Hope was rescued from a puppy mill by the group Hearts United for Animals.
For her story and more, visit www.prisonersofgreed.org.

If you have never seen a puppy mill before, please watch this video from nopuppymills.com:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdcNl5FqcKY

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UPDATE April 5, 2008:

We received this email from the people who have been protesting at Posh Puppies in Los Angeles, California:

Hello Friends,
Victory! After 15 weeks of protests, we have kicked a puppy mill front out
of Beverly Hills! They can't stand up to the truth and will be moving out.
Bravo to all of you! And thank you Oprah!

Transcript of the news conference: www.hollywooddog.blogspot.com

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PUPPY MILLS EXPOSED
ON "OPRAH"!


Please thank Oprah Winfrey for exposing puppy mills on "Oprah," Friday, April 4, 2008! The segment was called "Lisa Ling Investigates the Hidden World of Puppy Mills." The guests were Bill Smith and his rescued puppy mill dog "Shrimp" (search for them and see what Shrimp looked like when first rescued from a puppy mill). Smith represents the group Main Line Animal Rescue, www.mainlinerescue.com. Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society of the United States was also a guest. They all did a great job of showing what puppy mills are like, as well as showing a homeless shelter animal being killed by lethal injection, one of the millions killed in shelters every year, as Pacelle pointed out. Pacelle and Smith agreed that about 99% OF ALL PET STORE PUPPIES COME FROM PUPPY MILLS! So please thank Oprah and spread the word!
http://www.oprah.com/email/tows/email_tows_main.jhtml

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March 2008: Easter is a religious holiday, not a reason to buy a rabbit!

This lucky bunny was adopted from a rescue group, but many rabbits are killed in local shelters when no one adopts them. Oblivious to their suffering, our local Fairfax Petland is "stocking up" on rabbits, hoping to cash in on the association between these gentle creatures and the upcoming holiday. Every year, shortly after Easter, rabbits are dumped at shelters more than at any other time.

This suffering is so unnecessary! www.petfinder.com lists 150 bunnies of all sizes, ages, and shapes in desperate need of homes RIGHT NOW IN THE IMMEDIATE D.C area. Among the local groups that have rabbits for adoption are Friends of Rabbits, the Humane Society of Fairfax County, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, Bunny Magic Rabbit Rescue, Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, Bunny Lu Adoptions, and the Montgomery County Humane Society. Spread the word: rabbits are not a starter pet. They need space, not a small cage. They need special care that can be expensive, and they can live for over 12 years. If you know someone prepared to take on the responsibility of caring for a rabbit, please send them to a rescue group, NOT A PET SHOP!

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2008: Notice from a group in Greenfield, Wisconsin:

Hosted By: Gina Skorka
When: Saturday Apr 19, 2008
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Where: Puppy World Pet Store
4647 South 27th Street (S. of 894 in Kmart Plaza ): Sidewalk of South 27 th Street
Greenfield , WI 53221

Protest Puppy World in Greenfield , WI with us! This event is open to the public. Wisconsin is tired of the horrible treatment of dogs living in puppy mills or produced by backyard breeders. We want them to stop breeding to sell to pet stores across the country. This industry is cruel and inhumane. These animals are suffering and we want it to stop. Why shop when you can adopt? Don't support the puppy mill industry, don't shop at Puppy World! Join the fight and protest with us at Puppy World this spring.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/ginaskorka and view my blog!

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2008: Notice from a group in Los Angeles, California:

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2008: Buh-bye, Petland. A Florida resident tells us that Petland of Deerfield Beach and Petland of Delray Beach have both CLOSED. They are no longer listed on the Petland website.

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EVERYTHING PETS--NEW YORK--BURNT HILLS

2008: This store, which used to invite in dog and cat rescue groups, recently changed management and is now selling puppies. Please complain to them on "Questions/Comments" at http://www.everythingpetsandsupplies.com/. Or write Everything Pets, 800 Saratoga Rd., Burnt Hills, NY 12027. Phone 518-399-1567, Fax 518-399-2107. If you live in the area, tell them you'll be buying your pet supplies at Country Acres, right down the street, which sells supplies only, and also invites in rescue groups to help find adoptive families for homeless animals.

And remember, if you're disgusted to see animals being sold in ANY pet store, shoot the store an e-mail or call to tell them that you find their treatment of animals appalling and that you won't even consider shopping at their store until they STOP.

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Friday, May 2, 8:30-11:30 PM   The Second Annual Tail Waggin' Jamboree
Benefitting The Friends Fur Life Pet Sanctuary, raising money for a new no-kill animal shelter. Come out to BT's Restaurant, 8613 Jefferson Davis Hwy in Fredericksburg, VA , to join The Glass Onion opening for headliners The Wil Gravatt Band.  Tickets are $10 at the door.  Food will be provided by Hooters and other area restaurants.  There will be a large silent auction featuring many items from celebrities. For more information visit www.friendsfurlifeps.com.

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Why do we ask people not to buy ANY animals at pet stores? Here's a good reason--the horribly cruel conditions at the breeding facilities that produce these animals. PETA recently released this undercover footage of conditions at Rainbow World Exotics in Hamilton, Texas, which is a supplier for PETSMART.

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/petsmart_investigation?rk=87smCJpqsXc0W

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From an L.A. group that recently had a great protest.

Posh Puppy Rally

WHEN:  Saturday, February 9th
Two Shifts:  11am-2pm & 2pm-5pm

WHERE: Posh Puppy
9699 Wilshire Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
(across from Neiman Marcus, corner of Roxbury)

PLEASE RSVP: Meghan McGill
(805) 368-9280
volunteer@LCAnimal.org

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GREAT NEWS!!

The message below was sent by the group In Defense of Animals. Please send PetSmart a thank-you note at corpcommunications@ssg.petsmart.com. You can also add that you would prefer that PetSmart sell supplies only and stop selling birds and other animals altogether.

Unfortunately, PETCO is forging ahead with its terrible plan to sell rabbits, resulting in the needless deaths of uncounted sweet, friendly, adoptable rabbits in shelters all over the U.S. This is not acceptable! Please tell them you will not shop at their store and ask why they haven't changed their minds yet.

Petco
9125 Rehco Road
San Diego, CA 92121
Phone: 1-858-453-7845, FAX 1-858-453-6585
Or e-mail through www.petco.com, "Contact Us."

From In Defense of Animals:
Victory: PetSmart Agrees Not to Sell Rabbits

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Do you live in the Wisconsin area? If so, make plans to attend the protest being held by a Wisconsin group at PUPPY WORLD, GREENFIELD, WISCONSIN, on April 19, 2008! For details, check under "Wisconsin" on our "Find a Group Near You" page!

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Message from the group Reach Out For Animal Rights:

BIG HOLIDAY Anti-Animal Mill/Pet Store Demo at Monster Pets!

WHEN: Saturday, December 22, 2007 from 11:30am-1:30pm
WHERE: Monster Pets, 1946 South Columbus Blvd. , Philadelphia , PA 19148 (next to the IKEA shopping center)

During this holiday season some people have the impression that giving an animal as a present is a great idea. Many people do not realize that the majority of these animals come from horrible forced breeding factories called mills. Potential pet store customers often do not think about the millions of animals who are killed every year because they are not adopted.
The more activists that we have, the more attention we will receive and we are convinced that this will mean less animals purchased like holiday gift items.

WE NEED A BIG PEACEFUL PRESENCE AT MONSTER PETS THIS WEEK!!!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
We will have holiday gear - Santa hats, elf hats and reindeer antlers!
Hot vegan beverages and vegan cookies will be served!
Everyone who attends will receive a little holiday PRESENT!!!!!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Find out more info about the Monster Pets' campaign on our blog at www.myspace.com/reachoutforanimalrights.

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December 2007: Check out this excellent Humane Society of the U.S. expose of the pet store PETS OF BEL AIR, whose customers have included celebrities Paris Hilton and Britney Spears:

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/pets_bel_air_121107.html

This story is especially good because it makes a direct link between a particular pet store--PETS OF BEL AIR--and a few of its puppy mills--in this case, Carole's Puppy Palace of Oklahoma, Bakers Kozy Kennels of Arkansas, and RCW Kennels of Kansas. As pet stores always do, this store says it would never get puppies from puppy mills, but cameras at the breeding facilities tell a different story. The video also shows a Pets of Bel Air employee telling an undercover investigator never to tell customers a puppy is sick--just to say the puppy has a "cold" or "sniffles" because that's "cuter." A high price tag and fancy treatment at the pet shop does not mean that a puppy's breeder is kind to animals! To stop puppy mills, people must stop buying puppies from pet stores like this one--and almost every store that sells puppies IS like this one!

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November 2007: Please thank Washington Post for FRONT-PAGE article on puppy mills!

Please take a moment to THANK the Washington Post at letters@washpost.com for their Saturday, November 10, 2007, FRONT-PAGE article "Dogs' Best Friends to the Rescue," about the removal of nearly 1,000 dogs from a Virginia puppy mill. You can read the article at...

http://tinyurl.com/3aybww

You can also post a comment at the end of the article.

If you have a little more time, you can mention one or more of the following, plus any personal stories or other information you wish to include:

1) The simplest way for an individual to stop puppy mills is to stop buying puppies from PET STORES, BREEDER WEBSITES, and NEWSPAPER ADS.

2) Instead of buying animals at all, adopt an animal from a shelter or rescue group and help end the terrible homeless animal crisis that results in the slaughter of over 10,000 dogs, cats, and other animals in U.S. shelters EVERY DAY.

3) The article had one point that we would disagree with. It defined puppy mills as "unlicensed, illegal facilities." You could mention that there are thousands of LEGAL, USDA-licensed, AKC-approved breeding operations that are just as bad as the one described in the article, so although a pet store may brag that it get puppies from "licensed breeders," that in no way ensures that the animals at the facility are being treated well. Thank you!


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OCTOBER 2007: Two important puppy mill investigations:

Humane Society of the United States investigation of unlicensed PUPPY MILLS IN VIRGINIA. Watch the video!

https://community.hsus.org/campaign/VA_2007_puppymills/n21k8d58w?

Tulsa World investigation of PUPPY MILLS IN OKLAHOMA:

www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2007/puppymillsite/index.html

Okahoma USDA-licensed BREEDERS with the worst violation record:

www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2007/puppymillsite/OklahomaClassAWeb.pdf

Oklahoma USDA-licensed DEALERS with the worst violation record:

www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2007/puppymillsite/OklahomaClassBWebVer3.0.pdf

Database of USDA violations by Oklahoma breeders (searchable):

www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/itemsofinterest/breeders.aspx

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December 2007: We understand that the Petland at West Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio, recently closed. That's good news. The bad news is that there are still 5 other Petlands in Columbus.

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PHILADELPHIA, PA--CAGE OUT, OCTOBER 20, 2007.
Contact justroar@comcast.net for more information.

An activist from the Philadelphia area writes:

"I am writing to invite you all to a very special event!

For the past few months, our grassroots animal advocacy group, ROAR, Reach Out for Animal Rights, has been conducting demonstrations every Saturday in front of Monster Pets, a local independent pet store that sells puppies supplied to it by the largest puppy broker in the U.S., the Hunte Corporation. These demonstrations have been effective at educating the public about the puppy mill/pet store connection, and in promoting the adoption of animals from a local shelter instead of buying.

As you know, there is strength in numbers, and the more people who turn out to our peaceful demonstrations, the more we can educate the public about the cruelty of puppy mills. Please join us in front of Monster Pets, 1946 S. Columbus Boulevard , Philadelphia, PA every Saturday from 11:30am-1:30pm. Together, we can make a difference!

In addition, we are holding our biggest event of the year, our first annual Cage Out 2007: Break Open the Cages educational event, on Saturday, October 20, 2007 from 11:30am- 1:30pm in front of Monster Pets. Activists are needed to hold signs or hand out fliers that will be supplied to you. If you are interested in representing a victim of the puppy mill/pet store industry, you have the opportunity to be a cager. During the demonstration, cagers will enclose themselves in our pre-made cages or bring along their own dog crates. RSVP is appreciated, but not required. If you have never attended a demonstration before, make this be your first!

Thank you so much for reading this, and we look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events!

Sincerely, Rachel Ogden Founder of ROAR
www.myspace.com/reachoutforanimalrights"

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Another pet store protest--Saturday October 27, 2007! Christiansburg, Virginia.

A student group at Virginia Tech, NRV-CARE (New River Valley Coalition for Animal Rights and the Environment) will be protesting at ZOOQUATIC PET CENTER on October 27, 2007, from 11 AM to 2 PM. Zooquatic sells many small animals and is now selling puppies, obtained from the notorious HUNTE CORPORATION. Please attend this protest if you are in the area! Contact CWrenn@vtti.vt.edu for more information. Even if you can't attend, please complain to the Zooquatic owner about his sale of puppies and other animals. Encourage him to sell SUPPLIES, not animals!

Jonathan Couch
1645 N. Franklin St.
Christiansburg, VA 24073

Email: jcouchjr@zooquaticpet.com

Phone: 540-552-2041

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Petland Protest in Olathe, Kansas, September 22!

Message from Kansas activist: On Saturday, September 22, 2007 a group will be conducting a peaceful protest in front of the Petland in Olathe, Ks. We will meet in the parking lot of 13511 S Mur-Len Rd. Suite 132 Olathe, Ks. It is located on the southeast corner of Santa Fe and Mur-Len. We will have a brief meeting starting at 11:00 am to discuss the picketing laws in Olathe that has been provided by the police department. I will also provide bottled water. Shortly thereafter, we will walk across the street to city property to start the picket. I will be providing signs, please just bring yourselves. The police department will be aware of the picket, for our safety. I will be sending out a press release to the media before the event. Your participation is greatly needed. For more information contact shenshaw@everestkc.net.

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PUPPY MILL AWARENESS DAY is September 15, 2007. An event will be held at Intercourse Community Park from 10 AM to 4 PM. The park is at 3271 Old Philadelphia Pike, Ronks, Pennsylvania 17572. Please visit www.awarenessday.org for more information. Even if you're not able to attend, please check out their eye-opening site.

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NARROW ESCAPE FOR 94 PUPPIES IN ANOTHER HUNTE TRUCK FIRE

On November 27, 2006, a Hunte Corporation truck delivering puppies to the Town & Country Petland in Columbus, Ohio, caught fire, endangering the lives of 94 puppies on board. According to the Whitehall Fire Department, this was an electrical fire, not due to human error.

A witness reports that the puppies were "screaming," but that Hunte and Petland employees managed to get some of the puppies out of the hot, smoke-filled truck before the fire department arrived to extinguish the fire and remove the remaining puppies.

This was the SECOND fire within 3 months for the Hunte Corporation, a puppy broker which delivers puppies to Petland and other pet stores around the country. In the previous fire, in August of 2006, which made national news, all 60 puppies aboard suffocated to death. Hunte's website says its puppies are "transported in comfort" in "special climate-controlled, air-cushioned vehicles." These vehicles apparently do not all have functioning smoke detectors, however. The Whitehall Fire Department reported that on November 27, the "detector did not alert occupants."

*************************************

Summer 2007: TERRIBLE NEWS: PETSMART TO START SELLING RABBITS

From the House Rabbit Society:

"PetSmart has announced that they will now be selling rabbits in their stores, a substantial break from their previous policy of working with rescue organizations to place rescue rabbits. Please help us to oppose PetSmart's decision."

We suggest you convey to them that there does not need to be a constant "supply" of rabbits. That was Petco's excuse for starting to sell rabbits. Rabbits are being killed in shelters for lack of homes every day. Many are suffering in small cages or are abandoned because people who buy them from pet stores are not given enough information on how to properly care for them. If Petsmart begins selling rabbits, this crisis will grow worse. Please urge PetSmart to reverse this terrible decision and to stop selling ALL animals.

Email: http://www.petsmart.com/global/customerservice/contactUsForm.jsp

Phone: (800) 738-1385
Fax: 623-580-6502
Snail mail: PetSmart 1989 Transit Way PO Box 910 Brockport, NY 14420

Please see our "Rabbit Mills" page for the full alert from the House Rabbit Society.

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A moviegoer at the National Amusements Multiplex Theaters in Centreville informed us that there was an ad for Petland in the slides that flash onscreen before the previews. Please ask this local theater and its advertising company not to accept ads for Petland.

Write to: the theater at customer_service@national-amusements.com

the advertising company at http://www.screenvision.com/s/about/contact/


*************************************
BOUGHT A PUPPY AND JUST LEARNED ABOUT PUPPY MILLS? YOU CAN HELP!

If you bought a puppy from a pet store, or if you rescued a dog who was originally bought at a pet store, please check the purchase papers and e-mail us the following information:

1) the breeder's NAME and, if possible, the STATE where he or she is located

2) the name of the pet store where the puppy was purchased

We would greatly appreciate getting a paper copy of this, so please take another minute to SCAN the pages that show the name of the breeder and the name of the pet store, and e-mail these to all4theanimals@yahoo.com. Or send them by regular mail to:

PetStoreCruelty
P.O. Box 2036
Fairfax, VA 22031

What's this for? We are not particularly interested in shutting down particular breeders, because for every one that is shut down, there are many thousands more operating in exactly the same way. Our goal is to PROVE, by obtaining USDA records with multiple cruelty violations, that specific pet stores are getting puppies from puppy mills, despite their claims that they get puppies from "responsible breeders."

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**ALERT--January, 2007--more letters needed!**



Information from Judith Pierce of San Diego House Rabbit Society:

"Bad news, PETCO stores across the U.S. are now selling baby rabbits from Marshall Farms. Marshall Farms is a notorious "puppy mill" breeder, which also has bred nearly 100% of the ferrets for sale in pet stores in the U.S. Not only do they breed for pet stores, they also breed for laboratories. They have jumped into the rabbit market, churning out thousands of baby bunnies and - get this - spaying or neutering them at a very young age (well before puberty) in order to sell them at a premium price. They hope to counter the issue about selling rabbits that are not altered, but in doing these surgeries at such a young age they are surely causing long-term problems. And, given the difficulty of a surgery on a bunny so young, I would bet they are easily losing 30% or more in the process.

"San Diego House Rabbit Society has information on the PETCO situation on their web page at http://www.sandiegorabbits.org. This includes a brief description of what's going on (Marshall Farms rabbits being sold at PETCO), and asking people to write letters of complaint, and also cut-up and include their PETCO PALS cards. This situation is being discussed among HRS chapters nationwide. PETCO just showed up with these rabbits in Rhode Island, and they are coming to Southern California as well. I'm sure they are destined for many areas in the U.S.

"Please take a moment to write a letter of protest to PETCO. Protest them selling baby rabbits when our local shelters are overflowing with abandoned rabbits. Protest their supporting the notorious Marshall Farms. And, if you've got a PETCO PALS card, I hope you'll cut it up and include it in your letter. I also ask you to stop purchasing anything from PETCO until they stop selling rabbits. From this point on I will no longer refer any person to PETCO for supplies, nor will San Diego HRS have anything to do with them.

"Once PETCO has pledged to stop selling Marshall Farms rabbits, and has rescued shelter rabbits for adoption in its stores (either through adoption days or in-house), we can once again work with their Foundation. Visit the SDHRS website at www.sandiegorabbits.org to see a sample letter, who to write your letters to, and a copy of a letter to Brian Devine. I hope we can turn this around. Many thanks to the dedicated House Rabbit Society volunteers and to the San Diego House Rabbit Society for being proactive in dealing with this situation. "

Please tell Petco to stop selling rabbits--and all other animals, too! Letters should be addressed to one or all of these individuals:

Brian Devine, Chairman of the Board
Bruce Hall, President & COO
Jim Myers, CEO
Tom Farello, Senior Vice President of Operations

The address for all of them is:

PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.
9125 Rehco Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121

Or call 1-858-453-7845 or FAX 1-858-453-6585.

Feb. 2007: Petco's response, bottom line: "In stores where no rescue group is able or willing to provide a consistent supply of shelter rabbits, we reserve the right to offer for sale rabbits obtained from other sources..."

Heaven forbid that any community in the U.S. actually SOLVES its homeless animal crisis so that there is not a CONSISTENT SUPPLY of homeless animals 365 days a year. Please let Petco know their position is unacceptable and that saving animals' lives is more important than having a constant overabundance of animals who desperately need homes. Through the incredibly hard work of many people, some communities are actually succeeding in reducing the number of homeless animals being killed locally. It would be tragic if pet stores seized this opportunity to move in and sell animals from breeding mills.

If there are no homeless rabbits at your local shelter or a rescue group, fantastic! (It's certainly not the case around Northern Virginia, where there are hundreds waiting for homes.) You won't have to go too much further to find one who needs you. Rabbits are wonderful, but the initial price is nothing compared to what you will spend on hay, food, supplies, and and veterinary care if you are caring for them properly. If you can afford to buy a rabbit and care for him or her properly, you can afford to drive right past Petco and go a few more miles to find one who is in need.

Petco's full reply is available on our Rabbit Mills page.

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March 2007: Please sign this petition: "ZooQuatic Pet Center in Christiansburg, VA has announced their intention to begin selling dogs in an area saturated with homeless animals and five kill shelters. Dogs and cats should be adopted, not sold as products for profit. Please show your support against puppy mills/puppy brokers and against bringing more dogs into the New River Valley by signing the petition."

http://www.petitiononline.com/No2ZQ/petition.html

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(January 2007)

6 INCHES.

Remember that number.

Here is the USDA formula for calculating the amount of space it considers adequate for a dog:

"Each dog housed in a primary enclosure (including weaned puppies) must be provided with a minimum amount of floor space, calculated as follows: Find the mathematical square of the sum of the length of the dog in inches (measured from the tip of its nose to the base of its tail) plus 6 inches; then divide the product by 144. The calculation is: (length of dog in inches + 6) x (length of dog in inches + 6) = required floor space in square inches. Required floor space in inches/144 = required floor space in square feet."

The USDA measures the amount of space a dog is allowed to have for his or her entire life in INCHES. 6 INCHES, to be exact. What the formula above means is, if you are in a dog (Chihuahua or Great Dane--doesn't matter) in a square cage and you put your rear end against the side of the cage, you can look forward to 6 WHOLE INCHES of exercise space in front of you. Run. Play. Have a good time.

You can find that regulation--3.6 (c)(1)(i)--and others supposedly enforced by USDA inspectors at
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/9cfr3_03.html

In a separate regulation--3.8 (a)--the USDA mentions that dogs housed this way are supposed to be allowed out for daily exercise, but former inspectors have said this regulation is never enforced. We have rarely seen it even mentioned in USDA inspection records. What we HAVE seen is breeders and brokers for Petland and other pet stores who violate even these sickeningly inadequate space requirements.

This is just one of the reasons why a facility can pass the USDA inspection and still be a PUPPY MILL. Puppy mills are LEGAL. They shouldn't be.

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2007: Columbus Dispatch article by Barbara Carmen "Rejected Pooches Need Loving Homes: Designed and Dumped--Once Pricey Purebreds are Plentiful at County Shelter " describes the dire situation for animals at the Franklin County shelter in Ohio. There are SIX Petland stores in Columbus, the county seat of Franklin County.

dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/02/14/20070214-B1-02.html

The full article is also reprinted with permission on our "In the News" page.

The information below concerning Petlands in Ohio was provided by Mary O'Connor-Shaver. Please visit her sites www.BanOhioDogAuctions.com and www.ColumbusTopDogs.com.

"Take a look at the financial impact of Columbus Petland stores on Franklin County (statistics provided by the Director of Franklin County Animal Shelter in November, 2006):

7-10 Petland dogs per *DAY* are taken into the shelter.

80% of those dogs are:
*not spayed/neutered, thus an added cost
*are in very poor health and/or mental state thus an added cost
*have no microchip reigstered to anyone other than the broker and no owner can be tracked and Petland takes no responsibility
*are not appropriate matches to the owner, resulting in owner release within 1 year of the purchase.

The Results? A low-end average of $30 per day for each Petland dog (if the dog is healthy)
X 7-10 dogs= $210-$300 per day
X365 days a year = $76,650-$109,500."

A press release from Petland, in which it lavishly praised itself for helping adopt out homeless animals, is making the rounds in various business publications. There is not one word in the release about the hundreds of thousands of unspayed, unneutered puppy mill puppies that Petland sells. Here is the article:

http://cincinnati.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=104522&type_news=latest

Please complain to info@businessnews.com. Tell them Petland sells puppy mill puppies and does far more harm than good.

Shelters and rescue groups: if you take Petland up on their offer to display some of your animals for adoption, you are helping them gain legitimacy while hurting yourself and the animals in your community. We thank all those shelters and rescue groups that refuse to have anything to do with Petland.

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WHAT IS PETLAND, AND WHY NOT SHOP THERE?

Petland is a large pet store franchise whose reason for being is to make a profit by selling as many companion animals as possible. While in recent years many other pet stores have moved toward selling supplies only--inviting non-profit rescue groups into their stores to adopt out homeless animals--Petland sells intentionally bred puppies, kittens, rabbits, birds, chinchillas, ferrets, and many other animals, with flagrant disregard for the tremendous animal suffering that this causes.

Here are 3 of the ways Petland causes animal to suffer:

1) PUPPY MILLS

2) IN-STORE CONDITIONS

3) HOMELESS ANIMAL CRISIS

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Humane Society to Help Attorney General in Wizard of Claws Suit

For years, the Wizard of Claws in Pembroke Pines, Florida, has deceived hundreds of customers by selling very unhealthy puppies. Earlier this month, Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist filed suit in an effort to permanently shut down the Wizard of Claws for its hundreds of violations of Florida's Unfair and Deceptive Practices Act. The Humane Society of the United States is committed to working with the Attorney General's office to put this shop of horrors out of business but needs the help of others who have been victimized by the Wizard of Claws. If you have purchased a puppy from the Wizard of Claws, please contact the Humane Society of the U.S. by filling out the form at the link below.

http://www.stoppuppymills.org/forms/wizard_information.html

Take a look at the May 2006 CNN investigation of Wizard of Claws. This store gets many of its puppies from Hunte Corp., the same distributor that many Petland stores use.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/11/online.puppies/index.html This follow-up story lets people know there are wonderful dogs available for adoption at shelters and rescue groups.

http://www.nbc6.net/news/9307251/detail.html

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A local group desperately needs volunteers to transport dogs from a rural Virginia shelter to a rescue group. Without these transports, these animals would be killed. Please visit http://ruralshelterhelp.blogspot.com for more information. To volunteer to help transport animals, please e-mail Erin at Tierbee@aol.com. Erin's e-mail address will soon be changing to Tierbee@cox.net.

****

HEALTH ALERT: If by any chance you are researching Petland BEFORE you buy a puppy, please read their "warranty" carefully! It is designed to protect Petland, not you! Note that different stores offer different warranties, and what we are referring to here is the warranty of the Petland in Fairfax City, Virginia. The Fairfax City Petland "limited puppy purchase warranty" is NOT a guarantee that your puppy is healthy. It does not guarantee that they will pay for any medical problems your puppy has, even if the problem occurs the DAY you take the puppy out of the store. Their warranty says "PETLAND WILL NOT REIMBURSE OR BE LIABLE FOR ANY EXPENDITURE INCURRED AT ANY VETERINARIAN OR EMERGENCY CLINICS OTHER THAN POTOMAC VALLEY VETERINARY HOSPITAL." That means:

If your puppy starts coughing uncontrollably or throwing up or having seizures or having ANY emergency when the Potomac Valley Veterinary Hospital (Dr. Cheema) is closed, and the answering machine refers you to another animal hospital, Petland has no intention of paying the emergency bills. If you leave your puppy at the emergency vet because he is extremely ill and needs immediate 24-hour care, Petland has no intention of paying the bills.

If you decide you don't trust Dr. Cheema because he works with Petland, and you take your puppy to ANY OTHER VET, Petland has no intention of paying the bills. Be prepared for Petland to claim that any vet who disagrees with them and their store vet is wasting your money on unnecessary tests.

The ONLY illnesses for which actual veterinary care is covered by the 14-day warranty are parvovirus, distemper, hepatitis, corona virus, or canine influenza. The most common major problem that we have learned about in pet store puppies, from customers who write to us, is PNEUMONIA. Pneumonia is NOT listed as being covered in the warranty.

Read the "limited three-year extended puppy warranty." If your puppy has a hereditary problem that turns up within 3 years, Petland will NOT pay for surgery. They will offer you a discount on ANOTHER Petland puppy--the LAST thing you will want when faced with surgery that costs thousands of dollars and causes you and your dog a lot of suffering. The warranty states, "PETLAND WILL NOT REIMBURSE OR COVER ANY SURGICAL PROCEDURES OR VETERINARY BILLS FOR ALL HEREDITARY OR CONGENITAL DISORDER."Note that even if you notify Petland of a medical problem within 24 hours, as the warranty says to, it gives no promise that they will DO anything about it.

This so-called warranty is just one more reason NOT to buy a puppy at Petland!