Pet stores and puppy mills
in the news
in the news
Pet Store
Hall of Shame, part 1
Pet Store Hall of Shame, part 2
USDA Violations by Petland Breeders
USDA Records on Various Breeders
How to find out more
about your puppy's breeder
Do Petland puppies really come from LICENSED breeders?
Hunte Corp.
Puppy Mill Links
14-Day Heartache Guarantee
Protesting
for Beginners
Find a group near you
Shelters
Adoption info and links to rescue groups
Poems, etc.
Former pet store employees speak out
Buying puppies online--buyer beware
Pet Stores and Puppy Mills in the News
Animal sellers in Washington DC area
Pet supply stores that DON'T sell animals--the good guys:)
Puppy mill survivor stories
Shop
Donate
June 25, 2008: Hundreds Of Animals Removed From Area Farm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25378832/
About 700 animals were removed from Pine Bluff Kennels in Lyles, Tennessee, owned by Patricia Adkisson. Adkisson had been charged in 1998 with 195 counts of animal cruelty and was convicted of 3 of them, but the charges were overturned on the grounds that her property had been searched improperly. "Officials said that a lot of the puppies were sold on the Internet," the article says. The Humane Society of the United States participated in the rescue. For a video, see
www.hsus.org/hsus_field/hsus_disaster_center/disasters_press_room/fieldnotes.html
June 24, 2008: "Flea Market Halts Sale of Dogs, Cats after taint of 'puppy mills'--Memphis, TN
[Note: We have been told that brokers sometimes sell puppies at flea markets when they are too sick to be sold at pet stores.]
www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/24/all-pupped-out/
June 2008: "Pet Store Owner Charged with 34 Counts of Cruelty" in Colorado:
www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/jun/10/pet-store-owner-charged-34-counts-cruelty/
Jeffrey A. Fortin, the owner of the Pet Shop, 900 S. Hover St., Longmont, Colorado was found by police to be keeping seven puppies in a kennel that was 46 inches by 23 inches. Another kennel the same size contained six puppies. Fortin was charged with 34 counts of animal cruelty, all apparently misdemeanor charges. Fortin blamed employees for the conditions.
******************************
June 2008: Protesters Say Bel Air Shop Supplied by Puppy Mill--about protests at PETS OF BEL AIR, which was the subject of an undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States.
http://cbs2.com/local/Bel.Air.Puppy.2.743122.html
************************************************
May 30, 2008: About 90 Dogs Being Removed from Randolph Home--Massachusetts.
www.enterprisenews.com/lifestyle/pets/x1829913384/About-90-dogs-being-removed-from-Randolph-home
The puppies from this house, which a state humane officer described as "horrendous" and "the worst I've ever seen," were being sold at MISSY'S PUPPY LAND on Park Street in Stoughton, owned by Linda Snow.
*************************************************
May 2008: "New Law Cracks Down on Animal Fighting and Puppy Mills":
https://community.hsus.org/humane/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=24198357
The Humane Society of the U.S. reports that as part of the Farm Bill, the import of puppies from foreign puppy mills will now be ILLEGAL.
This is good news; we have far too many puppy mills and homeless animals in the United States without importing any more dogs.
They also report that potential fines for violations of the Animal Welfare Act have been increased from $2,500 to $10,000.
This may help deter some abuse at puppy mills; however, in the past the USDA has been very lenient about imposing even the $2,500 fines, and the USDA requirements are still extremely minimal, such as the one allowing dogs to be confined to extremly cramped cages--only six INCHES of exercise space are required-- for virtually their entire lives.
******************************************
May 12, 2008 "Pet Shop Takes a Stand--Stops Selling Puppies" about Animal House, a pet store in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has STOPPED SELLING PUPPIES. "But sales at Aniaml House are better now than when puppies were sold, partly because of the store's partnership with local animal rescue and adoption groups. Each weekend, a different group brings dogs to the store, where customers can adopt them. And, of course, shop for supplies."
www.tampabay.com/news/business/retail/article497576.ece
May 2008:
http://westlaonline.com/wcnp_article.php?articleid=9
Not only did activists in L.A. succeed in closing down Beverly Hills puppy mill store POSH PUPPIES, they also busted one of its suppliers, World Kennels USA of Littlerock, California. 302 breeding dogs being kept in "severe inhumane conditions" were removed from this kennel. Congratulations to Carole Raphaelle Davis for spearheading this amazing effort, and to everyone else who participated in the protests and puppy mill rescue. Groups involved included Last Chance for Animals, Best Friends, and the Humane Society of the United States.
****************************************
May 9, 2008
http://cbs2.com/goldstein/Puppy.Mills.David.2.719762.html
David Goldstein Investigates Puppy Mills. These puppy mills were in L.A. County, California.
*************************************
http://www.network.bestfriends.org/truth/news/25161.html
Truth about the Pet Trade
Protesting For Puppies
"Different people in different regions, all with one goal – stopping stores from selling dogs"
By Jennifer Hayes, Best Friends Staff
**********************************************
April 20, 2008: Raid Uncovers 28 Ailing, Waste-covered Puppies
South Jersey man who allegedly was selling the dogs is charged
By Brian T. Murray New Jersey Star-Ledger Staff
Breeder: William C. Roberts of Franklinville
http://tinyurl.com/66mk9y
April 17, 2008: Judge orders sale of 300-plus dogs in cruelty case. Breeders were Marie Hughes, Ronnie Hughes, Jennifer Hughes and Brandy Stone of L&D Farm in Nicholson, Georgia.
www.ajc.com/pets/content/pets/stories/2008/04/17/dogs_0418.html?cxntn id=amn041808e
*******************************************
April 14, 2008: Kaine announces action on Dogfighting, Payday Loan Bills
http://tiny.cc/k4wVY
Also signed into law a measure requiring large breeding operations [puppy mills] to get a business license and submit to regular inspections by local animal control officers.
*********************************************
April 4, 2008: Puppy mill expose on "Oprah" generates huge response from viewers.
www.oprah.com/world/global/slide/200804/global_20080404_101.jhtml?promocode=more20080404
Followups:
www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200804/20080428/slide_20080428_350_109.jhtml
www.oprah.com/videochannel/videochannel_player.jhtml?video=2353&category=14
The video is about Angel's Gate, an animal hospice run by Susan Marino in Long Island, NY. She says that many of these handicapped animals come from puppy mills.
March 14, 2008: Investigation of a newly opened PETLAND in Des Moines, Iowa:
The store has already sold a sick puppy who died: www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?s=8003877
Some of the new store's puppies come from breeder Steve Kruse, who has a very large facility, has been investigated by the Companion Animal Protection Society and who sells to many PETLAND stores:
www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?s=8010036
To thank WHOTV for the story:
http://www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=283048&nav=menu100_10
*********************************
March 2008: Over 700 dogs removed from Arizona puppy mill. Name of the breeder and who she sells puppies to is not given.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23601914/
February 2008:3-part Puppy Mill Investigation--New York--features breeder Dake Fu of Happy Apple Kennel, Sloanville, NY
www.cbs6albany.com/news/story_1254037article.html/puppy_share.html
www.cbs6albany.com/news/state_1254058___article.html/unsatisfactory_complaints.html
www.cbs6albany.com/news/dogs_1254071___article.html/puppy_mill.html
February 2008--Newsday--"Animal House: Creature Feature Activist Making Bid to End Dog Auctions" about Mary O'Conner-Shaver. If you are in Ohio and want to help puppy mill dogs, you'll want to get on her email list. mshaver_0462@columbustopdogs.com.
www.newsday.com/news/columnists/ny-hopets5592872feb28,0,5329218.column
February 2008: Not a news article but a review of "Why Animals Matter," a new book by Erin E. Williams and Margo DeMello. Mentions the pet trade along with other industries that cause animal suffering.
http://alternet.org/rights/77543/?page=2
February 12, 2008: Virginia House Passes Animal Fighting, Puppy Mill Bills
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0208/495475.html
This is a step in the right direction for Virginia and is intended to regulate Virginia's many unlicensed breeders. However, Virginia residents should not interpret this to mean that it is "safe" to buy puppies in Virginia pet shops. Most pet shop puppies come from out of state (the Midwest). Also, as with USDA-licensed facilities, a license and even a "clean" inspection record does not mean that the animals are cared for in a manner that would satisfy people who actually love animals.
February 9, 2008: WISCONSIN DOG BREEDERS FACE OPPOSITION
By Heather LaRoi / Lee Newspapers http://tinyurl.com/2ac5ex
About breeder Wallace Havens, who has over 1,000 dogs.
February 4, 2008 Puppy Mill Stays Open Despite Undercover Raid
WGHP Fox Television
HILLSVILLE, Va . (WGHP) - Authorities claim Lanzie Horton Jr. had more than 1,000 dogs living in less than ideal conditions. His kennel was raided by authorities in November. On February 1, as a result of the undercover investigation, Horton was charged with 14 counts of animal cruelty and 25 counts of neglect. Despite the raid and charges against Horton, he is still allowed to sell puppies from his kennel, Horton's Pups. Angela Rodriguez reports.
VIDEO REPORT: http://tinyurl.com/2n3xwf
*****************************************
January 31, 2008: Puppy Mill Owner Charged with Animal Cruelty
By: Angela Rodriguez
http://www.envirolink.org/external.html?itemid=200801312303570.987706
Breeder charged with cruelty: Lanzie Horton Jr. of Hillsville, Virginia (Carroll County)
January 24, 2008: NJ - Veterinarian fined $6,000 in death of Matawan couple's puppy
Asbury Park Press
By Alesha Williams Boyd
http://tinyurl.com/2m7kkc
The store involved is PET PARADISE, Route 9, Marlboro, New Jersey.
January 2008: "Puppy Loss May Help Educate Others," about a puppy purchase at the SEACLEAR AQUARIUM & PET CENTER in North Port, Florida, who died shortly afterwards. The diagnosis was parvo.
http://www.sun-herald.com/Newsheadline.cfm?headline=9581
January 3, 2008: Dogs Rescued from Christmas Valley (Oregon) Puppy Mill
by Deanne Goodman, KTVZ.com:
Video: http://tinyurl.com/35gloo
Article: http://ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=7569591&nav=menu578_2
****************************************
January 2, 2008, Roanoke Times: "Breeders Selling Dogs at Discount" describes what happens AFTER the Christmas rush of shoppers buying puppies--pet stores and brokers finding themselves with too many growing puppies. The article doesn't explain where the puppies come from or what happens to the puppies when the store can't sell them. It mentions that a 3-month old Chesapeake Bay Retriever at the Roanoke (Virginia) Petland has been marked down. "It's just time to get her out of the cage and into a nice home," says a Petland employee.
Who is responsible for keeping that puppy in a cage during her first months of life, which are crucial to the physical, mental, and psychological development of a dog? PETLAND, of course.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/wb/145550
To comment on the article, write to rob.johnson@roanoke.com
Letters to the editor of the Roanoke Times: karen.trout@roanoke.com
Published letters to the editor about the article:
http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/letters/wb/145809
http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/letters/wb/145928
**********************************************
December 30, 2007: Animal Advocates Hope for Tougher Animal Abuse Laws, by Dena Potter, the Associated Press
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-dogfighting1230,0,4963555.story
********************************
December 2007: Philadelphia Inquirer "Rendell to push broad changes for kennels" in Pennsylvania, considered the puppy mill capital of the East:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20071222_Rendell_to_push_broad_changes_for_kennels.html
**************************************
December 20, 2007:
Dog Breeder Found Guilty Facing multiple fines, Ephrata man expected to appeal rulings
By Susan E. Lindt, Staff Intelligencer Journal
http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/213985
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, breeder Ervin Zimmerman was found guilty of 11 counts of animal cruelty and five counts of violating state dog law regulations.
************************
December 21, 2007--Fox 7 News, Miami, FL--"Pet Store Owner Accused of Selling Sick Puppies" at the store Poochie Koochie. Same pet store owner. Julie Soutullo, was selling puppies as Dixie Pups, which also generated numerous complaints about sick pups, according to the article and video.
http://www3.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI71238/
************************************
December 18, 2007 "Imported Pets--A Growing Business in the U.S.
People Can Be Duped into Buying Sick or Abused Animals on the Internet"
ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/ChristmasCountdown/Story?id=3910917&page=1
*******************************
November 30, 2007--USA Editorial--
Our view on animal welfare: Beware of doggie in window"
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/11/our-view-on-ani.html
***********************************
Tuesday, November 27, 2007 Indiana 's Puppy Pipeline WTHR - Indianapolis, Indiana Bob Segall - 13 Investigates http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=7409962 .
Says that puppy broker Levi Graber supplies Safari Pets and Uncle Bill's Pet Centers in Indianapolis,
and Pass Pets in Bloomington.
*****************************
11/12/2007
http://tiny.cc/sRlwM
Buyer Beware: Puppies For Sale
This story from WOAI.com, San Antonio, is about sick puppies purchased at PETLAND in Sonterra, Texas. One puppy had hip dysplasia, and surgery is expected to cost between $4,000 and $5,000. Although the customer had even purchased a guarantee ensuring the dog's health, Petland refused to help, offering only a replacement puppy, because its contract states that genetic disorders are not covered. (Please see the People's Court case summarized on our Pet Store Laws page--these contracts are sometimes illegal and can be overridden by state and federal law.)
Another puppy purchased from the same story had parvo, a serious and often deadly virus. It cost the customer nearly $1,000 to save the puppy's life.
Veterinarian Andy Anderson of South Texas Veterinary Specialists is quoted as saying, "I would not go to a retail outlet." The story says, "Dr. Anderson adds his office sees a lot of sick puppies coming from pet stores."
"Generally, those, in my opinion, are not the best places to buy pets. They often have more disease and they may have very questionable genetics and have orthopedic problems or infectious disease problems," says Dr. Anderson.
********************************************
Puppy Pipeline Part 2 WTHR Indianapolis, Indiana 13 Investigates Tuesday, November 27, 2007 http://tinyurl.com/2cqow5
**************************************
Undercover video of dog auctions in Ohio and MO.
http://tinyurl.com/ysxzxm (Scroll to Puppy Pipeline Part 2)
*************************************
November 2007: Washington Post FRONT-PAGE article 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.
http://tinyurl.com/3aybww
*************************************
Also "Disaster Declared to care for over 1,100 puppies" removed from Virginia breeder Junior Horton. Horton was selling some puppies online and and some to Pauley's Pups, an Asland pet store.
http://www.wusa9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=64902
Horton claims, "I've got the best kennel in southwest Virginia."
***************************************
November 2007 Roanoke Times editorial on VA puppy mills investigation:
http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/138584
*********************************
October 31, 2007--USA Today--"Puppy Mills Face Greater Scrutiny"
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-10-31-puppy-mills-main_N.htm
***********************************
OCTOBER 2007--OKLAHOMA--Excellent series of articles--Ten Breeders and Brokers, 473 USDA Violations
By Omer Gillham, Tulsa World Staff Writer Sunday, October 21, 2007
http://tinyurl.com/2wpex8
You can find the World's database of inspection reports, related documents, photos, videos and all stories in the series here. - Ziva Branstetter, World projects editor. Click here: http://tinyurl.com/3exuek
Among those incurring multiple violations were Shelia Gamblin, owner of S&W Kennels in Atoka; Henry Lee Cooper, a broker and owner of C&C Kennels in Wewoka; and Reda Ratliff in Jones.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071010/NEWS/710100379
******************************************
From the Times Herald-Record SPCA seizes dozens of pets from Ellenville store October 10, 2007
Fins & Feathers, Ellenville, New York. More than 100 animals were seized from the store, and the owner was charged with animal cruelty.
************************************
August 30, 2007 "70 Dogs Rescued from North Texas Puppy Mill"
www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa070830lj_puppyrescue.864e38f9.html
******************************************
August 2007: Arizona Republic article "Hare-Raising Complaints: Petsmart Creates Stir with Animal Groups"
About the complaints Petsmart is getting because of its recent HORRENDOUS decision to start selling rabbits. Update December 2007: Petsmart has decided NOT to sell rabbits after all. Thank you, every person who complained! Now you can thank them at: http://www.petsmart.com/global/customerservice/contactUsForm.jsp
www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0806biz-rabbits0807.html
*****************************************
July 2007: Two articles by behaviorist and trainer Matthew Margolis.
"Pet Stores and Puppy Mills" http://tinyurl.com/2m6yfc
***********************************************
About the AKC and its unconvincing efforts to police puppy mills: "Dogs, Cats, and Other People":
http://tinyurl.com/36ovn3
*******************************************
Thursday, July 12, 2007, Washington Post, excerpt from Dr. Michael Fox's weekly column:
"Some Pets Need to Live With Their Own Kind"
"I am the president of a nonprofit rescue organization that specializes in finding homes for gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rats and chinchillas from animal shelters. In one of your recent articles, you recommended readers adopt same-sex companions for their hamsters. In fact, Syrian hamsters are quite territorial, and even ones that have been raised together since birth must be separated at 3 months of age (at the latest) because of the high possibility that they will fight to severe injury and even death.
Dwarf hamsters, on the other hand, are social and happier with one or two companions of the same sex, but they must be from the same litter and raised together since birth. In most cases, gerbils, guinea pigs, rats and chinchillas are social animals that enjoy the company of their own kind. Our rescue organization is saddened by the policies of many pet stores that will sell these animals as singles (or, conversely, sell Syrian hamsters together) with no regard for their future well-being. We do what we can to pair these animals when they come to our rescue group, and we also work to educate our adopters and the public about their ideal living arrangements." -- A.M. Frederick
Dr. Fox replies: "You are correct. Dwarf hamsters generally do well together, but Syrian hamsters (with some exceptions, according to other readers' letters) should be separated by the time they are 3 months old. Thank you for doing what you do to help "pocket pets" that are all too often treated like disposable toys. And thank you for spreading the word that it is inhumane for most small mammal species kept as cage pets to be all alone their entire lives with no contact ever with their own kind. I believe this is one of the most widespread and yet unacknowledged animal cruelties." [note from petstorecruelty--emphasis ours]
***************************************
July 1, 2007: Bland County, Virginia "Kennel Will Rebuild Despite Activists' Pleas"
http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/122212
For those who ask, "Aren't puppy mills illegal?" the answer is no, as evidenced by the decision of local authorities in Bland County, Virginia, to allow puppy miller Philip Schmucker to rebuild his facility after fire there killed 167 dogs. The fire was apparently started by a kerosene lamp. News reports say Schmucker sells his puppies to pet stores but doesn't mention which ones.
*****************************************
June 2007: After fire at his kennel kills 167 dogs (see March 2007), breeder Philip Schmucker gets approval to rebuild. Bland County, Virginia.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/119576
************************************************
June 21, 2007:
full story: http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/205908
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - A district judge ruled Wednesday there is enough evidence to send an animal-cruelty case to trial. Elvin L. High, owner of Highgrade Kennels in West Hempfield Township, appeared before District Judge Robert A. Herman Jr. for a preliminary hearing on eight counts of animal cruelty related to the level of care provided to dogs at his business. Assistant District Attorney Christine L. Wilson argued the case against High, who was convicted of animal cruelty in 2002. Two of the misdemeanor charges stemmed from two sickly dogs at High's kennels on April 24 and April 25. One dog, a mastiff, was later euthanized at High's request. The remaining charges were filed because High allegedly admitted cropping the ears of at least 18 dogs on his property at 4406 Marietta Ave. --
**********************************
June 21, 2007:
NBC6 (Florida) will air a follow-up in their "Puppy Heartbreak" series which highlighted Wizard of Claws' sales of sick puppies. It will air at either 5pm or 6pm and will appear on their website www.NBC6.net shortly thereafter. More details to follow on http://www.stopwizardofclaws.com & www.voy.com/197170/
**************************************
June 18 2007:
http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/11556/CA/US/RSS/
Pet store performing surgery without anesthesia Lynwood, CA (US) Date: Jun 15, 2007
County: Los Angeles Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Alleged: Young Sam Park A pet store owner was indicted on June 18 for allegedly performing surgery on animals without anesthesia, suffocating them with rubber gloves and disposing of sick and dying pets in a trash bin. The owner of the Animal House Pet Store, Young Sam Park, 52, pleaded not guilty to 26 felony counts of animal cruelty that range from torturing to mutilation.
******************************************
June 15, 2007
By STEVE SNYDER Lebanon Daily News
http://www.ldnews.com/news/ci_6149789
"A fire in a Bethel Township kennel killed 18 dogs last night, hours after officials had visited the property to investigate a complaint."
"'A high degree of accelerant could be smelled on the dogs and in the shed,' Johnson said."
According to the article, this puppy mill was owned by a man named HAROLD DICE. During the visit from the authorities, his daughter Dianne apparently threatened to "put the animals down." The fire was reported 7 hours later. Harold and Dianne Dice claim the fire was accidental.
June 2007, a veterinarian in Glendale, Arizona, was charged with hitting a dog so hard that her eye popped out of its socket. See "Vet Arrested in Chihuahua's Beating," http://tinyurl.com/2glhvj] Like most pet stores, the local Animal Kingdom/Puppies 'N Love requires customers to go to particular vets in order to activate their "warranty." This vet was on their list.
**********************************************
June 2007: "States Attempt Crackdown on Puppy Mills":
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/03/ap/national/main2879064.shtml
*************************************************
June 11, 2007: Fox 5 (Washington DC) story: "Animal Advocates Decry Puppy Mills"--
Watch the video; it's not the same as the article.
http://tinyurl.com/2qowd9
***************************************************
June 2007:
http://tinyurl.com/2gqj29
Toledo Blade--Toledo, Ohio
Article: Bill targets unethical breeders of dogs
Oversight sought to end 'puppy mills'
Excerpt:
"The cameras captured auctioneers touting the breeding ability of the dogs and how much money they can make the buyer at the BUCKEYE DOG AUCTION in Millersburg, Ohio, as the animals were crowded in stacked wire cages in a back room."
*************************************
May/June 2007 The Animals Voice (www.animalsvoice.com) article "Puppy Mills: The Truth Behind That Doggie in the Window" by Stephanie Banfield is reprinted with permission on our "Boycott Petland" page. Focuses on Petland.
************************************************
May 2007: Fremont Tribune (this article is no longer available for free)
(US-ne) Puppy mill surrenders 170-plus dogs OMAHA, Neb. - The 171 new arrivals at the Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha - soon to be more - were enjoying the relatively wide-open space of their new, temporary home on Thursday. They had been rescued from stench and filth at a puppy mill near Lexington in south-central Nebraska. A convoy of eight vehicles bearing crates of pups and mothers pulled into the Omaha shelter late Wednesday night. The dogs had been kept in small buildings with scant water, surrounded by feces, urine stains and trash. "The conditions were really bad," Pam Wiese, a Humane Society spokeswoman, said on Thursday. The operators "were putting down newspapers, then the dogs would poop, then they'd just put down more newspaper. There might have been six inches of petrified newspapers in a big pad," Wiese said.
full story: http://www.fremontneb.com/articles/2007/05/17/ap-state-ne/d8p688701.txt
******************************************
May 2007: Online scammers offering to sell puppies but steal money instead:
http://www.wusa9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=58173
APRIL 22, 2007:
"Amish accused of running dog mills"
Columbus Dispatch
http://tinyurl.com/2me88m
APRIL 21, 2007:
Two articles about protests at dog auction in Ohio:
The Canton Rep ("Dog auction sparks protest") -
http://tinyurl.com/34gw5g
The Daily Record ("Dog auction back in Holmes County, with April 21 sale date") -
http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/1849351
APRIL 19, 2007:
Couple Sue Pa. Dog Breeder Under N.J. law
Philadelphia Inquirer
The breeder is CC Pets LLC of Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania.
http://tinyurl.com/38ejww
MARCH 2007: 167 Dogs Perish in Fire at Bland County Kennel (Virginia)
The owner, Philip Schmucker of Dogwood Kennels, said he sold dogs "mostly to brokers or to pet stores."
"We're all for raising healthy pets," he said. "Don't people realize someone has got to raise them?"
Please write letters to the editor explaining that the answer to this is NO. There are so many homeless dogs already, in Virginia and all over the United States, that a for-profit mass breeding operation like this does not need to exist and is only doing harm to animals.
Roanoke Times:
www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/109743
Letters to the Editor: Karen.trout@roanoke.com
Another article about the fire: Bluefield Daily Telegraph: http://tinyurl.com/3cx19n
MARCH 15, 2007: "Controversial dog auction will be moving to Geauga County" by Diane Ryder and Betsy Scott. The News-Herald of Northeastern Ohio.
http://www.news-herald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18081142&BRD=1698&PAG=461&dept_id=21849&rfi=6
The move was due to animal groups protesting at the auction regularly.
MARCH 2007: "Who's Watching Out for Me?" from The Morning Call, Sunday, March 11, 2007, by Tim Darragh and Christopher Schnaars. In-depth article on Pennsylvia puppy mills. Graphics, photos, and undercover video footage at Pennsylvania kennels taken by CAPS (Companion Animal Protection Society) can be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/ynrze5
MARCH 2007: In-depth articles on Minnesota puppy mills.
http://tinyurl.com/3afyxb
FEBRUARY 2007: From The Columbus Dispatch, Columbus, Ohio. Reprinted with permission.
dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/02/14/20070214-B1-02.html
REJECTED POOCHES NEED LOVING HOMES
Designed and dumped
Once-pricey purebreds are plentiful at county shelter
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Barbara Carmen THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Designer dogs available at the Franklin County Dog Shelter include this "bug" named Asher, a mix between a Boston terrier and a pug. She once sold for $650 in a pet store, but the shelter has her available for $117. Lisa Wahoff, director of the Franklin County Department of Animal Care and Control, has Asher's leash.
Amy Weldele was thrilled to find herself the owner of a genuine designer dog, list price $1,250, for a mere $117. "Friends tell me, 'Wow, you must have spent a lot of money,' " Weldele, of the Northwest Side, said of her Labradoodle.
She just smiles and refers them to her source, the Franklin County Dog Shelter. Designer dogs, now as trendy in some neighborhoods as Volvo station wagons and Coach bags, are being dumped in numbers that have county officials stumped.
"They've become the newest thing, and people think they're going to be perfect," said Lisa Wahoff, director of the Franklin County Department of Animal Care and Control.
"I truly think people believe they won't smell like a dog or act like a dog."
Or chew like a gator, eat like an elephant and jump like a horse.
A designer dog is a cross between two purebred dogs, unlike a mutt, which is of uncertain ancestry.
Poodles are a popular choice because they don't shed; the shelter has seen four of the Labrador retriever-poodle mixes in just the past few weeks. Other popular combos are also typically available for adoption, including "bugs," a Boston terrier-pug mix, and "puggles," which resemble a beagle that ran into a wall face first.
Typically, one-third of the 300 dogs available for adoption are these select mixed breeds or purebred dogs.
Owners come in with tales of woe, American Kennel Club pedigree papers and receipts from pet shops or breeders. Puppies purchased weeks or months ago for $650, $999 or $1,200 - judging from the most recent batch of receipts - didn't work out.
Wahoff is grateful that the owners give the dogs to the shelter, which will make sure they're neutered or spayed and find them a good home.
However, Weldele's Labradoodle, Oscar, was found dumped in Dublin, matted and hungry.
Her husband, Eric, spotted Oscar on the shelter's Web site, www.FranklinCounty-Dogs.com, just before Thanksgiving. They had adopted a golden-doodle, a retrieverpoodle mix, when they married almost two years ago. And Bailey needed a buddy.
"I figured Oscar, being a designer dog, would definitely be gone in a week. I didn't phone until after Christmas," Amy Weldele said. "When I found out he was still available, I thought, 'This must be the worst dog in the world.' "
But after a month of fostering Oscar, the couple is ready to sign adoption papers.
"You couldn't ask for a better family dog," she said.
Wahoff said families could save themselves heartbreak and money by learning about the needs of the breed they're about to buy.
Many of the designer mixes are highly energetic. Others crave company. Amy Weldele takes her dogs running or on at least two long walks every day.
"People get caught up in cute," said Susan M. Smith, the shelter's community relations and education program manager. "They don't really consider the responsibility involved with owning a dog. All of a sudden, they get it home and it doesn't fit into their family life."
The Capital Area Humane Society also has seen an increase in pedigreed and designer dogs, said Jodi Buckman, executive director. "It's contributing to the pet overpopulation as a whole. We want to encourage people to think about adopting first."
While those looking for a designer dog can find one at a bargain, the increase in people dumping them at the dog shelter comes at a price for taxpayers. Each dog costs $32 per day to feed and house.
County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy has adopted three dogs and is bothered by the mind-set that leads to disposable dogs.
"It does cost us to house so many unwanted, wonderful dogs at Franklin County. And every one of them you could call a 'designer dog,' " she said. "It's just that they weren't designed by a dog breeder. They were designed by a dog breeding."
-bcarmen@dispatch.com
February 15, 2007: Paradise Pets--Kentucky--Nicholasville Lexington Herald-Leader http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/16707334.htm
Nicholasville pet store abandoned; owner faces cruelty charges
CENTRAL KENTUCKY BUREAU
NICHOLASVILLE - A Jessamine County woman was in custody Thursday night facing 97 counts of animal cruelty after she allegedly left animals at an abandoned pet store with no heat.
Rodents, fish and a snake were found dead Wednesday at Paradise Pets, 908 South Main Street.
The landlord told officials that Mae Devers, who had leased the poperty, had moved and the electricity had been off for two days, according to a press release. The Jessamine sheriff had begun eviction procedures, city officials said.
Officers found about 20 snakes, 15 iguanas, pet rats and fish at the store, alive but dehydrated and malnourished. One of the iguanas was on the verge of death, animal control supervisor Mike Cassidy said.
At least three rats, one snake and 21 fish were found dead from the lack of heat, Cassidy said. All the surviving animals were placed in the care of a reptile specialist.
Animal cruelty is a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine and up to a year in jail. A total of 97 misdemeanor animal-cruelty charges, including those involving the fish, were pending Thursday night. If Devers is charged with all the counts, it would be the largest animal cruelty case in Jessamine's history, Cassidy said.
January 2007:
New PETA investigation reveals enormous animal suffering at PetsMart. Please visit http://www.peta.org/feat-petsmart.asp for details and info on how you can help. PetsMart deserves praise for allowing rescue groups to adopt out homeless animals at its stores. However, this does NOT give them license to cause suffering and death to the animals it continues to SELL. Please tell PetsMart to STOP SELLING ANIMALS and sell SUPPLIES ONLY. Pet stores that sell supplies only do not have to be boring places. They can still allow people to bring their own animals in the store. They can still offer grooming and boarding. And most importantly, they can invite SHELTERS and RESCUE GROUPS for dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, ferrets, and all other companion animals into their store to find homes for animals who desperately need them!
JANUARY 2007:
Breeder Sue Bergazntz Cole of North Carolina is charged with felony animal cruelty. Article:
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770111089
JANUARY 2007:
PA Begins 'Puppy Mill' Crackdown
Puppy millers named in this article:
Joseph Blank of Long Lane Kennel
CC Pets LLC of Peach Bottom (formerly known as Puppy Love)
Raymond and Joyce Stoltzfus
http://tinyurl.com/yhds8h
JANUARY 2007:
"After the Holidays, Virginia Rabbit Shelter is Really Hopping"
This article, focusing on the state of Virginia, explains how rabbits purchased as gifts for Easter or Christmas often end up abandoned a couple of months later. It also mentions rabbit mills that breed rabbits "in large numbers for sale as pets, food, or sport." It also says, "Last year was a bad one for purebred bunnies in Virginia. The state's handful of domestic rabbit rescue groups are scrambling to accommodate the dramatic increase in animals needing homes. The shelters have only so much space and so many volunteers who can foster them in their homes."
Please adopt a homeless rabbit; don't buy one at Petland or any other pet store!
http://tinyurl.com/yfwync
DECEMBER 2006:
Officials Seize 23 Dogs from Kennel (No URL) By Jon Rutter Lancaster Sunday News December 31, 2006
Twenty-three dogs were confiscated from an Amish kennel in Lancaster County on Dec. 20 after animal control officers found evidence of violations. The kennel at 158 Blank Road, Narvon, is run by Joseph Blank, said Keith Mohler, a veteran humane police officer with Farm Sanctuary of Pennsylvania.
State licensing records list the name of the business as Long Lane Kennel. The state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement and the Humane League of Lancaster County worked together on the investigation, according to Jessie L. Smith, who was hired this past fall as Pennsylvania's first special deputy secretary of dog-law enforcement. "It started out as a routine inspection," according to Smith. Dog wardens reported their findings to the Humane League, which then obtained a search warrant written by Mohler.
"Our humane officer was called in to investigate possible cases of cruelty," said Joan Brown, president and chief executive officer of the league. Smith said Thursday that the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement had consulted with the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office on charges.
An employee at District Justice Isaac Stoltzfus' office in Intercourse said no information about the case had been entered into the computer system as of Friday afternoon. But a source who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the confiscated dogs had been suffering from mange. Brown and Sue West of the state Dog Law Advisory Board confirmed that the dogs have medical problems. Brown said that "Some of them may go to specialized placements" to help them recover.
Deborah Howard, founder of the Companion Animal Protection Society in Cohasset, Mass., said that mange is transmitted by microscopic mites. Overcrowding, lack of veterinary care, unsanitary environments and bad food all increase a dog's susceptibility to mange, said Howard, who has helped expose puppy mills in Lancaster County and elsewhere. Howard added that dogs can lose their fur to both demodectic mange and sarcoptic mange, (scabies), which is contagious and can affect people. Mange can weaken the canine immune system or be a symptom of such weakness. Brown said the enforcement operation shows that the state has gotten serious about cracking down on puppy mills and punishing dog law violators. "I think it is related to Gov. Rendell's commitment to change aspects of the system," she said. "It's very encouraging."
Mohler said the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement helped him prosecute a kennel operator for the first time last March. In that case, he said, Aaron L. Lapp of Quarryville pleaded guilty to three counts of cruelty to animals and agreed to shut down his kennel for three years. People have been seeking a cooperative approach to animal protection for years, Mohler said, and now it's finally happening. The mechanics are "a little bit cumbersome," he added, but "We're proving now that it does work."
In another case last week, it was reported, the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement and the Humane Society of Harrisburg removed 101 animals from the home of a Dauphin County woman who advertised as an animal rescue service. A routine inspection turned up cobwebs, urine and mounds of feces in cages in the woman's home, according to newspaper reports. The Humane Society took in 65 cats, 35 dogs and a pigeon from the unidentified woman. She was to be charged this week, and the animals are being put up for adoption.
In a related matter, Smith said she was planning to meet with the state attorney general to discuss CC Pets LLC of Peach Bottom. The kennel, formerly Puppy Love Kennel, has a long history of violations; the owners consented to additional oversight last year after the attorney general imposed stiff fines and citations. Now, Smith said, "I've gotten several complaints over the holidays that people have bought puppies that have died of parvo. I want to make sure these complaints are coming to the attention of the attorney general."
DECEMBER 2006: New York Times article "Care for a Chihuahua with a Blue Hue?" deals
with the market for new types of purebred dogs in Japan and how this has led to puppy mills and dogs suffering because of genetic defects.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/business/28dogs.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3
NOVEMBER 28, 2006: Channel 2 NY (CBS) aired a news story on the store Pet Paradise.
AUGUST 2006: Today Show video on efforts to rid Pennsylvania of puppy mills
http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=DEBABC42-4BEA-4A7A-B68A-19AFD21CB9A1&f=00&fg=email
AUGUST 2006: A letter to a consumer advocate from a person who purchased a sick puppy from Petland. The puppy had kennel cough, which is EXTREMELY COMMON in Petland puppies, though not in puppies from proper environments. In this public case, Petland agreed to pay for the puppy's emergency visit. Most of the time, they refuse. See the letter at:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/fixer/cst-nws-fixer071.html
************************************
JULY 2006: Gruesome Oklahoma Puppy Mill Closed Down by CW Friday, Jul 14 2006, 1:01am other / animal rights / press release
Story from http://www.ntimc.org/newswire.php?story_id=4394
(The following Press Release comes from a representative of Homeward Bound Humane Society in Durant, OK.)
PRESS RELEASE--OKLAHOMA COUNTY PUPPY MILL CLOSED DOWN-DESCRIBED AS A"HOUSE OF HORRORS"
On July 8, 2006, Safe Haven Humane Society of Midwest City, and Homeward Bound Humane Society of Durant, removed 130 dogs and puppies from an Oklahoma County residence. Owner Betty Foster, in her late 70s, produced puppies at the location for over 30 years.
Small breeds of dogs and their puppies were removed from filthy conditions; water was black, most of the food was moldy, and over 40 carcasses were found in bags on the property. A freshly dead puppy was being consumed by a rat.
"Puppy mills" are a dirty secret throughout Oklahoma, and a secret that is growing. As this filthy industry is regulated in other states, they are expanding here. Few people know where their pet store dog came from and fewer know where their stolen pet may wind up. Puppy mills are a mountain of shame. When dogs no longer, 'produce a crop,' they are discarded in the growing number of dog auctions, or worse. While the dogs were being removed on Saturday, according to Foster's granddaughter's comments, she herself performed caesarian deliveries by, in her own words, "splitting them open."
Dogs with their midlines sutured together with fishing line were removed from the property. One gray Poodle that had been "split open" was found in the trashcan with her intestines out. The birthing area had rolls of fishing line strewn on the floor. Foster had earlier tried to get rescue leagues to take senior dogs that no longer produced puppies, but on Saturday the dogs she tried to release earlier were gone; rat poison was photographed in many bowls.
The horrors continued: Upon returning to Durant with the dogs, Homeward Bound Shelter Manager Stacy George started the task of cleaning and bathing the dogs. She removed scores of ticks from the area around the eyes of one small Lhasa Apso, however, instead of getting a happy glance, the young dog's eyes were gone. Some dogs have large tumors on their midlines. A terrier had a dead mouse entwined in its fur.
Some will have to have surgery from being "split open," in butcher style caesarian surgeries.
Many of the dogs removed from Foster's residence wear tags from recently being sold through auctions; some may be stolen pets. A lack of serious regulation of dog auctions permits stolen pets to go right into the "puppy mill" industry. It is time for Oklahomans to put our foot down on the misery. We demand changes in Oklahoma laws to include dog dealer regulations. Owners of missing or stolen pets with positive identification including photos are encouraged to call: 580-924-5873, 918-367-0111, or 918-367-8999.
JULY 2006
"Video Intensifies Puppy Mill Issue" by John Grogan, Philadelphia Enquirer. Undercover videos show Pennsylvania puppy mills that passed USDA inspections but are still terrible places for dogs to spend their lives.
http://tinyurl.com/jny3b or
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/chester_county/15033904.htm
JUNE 2006
Puppy e-Mills Churn Out Sick Dogs, Big Profits Pet Stores Taking a Back Seat to the Web in Animal Cruelty By Joseph S. Enoch ConsumerAffairs.Com June 26, 2006
Reprinted with permission
Copyright © 2003-2005 ConsumerAffairs.Com Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Like almost every product, a brand-new puppy is now just an Internet connection, credit card and a click away.
However, a dog is not a "product" and professionals agree that buying a dog online is irresponsible, dangerous and contributes to the problem known as, "puppy mills."
Puppy mills are breeders who produce mass litters of puppies, often in filthy and abusive conditions. The mass production and, often, incest yields disease and a host of other genetic health concerns. Smaller puppy mills are not as easily defined. "Backyard breeders" can be reputable and humane, though many are not. Either way, the greedy practice of churning out puppies as though they were inanimate objects is detrimental to the purity of the breeds, to the mother dog, who is forced to bear litters over and over again and to the new owners, who often within weeks of a purchase have a dead dog.
Pet stores have typically been the most notorious venders of puppy mill puppies. However, to increase profits, puppy mills have turned to the Internet to hasten sales to unscrupulous buyers.
Many people who have paid these charges have found that the dog is sick on arrival or does not portray the normal characteristics of the breed. Frequently the dogs arrive with an often-deadly intestinal disease known as Parvo, a highly contagious disease that spreads rapidly in the cramped and dirty quarters of pet stores and kennels.
"I was sent a very sick Blenheim puppy," wrote Anne of Rye Brook, N.Y. "Two days after I received him, he was vomiting blood and blood (was) in his stool. I rushed him to the emergency vet and was told he was extremely sick with Parvo. The doctor and my vet said he was definitely sick before he was sent to me."
Guarantee or not, consumers will usually be hard pressed to get any sort of a refund from a backyard breeder, hundreds or thousands of miles across the country, even if they ship the dead or dying dog back.
"I immediately called the breeders hysterical and told them how sick he was," Anne continued. "Their response was to send him back and (they would) give me a new puppy. The puppy would have never been able to survive the plane ride and my son and I were completely attached to him anyway. He was hospitalized for over a week with IVs. He was very sick and I asked the breeder to reimburse me for the price of the puppy. They declined and refused to answer my phone calls or e-mails. My vet bills came to over $2000."
"The fact that you don't know who you're dealing with, you can't see the (puppy's) environment, you don't know the puppy's parents, makes buying a dog online dangerous," said Daisy Okas, American Kennel Club (AKC) spokeswoman.
Kenna Hoyser, an AKC-certified breeder of Norwegian Elkhounds for 27 years, decried the growing crisis of online puppy mills.
Quick and Easy
"The creation of an attractive web page with cute pictures of puppies is easy and inexpensive," Hoyser wrote in an e-mail to ConsumerAffairs.Com. "The use of the Internet to shop, get information and all other kinds of contact is growing exponentially." "The majority of these 'Puppy Mill Pages' will tell you virtually nothing about what you should know about the background of the puppy you will probably pay a lot for and will have responsibility for for many years. Sometimes they will not even tell you where they are located. But they will give you their E-mail address and from there it takes very little to acquire a puppy. Basically cash," she said.
"Within most breeds dedicated fans work hard to place dogs that have, for one reason or another, lost their home," Hoyser continued. "That is called 'Rescue.' Recently those of us involved in the rescue of the Norwegian Elkhounds have seen an alarming trend. An Elkhound needing rescue used to be rare and more often than not we were able to locate its responsible breeder and by their code of ethics they would take the dog back. Now we are seeing an increase in rescue Elkhounds that we know, without a doubt, have come from the Internet puppy mills."
Okas suggests only buying dogs that have official AKC registration papers, including the official seal and the words, "American Kennel Club" and health records. The AKC does thousands of DNA tests and kennel visits each year. There are about 20 companies, similar to the AKC, that have strikingly similar names and logos. Okas said the AKC has the strictest regulations for puppy breeding.
A Guarantee of What?
However, be forewarned: "papers" and "guarantees" do not mean much for the welfare of the dogs. Many states now have strict puppy lemon laws but, in most cases, these will not apply to dogs purchased over the Internet from a breeder in another state.
Federal protections are also meaningless. Animals that were bred under USDA guidelines might have been caged like prisoners. According to USDA standards, a dog can spend the duration of its life in a cage that is just a few inches larger than the dog.
An AKC-registered puppy guarantees almost nothing other than the breed of the dog and some feel the AKC contributes to puppy mills. "AKC registration really means nothing," said Laura Johnson, director of the Beagle Rescue, Education, and Welfare (BREW).
Although the AKC has the strictest guidelines in America, Johnson said they're still flimsy. They simply insure the pedigree, or verify that the dog is purebred. There are no health or breeding practice guarantees. Although the AKC has 15 kennel inspectors, they only visit breeders who register seven or more litters per year -- basically exempting backyard breeders.
Johnson pointed out that at about $15 per dog, the AKC makes a lot of money from breeders -- including those some would consider puppy mills -- who register with the AKC.
Petland pet stores are notorious for among animal rights activists, who can often be found picketing local stores. There are about 10 tragic Petland puppy stories in the ConsumerAffairs.Com database.
We recently visited the Fairfax, Va. Petland store. "Take me home today!" read signs pasted to the cramped, looking-glass cages. Most of the puppies were spry but one foot-and-a-half-long German Shephard lay shaking on the floor of its cage.
Judith Lee, an 18-year-old Petland employee said anyone with enough money can take a dog home.
Okas said the AKC does not recommend buying dogs from pet shops. However, almost all of the dogs at Petland were AKC registered.
Dogs Online
As far as the online puppy sites go, it's a similar story.
PuppyFind.com, a website that appears to be the Ebay of dog sales, might be termed the Big Dog of online puppy sales. For every breed and mixed breed there are hundreds, sometimes thousands, of puppies for sale. Almost all say they are registered with AKC.
PuppyFind.Com did not respond to requests for comment.
Although there are plenty of success stories and happy customers who have purchased dogs online, usually at a greatly discounted price, almost all professionals agree that buying a dog online is irresponsible and contributes to puppy mills of various forms.
"People think they're helping the puppy by rescuing it from reckless breeders," Johnson said. "But what they are really doing is perpetuating the female (mother) to a life of hell and torment."
Johnson, Hoyser and Okas all suggest that if a person wants a purebred puppy, they should buy one from a responsible, hobby breeder who is looking for a good home for the puppy rather than a quick dollar.
A good breeder will ensure a dog's future home is safe and caring before accepting cash and mailing the dog off to an unknown address. "If you're buying it the same way you're buying a toaster, I'd steer clear," Okas said. Jeff Klagner sells about 15 puppies per year on PuppyFind.com. "I talk to the customer before shipping the dog. (I) make sure they have a yard and what not," Klagner said. "It's kinda hard to verify though."
A future dog owner should browse theAKC website and should read the AKC's "How to find a responsible breeder" and "What puppy buyers need to know." Someone seeking a particular pure-bred dog can browse the AKC's list of 154 breeder referral contacts.
Buying a puppy from a caring breeder can be costly. However, according to the AKC website, "This is not the time to hunt for a bargain. Your new puppy will be a member of your family for his lifetime, so you'll want to make a wise investment."
A less costly purebred option for future dog owners is breed rescue groups. Beagles from BREW cost $200, have all their shots and have been well cared for, Johnson said.
However, any good rescue organization is not just looking for a place to dump its homeless dogs. Johnson said BREW has a 30-40 percent denial rate: "We don't provide the family with a safety net," she said. "We provide the Beagle with one."
The same is true for humane shelters. Although specific application requirements vary from shelter to shelter, Jim Monsma, spokesman for the Washington (D.C.) Humane Society said they do house visits and background checks on hopeful dog adopters.
Like rescues, Monsma said shelters make great pet options from an ethical standpoint: "These dogs need homes," he said.
Adopting a dog from many shelters often means saving an animal's life. Although the DC shelter does not have to euthanize animals for space reasons, many rural shelters, such as the Danville Area Humane Society (DAHS) in Virginia, are faced with that dilemma.
The DAHS takes in about 5,500 cats and dogs per year of which about 85 percent are euthanized, DAHS executive director Paulette Dean said. "I find it appalling that breeders are breeding all these designer dogs while we're putting to sleep all those same types of dogs of all ages," Dean said.
A dog from the Danville shelter costs $65, is spayed and neutered, has a whole host of medical treatments and is tested for temperament. "We lose money on each adoption," Dean said.
Most of the dogs on PuppyFind.com cost about a minimum of $500 and many are over $2000, not including the often exorbitant cost of shipping. "Before deciding to get a dog, do your homework," Hoyser wrote.
********************************************************
May 2006 news story on puppy mills. Check out the video at: http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/9161328/detail.html
MARCH 2006
The following letter was published in the West County Chronicle:
http://www.chroniclenewspapers.com/articles/2006/03/15/west_county/viewpoints/view08.txt Reader's Viewpoint--Petland Update
On Tuesday, February 21, 2006, the Petland pet store in Pickett Shopping Center pleaded GUILTY to 3 counts of failure to provide adequate shelter for puppies. They received the maximum fine of $250 per count (Class 4 misdemeanor), for a total of $750.
Animals get painful sores on their feet and bodies when forced to spend most of their time on wire-floored cages. Virginia law requires that a dog confined to this type of cage must be provided with a solid resting platform large enough to lie on comfortably. Although they could have corrected this violation within minutes, Petland repeatedly violated this law over the course of two YEARS, despite complaints from citizens, numerous warnings from Animal Control, and having pleaded guilty to this same charge in June of 2005. At that time, they were let off without a fine on condition that there were no further violations for one year. Even this ruling was not taken seriously by Petland management, who put platforms in when the public could see them but removed them when the store was closed. This was discovered one day in October of 2005 when a Petland employee accidentally set off the store alarm before business hours on a Sunday morning. An officer responding to the call found that 42 puppies had no resting platforms in their cages. Why did Petland continue to break this simple law? They did not want to bother cleaning the platforms.
In a recent article in the Chronicle, Petland manager Kareem Koshok proclaims, "I don't sell sick animals." Two customers are right now struggling to cope with their Fairfax City Petland puppies' LIFE-THREATENING physical and behavioral issues. The sores one puppy had from the hard Petland cage floors were the LEAST of her problems.
Koshok also claims not to get puppies from puppy mills, although USDA records reveal that a puppy recently purchased at the Fairfax Petland came from a facility that had nearly 400 dogs.
FEBRUARY 2006
http://www.nbc6.net/nbc6investigates/index.html
Did it get seriously ill, even die? An NBC 6 hidden camera investigation will trace the trail of tears from angry pet owners in South Florida and around the country who thought they were getting healthy dogs, but ended up at veterinarian offices and animal hospitals. NBC 6 also goes undercover to track down where some of those dogs are coming from -- places the public rarely sees. Keep checking NBC6.net for updates on this exclusive series and watch our special investigation starting Tuesday Feb. 7 at 11 p.m. only on NBC 6. If you have more comments on this subject, e-mail us at pets@nbc6.net.
NBC6 in Florida has just completed this terrific 6-part story on Wizard of Claws, a store that sells puppies born in cruel Midwestern puppy mills. The issues are EXTREMELY similar to those at Petland and many other pet stores. The stores even use the same puppy broker, Hunte Corp. You can read the stories or view the videos at http://www.nbc6.net/news/6824599/detail.html. PLEASE tell the NBC folks how much you appreciated their story by e-mailing them at pets@nbc6.net!
Sunday, Dec. 04, 2005 TIME MAGAZINE
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1137662,00.html
Curbing the Puppy Trade
Dog lovers are divided over new efforts to ensure that all breeders treat their pooches humanely
By ANITA HAMILTON
With its narrow, winding roads dotted with horse-drawn buggies and signs for homemade quilts, candles, jams and jellies, Pennsylvania's Amish country in Lancaster County attracts millions of tourists each year. But giant billboards along a main highway call attention to a less appealing local industry. "WELCOME TO LANCASTER ... HOME TO 100'S OF PUPPY MILLS," reads one sign. It was paid for by Last Chance for Animals, a national animal-advocacy organization that opposes commercial breeding facilities where hundreds of puppies are raised in cramped metal cages without proper food, veterinary care and often even fresh air.
Activists estimate that 200,000 puppies are bred and sold each year in Lancaster County. The public's fascination with new designer dogs like the puggle (a cross between a pug and beagle) as well as the ease of buying a dog on websites like nextdaypets.com has only increased demand. And with that has come a backlash, especially in states like Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri, where there is a high concentration of breeders. There, and even at the national level, a movement is under way to ensure that the U.S.'s most popular house pets, many of which are purchased during the holiday season, are raised in humane conditions. "No pet store will tell you that its puppies come from a puppy mill," says Ed Sayres, president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, "but these animals are commercially exploited to generate the highest amount of profit at the lowest possible cost."
The exact number of puppy mills is not known, since offenders often fail to register their operations with the government, as required by law. But hundreds of violations are reported each year. The horrific conditions found in some mills can cause health and behavioral defects ranging from genetic problems caused by overbreeding, such as hip dysplasia, to overaggressive play. "In order for a dog to be a normal dog, it needs to stay with its mother and littermates for a good eight to 10 weeks," says Carol Araneo-Mayer, co-founder of Adopt-A-Pet, a rescue group in Freehold, N.J. She says many puppies are separated and even sold long before they learn how to play with other animals and not to be afraid of people. Also, health problems can pile up. In May, Lancaster County residents Raymond and Joyce Stoltzfus agreed to pay some $50,000 to reimburse 171 customers who claimed the puppies they bought from the couple suffered from pneumonia, heart defects and kidney failure.
Animal-rights advocates contend that commercially bred dogs can be spared much of their misery with just the most basic improvements. "Do they have to be confined to cages 24 hours a day, bred with no limit on the number of litters and no required socialization with other dogs or with humans?" asks Josette Aramini, cofounder of the new United Against Puppy Mills group in Lancaster. The organization has worked to shutter large-scale breeders by petitioning local zoning boards to deny them permits. But breeders say such efforts unfairly tarnish those who do treat their dogs well. Ken Brandt, a lobbyist for the Pennsylvania Professional Pet Breeders Association, complains that the activists won't be satisfied until all large breeders are shut down. "If we built the biggest kennel in the world, with carpet on the floor and a fireplace for the dogs, animal-rights people would say, 'Can't you make it bigger?'"
Such arguments don't persuade U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. Santorum, who has a German shepherd named Schatzie, has long advocated stricter animal-care laws, which regulate the basic food, shelter and air quality that wholesalers must provide for animals. He says his state's dubious distinction as the "Puppy-Mill Capital of the East" is part of what motivates him to press for change. In May, he introduced the federal Pet Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS), which would require anyone who sells more than 25 dogs a year to comply with the same inspections as large-scale wholesalers, who are regulated by the Animal Welfare Act. Inspectors measure the size of kennels or cages and make sure the living conditions are safe, clean and climate-controlled. Under PAWS, violators could face suspensions for as much as 60 days instead of the current 21-day maximum.
Even though Santorum has widespread support for PAWS among groups like the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Humane Society, there is a rift in the vast community of dog fanciers. Some believe that even midsize dog-breeding operations need regulation, and others are worried that those breeders, who pride themselves on the quality of the dogs they raise, often in their homes, would be put out of business.
That division over PAWS is especially obvious inside the American Kennel Club (A.K.C.), which registers nearly a million purebred dogs each year. The organization officially supports the bill, but many of its member clubs do not. Sam McDonald, an A.K.C. member in Chester Springs, Pa., says he thinks the legislation is fair because "if someone has more than 25 dogs, then there needs to be someone checking out what is going on."
But Margaret Crothers, an A.K.C. member in neighboring Lancaster, who raises Labrador retrievers, says the extra paperwork and inspections would be a nuisance for the "good breeders who are very conscientious." She argues that existing puppy lemon laws in 17 states, which require sellers to refund buyers of diseased dogs, along with local anticruelty statutes, provide enough protection.
Of course, there is another way to scale down puppy mills: cut back on the demand for the dogs grown in them. Adopting dogs from local shelters--a quarter of which are purebreds--would save some of the estimated 3 million dogs that are euthanized each year, and could result in a happy outcome for all involved.
BUYER BEWARE Here's how to make sure that your new puppy is happy and healthy
> SHOP AT A SHELTER Local shelters frequently have purebred dogs, like this rescued miniature pinscher, left, and ensure that all animals have had their shots and were checked by a veterinarian.
> DON'T BUY ONLINE It's smart to research the type of dog you want on the Web (at a site like akc.org) But to guarantee that you're getting the pet you expect, always visit the seller directly.
> CHECK THE PEDIGREE Since temperament can be inherited, ask to meet your puppy's mother and father to see what they are like. A good breeder will guarantee your purchase for life.
*****
November 2005 The following pet store/puppy mill expose aired on CBS stations in the Northeast on November 29, 2005. You can view the video at: http://wcbstv.com/seenat11/local_story_332232251.html
Please thank them for the story by scrolling down on the left side of the page to "Contact us."
Puppy Mill Abuse: Breeding For Bucks Puppies Brought Up In Deplorable Conditions
Tamsen Fadal Reporting (CBS) NEW YORK You may be asking, 'how much is that doggy in the window?' But what you should be asking is, 'where did that adorable puppy come from?'
"Can we ask you a couple of questions about the dogs?" Tamsen Fadal asked. But like so many breeders in bucolic Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Joyce Stoltzfus, the owner of CC Pets had nothing to say.
Denise Branyan had plenty to say. She paid $795 to CC Pets for her Maltese, Snuggles. Six days later she was forced to return the puppy. A vet told her he was too sick to treat. "He had the worst bacterial infection she had ever seen in puppy," Denise told us. Amish Country, Pennsylvania... where amidst the horses and buggies there are countless puppy mills mass-producing more than 200,000 dogs a year. Video, shot undercover by animal rights activists, shows dogs that appear lethargic.
Experts say they never leave their cramped cages and they're often surrounded by unsanitary conditions or left outdoors year round. And the result of constant breeding? According to humane organizations, genetic defects, disease and death often occur. Activists say one dog's foot was bitten off by another dog in the adjacent cage.
Max and Daisy died six days apart. Irene Traynor purchased them from the local pet store. Her dogs came from two different breeders in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Max had a genetic defect. He came from a kennel that had been cited by inspectors in the past.
Reports show they found "a dead dog in one pen," sewage problems, dogs in need of veterinary care and broken cages used to house puppies.
Nevertheless, this kennel received a satisfactory rating from the Department of Agriculture, which inspects them. Her other dog, Daisy had a deadly intestinal virus and was deemed "unfit for purchase."
"I just saw her die in front of my eyes. I can't even imagine this happening to anybody," Traynor said. The owner of that pet store, Jessica Schultz, freely admits she uses many Lancaster County puppy mills to stock her stores. "Not just me, not just me, any pet store that has, you know, that sells puppies and even private breeders, but they are not all bad, they're not all bad," Schultz said.
Lancaster County, in particular, has the largest concentration of wholesale breeders in the country. In a place where farming was once a booming business, many in Amish country are selling puppies to make money.
Barbara Showalter spent years documenting deplorable conditions at lucrative Lancaster County puppy mills that crank out designer dogs. You pay hundreds of dollars for them, but your local pet store usually buys them at a fraction of the cost.
"Everyone needs to know that cute little puppy in the pet store actually originates from out on the farm in very poor conditions," Showalter told us. Conditions that even alarmed the Pennsylvania Attorney General at the location where Denise Branyan bought her Maltese.
Earlier this year, the breeder was charged thousands in fines for selling sick and diseased dogs. "We have taken very aggressive action against them," Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett said. But the industry is largely unregulated, making it easy for unlicensed or bad breeders to sell across state lines to pet store here in New York. Even licensed breeders often only get a slap on wrist. "It makes me sick," Branyan said. "These people can sell these dogs and get away with it and nothing's done."
The ASPCA is warning people not to go to the pet store for a puppy to put under the Christmas tree. Showalter agrees, saying it feeds the vicious cycle.
"While he may look cute or she may look cute the parents that had to breed for her to be produced to put in that pet store are suffering," Showalter says.
So what are your options if you are looking for a puppy? The ASPCA has developed a guide for consumers on how to buy from a responsible breeder. You can also adopt from a number of groups rescuing dogs from this area.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Related Links
NJ Consumers Against Pet Shop Abuse
ASPCA United Against Puppy Mills
Prisoners Of Greed
Ban Puppy Mills
American Kennel Club
************************************************
Fall 2005
SPCA of Northern Virginia Newsletter
www.spcanova.org
What Do You Know About that Doggie in the Window?
Most pet stores in Northern Virginia don't sell puppies. In order to avoid contributing to the nation's homeless animal crisis, they invite rescue groups into their store to adopt out animals.
But some pet stores exploit not only dogs, but people who love them. These pet stores sell puppies that come from puppy mills.
Puppy mills breed dogs solely for profit. In a typical puppy mill, adult dogs are confined to cramped cages for their entire lives. They are given the cheapest food available, they live in filth, their injuries and diseases go untreated, and after being bred over and over until their bodies wear out, they are killed. They receive no love and have no hope. Their minds and bodies are destroyed by human greed.
A veterinarian who examined dogs rescued from puppy mills wrote, "They never wagged their tails, perked their ears, acknowledged a whistle or call, showed any interest in treats, people or other pets or their praise. They were more than stoic, they were by every definition of the word catatonic; they did not respond to external stimuli. They were broken souls, defeated dogs who had absolutely no spirit left whatsoever."
Most puppy mills are located in the Midwest--Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and especially Missouri. Pennsylvania also has many puppy mills. These breeders sell puppies to a large company called a broker, which trucks the very young, terrified puppies to pet stores around the country. When you see young purebred puppies for sale in a pet store, it is very likely that those are puppy mill puppies, particularly if the store has a large selection of puppies at any given time.
The USDA inspects licensed breeders, but it very rarely enforces its regulations, so a USDA license does not mean that the facility is clean and humane. Here are just a few of the violations the USDA found in facilities whose puppies were recently sold in pet stores in the Washington, D.C. area:
--A breeder did a Caesarean section on a Chihuahua with no anesthesia, no painkiller, and no veterinary training. The dog later had to be euthanized.
--At one facility, a Sheltie and an Eskimo were in cages that had only 3-4 inches of headroom. At another, the dogs had only 2 inches of headroom. At a third, a nursing mother also had less than 6 inches of headroom, the USDA minimum.
--At three facilities, dogs had no bedding and no way to keep warm. The temperature: 45 degrees, below freezing, and 18 degrees, respectively.
--Many facilities, including one that housed 347 dogs, contained an excessive buildup of feces.
--Some dogs were kept in darkness round the clock.
--Some dogs were confined to areas half the size required by the USDA.
--Broken, rusty wires protruded into the cages of many dogs.
--Dogs were fed from dirty food bins and dirty automatic waterers.
--Several facilities, including those housing between 100 and 200 dogs, had not been visited by a vet in over a year. One had not been visited by a vet in over 4 years.
--One facility had 1,086 dogs. The breeder's website shows a staff of 6. If these employees worked 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, they would be spending 2.7 minutes on each dog per day.
Because dogs in puppy mills are bred regardless of genetic defects, pet store puppies often develop severe hereditary problems, such as hip dysplasia. The dirty, cramped conditions of puppy mills, plus the foul air on the truck journey to the store, make the puppies highly susceptible to kennel cough, pneumonia, and other diseases. Behavioral problems, such as extreme fearfulness that makes training difficult or impossible, are also common. Although customers are often under the impression that AKC-registered puppies must be healthy, AKC papers have nothing to do with the health of the puppy or his parents. They only mean that according to the breeder, the parents were of the same breed.
The fact that they obtain these puppies from the worst possible conditions doesn't stop pet stores from charging outrageous prices for them. People who buy sickly pet store puppies end up paying thousands of dollars in vet bills within a matter of days. The store will usually let them return a puppy and get their money back within two weeks, but most customers opt to save their puppy's life rather than return him or her to the pet store, which they now realize would let their puppy die. Taking advantage of these compassionate customers is how pet stores get away with selling sick puppies.
If you would like to rescue a pet store puppy, visit your local shelter--many end up there. But please don't buy those sad puppies at the pet store. Every time someone "rescues" a pet store puppy by purchasing him, the store profits, another puppy is immediately shipped to take his place, and his parents continue to suffer in a puppy mill. You can help fight puppy mills by telling others about them and by shopping at stores that don't sell puppies.
In addition, you can write to your U.S. Senator or Representative and urge him or her to support the Pet Animal Welfare Statue (PAWS) of 2005. PAWS amends the Animal Welfare Act to strengthen the ability of the Secretary of Agriculture to regulate the pet industry. This bill is supported by both the A.S.P.C.A. and the Humane Society of the United States. To find your legislators' names and contact information, visit http://www.house.gov for your Representative, and http://www.senate.gov for your Senators. Urge them to support H.R. 2669 and S. 1139; puppies' lives may depend on it.
For more information, please visit www.petstorecruelty.org.
****
August 17, 2005 Milwaukee County Briefs
More pet owners claim store sold sick puppies
South Milwaukee
The city's Health Department continued Wednesday to log complaints from people who alleged they had purchased sick puppies from a local pet store, including six people who reported the deaths of pets from illness. "It's just unbelievable," said public health administrator Jacqueline Ove. "I've been here seven years. I haven't had anything like this before."
Puppy Heaven owner Lina Koch said she is working to comply with orders issued last week by the Health Department that addressed cleaning the store and a 14-day quarantine on pets there. The city allowed the retail portion of the store to remain open, but that was temporarily closed by the owner. Koch said customers with questions may leave messages on the store's answering machine. The department has given Koch until Aug. 31 to turn over store records.
Ove said her department is attempting to determine where the puppies originated so that authorities in other states can be alerted, if necessary. To date, people have alleged they purchased 52 sick puppies from the store.
****
July 28, 2005 Longmont, Colorado, The Daily Times Call. Petland becomes ghost town
By Ben Ready
Pet lovers cried no tears Wednesday at the personal property auction of the now-defunct Longmont Petland. "Selling puppies just aids the puppy mills," Jane Komperda said of the five purebred puppies the store at 800 S. Hover St. had for sale at any given time. Komperda, who works at Petsmart across the street and helps her mother, Cindy, show dogs professionally, came away from the auction with 30 Fido Fleece dog coats and two pet scales for $80. The items at retail would sell for around $2,000, she said. The Komperdas also volunteered to transport pet products that didn't sell at the auction to the Longmont Humane Society. "You go down to the store and pick up a quart of milk. You don't go down to the store to pick up a kitten," said Michael Helmstetter, development director of the Longmont Humane Society. (We) encourage people not to look at pets as commodities."
Nonprofit shelters like the Humane Society and Every Creature Counts, which regularly has one dog up for adoption at Petsmart, conduct lengthy interviews with potential owners to make sure "humans and their companion animals are truly a good match," Helmstetter said. A true animal lover, he said, wouldn't match a border collie - a high-energy dog - with an apartment dweller. A Rottweiler couldn't be adopted by a family with kids younger than 12. "You're not going to get that vetting process at a pet store," Helmstetter said.
Thomas and Bobbi Lopeman of Berthoud, who owned the Longmont Petland franchise, filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy May 23 and returned all of Petland's animals to distributors. On June 22, once they realized the Lopemans had abandoned the still-stocked building, the Boulder County Treasurer's Office seized the business for $2,490.13 in unpaid personal property taxes. According to Holly Costa of the treasurer's office, proceeds from the auction, from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, totaled $3,308.93. Sales from items such as shelving, aquariums and pet food helped the county recover the delinquent 2004-05 Petland taxes and then some.
"What we took in above that will go to the city of Longmont because (Petland) also owed $6,779.33 in sales tax," Costa said. For the first time, instead of hiring an auction company, the treasurer's office ran an auction itself. Alycia Allshouse, who is a deputy of the treasurer's office, said taking the role of auctioneer was an experience she's proud of. She and Costa spent three days cleaning, clustering and labeling lots in preparation for the event. "I think this was a good idea," she said. Had the county hired a professional auctioneer for $3,900, it would have lost money. And had the county not seized the building, said Costa, "... a secured creditor may have come in themselves to auction (Petland's items) and satisfy their debt."
The Lopemans' son, Thomas Jr., who had worked at the Petland since its opening six years ago, said the opening of Petsmart hurt Longmont Petland's business. "When Petsmart came in three years ago, business immediately went down 35 percent," he said. "But now that there's no business, there's no stress. (My parents) are much happier." Happy, too, were the 17 local pet owners who walked out the door Wednesday with grocery carts full of bargain-rate products. The treasurer's office recouped the unpaid property taxes while expanding its repertoire of functions.
And with reduced competition from $700 purebreds, 230 animals at the Humane Society might have a better chance of finding a happy home in Longmont.
Ben Ready can be reached at 303-684-5336 or bready@times-call.com.
****
June 8, 2005 WOOF & CO., Saugus and Braintree, Massachusetts--CLOSED!
Woof stores go poof: Turn tail after Herald report By Thomas Caywood Boston Herald
[NOTE from petstorecruelty.org: WOOF & CO. OBTAINED ITS PUPPIES FROM THE HUNTE CORP., THE SAME COMPANY THAT SUPPLIES PETLAND.]
Embattled mall pet store chain Woof & Co. turned tail and quietly slinked out of Massachusetts last week, six months after a Herald special report spotlighted serious problems with the way the chain handled its high-priced pooches.
"We kept picketing, but, finally, we think the Herald articles put it over the top,'' said thrilled Jamaica Plain animal rights activist Mary Felthouse-Weber. The Herald reported in December that Woof & Co. piled up 19 complaints and 27 violations of state pet store regulation in less than two years at its stores in the Square One Mall in Saugus and South Shore Plaza in Braintree. An outbreak of the contagious intestinal parasite giardia at both stores a year ago prompted town health officials to intervene to protect the public.
Saugus health agent Sharon McCabe ordered employees at the Square One Mall store to get tested for giardia after the outbreak there. Employee-turned-whistleblower Sara Purcell, who told the Herald the New Jersey chain routinely offered sick dogs for sale, yesterday said she was relieved to see Woof & Co. leave. "It's a big thing. I didn't think they were going to close down this quick,'' she said. "I figured they would have fought more. But every time I've gone by there (since the Herald series) it seemed like there were less and less people in the store.''
The manager of the Square One Mall said the company broke its lease and closed up shop at both Massachusetts stores last Tuesday night. Calls to the chain's New Jersey offices weren't returned yesterday, and both local numbers have been disconnected. Helen Rayshick and other members of the Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition picketed both Woof & Co. stores several times to protest the company's treatment of its pups.
"Thank goodness this company won't be able to do this in Massachusetts any more,'' she said. The chain, which is incorporated under the name Rufus Inc., pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges and got slapped with a $9,800 fine in New Jersey last month for allegedly allowing a sick Shar Pei puppy to languish in the back of a store for 21 days without treatment.
Inspectors also said they found dead puppies on ice in the store refrigerator.
****
April 14, 2005
The Sanford Herald, Sanford,
North Carolina Dogs removed [Herald Photo - Tim Preston Dr. Kechia Davis (right) holds a small dog while veterinary students Kelly Smith and Natalie Rhubin, all from the N.C. State University College of Veterinary Medicine, examine and document the animals Wednesday morning.]
Volunteers, students and veterinarians teamed up to clean and care for an estimated 184 dogs, which were forfeited to representatives of the Animal Legal Defense Fund from the property of Robert and Barbara Woodley.
By TIM PRESTON
SANFORD - An old building in downtown Sanford became a beehive of activity Wednesday, as a team of veterinarians, volunteers and attorneys cleaned, documented, examined and treated nearly 200 dogs taken from the Sanford property of Robert and Barbara Woodley. Local animal control officers were joined by their counterparts from nearby counties, as well as veterinarians and law enforcement officers early Wednesday, to remove all animals from the Woodleys' control.
While some of the dogs appeared to be enjoying the sudden abundance of human companionship, others seemed to be in immediate need of veterinary care. Regardless of appearance or condition, each of the dogs received a loving welcome from their new caretakers. Arriving in large and small batches, each dog was cleaned, assigned an identification number and photographed before being carried to awaiting tables, where veterinarians and veterinary students, many only weeks away from graduation, assessed their physical condition and made recommendations for treatment. Some of the dogs' problems could be treated on site, while others required more specialized procedures or circumstances.
Dr. Kelli Ferris noted the condition of a Pekinese with only one eye. "The surface of this dog's eye ruptured and was never treated. It will need surgery to remove the remaining part," the veterinarian said, explaining the ruptured eye was the result of a condition which began on the surface of the eye. The little dog's remaining eye will also need treatment, Ferris said, as a volunteer held another one-eyed dog beneath a heavy sweatshirt. "This is very treatable. This little dog will have surgery and never look back," she said, noting the dog will likely be sent to a veterinary specialist in Raleigh. The veterinarian said most of the medical conditions she saw early Wednesday, "could have been prevented through really basic husbandry for these animals."
Animal Legal Defense Fund Senior Attorney Dana Campbell said people have been working on the Woodley case since Thanksgiving. "This is actually a quick result," Campbell said, explaining many similar legal cases have been subject to repeated delays. "Four months is probably a record for something like this."
Volunteer coordinator Heather Quinn said 30 individuals signed up to work alongside the veterinary teams Wednesday, and hopes to find more people to help out in the weeks ahead. Quinn said "any animal lover" is likely qualified to lend a hand. "We will take any time they have to offer. Even if they have only one hour to give, we have something for them to do," she said.
Volunteer Kelly Wright expressed her appreciation to property owners Vann Groce, Charles Atkins and Clyde Atkins, who provided the vacant space where many of the dogs will remain until the court case is resolved. "They have been great to work with and have let us do anything we needed to make the space work," Wright said. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer, or contributing equipment and supplies to the rescue effort, is encouraged to visit www.adoreyourpets.org/rescue, www.aldf.org, or call 718-0002 after noon today.
The Woodleys, whose collection of dogs was once estimated between 400 and 500, were recently convicted of criminal animal cruelty charges, and lost a civil case filed against them by attorneys for the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF). The criminal charges have been appealed and the case will be considered by a jury in Lee Superior Court at an undetermined date.
ALDF agents and volunteers have been ordered to care for the dogs during the appeals process, and are not allowed to euthanize or find homes for any of the dogs until the Woodleys have exhausted the appeals process. Contact Tim Preston by e-mail at tim@sanfordherald.com or call 718-1219.
****
4 related articles.
1) March 4, 2004 Pet store workers are charged
By Jeremy Craig | Staff Writer
An investigation into mistreatment of animals at an Augusta Mall pet store has resulted in citations against several of the store's employees, officials said Thursday. Randy Teasley, the director of Augusta Animal Services, said his department has issued citations for misdemeanor charges of cruelty to animals against three employees of the former Petland store.
Mr. Teasley refused to disclose the names of the individuals cited. Names of people charged with a crime are public records under Georgia's Open Records Act. He said that he did not want to jeopardize the investigation, and that he was told by a clerk at Richmond County Magistrate Court, whom he didn't name, that it was against the law for him to release the names. Magistrate Court Judge William D. Jennings III said citations filed with the court are a matter of public record. "What he (Mr. Teasley) does with paperwork in his own department is up to him or not," he said.
The charges are a result of an investigation launched after a former employee reported animal abuse to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office on Feb. 28. Sarah Milroy reported that a store manager had taken some of the animals to a veterinarian but had not been giving them the prescribed medications.
She also told police that an employee put a dog suffering from seizures in a plastic bag and beat the animal against concrete until the dog died, a police report states. It is not known whether the three workers charged are still employed at the store.
Ms. Milroy's report started a process that now has the former Petland shop under investigation by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and resulted in its loss of franchise affiliation.
2) March 8, 2004 Owner tries to get deal
By Greg Rickabaugh and Walter C. Jones | Staff Writers
The owner of an Augusta pet store where animals were allegedly abused is seeking a deal with the state Department of Agriculture over his dealer license and possible fines. The owner, Larry Wendt, began negotiations Monday when he arrived for a scheduled public hearing. By striking an agreement on the department's administrative punishment, he would avoid giving sworn testimony that could be used in a criminal case pending in Richmond County Magistrate Court. Magistrate court officials released the names of those charged with animal cruelty Monday. They include Mr. Wendt and two employees, Dawn L. Irons and Donna Leigh Stover. A March 25 court date is set.
A former employee of the Augusta Mall store accused Mr. Wendt's manager of withholding medication from animals and of killing a sick dog by putting it in a plastic bag and beating it against concrete.
The Agriculture Department can revoke the dealer license, impose fines of $1,000 per violation or place restrictions on the business. Mr. Wendt's attorney is negotiating with the staff of the state Law Department, which represents the Agriculture Department. Any resulting order would be signed by Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin. Mr. Wendt applied for his license as a franchise of Petland Inc., a national chain based in Ohio. Petland withdrew its franchise last week after the allegations became public. That move puts Mr. Wendt's dealer license in jeopardy.
EMPLOYEES CHARGED Three employees were charged Wednesday with misdemeanor animal cruelty. Larry Harland Wendt, 59, the owner/president of Wendt's Pets, is accused of failing to provide proper care to a Chihuahua in his custody.
Dawn L. Irons, 22, is accused of causing the unjustified death, suffering or physical pain to a Chihuahua puppy housed at the former Petland store.
Donna Leigh Stover, 43, is accused of ordering employees to withhold food and water from a Chihuahua in her care. Reach Greg Rickabaugh or Walter C. Jones at (706) 724-0851.
3) March 12, 2004 Agency sets fines on mall's pet store
By Jeremy Craig | Staff Writer Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin announced fines Friday against the owner of an Augusta Mall pet store under local and state investigation for animal cruelty. Mr. Irvin said Larry Wendt, the owner and operator of Wendt's Pets Inc. - formerly Petland - will have to pay a $5,000 penalty on charges involving possible animal cruelty at the store, a news release states. [For the continuation of this article, see http://chronicle.augusta.com archives]
4) March 30, 2004 Owner of pet store surrenders license By Jeremy Craig | Staff Writer The owner of a pet store at the center of an animal cruelty investigation by local and state authorities has surrendered his state license, officials said Tuesday. According to the Georgia Department of Agriculture, Larry Wendt, the owner of the former Petland in the Augusta Mall, voluntarily surrendered his state license to sell pets. [For the continuation of this article, see http://chronicle.augusta.com archives.]
****************************************
2003: From the Laurel Leader, Laurel, Maryland:
OVER 100 PUPPIES FOUND IN UNCOOLED TRUCK 07/24/03 by Joe Murchison
The Prince George's County Animal Management Division fined a truck driver close to $11,000 Sunday for leaving more than 100 puppies in a closed truck without air conditioning.
The manager of the Just Puppies store in Laurel, to whom the puppies were being delivered, said it was a fluke incident and that all the animals were unharmed.
Rodney Taylor, chief of animal management, said someone called Sunday afternoon reporting on the truck, which was parked at the Hampton Inn off Route 1. A police officer sent to the scene confirmed the puppies were in the truck and the temperature had risen above 90 degrees, he said. The driver was given a cruelty citation and assessed a fine of $100 per animal, Taylor said.
Sherry Dodgson, manager of Just Puppies, said the driver had checked into a room at the motel and had left the truck's air-conditioning generator on. "He wasn't aware the generator had been turned off till a police officer came and knocked on his door," she said.
Dodgson and Just Puppies owner Mitch Thomson said it's possible someone turned off the generator, which has an outside switch, perhaps because of its noise. "We'll have a lock on that (switch) before the truck goes out again," Dodgson said Monday.
They also said they probably would make sure in the future that a guard was placed on duty at a delivery truck if a driver had to leave it before unloading animals. Both said they had not had such a problem before, and Taylor said he had not experienced a similar problem in the county previously. The Just Puppies store sells about 2,600 animals a year, Dodgson said.
Thomson said the truck driver had picked up puppies of various breeds from a breeder in Missouri, a state that supplies almost all the store's animals, and had delivered some of them to Florida, where Thomson's brother owns two Just Puppies stores.
He said the driver then came to Laurel to deliver the rest of the animals, and wanted to catch some sleep before heading back to Missouri.
Dodgson said the driver arrived in town about noon, but couldn't deliver the puppies till the store closed at 6 p.m. She explained that the store must place all its current animals in a separate section of the store when new puppies arrive until a veterinarian can assure they have no diseases that might infect the existing dogs. A vet checked all the puppies that had been in the truck on Sunday and Monday and "everybody was OK," Dodgson said. "None of the dogs had excessive temperature or any ill effects."
"I'm happy things worked out," Thomson said. "It could have been a lot worse."
E-mail Joe Murchison at jmurchison@patuxent.com.
****************************************
April 2001--31 Starving Petland Dogs Seized, Pet Store Now Closed. Article from herbalmusings.com.
Mary Ellen Morton, a Petland franchise owner, was cited with 39 counts of animal cruelty on February 10 after authorities responded to an employee's complaint that the dogs at Petland's Charleston, West Virginia store were not being fed.
Authorities discovered sick dogs lying in feces in a backroom of the store. Thirty-one dogs were seized and taken to the Kanawha County Humane Society, where a veterinarian treated them. Eight remaining dogs are missing and are suspected to have been taken from Petland by a breeder.
This action was taken after a warning issued to Morton in December for failing to provide animals with water or food did not improve conditions for the dogs. Morton posted bond and was released from jail. She is scheduled to appear in Kanawha County Court on April 11. Petland has now terminated their franchise agreement with Morton, and her pet store, called "Town Center Pets," has temporarily been closed down in the Charlestown Center Mall.