better, but 14 days after she came home, Celia died. According to the vet, she died of pneumonia caused by her having been taken from her mother too soon.
Her guardian writes, "The condition of the store was atrocious. There was actually a hamster that had a hole in his head. The store was dirty. As soon as we walked in there, the smell of urine and feces just overwhelms you. I saw all the animals in the cages and it made me cry. The cages were covered in feces. "I picked up Celia and she melted my heart. I felt like I was saving her. What is so sad to me is that when she seizured, the day after we got her, if we hadn't bought her she would have died in the cage at Petland and no one would have known. Celia was sold to us sick and now because of their neglect, she's gone and I can't let her passing be in vain. I just don't want this to happen to other animals, and I want people to know how horrible Petland is."
PETLAND--FLORIDA--ORLANDO--East Colonial Dr. (there are 4 Petlands in Orlando)
A person who worked at this store in the year 2000 reports that she was instructed to put LIVE hamsters in the freezer to die when they were too old to sell. A different former employee said that the owner of this store seemed to care about the puppies. We hope that this store owner has severed ties with Petland.
PETLAND--FLORIDA--ORLANDO--Lake Fredrica Shopping Center
A former employee writes:
"Eric and Trevor Davies [the owners], husband and wife, were very into profit. They wouldn't allow blankets/toys in the cage--they followed the Petland Code to the T. What scared me about that store is they had 3 tiers of cages and the jumpy pups would jump and often fall 8 feet if the kennel technician didn't catch them in time. It was very scary. What was very said is a dog that had a respiratory infection was kept in isolation for 3 months. He wasn't allowed to leave his cage and the owners told us to have limited contact with him. Basically nobody would touch him, only to clean his cage and feed him. He was very depressed; he'd cry and whine all day long. It was very difficult working there. The owners wouldn't let us pair up the puppies if there was an empty cage. They wanted all the windows full even if it meant the puppy would be all alone. A lot of rodents would die. It was awful. They had two aquariums full of feeder mice. If you look in there, the mice had very little room to move around, there were so many. The odor alone, even cleaned every day, was so bad. They had problems with hamsters dying. Later they found out it was their diet. The hamsters were raised on lab pellets and the owners were trying to feed them hard seeds and the hamsters would die within days."
PETLAND--FLORIDA--TALLAHASSEE
"I was at my local Petland this past May and I bought the most adorable Chihuahua. The papers weren't AKC, which should have tipped me off, and I was informed that the puppy was not of showing or breeding quality, which REALLY should have tipped me off. But I was so enthralled with my puppy, and naive about how puppy mills work--I didn't even know what they were until today--that I brought her home. The vet affiliated with Petland, Northeast Animal Hospital on Timberlake in Tallahassee, gave her a clean bill of health, but we almost lost her at the beginning because her diarrhea was so bad and she got dehydrated. She also appeared to have developed an upper respiratory infection and urinated twice an hour. I called Petland, and they said they knew nothing at all about why the puppy was sick and difficult to train.
I became suspicious about the store's vet and took my little angel to a trusted vet in Cairo who has thirty years' experience working with cats, dogs, rats, horses, birds, and exotic pets. I explained to her about Fawn's background, and she was extra thorough when checking out my puppy. She found that Fawn has an atrocious underbite, which is normally hereditary and indicates ignorance or just plain lack of concern by the breeder. Fawn has severe allergies and an especially sensitive sinus system. The vet said that probably comes from cramped quarters at the breeder's and subsequent places (e.g. Petland), since Fawn was like that when she came home with us. The vet said that Fawn's diarrhea and dehydration are a common problem with puppy mill puppies.
I am angry at the Petland vet for not telling us how bad her diarrhea was. He told us that it would "clear up" and that her underbite was, and I quote from her purchase papers, "breed specific." Meanwhile, he recently called to let us know that Fawn also has a coccidiosis infection from when she was at Petland.
Fawn isn't quite 'all there' psychologically and she is abnormally clingy, even for her breed, but thank heavens she is still with me."
[Fawn's breeder is T.J. Patrick, listed on this website under "USDA violations by Petland breeders." In 2004, this breeder was cited by a USDA inspector for confining a Jack Russell terrier to a cage so cramped that her head was nearly touching the top and she could not "do the normal standing needed." The next year the USDA inspector found a Jack Russell terrier confined to a cage so small that "the dog's ears are touching and sticking through the wire openings of the top of the cage." Jack Russell terriers are commonly considered to be extremely active dogs that need a lot of exercise.]
PETLAND-GEORGIA--reprinted with permission of consumeraffairs.com
Alison of Acworth GA (02/26/06)
We purchased a puppy on Friday Feb 17th. My husband had originally gone by himself to look for a puppy. He came home and said he found a Boston Terrier/Bassett Hound Mix at Petland. We decided to go see the puppy. She was adorable. We got her out and she was very playful. We decided to put $100 deposit on her for 1 week so we could get things together for her at home. This puppy was for my 6-year-old son. He was very excited that he named her right away" HARLEY." We went about 4 times to see her before we got her so my son could play with her. She was always so playful and sweet. We finally did pick her up on Friday.
I took her straight to the vet. She had a fecal done and I was told she had worms. She was given meds for the worms and I was told that she might get sick. That night she played for a while then she started to get very sick. She got sick all over our house. She wouldn't move. The next morning I called the vet. We took her in. She ended up having Parvo. She was half dead. She had to be put on fluids right away. I called Petland and told the manager that we had just gotten her yesterday and that she had Parvo. I told him that all the other puppies were probably infected too. Because we did notice that every time we went to see her she was in a different cage. Parvo is a very serious, contagious illness for puppies.
The manager wanted us to bring her to him so his vet could check her out. We told him it didn't matter what vet she saw as long as she was getting treatment and to take her off fluids to bring her to him she could die. She stayed at our vet from Sat to Mon night. We did bring her home Mon Feb 20th. She didn't move all night.
We took her to their vet Towne and Country on Tues. She has been there for 6 days so far. She is still there. I called 2 times on Tues to see how she was doing. Didn't get much info. Called Wed they never called back. So basically we need to decide what to do. We need to talk to the vet and the manager. I want all my vet bills paid for and I want full reimbursement for the puppy. She was $400.00. I feel that this is only far after what trauma my family has been thru. My 6-yr-old son keeps asking me why we got a sick puppy and is she going to die. He talks about her all the time. If she doesn't get better we can't get another puppy for at least 6 mos. to 1 yr because of the Parvo in our house.
PETLAND--GEORGIA--ATHENS
The Petland at Epps Village Shopping Center in Athens obtains puppies from the Hunte Corporation, notorious large distributor of puppy mill puppies. The sad, lonely puppies at this store suffer in Petland's standard cramped cages, and a visitor to the store in late 2005 noticed some puppies in wire mesh floored cages that did not have a solid surface for the puppies to rest on. Several puppies looked "pretty dirty, like they hadn't been cleaned up in quite a while."
PETLAND--ILLINOIS--ARLINGTON HEIGHTS
This information was posted on the website www.animalwritings.com, where the owner of the site has kindly included information about our Petland campaign. A white puppy with floppy ears was purchased from the Petland in Arlington Heights on a Saturday, 10/15/05. His guardian writes, "I felt like a new mother again taking care of this sweet baby who relied on me for everything! He was happy, playful, inquisitive, courageous, and loved our 70-pound dog so much. She would not even move when that 4-pound puppy was near, careful that moving a leg might hurt him." The store vet checked Payton on Wed., 10/17, giving him a DHLPP shot, heartworm medication, and a triple antibiotic for the puppy's eyes. A stool sample tested positive for "bacteria" and Payton's guardian was told to come back for pills to treat it. "It was too late because on Thursday morning Payton was dead. We found him in the morning around 6:30 A.M. He was covered in bloody stool. My heart broke."
Payton's guardian asked for a necropsy to be done. The vet said the puppy had "wild mushrooms in his vomitis" but did not test for poisoning, and the necropsy came back negative. A person at nopuppymills.com advised Payton's guardian to take the puppy's stool sample to an independent vet, where it tested positive for PARVO. Angry, Payton's guardian went back to Petland. They offered her a puppy from Missouri for 50% off. She said "No thanks."
Payton was born in an Iowa kennel owned by a Class B dealer named Leona Rasmussen. (A Class B license entitles the owner to sell large numbers of animals, alive or dead, to pet stores and research facilities.) Payton was brought to Petland by the broker Steve Steele Heritage Puppies, 4348 Bluebill Ave., Lake Mills, Iowa.
PETLAND--ILLINOIS--CHERRY VALLEY
Please visit www.asapinrockford.com for FORTY-ONE documented cases of very sick puppies purchased from the Cherry Vale Petland, located in a small town with a population of 150,000. The store owner is Dean Johnson, and his father Dale Johnson is a silent owner. Concerned local residents have held numerous protests against this store.
PETLAND--ILLINOIS--CHICAGO--LANSING
A visitor to the Petland in Landings Shopping Center in late 2005 reports, "The cages were loaded with feces and urine, and the store actually stunk when we walked in the door."
Also, the legs of the smallest puppies fell through the wire grating on the bottom of the cage. When the visitor complained about this, an employee placed one mat, about 8x10, in the cage. "The little guys were just happy that they could stand," she says.
The larger puppies were reaching with their tongues through the wire flooring, trying to reach food that had fallen through.
There were a couple of larger puppies--a Golden Retriever and a Bassett Hound--whose cages were so small for them that they could stand but basically just turn in a circle.
Some large puppies were kept in the same cages as toy breeds.
An employee explained that one of the puppies was hyper because he is hardly ever let out of his cage.
PETLAND--ILLINOIS--CRYSTAL LAKE
2006: Our family recently purchased a 12-week Golden Retriever puppy from Petland in Crystal Lake IL. 4 days after we brought him home we noticed that his two front paws were turning in when he walks. We were concerned so we took him to our vet. Our vet said that the puppy should have never been sold to us and it has bow-legs. That concerned us so we called Petland and they told us that our 4 days is up and they would not take the puppy back.
We then took the puppy to their vet and that vet told us that he is concerned with the puppy's growth plates. That vet must have called Petland and told him the news because he called us right away and said bring the puppy in so they could refund us. We said we will bring the puppy in the next day in order to bring him to one more vet for a third opinion. At this point we all fell in love with the wonderful puppy.
This morning we took him to a vet that we know and trust in Wisconsin and he told us that his concern is not only the front paws but the back legs are hypertensive and he fears hip dysplasia. This really upset us and we took the puppy back to the Petland about an hour ago. I asked the manager what they are going to do with him and they said the breeder is going to come and pick him up on Tuesday.
I want to make sure the puppy is taken care of. We are all very sad and upset because of what happened and we will never purchase another animal from Petland. I really hope something can be done because of this. An orthopedic surgeon for dogs was offered to us but surgery is just much too costly for us. The breeder's name is Gary Applegate. The broker is Lori Conrad 6104 Pike 9, Frankford MO 63441 [also known as Conrad's Cuddly Canines]. The puppy was extremely loved and will be missed.
Registry: American Canine Association
Note from petstorecruelty.org: Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that Petland, the broker, or the breeder would pay for expensive surgery for a dog.
2006: UPDATE: a couple of weeks later: The store returned the puppy to Conrad's Cuddly Canines (the broker, not the breeder, as the store had said), who apparently has had him for over a week. They claim to have taken him to more than three vets down in MO to find out what is wrong with his back legs. Is it hip dysplasia? I got permission to contact them about the puppy. I called and nobody called me back. Then I called 3 days later and I was given a cell # to call. Nobody called me back again. Then I had my boyfriend call from a different cell # and area code and they picked up the phone. He talked to the owner's daughter and she said that they have taken Murphy to plenty of vets there and they're not sure what's wrong with him. She told my boyfriend that they are taking him to one more vet and they would call us back that night.
Lori Conrad called my mother that afternoon. We confronted them about the front legs and the malnutrition. They tried to say that it was because his legs grew too fast. That may be, but they knew that they should have switched to a richer puppy food for him and they neglected to do that. Lori said that the dog does not have hip dysplasia (yet?) and we are not allowed to contact them anymore. My mother told her that Murphy was underexercised and not fed the proper amounts of food. Lori said his front legs are straightening out and she does not believe that he was malnourished. She said she has worked with the owner from Petland for many years. Strangely enough he told us that he has only owned the place for two.
During the phone conversation she was very rude and angry at us. At first working with them I started to think that they mean well and that they just might take care of the puppy, since they bothered to take him to sooo many vets... It does sound like they will be keeping him at their kennel. [From petstorecruelty.org: Note that despite the grave concerns of the three vets in Illinois, the broker's vets apparently did not find it necessary to spend any additional money on surgery or anything else for this puppy, and the broker did not say what would become of him.]
Please post this update on the Hall of Shame for me. I want people to know the WHOLE story and not just the Mr. Nice Guy part.
Our family has moved on and adopted another puppy from a Golden Retriever Rescue. He is 8 weeks, healthy and soooo cute.
PETLAND-ILLINOIS-reprinted with permission of consumeraffairs.com
Glenn of Elk Grove Village IL (4/26/00):
On 8-5-99 I purchased an American Eskimo Puppy that was born on 5-27-99. We were assured over and over again that all of their puppies are from reputable breeders. So we gave in and purchased him. He is now 11 mos. old and has already had two knee surgeries for "trick knees." The vet that Petland sent us to, according to the owner of the store, did not check for this and according to Mr. Bosco they should have. Yet he was only willing to refund us the purchase price of the dog. This is crazy--the owner of the store admitted this was a problem by saying that their vet should have checked for this and didn't. Now our current vet has found that our dog has imperfect hips also.
We have spent thus far $2,800 and it could be much more in the future due to the hip problem although he is not clinical yet on the hips. As for emotional: this pup was bought with the sole intention of getting my wife's mind off of getting pregnant as we are have problems in that area and all it has done is create a headache of a different sort. My wife is so upset watching our pup suffer through surgery after surgery.
PETLAND--ILLINOIS--JOLIET
"We had an AKC registered Cocker Spaniel named Clancy that we had to have put to sleep last August. Clancy lived to be almost 12 years old. Both my husband and I were so despondent after losing Clancy to cancer that we decided to get another puppy. We went to Petland here in Joliet, Illinois, and purchased a male Cocker Spaniel puppy for about $700. We named him Beasley. He was a beautiful puppy, a red and roan color. We brought Beasley home on a Saturday. On Sunday I noticed him coughing occasionally. I first thought of Kennel Cough. The sales assistant at Petland did tell us that Beasley had been sick, sent back to the breeder, and put on medication, but that he was better now--WRONG!
Our Petland offers a free initial checkup--if you go to one of the 3 veterinary clinics that they use. On Monday I called and made an appointment for Beasley to be checked out at what I considered to be the closest clinic to us of the 3 they recommended. I saw a young vet who looked like he was fresh out of school. I told him that I had noticed Beasley coughing. He said sometimes if the puppy gets a cold that it's like it is with humans, that the cough will linger. He prescribed cough suppressants. I want to add here that I never gave any of the tablets to Beasley. On the whole, other than the coughing he seemed to be fine, he ate and played as any other normal puppy would do.
By that Wednesday you would have never known it was the same puppy. He looked sick, wouldn't eat or drink, and seemed to have a fever. We immediately called our regular vet and made an appointment. Turns out Beasley had pneumonia. He required an IV for hydration. Our vet gave him a shot of antibiotics and sent us home with two types of additional antibiotics to give him, and the instructions to sit with him in the shower 3 times a day to relieve the congestion. The vet bills were approximately $1,200 to $1,500. Needless to say after just losing our other beloved dog just 3 weeks before, we were beside ourselves worrying about Beasley.
I was working a full time job, that I had been at for 3 yrs, and sincerely loved what I did. But I ended up giving up that job to stay at home and care for Beasley. I couldn't in good conscience throw medicine down his throat and leave him for 8 hours. Thank goodness that we could financially survive on just my husband's salary, or this situation could have caused major problems. Of course Petland offers the return policy for 48 hours after you have purchased a puppy, and you can return the animal and get a refund minus some sort of processing fee.
It would be an understatement to say that we were very upset that Petland had sold us a sick puppy. My husband went back down to the clinic where I had taken Beasley and talked with one of the other vets, since the one I had seen wasn't working that day. And then went to Petland and raised holy h--l with the manager there. She told him we could have brought the puppy back, or we could have taken him back to the clinic that we went to, and they would have covered the charges. WHY would we want to do that when they didn't diagnose him correctly to start with? He just told the manager that if anything happened to Beasley that he would see them in court!
So we have racked up quite a few vet bills with office visits, and medication. But as of December our vet said she wouldn't need to see him again for a year unless something else arose. He does have scarring in his one lung, and he does seem to get short of breath easily if he overdoes the running, and chasing of his toys. Other than that he is a wonderful member of the family and we love him dearly. And I like to think that we saved his life, because who knows what would have happened to him if we would have taken him back. I think we were meant to be his family.
We should have learned a great lesson with buying him from Petland, but in February we decided he needed a playmate, and we went back to the same store, and purchased a little girl Cocker, she is the same color, as Beasley, from the same breeder, though different parents. Her name is Muffin, and she is a pistol! We have had no problems healthwise with her, Thank God.
After reading the articles posted about all the problems and conditions at some of the Petland stores, I just wanted to share my story. I think it is an absolute abomination that animals are treated this way. It truly breaks my heart to read of what these poor animals go through. I am just grateful that we were able to take 2 of them out of one of their stores, and I would take more of them if I could. I hope that we have Beasley and Muffin for a good many years, but if the occasion should ever present itself to where we need a new companion, I will go to the shelter and rescue a dog and provide a loving home for it. The cost of an animal should have nothing to do with the love and loyalty that you receive from them."
Beasley and Muffin were delivered to Petland by the broker Conrad's Cuddly Canines, located in Missouri. Their breeder was Bonnie Sue Schindler. In 2003, Herman and Bonnie Sue Schindler were cited by a USDA inspector for overcrowded conditions in the truck they used to transport 75 to 100 puppies from Missouri to Iowa each week. For details and numerous additional violations at the Schindlers' facility, see "USDA Violations by Petland Breeders."
PETLAND-ILLINOIS-NAPERVILLE--reprinted with permission of consumeraffairs.com
Laurie of Ottawa IL (06/09/05) On 3/31/05 I purchased a Chocolate Lab from the Naperville Petland, I was given a 14-day Warranty which covered physical health problems. 3 days after my adoption my puppy began choking. Being a new dog owner, I did not know what was happening and rushed her to my vet. After an examination and x-rays totaling almost $250 it was determined that my pup had pneumonia brought on by kennel cough.
Adhering to the agreement with the Petland warranty I contacted them within 24 hours. The mgmt did not seem surprised when I started to tell my story and agreed that it sounded like kennel cough. They said that it is common. I was advised to take my pup to their vet. Which I did, right after leaving mine. Their vet was 1.25 hours away. I spoke to management on several days regarding the bills from the original visit, when I was promised to be reimbursed for medication. After 1 month of not receiving this money I insisted on talking to the owner who called me back and assured me that I would be refunded for this and 2 other RX I had picked up from my local vet.
Another 2 weeks passed and I still had not received this payment and I spoke to his wife who explained that the receipts had been misplaced. I reminded her that I had sent them 3 previous times. She apologized and said she would send a check that day. 1 week later I received a check for $48, half of the cost of medication that I was promised. I later looked back at my agreement with Petland that does not state that I am required to seek attention at their vet. My pup has been sick with pneumonia for 9 weeks and we still make trips to their vet every 2 weeks. Because she has kennel cough I can not expose her to other animals who may also go through this same ordeal.
PETLAND--ILLINOIS--ROCKFORD
A former customer of this store writes, "Growing up, we always had parakeets, and they lived 10+ years, giving us such joy. They were such happy, darling birds, but those we purchased from Petland were sickly and died within weeks." Their problems included an overshot beak and numerous feather cysts.
Two schipperke puppies she purchased at this store, Winnie and Lizzie, "were very sick, and our veterinarian was a miracle worker," she writes. Both had kennel cough, worms, and diarrhea. Winnie had a severe case of ear mites and also had to be cared for at the vet's for 3 days on fluids. These puppies came from Wisconsin. A third schipperke puppy from this Petland came from Iowa.
Their guardian notes, "Petland here does not stop. There are shiploads of puppies that come in every week. They do not have AKC registrations anymore but are from the American Canine Association. Rockford has only one no-kill shelter and it is very small and suffers from lack of funds. Here our local shelter killed over 6,000 companion animals last year. I never knew about puppy mills until I purchased sick animals, researched and joined a schipperke e-mail list, even though I have had companion animals my whole life."
PETLAND--ILLINOIS--ROUND LAKE BEACH
Papagaai, a baby African Grey parrot, was purchased at Petland for $1,400. The vet recommended by the store's staff, who was not an avian vet, said the bird was "thin" but did no further testing (required to detect illness in birds--like most prey animals, they do not show signs of illness until extremely sick). Not yet weaned, Papagaai was taken home but was never a very good eater. Her guardian bought her expensive cages, gyms, toys, the best food possible, and gave her loving care, but 6 weeks later, Papagaai stopped eating and was taken to the emergency animal hospital, where despite the best efforts of the vets, she died.
At the time of purchase, Papagaai's guardian was given the impression that Petland's warranty covered all happenings/illnesses within reason or any medical problems her bird had during the first year, as long as she brought the bird to the vet to validate the warranty during the first week, which she did. However, although Papagaai's guardian believes Papagaai's death was due to a condition that existed while she was at the store, Petland will not pay, maintaining that their warranty only covers hereditary or congenital defects.
Petland routinely sells unweaned baby birds, promoting the idea that hand-feeding enhances the human/animal bond. What this also does is cut down on their employees' labor, as weaning is a delicate, time-consuming endeavor. An experienced bird person tells us, "The advice that if you feed a baby bird s/he will bond better with you is hogwash. Bond is not developed by hand-feeding; bond is developed through a relationship of mutual trust, respect, and acceptance."
Petland also provides little or no educational materials to help people learn about how to care for these highly intelligent, emotional birds, who can live 50-70 years under good conditions. Please see the "Petland--Virginia--Fairfax City" entry for further information about Petland's inadequate care of birds. We encourage anyone planning on adopting a bird to research this subject thoroughly from sources other than pet stores.
PETLAND--INDIANA--FT. WAYNE
A visitor to the Glenbrook Commons Petland described this store as "FILTHY." (November 2005)
PETLAND-KANSAS-reprinted with permission of consumeraffairs.com
Jennifer of Shawnee KS (4/2/03): My four-year-old niece and I went puppy shopping one afternoon at Petland. It was one of the cleanest pet stores around. We fell in love with an American Cocker Spaniel, or that's what we were told she was. We came to the conclusion we were going to make her part of our family. Her original selling price was $600, however the sales person made the comment, "If we know she's going to a good home were willing to work with you on the price." This should have been my first clue!
We bargained the price down to $350 and that included shots and a microchip for identification. Now we were told that this microchip was worth at least $150, so after all we thought this was a fair price to pay. Along with the puppy came a warranty for one year against any congenital defect. At that time the associate was unable to find the paperwork from the breeder and told me to check back in a few days when they have had a chance to look for them. So with this we had to have the puppy, Haley, examined by a veterinarian.
I did so the next day, and was told she is healthy but there is no microchip in her. I took Haley home and drove directly to the pet store. To my surprise the store was closed and locked. Everything and everyone were gone. Just the day before I was in there and no one said anything about this. And to my shock, I now did not have the paperwork for Haley. I became panicked and called our local news station and they came out and did a story on it. I also called and had the credit card payment stopped, after all there was a 48-hour return policy for all animals.
I received the phone number of Petland Corporation from the news reporter and gave them a call. Their response was the individual owner of that store is the person responsible. We cannot do anything. With that I have begun my battle. I did manage to locate a P.O. Box for the owner, to send in our requests. I did that and one month later nothing. To heighten the excitement, Haley has now come down with a disorder of the eye called cherry eye. We had to take her to an eye specialist who is recommending a surgery to have this problem fixed. This problem can be painful if not fixed. It can also be very expensive.
PETLAND--LOUISIANA--BATON ROUGE
According to a message sent to an e-mail group, a former employee of this Petland said she quit because she couldn't stand to see any more puppies die. She said the owner wouldn't bring them to the vet until they were dying. She also said that the "store" vet only checks incoming puppies for severe defects like subluxating patellas; the rejects are sent back on the truck. She said the vet never examines the puppies already at the store, even if they are obviously sick, and never examines any of the birds or small animals. A visitor to the store saw large puppies in areas so small they could barely turn around. They couldn't sit up without bumping their heads on the cage above. The visitor also saw puppies with mucus running out of their noses, an indication of sickness. The store also sold socialized pet rats as snake food. Complaints have been made to local animal control but apparently nothing has been done.
PETLAND--MICHIGAN--STERLING HEIGHTS
2006: I am completely heartbroken and frustrated. I have owned my Maltese, Shelby, for almost 90 days and feel she and I are both being robbed of her puppy-hood. 2 days after purchasing her from Petland, I took her into the vet for kennel cough. She was extracting green mucus from her nose and chest.
She was on antibiotics for 2 weeks. Was off antibiotics for about 5 days and appeared to be doing ok when she got her second bout of kennel cough. Shortly thereafter, I noticed green mucus coming out of her left eye. Took her in to the vet and an ophthalmologist and she now has a cornea ulcer and dry eyes of both eyes, which is a life-long health issue. Then, about a couple days later, she started urinating in the house when she had been doing extremely well with potty training for at least 2 plus weeks. I realized it was a UTI and took her to the vet. She was then put on more antibiotics. She has now had the UTI for over 30 days, and she was urinating blood for about 14 of those days. We go for a vet checkup next week. I am looking forward to him telling me he doesn't see any more white blood cells in her urine, but I cannot handle the fact that now it appears she urinates whenever she feels like it and cannot seem to hold it anymore at all. She urinates in her crate; it doesn't matter where she is. It is totally sad because she was actually accident-free for over 2 weeks and going to the door, where she would hit a puppy chime paw to let us know she had to go out. Now she doesn't even go to the door, she just wanders around the house and urinates. She doesn't even stop when I yell "No."
I hate Petland with a passion, and I never use the word hate. I LOVE my puppy but I am at my wits end with this and the vet bills are really starting to add up. I found that my puppy came to Petland via the Hunte Corporation in Missouri. The Hunte Corporation won't give me the breeder's phone number, address or anything. I feel sad that I get frustrated when I take my puppy out @ 6:00p.m. to go potty and at 6:15p.m. she has an accident, and then again @ 6:22p.m. and then again @ 6:30p.m. and then again @ 6:36p.m. and then again @ 6:42p.m. And then when I put her in her crate, she cries so hard that I take her out potty again and she does go again. This is all after the vet says they only found one (1) white blood cell in her urine. I have an excellent DVM who believes in conventional and alternative medicine. My puppy has been on antibiotics pretty much since I have had her and supplements to help support her immune system.
What can I do in Michigan to help stop this?? - I would never consider giving my puppy away because once you take on the responsibility of a puppy, it's for the duration of their life. However, what Petland gets away with should be considered illegal. Apparently they don't believe they are doing anything immoral but anyone who purchases a franchise of Petland has no morals or ethics anyway, in my opinion.
Signed, Sad and frustrated in Shelby Township, Michigan,
Kip Cote'
P.S. The first vet I went to was Macomb Veterinary Clinic on Van Dyke in Shelby Township. It was on the list of associated vets from Petland that would provide the first free vet visit and the spaying. The vet there told me that the dog was very sick and I should consider giving it back to Petland. This was when Shelby was diagnosed with kennel cough only 2 days after I brought her home. The vet was very dry and she really scared me and of course already being in love with my puppy, giving her back wasn't an option. I found another vet who believed in Alternative and Conventional medicine willing to work with me and my puppy. However, I called the Macomb Veterinary Clinic just a couple of weeks ago, and the office manager said that shortly after our visit to their office, they severed ties with Petland. They wouldn't tell me why but they said they just didn't want to be associated with them any longer. I know when I got back from that first vet visit and my husband spoke to Petland about what the vet had said, they were defensive and basically blamed the vet that she was being too harsh and that I really shouldn't listen to her.
Abbey Animal Hospital located in Warren, Michigan, is also associated with this Petland. Supposedly they were the first vets to see Shelby when she was delivered to Petland, but they forgot to put her weight down on the certificate. My vet, when reading the information, couldn't even figure out some of the stuff they had written down on her medical chart. Also, I called them a couple of weeks ago to get some more information about Shelby and what her weight was when she was seen by them, and I haven't heard anything from them; they have not returned my phone call.
UPDATE: Shelby was taken to an excellent internal medicine vet. An ultrasound revealed 3 large stones in her bladder. Liver shunts were also a possibility. Shelby underwent surgery in December 2006, and 8 stones were removed from her bladder. Fortunately she tested negative for liver shunts.
Shelby's guardian writes, "Please spread the word. If the puppy is urinating extremely frequently and doesn't respond to antibiotics, have all medicine stopped and a complete urinalysis done, and an ultrasound. If that doesn't tell you what's wrong, then a full blood workup will.
"The doctor said Shelby should recover fully but I will need to feed her a special diet once the stones have been analyzed to deter these types of stones from developing again. It is true heartbreak to have your 6-month-old puppy undergo such serious surgery."
PETLAND-probably MICHIGAN-reprinted with permission of consumeraffairs.com
Tracey of Redford MI (09/10/05)
My boyfriend and I purchased an eleven-week-old Boston Terrier from a Petland in March of 2005. As soon as we saw her we knew that we had to take her home, we named her Brooklyn. We paid $1500.00 for Brooklyn. Two months ago Brooklyn began losing her hair and her stomach was covered in red pussels. Our vet diagnosed her with mange. We were told that this type of mange is genetic and once this is disease is discovered the pet should not be bred.
We contacted Petland and we were told that we needed to see their vet and if this was the case they would replace Brooklyn with another puppy. Obviously replacing Brooklyn was not an option but we made an appointment with Petland vet for another opinion. When we met with their vet we asked if mange was hereditary, we were told yes. We asked if her mother and father should have been bred, and we were told no, the vet told us that this mange had to have been seen somewhere along her family line before.
We asked the vet to write this down for us, he told us that he would. The vet left the room and never returned, a vet tech came in the room and told us that only the owner had the authority to write such a thing down. We were told that the vet that we spoke to was new, and didn't know any better. We never saw the owner and we never got anything in writing. I have wrote letters to the vet and to Petland with no response. We have spent over $1000.00 on vet bills and medication with no guarantee that she will ever be cured or that this disease will not continue to come back.
PETLAND--MICHIGAN--WATERFORD
Petland of Waterford, which recently opened, is selling puppies born in puppy mills. The store also sells kittens and many other animals. An area resident describes the place as "disgusting" and says that stores like Petland make her feel like throwing up. Involved in animal rescue for many years, she advises the people in her community to adopt homeless dogs, cats, and other animals, and never to shop at Petland.
PETLAND--NEVADA--HENDERSON
Roxy and friend
Roxy is a miniature dachshund purchased at this store in late 2005. Store employees assured Roxy's guardian that they would NEVER get puppies from puppy mills and that Roxy was the "pick of the litter." Roxy was sick at the time she was brought home from Petland, and as of February of '06, despite the best efforts of a trusted family vet, she still has severe respiratory problems and is coughing, sneezing, and has runny eyes. Roxy has been on 4 different types of antibiotics, and at one point her white blood cell count reached 43,000, but she is showing some improvement.
When Roxy's guardian complained to the store owner, he said she was the only customer complaining about having purchased a sick puppy, although an employee had previously said that a lot of the puppies sold at the same time as Roxy were coming down with something they called "dog flu." The owner paid for some of Roxy's vet bills but refused to refund Roxy's purchase price of over $1,000.
Roxy's guardian learned that Roxy was transported to the Henderson Petland by the Hunte Corporation and that this store also gets puppies from Lambriar, another large puppy broker. She also found out that Roxy was born in a Kansas facility owned by Larry Cox. USDA records show that the facility contains approximately 100 dogs. Violations of USDA regulations in the past four years include:
In 2004, a vet had not been to the facility for over 1 ½ years (USDA regulations require an annual visit.)
Dogs were confined in an area where a "strong ammonia smell" caused the inspector's eyes to water.
There was inadequate bedding for 60 dogs. The outdoor temperature was 32.5 degrees.
The inspectors also found unsanitary water buckets, dogs with matted hair, and dogs who were not identified by collar, tattoo, or microchip.
Roxy's guardian writes, "I am so against EVERYTHING that has to do with puppy mills. It makes me sick to think I contributed to that." She is sharing her story so that others will not purchase puppies from pet stores.
To sign a petition against this store, go to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/184533197
PETLAND--NEVADA--LAS VEGAS
Wagsy was a beagle purchased at the Las Vegas Petland in 1994. The next day, he was taken to the store's vet, who treated him for an upper respiratory infection. His heart and respiratory system were never the same after the initial infection, and he always suffered from breathing difficulties. His guardians returned from dinner one night and found him dead when he was only 1 1/2 years old. His guardian says, "I called the store to let them know what had happened and was told by an employee that if I returned the "carcass," I would receive half off a new puppy. I was horrified!!!!! We had just lost a child in our eyes! Wagsy's ashes remain here with his family, and I have never been so disgusted by a business in my life!! Jade (our pound puppy) also a beagle, never recovered from losing her best buddy."
PETLAND ARBORETUM-NORTH CAROLINA-CHARLOTTE
Milo is a shih tzu/poodle mix purchased at Petland Arboretum in March of 2006. His price was approximately $1,200. 5 days after he was purchased, he developed a cough that worsened throughout the day. Milo's guardians contacted Petland and were advised to take the puppy to the vet affiliated with Petland if it got worse. They were not told what to do in the event that that vet's office was closed. The coughing became "unbearable" late at night. When Milo's guardians contacted that vet's office, it was closed, and the answering machine referred people to an emergency vet. At the emergency vet, Milo coughed, sneezed, and had a white discharge from his nose. He was diagnosed as having kennel cough and sent home with medication. Despite treatment, he continued to cough for days. His lung x-ray was abnormal, indicating the possibility of pneumonia, according to a vet not affiliated with Petland.
When selling the puppy, Petland employees had explained the benefits of the "health guarantee"-the inexpensive shots that would be provided for free-but left it for the customer to read the small print-that emergency visits are NOT covered from the moment the puppy leaves the store, and that bills from any vets other than the one affiliated with the store will not be paid. The Petland owner refused to pay the emergency vet bill not only for this reason but also by claiming it was unnecessary. Citing her vast experience with puppies with upper respiratory infections and stating that 25% of their puppies have this illness, the Petland owner would have preferred that Milo's guardian not rush her coughing puppy to the emergency vet, even though this vet stated in writing that a severe cough should be checked out immediately, as it could indicate a life-threatening condition. The Petland owner felt that Milo's guardian should have waited till the next day, called Petland, let HER assess the puppy's condition, at which point she would have advised that Milo be brought to Petland for Nebulizer treatments twice a day for several days. Two vets unaffiliated with Petland indicated that in Milo's case, this treatment would not have worked. Milo's guardian asks the Petland owner, "If you are not a licensed vet, then how could you have properly assessed my puppy's condition? Are you or your employees licensed through the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy to dispense, administer, and/or prescribe medications?"
The vet affiliated with Petland had seen Milo only once before purchase, at the store. The full checkup included weight, temperature, teeth, gums, ears, ear mites, eyes, entropion, "upper respirator" (which was marked as negative), hernia, heart, knees, and testicles.
Milo's vet also discovered that Milo needs nasal surgery in order to improve his breathing. Petland required that Milo be brought to its own vet to confirm this diagnosis. After much negotiation, Petland agreed to pay for the costs of treating the upper respiratory infection and the nasal surgery. As of this writing, Milo is scheduled for nasal surgery.
Milo was brought to Petland through the Class B dealer QD Kennels of Missouri, owned by Herman Schindler. Milo was born in a breeding facility also located in Missouri.
PETLAND--OHIO--AKRON
See the TV news story at:
http://www.woio.com/Global/SearchResults.asp?qu=petland&search=Search
I just rescued a Lhasa Apso puppy from the Petland store at Chapel Hill Mall in Akron 11/11/06. The sales rep explained and even sent home a brochure on kennel cough BUT never said that the puppy WAS sick and needed immediate veterinary attention. I'd guess all their puppies sold there are sick. Kennel cough is highly contagious. None of the puppies were coughing at the store due to giving them a cough suppressant (I'm assuming).
Within 4 hours of bringing the pup home it started coughing and running a fever. I paid $800 for a sick dog and they originally wanted $1000. The pup is supposedly 12 weeks old, but looks 6 to 8. You can also feel its spinal cord, suggesting it was malnourished.(5.1 lbs. Should have been closer to 6.5 lbs.) Not trusting Petland's Vet located in Medina (25 miles each way), the pup was taken to Banfield Vet Clinic whom I have dealt with before and received excellent care. Keep in mind that this pup was seen by Petland's recommended vet on 11/10/06. Banfield's diagnosis was severe pneumonia and ran a series of other related tests along with X-rays. The puppy was in their care for 2 whole days 11/13 & 11/14. Total cost of the vet bill is $565.00.
The puppy has to be nebulized 3 times a day for the next 4 weeks and is on antibiotics twice a day for the next 4 weeks.
Having sent a letter to the owner Gary Winslow of the Petland store and to the vet Dr. Steven Hicks of the Akron-Medina Veterinary Hospital, I received an e-mail from Dr. Hicks stating that he had never seen this puppy at all during its 3-week stay at the store.
Sincerely,
Greg Gribble
PETLAND--OHIO--ATHENS
In order to decrease the number of homeless animals put to death due to lack of homes, the city of Athens passed an ordinance prohibiting the sale of dogs and cats older than 6 months unless they have been spayed or neutered. The law also prohibits the sale of dogs and cats younger than 6 months "without proof of purchase of spay or neuter services from a licensed veterinarian...that such services will be rendered by the age of 6 months." The Athens Petland, which sells unspayed and unneutered puppies and other animals every day in spite of the company's professed concern about homeless animals, opposed the law and filed a lawsuit against the city.
PETLAND--OHIO--BURLINGTON
Minnie, a Maltese puppy recently purchased at this store for about $1,800, turned out to have kennel cough, ear mites, and parasites in the bowel. When Minnie's guardian complained to the store, they offered to take the puppy back and refund her money or exchange the puppy for a different one--"as if it were Walmart or something, not a real life." Since that would not help the puppy, she refused. She believes Minnie would not have survived much longer if she had not intervened and provided proper vet care. The puppy came from an Oklahoma breeder. Store conditions include puppies living on metal floors, with some cages containing three puppies in a small space. When a puppy pooped, the other puppies fought to eat it, which can be a sign of malnutrition.
PETLAND--OHIO--CLEVELAND HEIGHTS
This store just opened (early 2006) and is already bringing puppy mill puppies into Cleveland Heights. An alert citizen investigated and wrote this letter to the editor, which appeared in the "Sun Press" in February of 2006:
"Dear Editor: After reading about the recent opening of Petland in Cleveland Heights, I feel compelled to make people aware that if they shop in a pet store such as this one which sells puppies, they are most likely supporting the cruel puppy mill trade. Puppy mills are commercial breeding facilities that mass-produce purebred puppies which are sold to brokers and pet stores across the country. These facilities are literally factories where hundreds of breeding dogs live their entire lives cramped in filthy cages and are forced to produce litter after litter until they are killed when their reproductive capacity wanes. The dogs are housed in small wire cages for their entire lives.
After speaking at length with the owner of Petland and researching the puppy mill trade, it has become apparent to me that this store is definitely obtaining dogs from these types of commercial facilities. I've been told that the puppies are coming from Missouri. This state is home to the largest concentration of puppy mills in the country. Last week I witnessed a truck from the Hunte Corporation pull behind Petland to unload puppies. The Hunte Corporation is currently the largest puppy broker in the U.S. The breeders that sell to Hunte are scattered all over the Midwest. Petland's owner has admitted that she has never personally checked out any of these breeding facilities to make sure the animals are treated humanely.
Anyone looking to purchase a pure breed should know that legitimate breeders always screen people who adopt their puppies and they do not sell to pet stores. The Humane Society of the United States along with every other animal protection organization, warns people never to purchase puppies from pet stores.
Cleveland Heights definitely has a need for a pet supply store and I believe this business can thrive without profiting from the misery of animals in puppy mills. I urge the owners of Petland to make animal welfare a higher priority than profits and stop doing business with puppy mills. Until this happens, we should all refuse to shop at Petland and visit our local animal shelter if we want to adopt an animal companion."
PETLAND--OHIO--HOLLAND
Daisy was purchased at the Petland at 1484 Spring Meadows Drive, Holland, Ohio. At the time she was purchased she had kennel cough and filthy ears. She later developed severe flea allergies and had calcium deposits in her urine. At age 2 ½ she needed surgery for patella luxation and a torn ligament. Now 3 ½, she throws up about once a week due to a stomach problem. Her guardian says she has spent several thousand dollars on vet bills. "We love her very much. She is like our daughter. It just really hurts to know where she came from."
PETLAND-OHIO-MARIETTA
2006: We are told that this Petland CLOSED PERMANENTLY on November 23, 2006!
Teddy sleeping, and Annie
"I purchased 2 Cavalier King Charles from Petland, one for about $1,900, the other for about $1,100. My first, Teddy, got sick only 2 days after I bought him. He had to be put on IVs due to dehydration, and had breathing treatments for 2 weeks. He was on antibiotics for the first three months. I was so mad at Petland that I demanded that they pay his vet bills. They offered me the chance to return him, of course not getting all of money back. But I refused--I knew what would happen to him if I sent him back.
The vet that they used told me that the dogs are brought in on trucks that travel several hundred miles and that if the pups are sick they just send them right back. What puppy is going to survive another 700 miles when they are already looking death right in the face?
But no thanks to Petland he is as healthy as ever, although he is spoiled rotten because of all that he's been through. I purchased a female only a month or so ago. I should have known better, but I felt like I had to save her too. She appears to be healthy, but is very small. She only weighs five pounds and is 5 months old. But I know with my love and affection she will be just fine."
PETLAND-OHIO-SOUTH POINT
[Petland employees are told emphatically that the store's puppies do NOT come from puppy mills. Some find out for themselves the real story after a while, and some never do. It's helpful to go into the store and TELL them what their bosses won't. Just don't expect to be invited back into the store. Here is what one knowledgeable rescuer did.]
2006: I was on my way to WV to do some computer work for my dad and decided to stop and kill some time and stretch my legs. Well, instead of going to the WalMart close by, I figured I'd go take a look inside the Petland I spotted close by.....
Well, I walked in to a very small but tidy store, crammed with all sorts of pet supplies and cages and tanks to sell the new pet owners. I made my way back to the animals along the back wall of the store. Oh, the puppies they had there were just too numerous to even try to name all the breeds--I do recall Peke, Pug, Dachsie, English Springer Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, Greyhound, JRT, Poodles, Mini Schnauzer and Chihuahuas. There were many more too, even a French Bulldog!!
As I made my way down the length of the puppy display, simply disgusted by the diarrhea the pups had, some were even lethargic, others were acting like they had been given a stimulant as they bounced all over their cage, I hear a young man "May I help you with the puppies?" I turned to look at this fresh-faced kid, and shook my head, "No, not with THESE puppies." He came closer and said "We have the finest selection of pups around this area and they are all from excellent breeders from the Mid-West." I paused a second, "Oh, is that so??" "We have our pups vet checked and do not accept them unless they are in perfect health," this young man boasted. I said "Really? So what is this stuff I keep seeing linking Petland and Puppy Mills all over the internet?" He pauses a second to think, "Must be a rumor, we get our dogs from private breeders who take pride in their litters."
At this point I was ready to just smack this kid for being stupid and gullible. I nearly died laughing at this crap too but it was too sad to be laughed off.
"So, are your pups AKC registered or what?" I asked with honest sincerity. "Oh, our boss does not think AKC is the highest standard of the breeds so he prefers to take only CKC, ACA and a couple other registries. As you can see, we have excellent pups here," this young man goes on with his sales pitch.
At this point, I had heard enough trash talk and that was when I let him have the WHOLE story on these pups and their origins. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that AKC is the 'lowgrade' registry? Let me introduce myself before I continue. My name is Joanie Stambaugh, from McDermott, OH, and I am a dog rescuer specializing in small seniors, PUPPY MILL Dogs and special needs dogs. My rescue is Joanie's Lil Senior K9 Sanctuary and Placement and I currently have 4 Mill dogs in my house that came from some of those illustrious Mid-Western breeders you speak so highly of. Let me tell you, if you have NOT seen a mill dog, I can tell you all about them. I have had them come in to me with NO social skills at all, matted so badly you couldn't tell one end from the other, so sick they could barely stand, no teeth or lower jaws from the lack of proper care and the females being bred so much that their little bodies re-absorb their jaw-bone in order to have calcium for milk. Oh, I can tell you about a friend of mine in NE who gets them and some have their faces broken up from being kicked and brutally beaten by those wonderful breeders you speak so highly of. I can go right on with a list of things that would make you want to vomit but I know EXACTLY where these pups were born--Puppy Mills in the Mid-West!!! If you decide you want to learn more about those hell-holes, I will be more than happy to introduce you to my poor Mill Survivors and show you website after website with pics of these places and the ACTUAL conditions these pups came out of."
This kid is soooo convinced of the good work these Millers do that he tells me that their pups are the best in the country. They are genetically sound and have NO health problems. He even says they were made to watch a video on the horrors of a real puppy mill but it wasn't so bad..... I could have went through the roof!!
I stood there a second and then looked him in the eye...."Have you seen these places yourself? Have you seen the actual dogs that come out of those mills? What they send you here are the cleaned up versions of the mill dogs. I recommend a site for you, NoPuppyMills.com or better yet, go to the HSUS or PETA sites and type in Puppy Mills for a list of sites and info on these "doggy concentration camps" and have a look for yourself. Also, all of the puppy purchasers who have paid anywhere from $600 to $1500 for a pup from Petland and then spent thousands more to save the dog's life, tell them how sound and healthy their pups were too. I have seen the reports, read their statements and in NO way do I condone selling of Puppy Mill Pups to the unsuspecting public." At this point, the kid is so blown away by the info he is hearing that he asks me if I am for real. My response--You better believe it!!
At that point, I decided I had said more than enough. This kid had a look on his face that said plenty. I paused before heading out the door, "If you think I am joking, please do check out the info on those sites I mentioned or Google Puppy Mills and see what you find..... Oh, and see, I was right, you can't help me with THOSE pups....."
This happened Nov. 1, 2006 in South Point, OH at Petland.
Yours in rescue,
Joanie Stambaugh
McDermott, OH
PETLAND--OHIO--VAN WERT
Only three weeks after Petland opened this store in February of 2006, many people who purchased puppies and kittens there are complaining that that their animals are ill with severe respiratory infections (e.g. pneumonia), and some of these animals have died. Respiratory infections are often highly contagious, and shoppers who brought their own dogs into the store are also complaining that their dogs became ill with respiratory infections shortly afterwards. Contact for more information: vweluvrpets@yahoo.com.
PETLAND--OHIO--YOUNGSTOWN
"I purchased a puppy from a Petland in Youngstown, Ohio, about 3 years ago. The poor thing was extremely ill. I spent $3,500 in vet bills over the first 6 months to save the pup's life. Petland wouldn't do a damn thing about it. To this day the poor guy is still not right. He paces, ear problems, constant diarrhea, lung problems, puking, fear of people. Every day I wake up and look at my little buddy I pray that God will make the person who did this pay."
PETLAND--PENNSYLVANIA--CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP--OUT OF BUSINESS
I just wanted to tell our story about our purchase of a sick pet from Petland. This Petland was in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. It has since closed, reopened, and closed again. We bought our sheltie there 10 years ago. We didn't know any better, and believed them when they told us that they got all of their dogs from local breeders. We specifically asked about puppy mills, and they assured us that they do not use puppy mills!
When we went to pick up our puppy they told us she had a heart murmur that would go away in a few weeks, and that she was in good health. The heart murmur did go away, but not until a little over a year later, and in that time we couldn't have her spayed because our vet told us she may not come back from the anesthesia due to the heart murmur. She started out as a normal active puppy, but soon tired before all of the other puppies at puppy class. The instructor noticed this, and said something to us. She would also cough if she ran. She began having problems with a disk in her back, and because of that started limping. Then she developed a hip problem causing her to limp on her back leg as well. She developed hypothyroidism, and was put on lifelong medication. All the while she wanted to play like other dogs, but couldn't because she would end up limping. We loved to see her run and play, but it wasn't worth it for her because she would end up limping and being depressed for so long afterwards that we had to confine all of her activity to walks, and nothing more playful. We found ways to play with her that would not hurt her, but we knew she wanted to run, and jump.
She developed pyometria in her uterus, and finally had to be spayed. Our vet is the best, and our girl pulled through. Then she started having petit mal seizures. Then one day she collapsed, and by the time we rushed her to the vet she was already in serious trouble. Her platelet count was almost nil, and she wasn't getting oxygen to her brain so we had to put her down. It was the saddest and worst day of our lives. They discovered a neurological tumor that ruptured, and she had bled internally. In the last year of her life we spent over $4,000 on vet bills for her, not to mention all the other money over all the other years.
Even though she was always in ill health we loved her like a daughter. Our poor sweet baby spent a life in pain, and suffering because some selfish idiotic jerk wanted to make some cash. She was 10 when she died. She should have lived to be 15 or 16 years old. She should have been healthy. I only cringe to think what her poor mother's living conditions were at the puppy mill she came from. Do Bo Tri Kennels bred her, or just brokered her. We never could get a straight answer about that, and they have since been shut down. Do a search on that name, and see what vile and disgusting information comes up when you do. I tell this story in the hopes that I can save someone else from having to live this kind of tragedy. In loving memory of our baby girl.
PETLAND--PENNSYLVANIA--CUMBERLAND COUNTY
In 2002, Petland franchisee Mr. Port Dare was convicted of animal cruelty after he wrapped a sick kitten in a plastic bag, placed him in a freezer alive, and then bashed the kitten against a dumpster. Mr. Dare no longer owns a Petland but is running another puppy mill store, Petz Unlimited (see entry below).
PETLAND--SOUTH CAROLINA--NORTH AUGUSTA
This owners of this Petland store were keeping a baby baboon, Bobo, in small cage to attract customers. He was not for sale. They did not allow the animal any interaction with others, although baboons are normally very social animals who live in large groups in the wild and suffer physically and emotionally from confinement. The city of North Augusta has a law against keeping wild animals within the city. After Animal Control was notified, they visited Petland and required that Bobo be relocated within 48 hours.
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