Hall of Shame

	Pet Store Hall of Shame, Part 1 Stores are listed alphabetically by name, then by state and city. Part 1--"A"-"P"etland Ohio--South Point Continues in Hall of Shame, Part 2.
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Please warn others! 1) COMPLAIN ABOUT A SICK ANIMAL YOU PURCHASED FROM A PET STORE A simple, quick way is to make an ANONYMOUS complaint about a SPECIFIC pet store at www.complaints.com, www.ripoffreport.com, www.consumeraffairs.com, or similar sites that do not take a stand on any particular issue. (Consumeraffairs.com requires your first name.) Note that even on these sites, you are legally responsible for what you say (if the store can figure out who you are!). These sites are searchable, so you can type in "Petland" or any other store and see other people's complaints. If you would like to post your story on our site (petstorecruelty.org) about a sick puppy or other animal you obtained from a pet store but you don't want your name to appear on the site, we are happy to do that, but the store name will also be ANONYMOUS. We may give the general location of the store. We don't feel that has as much effect as naming names, but we totally understand your desire for privacy. If you would like to post your animal's story and NAME the store that treated you and your companion animal badly, we think that is very important and are glad to spread the word. We will need: 1) your first and last name, address, and phone number 2) a copy of the part of your purchase papers that includes the store name and the breeder's name 3) a copy of a few of the relevant vet records (e.g., ones that say your puppy has pneumonia) On our site, YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME WILL APPEAR, but not your contact info. Why? If a newspaper were to interview you about your sick puppy, they would generally publish your full name. So if your local paper isn't interested in your story, here's your chance to get it out 24/7 for as long as you want. You can contact us to REMOVE THE POST AT ANY TIME. You are legally responsible for what you say, so be sure it is true. You can scan and e-mail these pages to all4theanimals@yahoo.com, or mail them to: Compassion for Animals P.O. Box 1314 Annandale, VA 22003 Please let us know by e-mail when you are sending something to our P.O. box. E-mails with tips and information are great. Documentation in our hands is golden. We apologize for this hassle and sacrifice of your privacy, but we need SOLID PROOF whenever we can get it. As a former Petland manager told me, "Why protect the GUILTY?" We cannot save your sick puppy. We cannot make the store pay your vet bills. But people always think it's some OTHER store that's selling sick puppies or puppy mill puppies. Your willingness to NAME NAMES will let people know it's THIS store, not some other one, that is spreading misery. You get nothing from it other than the knowledge that you have saved someone else from going through the pain that you, your family, and your sick animal went through. *2) COMPLAIN ABOUT POOR CONDITIONS* AT A PET STORE If you see animals suffering at a pet store, probably the best thing you can do is to call local Animal Control THE SAME DAY and complain, even though in many cases they will do nothing, because many cruel conditions are still LEGAL. However, that may be the only time Animal Control ever checks on that store, so your call still helps. The failure of the law to protect these animals does not mean these conditions are acceptable. If you would like to post an ANONYMOUS complaint on this site (petstorecruelty.org) about CONDITIONS at a pet store, the store would also be anonymous--only the general location would be given. If you want the SPECIFIC store mentioned, YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME WOULD APPEAR on the site, and we would need your name, address, and phone number. Be aware that store conditions can be easily changed and that you are legally responsible for what you say. We GREATLY appreciate the generosity of everyone who has shared their painful stories about sick animal purchased at pet stores, everyone who tells us about the conditions at various stores and puppy mills, and every tip we have gotten from former employees, vet techs, and others. We've learned a lot from you, and we hope everyone who sees this site does, too. Disclaimer: To the best of our knowledge, all the information below is true; however, petstorecruelty.org is not responsible for any unintentional errors that may occur when we receive information from outside sources. We can neither support nor refute statements made by people other than ourselves. If you care about animals and come across one of the stores mentioned, we urge you to visit the store and decide for yourself. Some earlier posts are anonymous, and some names have been changed to protect the innocent. ********************** Any pet store that sells live animals qualifies for our Hall of Shame. Yes, all animals, not just dogs and cats. Why? There is no need for any animals to be bought and sold for human amusement, so the suffering of pet store animals is totally indefensible. In addition to the suffering and death in breeding mills and during transport to the stores, the conditions in most pet stores are sickening. These are the very animals we claim to love so much that we want them as companions in our homes. Why betray them by letting them suffer this way? Some stores are not as bad as others, obviously. If a store is making most of its money by selling high quality supplies, please encourage them to go all the way and stop selling animals altogether. Ask them to invite in local rescue groups instead. We will be delighted to remove a store from this list. All it has to do is stop selling animals. **************************** ALL ABOUT ANIMALS--MASSACHUSETTS--FITCHBURG 2006: An alarming number of puppies purchased at this store have pneumonia, according to a local resident with connections at an area vet's office. The resident also says that the store claims to only get puppies from local breeders but that puppies' registration papers show they were born in the Midwest. A puppy purchased from All About Animals came from Elk Creek Kennel in Kansas. According to USDA records, in 2004 this facility had "Adult dogs 284, Weaned puppies 40, Puppies 140." In January of 2003 this facility had a total of 402 dogs. AMERICAN BIRD COMPANY--VIRGINIA--FALLS CHURCH Sells unweaned baby birds. This practice often causes birds to exhibit neurotic behavior or die prematurely. ANIMAL KINGDOM (ALSO PUPPIES 'N LOVE)--ARIZONA--10 LOCATIONS website www.animalkingdomaz.com 2007: An Arizona resident informed of an Animal Kingdom store selling puppies and other animals in a nearby mall. Please write to us if you have information about the health and origin of the puppies sold at this chain of stores. Most stores that sell large numbers of very young, purebred puppies with AKC or other registration papers, unless they specifically state in writing that the puppies are "local," are getting them from out-of-state puppy mills. Here is one email we received: ANIMAL KINGDOM & PUPPIES 'N LOVE--ARIZONA--GLENDALE** 2007: My name is Kristy. In April of 2007, I purchased two German Shepherd puppies from Animal Kingdom (Puppies-N-Love) from the Arrowhead Mall in Glendale, AZ. Both of my puppies had respiratory infections while in the store. The female, Ki, had two. We took the boy, Apache, home the day we bought them. From the time we brought him home, he had terrible diarrhea. I was required by the contract one has to sign to purchase a puppy to take him to a vet within 5 business days of purchase. The thing that made me think that something wasn't right was the store gave me a list of vets to choose from. In order for them to pay for the vet visit and to activate the 4 year health warranty, I had to take him to one of "their" vets. The vet I chose stated that his diarrhea was "probably just nerves." He also did a fecal test and stated he found nothing. He prescribed an "all-purpose" antibiotic, which I found ironic considering the vet told me nothing was wrong with him. I finished the antibiotic but the diarrhea continued...it actually got worse. Once Ki was finished with her treatment for her respiratory infection 10 days later, I took her home. The case was the same with her, more diarrhea. I took her to the same vet clinic but a different vet saw Ki. Again, the fecal test was conducted but they stated everything looked normal. Ki began to lose weight and actually looked like an anorexic puppy. She would only eat two or three bites of food at a time and would not attempt to eat again for 10-12 hours. The diarrhea continued in them both and I returned to the same vet to have their shots given. While there, I once again told the vet (the 3rd different vet I had seen at the same clinic) about the continued diarrhea and the concern I had over the loss of weight seen in Ki. The vet stated she did not see anything wrong and stated that "it was probably just nerves of a new environment." Oh, by the way, the name of this clinic is AMEC Small Animal Hospital, on Glendale Ave in Phoenix. My roommate and I decided enough was enough. We took both of the pups to Arrow Animal Hospital in Glendale, AZ. The vet immediately stated his concern over the sick appearance of Ki (you could count all of her ribs while she was standing). They conducted another fecal exam and the vet stated that he didn't find anything at first but decided to keep looking because it was obvious that something was wrong with them. He did find giardia (a contagious parasite that is common in puppy mills.) The vet stated that since the symptoms have been present since I bought them and they had not been exposed to any other dogs or animals since bringing them home, they had to have had it prior to me purchasing them. He prescribed two strong antibiotics in order to control and get rid of the parasites. Two days after beginning the antibiotic treatments, I noticed rice-like organisms in their feces. Since I have a biology degree, I did know what that probably was. The feces were taken to our new vet who agreed that they did indeed have worms, as well. Treatment for the worms was then given, too. All of this took place within 20 days of having Apache home and 10 days of having Ki home. I went to Animal Kingdom (Puppies-N-Love) and spoke to a manager, Joyce. She was very nice and did a great job of appearing to want to help me. The total vet bills incurred as a result of "their" vet not diagnosing the problem was close to $250.00. Joyce agreed that it was their responsibility since the puppies had been sick since bringing them home. Approximately 10 days later, I received a check in the mail from CPI (the corporate name for the store) in the amount of $60.00 with a letter stating the following: "Dear Customer; Enclosed is your medical reimbursement of costs related to your puppy's health. Regretfully, the amount refunded may be less than your original bill due to expenses that are not covered under your health plan. This may include going outside of our referral network, diagnostics charges, fecal exams or parasite diagnostic testing, treatment of parasites, food including prescription diets, vaccines, or treatment of other pets in your home. We thank you for your understanding and wish your puppy continued good health. CPI, Inc." This was written, by hand, at the bottom: "All medications have been paid at the customary amount paid at referral vet. Medications to treat parasites are not covered outside of referral generally. Fecal exams and parasite diagnostics are not covered as set forth in the warranty." I tried everything to make my puppies get better. Their vet did not diagnose the problem and did not even acknowledge that anything could be seriously wrong. I tried feeding them a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice, along with the medications. I am trying to understand how giardia could easily become a deadly parasitic disease but they are attempting to write it off as something that isn't so serious. My dogs are lucky that I am financially able to provide them with good vet care but someone else might not be so lucky. Also, I was in the mall early one morning before the puppy store opened. They had 4 or so puppies in the front window kennel. I stood there and watched two of those puppies go to the potty and they both had bad diarrhea. I was also told by an associate of the store on the phone that she wouldn't doubt that the puppies were sick when we got them but would clarify what she meant. I then had another store associate tell me she bought a puppy from there and it, too, had a bad case of giardia and she had to take it to "vet after vet after vet" in order to get him well. What sucks is they appear to be covered legally because there is a clause in the state statute that eliminates the store being liable for parasitic diseases. I am seeking legal advice and will sue just to prove a point if advised the case is a good one. DON'T adopt a pet from Puppies-n-Love unless you are willing to pay around $2000 to "rescue" a puppy. Please learn from my mistake. But on the other hand, I am glad to have my babies and that they are now OK. Kristy H. [Note from petstorecruelty.org: Animal Kingdom/Puppies 'N Love requires customers to go to certain vets in order to activate the health warranty. In June 2007, one of these vets was charged with hitting a dog so hard that her eye popped out of its socket. Search online for "Vet Arrested in Chihuahua's Beating." However, this vet was found to be not guilty of animal abuse. ANIMAL KINGDOM-ARIZONA--PHOENIX* Mollie and Diamond 2007: I am writing this as I am nervously waiting to get the biopsy results for my beautiful golden retriever "Mollie." She is a 14-month-old that has been extremely loved by our family. She was a "replacement" puppy from Animal Kingdom pet store here in Phoenix, AZ. Our first puppy "Diamond" a beautiful, sweet little boxer pup had Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD). It's appalling that the pet stores think that you can just replace a loved puppy. We had to make the painful decision to have Diamond euthanized due to her pain and suffering from this horrible disease. My husband and I hated making this decision and felt guilty for making it but after many consultations with her vet decided that this was the most humane option for our Diamond. Now, our "replacement" puppy that we have loved and has become part of the family for the past 12 months has just been diagnosed with an oral cancer. We are waiting the results from the biopsy and are hopeful that it won't be an aggressive cancer and that we can get her treatment. This will be a long road ahead of us with many more difficult decisions to make. Our vet who treated the first puppy and now the second puppy has explained to us that these genetic problems come from inbreeding and over breeding. We are completely heartbroken and will never get another puppy from a pet store!! Monica Henderson Update same month 2007: We met with the oncologist, and my Mollie has lymphoma that has metastasized behind her eye. The prognosis was not good. We opted not to go through the chemotherapy and radiation due to the cost ($5,000) and the fact that it will only provide another year possibly. We have her on prednisone to hopefully give us a little more time with her and hopefully slow down the cancer a little bit. ANIMAL MAGNETISM-FLORIDA--NAPLES Cooper 2008: I bought my cocker spaniel from Animal Magnetism in Naples Florida. He looked rather small to be away from his mother. At the age of 1 year I suspected that he wasn't quite right. Before he was 2 yrs old he started losing weight. He was diagnosed with liver disease and after thousands of dollars in veterinary care, and giving him several different medicines, several times a day, I made the choice to let him go because I loved him so much. This dog was barely 2 years old. Now our family is heartbroken and our other cocker has lost her best friend. I would like to ask Marsha Cox if she knows how many hearts she has broken because of inbreeding and unsatisfactory care of the dogs she owns. It is hard for me to understand how people can be so greedy, selfish and heartless. -Shirley McCaffrey [See breeder Marsha Cox's USDA violations here.] ANIMALS & THINGS--NEW JERSEY--WOODBRIDGE 2006: Animals & Things on Rte. 1 in Woodbridge, NJ is a horrendous store. They sell kittens for $800, when there's tons of strays that could be rescued & adopted out. They sell dogs that live in dirty small cages, with no toys or social interaction. I was there once, and there was a cockatoo all white, bleeding, dripping blood from a wing or nail clip. I know certain birds can bleed to death due to low coagulating issues. I approached an employee to point this out & the person said, "He'll be fine, it's just a little blood." This place should be shut down! ASHLEY'S PUPPY PALACE--VIRGINIA--FREDERICKSBURG 2009: We received a complaint about the conditions at this store. See also www.complaints.com and search for Ashley's Puppy Palace. BIRDS 'N THINGS--VIRGINIA--ARLINGTON According to an observer knowledgeable about birds, the larger birds in this store seemed healthy, but their cages were not large enough, and some of them were did not have enough of the toys required for the emotional health of these intelligent animals. The smaller birds were in "intolerable" condition. One cage contained nine cockatiels in a space that would be adequate for two IF they were let out frequently for exercise. Five of the cockatiels showed signs of being plucked; one severely, with crest, belly, and neck bare instead of being covered with feathers, with a lot of wing skin exposed. The plucking is highly likely to be due to overcrowding, as cockatiels rarely self-pluck. A similarly sized cage contained eight cockatiels, also overcrowded, and in semidarkness, which is completely unsuitable for these birds. The store owner was notified of these problems. While she seemed to genuinely care about some of the birds, she refused to make any changes to alleviate the overcrowding, dark cages, or lack of mental stimulation for the other birds. She also changed her story several times. On the first visit, she said the cockatiels are newly acquired and pluck themselves because they are hormonal. She told a second visitor that she's willing to euthanize the worst-plucked cockatiel. When the first visitor returned and offered to take the worst-plucked cockatiel instead of having her euthanize him, the owner refused, saying now that she had had the birds for some time, that they are good breeders, and the reason for him being severely plucked was that he was separated from his mate. She refused to part with him under any condition. Animal Control was notified and is investigating. BTJ's JUNGLE--NEW YORK--WEST ISLIP December 2008: We received a complaint about conditions for animals at this store. BURKE PET CENTER—VIRGINIA--BURKE 2009: This store has a very limited website that currently does not make any statementsabout where the puppies come from or the quality of their breeders. 2008: Minnesota state health records show that in May and June of 2008, the Burke Pet Center of 9546 Burke Road, Burke, VA 22015 obtained 10 puppies from Fletcher Creek Kennel, Mary Ann Susalski, USDA license number 41-B-133, 15882 203rd St., Little Falls, Minnesota, 56345. Proof that Burke Pet Center bought puppies from Mary Ann Susalski This broker had numerous violations of USDA regulations in 2005 and 2006, some of which were repeat violations from an earlier inspection. The broker's facility contained at least 334 dogs in June of 2006. The violations included: Dogs needing veterinary care--some with sores, one with a large bulge on the abdomen, one with a swollen area of the eye. Dogs needing grooming or nail trimming Inadequate floor space Sagging floor Excessive rust Expired drugs Inaccurate records Buildup of dust, animal oil, urine, and other waste Damage to watering devices caused by excessive chewing Inadequate ventilation--strong ammonia smell Inadequate lighting Insufficient bedding in cold weather Because this broker has also sold puppies to PETLAND, the USDA records can currently (2008) be viewed at www.stoppuppymills.com as part of the Humane Society of the United States' investigation of Petland. The records can also be found at www.petshoppuppies.com/report.asp?ID=41B0133 2007: We understand this store is under new management. However, in the summer of 2007, they were still getting some puppies from Missouri breeders. They have far fewer puppies than the nearby Petland, and the puppies are kept in pens rather than plexiglas cages, but we would prefer that the new management stop selling animals altogether. They also sell young rabbits--in spite of the fact that local shelters and rescue groups are overflowing with rabbits--as well as birds and other small animals. January 2005: Lady is a toy poodle purchased at the Burke Pet Center in Burke, Virginia. At the time of purchase, Lady was listed as an “Apparently healthy pet” by the Burke Pet Center veterinarian, Village Veterinary Clinic. Her guardian immediately discovered that Lady had a serious urinary tract infection (UTI), a condition which causes frequent urination. When Lady’s guardian contacted the store explaining that Lady needed a specialist for her UTI, the manager agreed to pay the bill, but when she later provided the bill, he refused to pay, saying she had never notified him about it. The specialist’s bill was more than half the cost of the puppy. Now about 1 1⁄2 years old, after extensive treatment, Lady still needs to urinate more frequently than normal and has to be carefully watched to avoid “accidents.” Lady was born in Arkansas. CC PETS--PENNSYLVANIA--PEACH BOTTOM (this is a kennel, not a pet store. This kennel was also mentioned in a news story on puppy mills. See the "In the News" section of this website and scroll down to November 2005.) December 2006: My name is Robyn Klein. I've come under the unfortunate circumstance of dealing with Joyce and Raymond Stoltzfus of CC Pets, LLC, formerly known as Puppy Love Kennels. My daughter's father saw a newspaper advertisement for puggles. Knowing that our daughter has wanted a puggle for so long, he decided to pick her up on December 16, 2006 to head up to 267 Riverview Road to pick out a new puggle puppy. Her name was Zoe. She was the cutest thing ever. Zoe became the instant love of my daughter's heart. It was her first dog ever and she was the most elated child I've ever seen. Joyce gave Zoe a "booster" shot before they left, informing my 9-year-old daughter that it was one of her "vaccines." My daughter's father returned to his home and I picked her and Zoe up. During the entire car ride to my house, Zoe had diarrhea and was vomiting. Not ever owning a dog of my own, I just thought the new puppy was carsick. When we arrived home, we tried to get Zoe to eat, but to no avail. She also refused to drink. We just thought it was from all the commotion of the day and we let her rest as much as possible. Later that night she was still coughing and vomiting and was quite listless. I contacted Joyce and she informed me it must have been stomach upset from the "booster" shot. She told me to try feeding Zoe cooked hamburger and rice. We tried this, but Zoe still refused to eat or drink. We all went to bed and Zoe did fine throughout the night. Sunday came and she ate a little bit of her Eukanuba small breed puppy food and some water for breakfast. We were happy to see her eating. The day went along, and although she was still very clingy, we thought heath-wise, she was improving. Until that evening. She vomited a total of 5 times, one right after another, then continued to have diarrhea when taken outside to eliminate. I decided to call the vet first thing in the morning. My vet, Ruby Schaupp, DVM, of Chadwell Animal Hospital on Emmorton Road in Abingdon, MD, asked me to come in right away for an examination of the puppy. I brought her in and Ruby informed me that Zoe may have Parvovirus. She asked if she could keep Zoe for a while to run tests on her. So, with an uneasy heart, I left her there and headed to home to wait and hear from Ruby. Around noon on December 18, 2006, Ruby called and informed me that Zoe tested a strong positive for parvovirus. Ruby informed us that the parvovirus was so far gone that Zoe would have to be humanely euthanized. I contacted Joyce. Joyce told me to bring Zoe back to her and she would give us a full refund. So I made my journey to the animal hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital with my best friend, Molly Hillegas, who was there with me for moral support, I was greeted by my sister, Jennifer Schwarz, there with her 7-month-old boxer puppy, Coco. You see, Coco was over my house over the weekend, playing with Zoe, her new cousin. So now Coco had to get a booster shot to protect her against parvo, just in case she contracted it. At this time, the veterinary technician brought out little 4-pound Zoe. Zoe had a bandage on her right front paw from the bloodwork, an IV, with an attached sack of saline fluid in the same paw, and was wrapped in a blanket. She looked so pitiful, so sick. It instantly brought me, my sister and my best friend to tears. We struggled with the decision to take her back to Joyce, unaware of what she would do with Zoe, our puppy that we came to love so much in a short 48 hours. We left the animal hospital and started our trip to CC Pets. About halfway there, Zoe attempted to stand but could not and fell over in my lap. At this time, she began to expel a bloody substance from her rectum as she lay in my lap. Her eyes were glossy and my dog-loving best friend Molly informed me that she was dying. Fearing that she was suffering incredibly and was indeed dying in my arms, we rushed back to the animal hospital. When we arrived, we were greeted by the Ruby and her awesome technicians. They took us back and Ruby confirmed to us that Zoe was very close to death. She gave her a shot to stop her heartbeat, humanely euthanizing her so Zoe wouldn't be in pain anymore. As Jenny, Molly and I stood there crying, sobbing and consoling each other, looking over at the lifeless body of our former pet Zoe, I was filled with rage at what Joyce could do to a family in so little time. We paid our bill to have Zoe mass cremated and left the animal hospital. I contacted Joyce, informing her that Zoe had died and asked what was our next step to be. She told me to just send a death certificate and she would send me a full refund for the puppy, by check, in the mail. Feeling very uneasy and untrusting of Joyce's word, Jenny, Molly, and I went to CC Pets. There we were met with the most horrific thing we had ever seen in our lives. There were puppies and dogs all cooped away in what looked like chicken coups. The mother dogs were running free all over the land. Puppies, twenty to a cage, climbing over each other in an attempt to see who was at the fence, hoping today would be their day to be free. It was then that we were greeted by Joyce, who thought we were potential buyers. She thought wrong. We were there to find out who this so-called person, this monster, was who sold sick dogs to little girls and their fathers. Once she realized who we were, without an apology or any sign of guilt, she took our papers and went up to the house to get us a check for the refund. We went up to the house where Joyce gave us a check followed with nothing but hassle. She never admitted to anything, never took fault for the heartache that she just caused. Never once said she was sorry. We eventually left there, with just a check in my hand, and a sad and heavy heart. It was then that I realized I still had to break the news to my daughter. We made the long road trip back to Baltimore to pick up my daughter. I sat her down, grabbed her hand and looked in her eyes. I knew at this moment what it is truly like to break a heart. My daughter is a smart girl. She knew something happened to Zoe. I told her the truth. Told her all I knew about parvo and how it killed her puppy. Told her how this evil, sad excuse for a woman that she got Zoe from was claiming no responsibility for what happened to her. She cried like I have never seen my own daughter cry. At this point, I thought to myself "WHY?! Why would God allow this to happen to us like this?" Then someone answered me. God put this on us because He knew my family, friends, and I would never let this issue rest from here on out. Not until there was justice. Justice for all the families hurt just like we were. Justice for all the money lost. But most importantly, justice for those poor, defenseless puppies and dogs that can't speak, but you and I know are suffering. Please help me bring justice for them. I have contacted all the animal rights and anti-puppy mill advocates in Pennsylvania, but they have asked us to contact everyone in Maryland and the surrounding areas that advertises for this woman, including the Baltimore Sun. Her bad reputation is already known throughout Pennsylvania and this is why she is targeting the surrounding areas for sales. My email address is ItsAll4Zoe@yahoo.com. I am interested in hearing from others who have had a similar experience with CC Pets. May God strengthen and guide me along this long journey. I hope you will join me on this road...to justice. COLLAR & LEASH--ILLINOIS--CHICAGO (two locations) May 2009: We received a complaint about the condition of animals at this store, which also does boarding. COUNTRY CRAFTS--PENNSYLVANIA--EAST EARL (LANCASTER COUNTY) 252 Weaverland Valley Road December 2008: We received a complaint about the conditions for dogs at this store, which sells both dogs and crafts. COUNTRY JUNCTION GENERAL STORE--PENNSYLVANIA--LEHIGHTON October 2006: This store burned down, killing "most, if not all" of the animals inside, according to a local paper. A resident tells us that ALL of the animals were killed. No people were injured or killed in the fire. The store owners continue to sell puppies at their Wind Gap location. Article about the fire: www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200661003005 October 19, 2005: Employees from this pet store contacted a rescue group after 30 puppies dropped off by the HUNTE CORPORATION had already died from a bacterial infection, and only 3 remained, including this sick Labradoodle. The store manager refused to send this puppy for emergency care, even after the rescue offered to pay for all vet bills. Local sources say, "The floor manager kept insisting that the puppy, who was unable to stand, shaking, and choking on its own vomit, was all right and was under proper vet treatment." The rescuers were forced to leave as they watched the weak puppy cough and "try desperately to drink out of its rabbit water bottle." The pet center's management instructed employees to throw their clothes immediately into hot water upon arrival at their own homes and to disinfect shoes before handling their own animals, to avoid contamination from the sick puppies. Meanwhile, customers, unaware of the illness, were allowed to bring their healthy dogs in the store, and these dogs were "sniffing and licking the diseased puppies." The fate of this sick puppy is as yet unknown. Complaints can be made to the store at 610-377-8400, the local dog warden at 570-629-1099, and the Carbon County SPCA at 570-622-7769 or www.hillsidespca.com. CREATURES 'N CRITTERS--VIRGINIA--WOODBRIDGE An Italian Greyhound purchased at this store was passed on to a rescuer after the people who purchased her decided they didn't want the dog. This puppy came from Royale Kennel in Whiting, Kansas, a facility that houses 1,086 dogs, according to a USDA inspection report from 2004. On the website for Royale Kennel is a staff photo of 6 people. If these 6 people worked 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, they would be spending 2.7 minutes on each dog every day. Proof that Creatures 'n Critters bought puppies from Opal Featherstone/Royale Kennel Another breeder that Creatures 'n Critters obtained puppies from in 2007 and 2008 was Dorothy Fisher, a breeder in Kansas who had 298 dogs (250 adults, 48 puppies) in 2008, according to USDA records. USDA records on this breeder may be found at http://www.petshoppuppies.com/report.asp?ID=48A1475. Proof that Creatures 'n Critters bought puppies from Dorothy Fisher Another breeder that Creatures 'n Critters obtained puppies from in 2008 was Rebecca S. Blaes, a breeder in Kansas who in 2004 had nearly 200 dogs at her facility, according to http://www.petshoppuppies.com/report.asp?ID=48A1196 Proof that Creatures 'n Critters bought puppies from Rebecca S. Blaes (2009: Creatures 'n Critters does not appear to have a website.) CRITTERS--MARYLAND--BOWIE 2006: A visitor to the store writes: Of course I don't like seeing any animal kept in a cage, but as pet stores go, they are MUCH, MUCH better than Just Puppies!! Two puppies that I know of that came from there turned out to be very healthy and the owners were able to contact the breeder and talk with them on the phone. They were USDA licensed breeders with no adverse inspections, they had health records for the parents of the puppies, as well as pedigrees, pictures, etc... and they were registered. Again, I don't think pet stores should even be legal, but I guess at least the puppies were healthy and the place was very clean. They guarantee the genetic and overall health of the puppies and never get puppies under 8 weeks. They did let the puppies out to run, but I have no idea how often or for how long. I let them know what I thought about how cruel it was to keep a puppy locked up in a little cage like that, especially a Border Collie, they need to run. Anyway, they said they weren't going to get those type of dogs anymore, but then when I went in later they had an Australian Cattle dog, which is about the same as far as needing to run, so I pointed that out, and they said they had already ordered him, but that was the last one, and so far I haven't seen any more of the "high energy" dogs in there again. Of course they are all overpriced, and in my opinion, that's money that could better be used to help a shelter, but I never see a puppy stay there more than a week or two at the most (except for the Border Collie, which was there for 4 weeks and I let him know what I thought about that). 2007: Update from same visitor: I finally got the USDA inspection report for the breeder of my friend's dog she got from Critters--DEFINITELY a puppy mill. They didn't have too many serious violations, but they had 138 dogs of varying breeds. This says to me that they are "farming" dogs. The breeders are: Roger and Marla Campbell, 266 90th, Newton, KS 67114. All this tells me is that yes, Critters is telling the truth when they say they only buy from licensed breeders, but licensed or not, they are puppy mills. There is no way 138 dogs are living in a loving home. We are thankful the puppy is healthy, but her parents are still in Kansas suffering. Also, I had my dog at the emergency vet on New Year's Eve (she did the splits on the kitchen floor--she's fine now), while I was there waiting, I saw 4 different people come in with their puppies they had gotten for Christmas, all had been purchased at pet stores, of course they were sick. I still believe we will see the day when it is illegal to sell puppies in a pet store like some trinket. DEBBIE'S PET LAND--MASSACHUSETTS--BRAINTREE (We have also found the spelling "Debby's Pet Land" for this store.) 2009: Let me tell you about my puppy. I was at the mall on 04-09-2007 and saw a tiny English bulldog in a glass cage. Her back was facing me. The clerk asked if I wanted to hold her. I did. Right away I knew this pup was very sick. So, being me, I bought the dog, or should I say I rescued her. The price was $3,499.99. I was told she was 3, almost 4 months old and was imported from Hungary. I received a certificate of pedigree and a vaccine record. Impossible, I thought, she only weighed 3 lbs. My guess is she was 4-5 weeks old. I immediately made an appointment for her at the vet's. Twenty-four hours after I bought her she was hospitalized and fighting for her life. Debbie's Pet Land paid her bills for the first hospital of a week, only to come home for 24 hours and be rushed back in the hospital for another week. Again they paid the bill. My little Tinkerbell is now 2 years old and has been diagnosed with cherry eye in both eyes and hip dysplasia. I have tried to find the breeder, she is unable to be registered with the AKC, can only be registered with the American Pet Registry. Not that it's that important... I truly think there is no Gyorgy Rozsa from Hungary (the supposed breeder). I did send a complaint to the Better Business Bureau and they in turn contacted Debbie's Pet Land who said they paid the bills, what more do I want? I want to see them closed!!!!!!! I have spent thousands on my little girl and would not then nor ever, for that matter, give her back... I love my Tinkerbell. I don't understand how these people sleep at night. Regards, Susan Butler ****************************** July 2008: We received a complaint about the conditions at this store. *************************** This store opened in 2005 in South Shore Plaza. A visitor to the store reports, "there were cockatiels in something that is for guinea pigs, and if they really wanted to, they could just hop out. Some of the cockatiels also looked sick, and one had runny eyes. "There was one cute puppy I felt bad for. It was a miniature pinscher, and she (or he) looked sick. She didn't even have the strength to drink of the guinea pig waterer that was supposed to be her drinking water. "They had huge dogs in little cages, and you can tell they just wanted out." The person took out a cell phone to make a call. "The lady screams, and I mean screams, 'NO TAKING PICTURES IN MY STORE!'" Another customer asked why, and the woman didn't respond. The next time this person visited the store, there was a poster board that said "No photo taking allowed." A Woof & Co. pet store had been in the same spot but was closed down due to public outrage about the sick puppy mill puppies sold there. ***************** Also about Debby's Pet Land, Braintree, Massachusetts: 2007: I was in the store, looking at all the dogs. I saw a cute, tan chihuahua. But the chihuahua was doing something weird. The chihuahua was biting his/her leg. I could tell, by the way the chihuahua was biting his/her leg, that it was trying to bite its leg off. I reported what I saw to the lady at the counter, and the lady at the counter got a worried, stressed-out, nervous look on her face. She whispered to me not to tell the other people in the store. With a confused face, I walked back to observe the poor chihuahua. Then I noticed a big, red lump on the chihuahua's leg. The chihuahua also had eyes that looked like they were infected. I could not believe the shape that the chihuahua was in. That is only one story. Another one is, I saw a full grown Akita in a cage that a a large lizard might live in. I also saw a full grown Golden Retriever in the same sized cage. The poor dogs, they are suffering. DEBBY'S PET LAND--MASSACHUSETTS--HYANNIS "I was just in the Debby's Pet Land in the Hyannis mall in Massachusetts. I don't normally go in there due to the fact that I can't look at the sad puppies in all the small cages, but I had my children with me and they wanted to look at the lizards. Anyway...I was disgusted to find that they had 3 dead and dried up looking lizards in the cage with about 12 live ones. One was even dried to the edge of the water bowl, meaning they probably never clean the cage or change the water very often. Another was dead in the water bowl and the third was dead and dried up on the tree branch with lizards crawling on top of it." DEBBY'S PET LAND--MASSACHUSETTS--HOLYOKE Herbie is a Pekingese puppy who was languishing in a cage at the Debby's Pet Land in Holyoke Mall in the fall of 2005. He was "very listless," writes his guardian. "He constantly opened his mouth and gasped for air. His sides were heaving with every breath he tried to get." When taken out of his cage, "he didn't play or even pick up his head." In order to save his life, she purchased him for over $1,000 and took him to her own vet the next day, where he was diagnosed with a severe respiratory infection, dehydration, diarrhea, and a cold in his eyes. He had a very congested nose, which is particularly difficult for flat-nosed breeds. His guardian took a week off from work to care for him 24 hours a day. "There were a couple of nights where I slept sitting up with him on my chest," she says. During this time she kept the puppy away from her other dog to avoid infection. After about 2 weeks, Herbie's spirits were greatly improved, and he was "finally acting like a puppy," his guardian says. "He wags his tail and wiggles all over at the sound of my voice, which makes my heart soar." His health also improved, although he still had a cough and some congestion as well as a skin problem due to the dehydration he experienced at the pet store. Debby's Pet Land is a chain store with several branches in Massachusetts and Hew Hampshire and is apparently unaffiliated with the larger Petland chain. However, Herbie was born in Missouri and was delivered to Debby's Pet Land by the Hunte Corp., the same supplier that brings puppies to many Petland stores. DEBBY'S PET LAND--MASSACHUSETTS--KINGSTON After local news reports featured consumer complaints about sick puppies purchased at pet stores, Dr. Mark Verbin, veterinarian for Debby's Pet Land in Kingston, was charged with unprofessional conduct by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Veterinary Medicine. He allegedly certified animals for health without conducting appropriate examinations, failed to complete medical records for a Lhaso Apso sold in 2003, prescribed medicine over the phone without ever seeing the dog, and did not have a valid Drug Enforcement Agency license at the time. Former president of the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association Wendy Emerson spent two years working for a pet shop in an effort to help the sick puppies she saw coming from it. She said the experience "wore her out." Offered meager pay, no exam area or equipment and plenty of pressure from the store's owner to pass animals, Emerson says she was left to improvise on many occasions. "I brought my own stethoscope, thermometer, and set up an exam table on a box," she says. "It's not like you do bloodwork or take x-rays. You don't even have a microscope to do a fecal on these animals. Basically you examine these animals for frank signs of ill health. Even when I would find something, the owners would get angry with me if I wouldn't pass a puppy on hold. The pet store ties your hands." Emerson adds, "Even if I would find something and then prescribe an appropriate treatment, these animals were kept at the pet store; any quarantine was woefully inadequate." --DMV Magazine, February 1, 2005, article by Jennifer Fiala. Note: Debby's Pet Land is a chain apparently unaffiliated with with Petland. Debby's Pet Land has stores in Canton, Danvers, Hyannis, Kingston, Marlboro, North Attleboro, and Taunton (Massachusetts) and in Manchester and Nashua (New Hampshire). There may be others. DEBBY'S PET LAND--MASSACHUSETTS--NORTH ATTLEBORO Mindy, a 4-month old boxer puppy, was purchased from Debby's Pet Land in N. Attleboro for $1,300. She soon began exhibiting aggressive behavior, attacking adults, especially females, as well as her adoptive family's children and their other dog. Her guardian attempted to find her a new home for through two rescue groups, but they would not take her, as she was too dangerous. Mindy was also asked to leave two training classes because of her behavior. A professional trainer evaluated her and concluded that her behavior was due to "bad breeding." In addition, while at Debby's Pet Land, Mindy spent three weeks in quarantine for kennel cough, and this isolation may have intensified her aggressive behavior. Mindy's guardian writes, "This beautiful little girl never stood a chance. After exhausting all of my options for her, my vet helped me realize that there really was no hope for her and I made the painful decision to euthanize my FIVE MONTH OLD PUPPY!!! She had to be taken in to the vet with a muzzle on and fought him all the way." Mindy was purchased shortly after the death of the family's 11 1/2 year old boxer. Her guardian writes, "I have never seen this kind of behavior in a puppy. It's a tragedy for this little girl, and also my children. Something that was supposed to put a smile on their faces and help them with their grief ended up blowing up in my face, ten-fold." Mindy was born in Arkansas and was sold to the pet store by the Hunte Corporation, notorious supplier of puppy mill puppies. DEBBY'S PET LAND--MASSACHUSETTS--NORTH ATTLEBORO (same store) Message posted to mytoos.com in December of 2004 "I saw a situation last night that got me so angry. At Debby's Pet land in North Attleboro MA at the mall they had parakeets for sale. In the center of the store there were about 12-15 birds in a 3'X 3' X maybe 15 inches high plexiglas cage. This cage is designed for small animals. That's not even the worst of what I saw. In this cage was a hamster exercise wheel, a kitty litter box used for water, bowls on the floor for food and no real perches or toys!! The water was about an inch deep and disgusting, full of fecal matter. I went over to the register and told the girls working that the water was dirty and the birds would dehydrate quickly. One of the girls went over looked and said oh, they're ok. They mess up the water as quick as we change it. I told her that birds do not drink dirty water and she stated well, our birds do! I told her the birds would get sick and she stated our birds don't have a problem with it. None of them are sick and the state inspectors don't have a problem with it either. The kitty litter box was about 4-5 inches high so for the birds to get a drink they have to land in the water! Also on top of the box was a screen that you could just lift off. I'm so upset. I'm calling their corporate office today to lodge a complaint. I'm also calling the MSPCA and I lodged a complaint with the Avian Welfare group on line. Just needed to get it off my chest. I've never seen such horrible conditions in that store before. Or for that matter in any store before." DEBBY'S PET LAND--NEW HAMPSHIRE--NASHUA 2006: "I too believe that all pet stores that sell live animals should be part of the hall of shame, but this one is near my house and has more things that infuriate me! It is a Debby's Pet Land and is located at the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, NH. Every time I go to that mall my boyfriend literally has to drag me away from the store because he's afraid I'll make a scene. My first time going in there I noticed right away that they had multiple dogs in the small cages and larger breads in the small cages as well. All the puppies were in cages with the grated bottoms, which is horrible on their poor little feet. The staff knew little or nothing about the breeds and provided no helpful information to customers looking for a new addition to their family. They were supporting and advising people who wanted to buy certain dogs because he or she liked the "look" of that particular breed, versus knowing anything about them, like they were a fashion accessory. Recently they had a Cockapoo with an injured leg that looked like it hadn't even been treated. The poor guy had what looked like open wounds and still had to support himself on the grated bottom. When I saw this I immediately asked the sales clerk if the dog had received any medical attention from a certified veterinarian and the response I got was an unconvincing "I assume so." I also had to point out that visit that the Weimaraner they had was in a cage far too small for its size because it couldn't even sit up. Thankfully they did put it in one of the larger crates by the end of the day, but customers shouldn't have to point that out. The fact that places like this still exist infuriates me." DOCKTOR PET CENTER--NEW YORK--WATERTOWN Update: Good news! This store will CLOSE PERMANENTLY on April 30, 2008! 2007: Hi. My name is Allison. I love animals. Just so you know. We wanted to get a dog. My bright idea was let's buy a puppy. This way it can start out really young with us, my husband, my 7-year-old, the cats, the kitten, and me. Yes, we are gluttons, we have a kitten and a puppy at the same time. Well, let me walk you down the world of dogs as I know see it. Dog breeding is so far from what it was intended to be. Now it is a commodity. It has spawned this really horrible side effect. The "purebred." Well, what happens when you develop a commodity? Well, I'll tell you, greed. So some really greedy people figured out a way to make money. At the expense of animals' lives, the money it takes to run the shelters when those dogs are given up due to things like aggression and health problems, and not to go over the cost to treat the health problems, and the money it takes to put them to sleep when they have no other options left but to die. Dog breeding is something that was done to try to make a better dog. A dog that can be used for work and hunting. So if we have an ideal dog, then what should be left is breeders trying to preserve the breed, and its standards. Well, that is not the case. It may never well be either. So here I am going to the mall and always stopping in to see the puppies. There are always loads of people lined up at the windows trying to get a glimpse of the "purebred." So one day I tell my daughter, I think I am going to go look at the puppies this morning. In my pre-Boston (we'll get to him soon) days, with my fuzzy little mind, I bob my head side to side and think isn't this just great. Here is this store with "purebreds." If they're purebred, doesn't that mean they must have papers, which means they come from good breeders? And if it is a pet store there for sure must be someone regulating things. Oh, how wrong, how very wrong I was. I could not have been any further from the truth than I was. Well, guess what the pet store owner did? She put on a song and dance. A real charade. "Oh this is my lab, who comes from my breeder in Kansas. I only use APR instead of AKC because the AKC regulates things too much. We want our puppies to go to good homes." She was good. She had me believing that this was just a dream come true. Here is this nice lady who said the store had been there for 20 years. While all the while I have visions of puppies running in my head, she had visions of dollar signs running in her head. She must have smelled me coming a mile away. So I get over the sticker shock of my purebred of 700 dollars, plus this, that, and the other thing, all at her advice as to what her labs need, I walked out of there with 2 huge bags full of stuff and a very large 8-week-old puppy. So we get home and it was so exciting. He was so warm and cuddly and tired. I was sooooo worried what was he going to think. Does he miss his Mommy? Is he going to be happy with us? So we adjusted, us to him and him to us. It was fun. He was so cute. He adjusted fast and it was like a match made in heaven. Until he started to bite us. He bit me first. We were at the park. I went to fix his leash, and he stiffened up and turned his head real fast and bit my hand. He meant it too. It was not puppy biting where he wanted to run and play and lead me around by his mouth; it was full-on aggression. I was like, what the heck? Labs aren't vicious. That is so weird. Labs are supposed to be the kindest dogs. Then this stupid rope toy that I bought that the store owner said "he just had to have" became an object of aggression. He would play with it and growl if you tried to take it so you could throw it for him to fetch. So I bring him for his second visit to the vets, and they go over a few things with me and I hear the term puppy mill. I didn't even register that they were trying to say. So meanwhile I call up the pet store owner and tell her that she sold me an aggressive dog. He had bit me, my daughter and my husband. She said, well, we can't take him back; a warranty is only for the health of the puppy. I said, we did not want an aggressive dog. Her response was, "well, all puppies are aggressive, and maybe you should put an ad in the paper and sell him to someone who has a firmer hand and knows how to deal with puppies." I was offended. My former dog Luna who we had adopted (my ex-boyfriend and I) got pregnant (we did not even know she was in heat) and had 8 puppies. Those puppies were with her for 10 weeks and they were not aggressive. Not one. They were happy, loving puppies. They did not even bite. So back to Boston--so his behavior was getting worse. He was growling at my daughter to the point she was terrified. He was biting her, biting her leg, not letting her even walk around. It was breaking my heart. How did we go from visions of cute puppies running through the grass to my daughter screaming from fear and being bitten by a very young puppy? So I look up the term puppy mill, and there you have it. Boston is from a puppy mill in Kansas. So he was totally not handled right, he was mishandled by someone because he has a lot of fear, he was already at the pet store at only 8 weeks which has traumatized him, and he must have aggression in his genes. We had to have a professional come to the house because he got so bad you could not even handle him. He has gotten better but the aggression is always there, under the surface. The S.P.C.A. can't place him and we don't dare give him away. We do not want to open up his future to the unknown. If this aggression does not get corrected, and he still bites, (this poor dog who never asked to be to be born from a mother who probably did not even have enough of herself left to give him the nutrients he needed to be a physically healthy puppy, to be forced to live his first 8 weeks in a cage where he was probably only handled to be groomed or to get shots) he will have to be put down. I hope to God it never comes to that. He faces a very grim future if he can't lick the aggression. It is horrible, heart-breaking situation because we love him regardless. The really sad part is he is only 3 months old. He is trained as well. He does his commands perfectly. He gets tons of exercises, walked 2 to 3 times a day through the woods, at the park, bike trails, out at the river, he goes swimming, plays ball, hangs out with us, plays with the kitten, plays with our downstairs neighbors dogs every day. He sees other dogs out and about. He gets tons of pets from people and kids. He has a great life with us. He has no reason to be aggressive. When we first got him he had parasites--coccidia and hookworms. He is free and clear now. He gets the best medical care. We want what is best for him. To be happy and loved. To think he may have had one day of being afraid. How can these puppy mill breeders and pet store owners treat these animals as material products? It is so mind-boggling that I may never be able to wrap my mind around this. How is there not better laws against this type of thing? Especially in a society where pets have become our family members. We have things like pet insurance. Stores designated for pets. Puppy day care, dog walkers, a show called Dog Whisperer. Where is the outcry? How in the idea of what we are as a people can this be going on today? I really don't understand. It is heartbreaking. Please, whoever may read this, just pass this on. Pet stores get their puppies (animals) from puppy (animal) mills. Update March 2008: Boston's guardian adds: With all the love and support and training and swimming and techniques and long walks and a "free and clear" bill of health, he was still extremely aggressive. He growled, went after the cats, would bite my husband, my daughter, and me. This was totally different from being mouthy and needing to grow out of it. He was dominant over everything. Toys, his bed, his space. Early on I would try and take him to my daughter's school. Even as young as he was, he would just bite at anyone who came near him. He was already huge, too. This was so upsetting to her especially when she would see other moms with their doggies. Let's not forget, we are talking about a Lab!!! One of the best-known breeds with kids, and being a family dog. The trainer has him with her 11 dogs on her farm. This was our only option, since we could have never given him away, nor did the SPCA want him. Due to his severe aggression, his future was bleak. With a stable pack he hopefully has a better chance. We want another dog but it is going to be a long time before we ever go down that road again. I will never go to a breeder or a pet store, I can tell you that. I will actively be in touch with the shelter for the right kind of dog for us, one day. DREAMY PUPPY--VIRGINIA--CHANTILLY 2007: This store recently opened in the Northern Virginia area. They advertise in writing that they are selling "locally bred puppies." We assume that this is true because otherwise they would be guilty of false advertising. However, we remind area residents that the Humane Society of the U.S. recently found approximately 1,000 puppy mills in Virginia, so the fact that a puppy is bred "locally" does not ensure that the parents are well cared for. We invite people who have purchased puppies at this store to send us the name and location of their puppy's breeder. Secondly, we residents of this community recognize that the life and death of homeless animals is NOT DREAMY, and we encourage everyone to adopt from shelters or rescue groups rather than buying puppies at pet stores. EVERYTHING PETS--NEW YORK--BURNT HILLS November 2007: This store, which used to invite in dog and cat rescue groups, recently changed management and is now selling puppies. Please complain to them on "Questions/Comments" at http://www.everythingpetsandsupplies.com/. Or write Everything Pets, 800 Saratoga Rd., Burnt Hills, NY 12027. Phone 518-399-1567, Fax 518-399-2107. If you live in the area, tell them you'll be buying your pet supplies at Country Acres, right down the street, which sells supplies only, and also invites in rescue groups to help find adoptive families for homeless animals. EXOTIC BIRDS AND PETS--CALIFORNIA--CERES This store, like so many others, is selling birds and other animals better off left free in the wild. FAMILY PET CENTER--CONNECTICUT--MERIDEN 2006: "I bought a Chihuahua puppy from Family Pet Center in Meriden, CT in May of this year. He seemed very lethargic and coughing when we bought him and I knew he probably had kennel cough and would need an antibiotic. We paid $1200 for him and I brought him to the vet the very next day. He was diagnosed with a very bad case of pneumonia and I was told that was a good chance he would not survive. Hundreds of dollars later, six medications that were given every 2 hours, and weeks of taking care of a very sick puppy, he did survive. I am happy to say he is now a 7 month old happy Chihuahua named Chico. However, I contacted the pet store who told me that I could return the puppy for a new one which of course I was not going to do. I contacted the Hunte Corporation and was told we would get reimbursed for our expense. We waited from May 29, 2006 to the end of September when we finally did receive a reimbursement for a partial amount of the vet bills. I contacted Hunte Corporation on many occasions where I only received a voice mail and no calls were ever returned. Today I went into the store to check the conditions of the puppies and found several of them covered and lying in their own urine. Two of them looked extremely sick but I was told, as I was told when I bought my puppy, that they had just been checked out by a vet and were perfectly healthy. Somebody needs to shut these people down and I would like to do anything I can to help. I don't even think my Chihuahua is a purebred because according to AKC standards, a purebred Chihuahua cannot be more than 6 pounds and Chico is 9 lbs. According to his vet, he is at his ideal weight for a dog his size and is probably a mixed breed. We paid $1200 for a purebred puppy and most likely did not even get one! Thank you for your time and I hope to help in any way that I can to shut down Hunte Corporation." FAMILY PET CENTER--MASSACHUSETTS--HOLYOKE Ruby was purchased at the Family Pet Center for approximately $1,100. Her guardian found out soon afterwards that the puppy had pneumonia. It cost over $2,600 to nurse her back to health. The store's vet, responsible for evaluating the health of the puppies, also had not discovered that Ruby has a congenital defect called ectopic ureter, which causes the dog to leak urine constantly because the tubes that carry the urine bypass the bladder and go directly to the urethra. Due to the expense and extra care required to correct this condition, many dogs who have it are euthanized, but Ruby's family loves her and plans to go through with the surgery, which will cost between $2,000 and $4,000, not including follow-up. The success rate for this type of surgery is between 65-70%, and the nearest hospital that can perform it is two hours from Ruby's home. Ruby was born at a kennel in Arkansas and was brought to the Family Pet Center by the Hunte Corporation, the largest puppy broker in the U.S. *********************************** My wife and I purchased our poodle from Family Pet Center in Holyoke, MA via Lamont Kennels in May of 2003. Our puppy had a respiratory infection, dehydration, vomiting, diarrhea and a heart murmur. We were very upset and displeased with our dog's overall health and appearance. As of November 2006, our dog is very healthy and very much loved. [See the "USDA Records on Various Breeders" section on this website for a partial list of the USDA violations found at Lamont Kennels.] FETCH-OHIO-DAYTON (Fairfield Commons Mall) 2008: I recently ran across your site and I am so grateful that I did. When I look at our sweet little beagle with a wonderful temperament and good health I realize just how lucky we are. We recently moved to Dayton, Ohio as my husband is in the military. We went shopping at the local mall nearby and there was actually a very clean pet store inside called Fetch. I was going through her papers tonight and googled the breeder-David Hershberger and saw his name on your site listed as one of many Hershbergers that auction off their pets sickly and unclean at auctions. We got lucky with her as she only had ear mites and coccidia but as she was 600 dollars, we knew she was over priced and knew it was a risk but just couldn't leave her in a pet shop glass aquarium type thing. We ended up spending close to 1,000 after vet bills to control the coccidia and ear mites. (see details below). I wanted to write you so maybe you could include the store somewhere to warn people or at least the breeder. I am so disappointed to hear where she truly came from and love her all the more because I know we got lucky and she was rescued. We purchased her around the end of July, her birth date having been in mid May and she was a little underweight but otherwise seemed fine. The store itself was clean but the animals are housed in glass aquarium like things built into the wall and it was just really sad to see all these people coming in and out of the stores and staring at the dogs. We fell in love with her and shelled out the overpriced 600 dollars for her. We just couldn't leave her there. She came with a 7 day health guarantee. We had her checked out by the vet on the 6th day at which point he told us it generally takes 7 days for something major to even show up. We just held our breath and waited. We weren't bringing her back there. At the vet appt she was diagnosed with having ear mites and coccidia of the intestines. We started her on medication for both. On the 8th day she began having bloody, and I mean bloody, diarrhea. We thought this dog was gonna die on us. We were afraid it was parvo. Took her back to the vet and started her on more medication as the doctor reassured us it was just a bad case of coccidia. We stayed by her side for the next two days trying to make sure she stayed hydrated and didn't have any adverse effects from her medication. Today she's healthy and happy but it breaks my heart to think about where she or her pregnant mother came from. I won't buy anything from Fetch, not even products as I don't want to do dealings with anyone who contributes to the puppy mill trade. We have decided to get another dog and after this we are shying away from "breeders" and leaning more toward rescues and definitely making sure our pets are spayed/neutered. There are plenty of dogs in the world that need good homes and it's senseless to contribute to the problem. This David Hershberger also operates an Amish pumpkin farm with a pet store in Millersburg, Ohio. I strongly, and I mean strongly, encourage everyone not to buy from this man or contribute to his cause at all. Oh, I should probably include they tried to convince us she was a purebred beagle and now that she's gotten bigger we can tell she's part bassett hound and maybe even a little terrier but we love her all the more. - Kelley Hester Note: There is more than one David Hershberger in Ohio. USDA violations by David Hershberger of 4265 SR 557, Millersburg, OH, are listed here: http://www.petshoppuppies.com/report.asp?ID=31B0138. 12/6/2007: Violations include dogs with excessive fur mats, strong ammonia odor in building, cage sizes too small for dogs inside, self-feeders caked with dirt and feed, all surfaces have buildup of grime, dirt, debris, and fur. 6/20/07 inspection violations include several dogs with excessively long toenails and one Boston Terrier with cyst-like pustules between nearly ever toe on both front and back paws. Also "raised cages measure 48" x30" with several divided in half. Each cage has 2-3 dogs and there is not enough room for these dogs." FINLEY'S PET SHOP & GROOMING--NORTH CAROLINA--ROXBORO February 2009: We received a complaint about the condition of birds at this store. FLEAMASTERS--FLORIDA--FORT MYERS 2007: There is a flea market called "Fleamasters" which has a pet store, with many puppies. Their birds are dirty...missing their tails, and their water was always so brown you couldn't see to the bottom, cages never clean. Puppies there have heat lamps shining on them so people can see them better. They are so hot! The last time I was there were 4 poodles that had their tails cut off, and the tail bone was showing instead of being covered by skin. I have never seen anything like that before in my life! FOX MILL PETS--VIRGINIA--HERNDON 2009: Good news. There were two stores in Herndon, owned by the same people. However, their website now says they are in the process of closing their "physical" stores and have sold all available puppies. Hopefully they will only be selling SUPPLIES online. (This was probably 2004, 2005) The store on Elden Street has a freezer just behind the fish aquariums at the back of the store. An alert activist caught a glimpse inside, hoping it would just be people's frozen lunches. The entire freezer was FULL OF DEAD ANIMALS. They were in plastic bags, and there were smudges of what appeared to be blood around the freezer door. 2008 records show that Fox Mill obtained puppies from the Hunte Corp., just as Petland does. Not only will they admit that when asked, we have seen the Hunte truck drop puppies off at Fox Mill after making its delivery to Petland. We also have records proving it: Proof that Fox Mill Pets obtained puppies from Hunte Corporation That means puppy mills, such as the 200-dog facility owned by Michelle Baker, whose USDA violations you can read about on our "USDA rerecords on various breeders" page. The puppies in Fox Mill have more room and seem better cared for than those at Petland, and there are far fewer of them. But as this incident reveals, appearances can be deceptive. In 2008 Fox Mill Pets also received puppies from Mid America Pet, another large Missouri pet broker. Check out their photos at http://www.midampet.com/Photo.asp and see if those stacked cages are places where you think puppies should be spending their time. Note that you will not be able to see the many puppies being bought and sold daily on that site unless you are a member. Proof that Fox Mill Pets obtained puppies from Mid America Pet * Reese is a Chocolate Labrador Retriever purchased at Fox Mill Pets for slightly less than $1,000. She came home from the store with "a heavy infestation of internal parasites--giardia and coccidia to name a few." After doing some research on the Hunte Corporation, whose name is on Reese's papers, Reese's guardian discovered that the Hunte Corporation is a large distributor of puppy mill puppies. In addition to shipping their puppies to pet stores many states away, Reese's breeders, located in Missouri, also sell puppies for between $200 and $375 through online classified ads. They did not respond when contacted about Reese. Although the Hunte Corporation's website claims that it obtains puppies from "licensed professional breeders," Reese's breeder is not included in the USDA's list of licensed breeders. Reese's guardian writes, "I was devastated to learn that my puppy was from a puppy mill, but I love her deeply. I want more people to be aware that it is a real issue and real people do experience the heartache of purchasing a puppy-mill pet with long and short-term disabilities such as parasites, elbow or hip dysplasia, and eye problems such as cataracts or glaucoma. If you can, please warn others to stay away from Fox Mill Pets. It is wrong and disgusting that a place would breed and sell animals strictly for profit." * First photo: Ressy, cramped in an aquarium with many baby rats at Fox Mill Pets. Second photo, Ressy at home with a friend. A person looking for a pet rat went into Fox Mill Pets on Franklin Farms Road in Herndon and saw a full-grown rat for sale. The salesman warned her that the rat was not very social and might bite her hard. She went home "feeling sad for the poor rat." A few weeks later, she returned to the store and saw the same rat. When she asked how long he'd been in a small aquarium in the store, the salesman said at least 8 months. There were dozens of other rats in the store. She bought the rat. "He sat on my shoulder the whole way home and has never bitten me, ever." He had pneumonia and mites at the time he was purchased. During another visit to Fox Mill, she saw a mother hamster with a litter of babies on display, which is stressful for the mother. She also saw two puppies who appeared to have eye infections. One time when she was playing with the baby rats at Fox Mill, one was dead. She informed the salesman, but he said he would wait for the next shift to remove the rat. Only after she told him she thought that was terrible did he bother to remove the dead rat. She says, "I really don't know many options of shopping for my pets around here. So I buy supplies online now, from rescues mostly, where the benefits of sales go to a good cause." GIBRALTAR TRADE CENTER--MICHIGAN--TAYLOR AND MT. CLEMENS (two locations) 2006: I just wanted to inform you of two weekend flea markets in Michigan. They are both called Gibraltar Trade Center, one is located in Taylor and one in Mt. Clemens. Each location has a "pet shop," which sells puppies and kittens. In Taylor the puppies looked well cared for, but with so many animals needing homes, what's the point of breeding? In Taylor there was also a man selling reptiles. He mentioned that the tortoises he was selling (which were way too young to be sold) might look sluggish because "He hadn't turned the heat on yet this morning." He was keeping reptiles without providing heat during the cold, Michigan winter night. In Mt. Clemens there were baby tigers being offered as props for children's photography. Apparently in Michigan this is legal, but I don't want to support a place that advocates cruelty toward any animal. I did a google search and found out that a man at the same flea market had, in the 80s or 90s been arrested for the same thing but with bears. Apparently the Gibraltar Trade Center does not care, because they still allow animals there for the same purpose. Furthermore, the pet shop in the Mt. Clemens location was offering macaws for sale. These macaws were not provided with large cages or chew toys. They were ripping their own feathers out of their chests and were being housed outside the petshop in the high traffic area apparently to draw customers in. The sign on the shop said "Pollyworld," which disgusting me even more, because if their specialty is birds, one can only imagine how awfully they keep other animals. I searched all over for a phone number of this Pollyworld, but could not find one, or an address. Also they were selling "purebred" puppies, without papers (which struck me as being bred by irresponsible breeders at home that weren't breeding certain dogs to maintain the breed, but were breeding the same dogs over and over again...probably dogs they got from "free to good home" ads or something....). Anyway, these puppies were obviously not happy. I witnessed two of them fighting, they looked like littermates. One dog had the other pinned down and was biting its throat. A crowd gathered, and no one who worked there even attempted to separate the dogs. I called Gibraltar Trade Center's Mt. Clemens office to let the people who actually run the facility know what I had seen. I kept being interupted by the office lady who kept saying, "Well she's passed all of her inspections." I finally interupted her and said that while I don't doubt that she feeds her animals and provides them with shelter and water, I do think they are being housed and treated in cruel and inhumane ways. I told her about the dogs fighting and the macaw, but I was so upset that I couldn't get much else out. The lady told me that she'd let the pet store owner know, but I doubt the pet store owner cares. I don't even want to know how many of the animals I saw were diseased or half-dead. I don't even like animals that much, but I can't stand to see any person treat an animal in a way which is so obviously and blatently cruel. Anyway, I called the Michigan Dep't of Agriculture Animal Division because that's who the shelter near the flea market told me to report this to. They said that unfortunately they only are responsible for mammals. The lady I spoke to had inspected those places in the past, but told me that the inspection system is flawed because an owner can just revert back to their ways when they know there's not going to be an inspection, and that there aren't any laws about the treatment of birds and reptiles unless it comes to diseases that humans can catch. She agreed that it's not right, and I feel a little bit better that she knows so maybe she'll be less inclined to be nice about inspections of that particular store. She did thank me and said that without calls from concerned citizens they would not know what goes on in pet shops when the inspectors are not around. Anyway, I'm just trying to spread the word about what I saw, and I'm trying to get everyone I know to boycott Gibraltar Trade Center. I'm also trying to contact any animal groups I can because hopefully it will stop people from shopping there and cause the business to go under... I think that the problem is bigger than just the people selling things at their booths in the flea market, I think that the problem also relates to the fact that the Gibraltar Trade Center allows these vendors to have their own stores and booths. That's why I'm advocating on behalf of the animals that people boycott the entire place, so that they cannot just allow the next animal vendor to sell abused animals and perpetuate the misery of these animals. Sincerely, M. Sanders HAPPINESS IS PETS--ILLINOIS--ARLINGTON HEIGHTS Harley and Nickle 2007: I went in to Happiness is Pets in 2002. Harley would be 5 this year. He was cute at 6 months already and had a kinked tail. I should have known that something wasn't right. Well I get him home and things from the start were odd. He had discharge coming from his eyes which I thought was from being in the yard. I find out later what he has is called eye entropion (rolling inward of the eyelids). Surgery was the only option, $700 the cost to repair, which was almost what I paid for Harley. Later as the spring rolls in I notice my dog had red bumps starting to appear, back to the vet. They tell me he's allergic to something which caused the outbreak. A little while passes and the chronic ear infections start, back to the vet, more meds. By the time Harley became 3 he had hip dysplasia and had a hard time getting up from his bed. I would let him sleep on the couch so he could be more comfortable. He was easily irritated, so he couldn't be the dog that we wanted as a pet. He was miserable most of the time. Well when he was 3, my father died from a failed liver transplant and my family was doing the preparations for my father. The enclosure that Harley was kept in had a 4-foot fence. I never thought that he would try to jump the fence but he tried and didn't make it. My Harley was a tall American Bulldog and could have easily freed himself from the fence but his hips were so bad that he couldn't hold himself up. I came back from burying my father to find my Harley had hung himself on a 4-foot fence. I contacted the ARF and requested justice for my dog and they just turned a blind eye to what Steve Kruse is doing in West Point Iowa. Happiness is Pets in Arlington Heights, IL is the avenue for Steve Kruse and for neglected puppy mill puppies. I didn't find out anything about this puppy mill until Harley died and I did some research on his pedigree. But this isn't the end. I went back to Happiness is Pets 2 years after I bought Harley and saw a little black Peekapoo. I took him out and he had some kind of skin infection and a kinked tail also. I asked them where this dog had come from and they gave me no answer. I felt bad to put the puppy back in the cage so I took him home with me. I named him Nickle aka Nicky. I took him to the vet that Happiness is Pets works with, and Happiness is Pets ended up paying the vet bill which was as much as Nicky costs. So I considered him a rescue from Happiness is Pets. I gave him to a trainer here in the Chicagoland area. The only thing I can give credit to Happiness is Pets about is that they have an excellent animal hospital that they work with-Elmhurst Animal Hospital. I have been going there for years. I have filed a report with the Consumer Protection Division about Steve Kruse in West Point, Iowa, dba [doing business as] Stonehenge Kennels. There are thousands of complaints from IL, FL, Arkansas, Iowa and MO. What is going to be done about this puppy mill that scams unsuspecting new pet owners? I have been in contact with Al Walker, the president of the registry that Kruse uses to register all the poorly bred dogs. We are boycotting the registry, Animal Research Foundation in Texas. We have hundreds of people emailing and calling for the ARF to revoke Kruse rights to register the dogs that he mills. Everyone can help. Call or email the Animal Research Foundation at the info listed here. Your help is appreciated. Here's a link to the ARF, and the puppy miller's name is on their website. http://www.stodghillsarfregistry.com/breeders_list.htm#AMERICAN Please email stodghills.arf@juno.com and tell them to revoke Kruse's rights to register the dogs that he mills. If you have purchased a sick puppy from Steve Kruse through your local pet store, please complain to the Better Business Bureau in your area--find it at www.bbb.org, "Locate a Bureau." Also complain to Robert Gibbens, DMV, at the USDA for allowing dog breeding facilities that provide inadequate care to continue operating. E-mail him at charolette.c.cotier@aphis.usda.gov. Also please fill out the Humane Society of the United States' Breeder Complaint Form, http://files.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/puppy_mill_complaint_form.pdf Thanks Susan Gray Chicago, IL [The Companion Animal Protection Society visited Steve Kruse's kennel in 2004. According to CAPS, Mr. Kruse said that he had 1,350 adult dogs and also sells to the Hunte Corporation. For a description and photos of caged dogs, please visit http://www.caps-web.org/iowa_kruse.php. The group In Defense of Animals collected info on Steve Kruse's facility in the 1990s. Visit http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/puppy/investigations2.html for information. According to IDA, Mr. Kruse had 806 dogs in 1995. It is not illegal to have a huge number of dogs. However, it is extremely difficult, without a huge, attentive staff and a great deal of land, to provide that number of dogs with the love, care, comfortable living areas, and exercise that dogs should have in order to be happy and healthy. -petstorecruelty.org] HOUSE OF PETS--MARYLAND--ABERDEEN June 2008: We received a complaint about the conditions in this store. JUST PAWS--CALIFORNIA--GLENDALE January 2008: I would like to lodge a complaint against JUST PAWS pet store in Glendale, California. I happened upon the store last night and was shocked to see the crammed conditions that the large puppies are living in. There is just no room for these big guys and its horribly sad. I myself am a pet lover and have a lab at home, but seeing this made me so depressed. I filed a complaint with the SPCA today and they will check it out but there is nothing that they can do if they find no violations. Why is it that other countries in Europe ban the sale of dogs in pet stores entirely and we are so far behind? DAWNA LOUGH JUST PETS--VIRGINIA--RESTON Allie, a Shih Tzu, was purchased in January of 2005. Within the next two days she began urinating frequently. Her guardians took her to the vet, who found that Allie had kidney failure of a genetic cause (that could have been detected in the parents) and gave her only a year to live. The vet recommended that the dog be returned, and her devastated guardians did so. Allie was immediately put back up for sale. According to the store, the new purchasers were informed of the dog's serious medical condition, as is required by law. Note: Just Pets advertises that it does not obtain puppy mill puppies. In this case, the breeder was apparently local and not a Midwestern dealer. However, the breeder failed to reply to several phone messages regarding Allie's illness. November 2006: "I was in Just Pets in Reston the other day. They have puppies. The first one I held was scared to death of me, shaking out of fear, literally. The second one, a little girl, was sweet but her eyes and nose were gunky and she looked like she had some sort of a skin issue on her muzzle. The store clerk said they were 'local.'" JUST PUPPIES--FLORIDA--ORLANDO 2007: I purchased a mix breed Boston Terrier/Rat Terrier puppy in 2006 from Just Puppies Inc. at 4115 S. Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, Florida. By chance, I came across my paperwork on our Max and just for giggles I looked up the breeder--Charles Jennings with the address listed as 24422 State Hwy. O, Bevier, MO 63532. To my horror, the name was on your list. ["USDA Inspections of Various Breeders" page--no violations, had 94 dogs in 2003] The condition of Max's health when we got him home was bad, just to put it mildly. I purchased Max because he would not stop shaking and my gut said to take him home. I am sure glad I did. After the first day, Max lost his appetite. I called our vet and he said it was normal for puppies placed in a new home and to stimulate his appetite with baby food. By day three, I made an appointment to see our vet the next day and was feeding him water, yogurt and baby food every three hours to keep him hydrated and fed. Long story short, Max spent seven days in the hospital at Plantation Animal Hospital in Plantation, Florida, with double pneumonia, kennel cough, worms and severe dehydration. We almost lost our little man. For two weeks after his release from the hospital I had to return daily for nebulizer treatments that took 45 minutes per session. I am not sure if our puppy arrived severely ill from the breeder or if it was due to possible poor conditions of the pet store. I paid $533.93 for my little man and he is worth every penny. His vet bills topped $2000.00 with the I.V.'s, hospitalization, oral medication for not only the pneumonia but also deworming both in the hospital and when he was released. This amount also included the daily breathing treatments for a month. The first two days while he was hospitalized, the technicians kept Max fed through a feeding tube and hydrated through his I.V. He refused all nourishment. He was listed as failure to thrive. Thankfully, he fought. I am happy to report that Max is doing well and in puppy school because of his high spirited nature. He gives his brothers (yellow lab--5 years old, and boxer--3 years old) a run for their money. The thought of anyone mistreating an animal makes me sick. My dogs are a part of my family and I would spare no expense when it comes to their care. They rely on me for their care and I am repaid with unconditional love that is priceless. JUST PUPPIES—MARYLAND--LAUREL 1) Marcus, a Boxer, is the offspring of two dogs purchased at Just Puppies, a pet store in Laurel, Maryland. Marcus has chronic staph infections that his guardian manages through careful diet. He is hypothyroid and is developing hip dysplasia, both hereditary conditions that could have been detected in the parents, who should not have been bred. His hip dysplasia will most likely result in long-term pain and require expensive surgery. 2) Jerry is a miniature schnauzer puppy bought from Just Puppies in Laurel, Maryland in January of 2005. He had kennel cough (the store admitted that ALL their dogs probably have kennel cough and provided pills for it). Within a week of his purchase, he exuded thick green mucus from his nose and was having trouble breathing. His guardians took him to an emergency clinic, where he was found to have pneumonia. For days Jerry was in an intensive care unit, hooked up to oxygen, intravenous tubes, and getting shots every hour, and it was not known if he would live. $5,000 worth of vet bills later, he has survived but as of mid-February still needed monthly vet visits. Just Puppies refuses to pay for ANY emergency care for any puppy, even immediately after purchase, and even if that emergency care is provided by its own store vets. Jerry was born in Missouri. ************************* JUST PUPPIES--MARYLAND--LAUREL 2008: We understand that this store has CLOSED! Unfortunately the Rockville store is still selling puppy mill puppies. 2006: I went in there once just out of curiosity while waiting for my appointment at a nearby shop. I was appalled at the conditions of not only the living quarters, but the puppies themselves. They looked sickly and when I tried to talk to someone in there about the condition of the puppies, they wouldn't talk to me at all unless I would fill out an application to buy a puppy (which of course I didn't). I wanted to cry when I left, it was awful. ************************ JUST PUPPIES--MARYLAND--ROCKVILLE January 2009: We received a complaint about the conditions at this store. Another branch of the same store, this Just Puppies also gets its puppies from puppy mills and keeps them in barren little cages in a warehouse-like setting. A visitor to the store in November 2005 found that there was a very unpleasant odor in the puppy area, where the puppies are being kept two to a small cage. ************************ JUST PUPPIES--MARYLAND 2007 My case against Just Puppies, Inc.: We purchased a puppy from Just Puppies, Inc. He was my husband's birthday gift to me. I was always hesitant towards pet stores but going there and seeing the puppy that my husband had picked out for me there was no turning back, my heart had already melted all logic aside. I wanted to take him out of the filthy cage that they were keeping him in and bring him home, nourish, protect, love and care for him. If I could afford more than one I would have included his sister. In the store you are allowed to get acquainted with the puppy in a cubicle. He was playful, running, attacking his sister, and happy to be in my arms. When I left for work they had my husband sit down for paperwork and payment and I headed back to work and said a little prayer in my mind, hopeful that this is a good decision. After a long day or what seemed to be an endless day at work, I rushed home after work to see Will [name changed--petstorecruelty.org]. I had thought of a name at work, and amazingly he responded to this one. The reason I chose to call him by this is because it reminds me of power and strength which was an attribute of his loving personality. He was playing, eating, drinking, running around. So cute that I would just sit and wonder, God, what a gift and joy from heaven has dropped into my lap. He continued to play hide and seek, sitting and staring at us and teasing us with his cuteness that resembled a small baby polar bear cub. I took a camera and just following him around recording his adorable behaviors. The normal things that puppy of 2 months would do. I grew so attached to Will, constantly monitored the little guy, I wanted to make sure everything is ok. I scheduled a checkup for the following Friday. The clinic is covered under Just Puppies as a covered Provider over two week duration. My husband and I kept him at home, missed some days from work and took turns to monitor him. Like you would to a human baby we had to monitor his stool. His stool the day we brought him home and the day after was pretty normal: brown in color and soft and long. He continued to act "normal" and excrete a normal stool until Friday morning. On this day, he did not touch his food and his stool was more fluid and lighter in color, and one time had drips of blood in it. By mid-morning he was only excreting a yellowish gooey substance (with a HORRID smell) and rarely even drinking his water. Although I had an appointment scheduled for later that afternoon, I panicked and called the clinic (VCA North Animal Hospital) insisting on an earlier appointment and described the symptoms over the phone to a nurse/assistant who explained that this behavior is normal for a puppy, that it is natural as babies to have diarrhea and loss of appetite. Mind you, she was so confident in the advice that I felt she must know what she was talking about and felt relieved. I asked if she can confirm with a doctor and she said that when I come in for the checkup we can discuss further. Basically I sat and waited with my eyes glued on him, as 8 hours passed slowly, anticipating some kind of medical attention for my baby. I rushed my baby to the hospital a half hour before the appointment, hoping to be seen a little bit sooner as he had started to whimper. I was in the waiting room an additional 20 minutes into my appointment. Finally when it was time to go in, I handed the 3 stool samples that I had gathered for their testing purposes to a nurse and advised her that the smell is horrid and not like anything a young puppy could excrete. When I was in the exam room I overheard the nurses saying this smell is horrible, she told me it would be. The vet came in and explained that what you're seeing is normal in a puppy--the diarrhea, lack of appetite, blood in excretion she said is a result of chronic diarrhea blab blah blah (looking back, I don't know how these people keep their licenses). Her diagnosis after looking at Will's fecal sample is that he has parasites, which she claimed are normal and easy to treat. She helped me feed Will a little and equipped me with instructions for the antibiotics and sent me off. I was relieved that this would be treatable. I went home happy believing that he will be ok, he will get better, that coccidia and Giardia (contagious to humans as well) could be treated, and I was adamant to follow all the doctors orders. When we reached home he ate a portion of the medicated puppy meds and looked good to me. He played around. Still lots of smelly diarrhea but I was getting used it. The following morning I tried to feed him and he rejected the food despite all my efforts. I knew I couldn't give him antibiotics on an empty stomach, so I called the hospital and told them that I had trouble feeding him. They told me to come in. I drove the 20 miles and waited to be seen by one of the friendliest vets I've ever met. He was very confident that the puppy was just giving me a hard time due to stress and proceeded to show me how I can force feed Will using a syringe and supplied me with several. He helped me get a couple mouthfuls into Will and sent me off confident that I could do the same. I force-fed him more ADA puppy medicated food when we got home and my husband helped me feed him the antibiotics that the doctor had prescribed. I knew he needed constant support and kept him warm and cuddled close to me loving him every bit. I wanted to help him in any way and aspired to see him grow and play like he did the first couple days. Instead he lay in his bed the rest of the night. Will slept on my bed under the cover and woke me up around 3 A.M. in need to go to the bathroom. He poked me with his paw and looked uncomfortable. I took him to his pad where he splattered diarrheic excretions, then cleaned him and brought him back to bed. Around 5 A.M. he woke up both me and my husband and we took him again but this time the poor baby could not control it and part of it went on the bed. I took out the sheets and we went to bed on the couch near the kitchen where we kept his pads. I put him in his bed and covered him up next to me. In the morning, I found him lying there with more excretions, brown and watery in substance. I could not distinguish whether it was vomit or his stool. I started to get teary seeing that my poor baby must be in pain and lying there. I called the VCA Referrals Animal Hospital in Gaithersburg and explained the situation. They told me to bring him in as soon as possible as she will prepare the staff. We met with a nurse in exam room 1. I answered all her questions. She looked at Will and said she has to take him into the back to put him on I.V. and isolate him from any other animals and that he may have Parvovirus. "Canine parvovirus (CPV) is very contagious disease which spreads from dog to dog via an infected dog's crap. Dogs confined to the house or yard will probably never contract it. It is more common amongst pets who are allowed to run wild or come in contact with infected dogs. Symptoms of infection include vomiting, diarrhea, depression and loss of appetite. Treatment should be sought quickly since death usually occurs within 2 or 3 days of the symptoms." We waited until the vet came into see us. She said that as soon as the looked at the blood test she knew that he is infected with the deadly virus and explained that for any chance of survival, it will be best to keep him here. We explained that Just Puppies, Inc has a provider listing and VCA Referrals is not part of that list meaning that it is possible that we would have to pay out of our own pocket, the potential $4,000-5,000 bill. My husband got in touch with a Just Puppies, Inc manager who explained that his first days will be covered due to the reason that their facility is closed and does not have proper 24 hour monitoring or high tech equipment. After all, the 2-week limited warranty provided several places to go and this hospital was referred by a hospital on their own listing. A puppy sick at purchase, they said, would be covered for 2 weeks. The plan was that we would keep him overnight at the VCA Referrals Hospital and move him to the hospital that would cover his treatment the next day. I got in touch with a vet to inform him of the transfer. He advised against it and said that the best option was to leave him at the critical care as they do not have all the resources and the 24-hour supervision that would help him get better as their facility only operates from 8 A.M.-6 P.M. Naturally I wanted this baby to live and be able to fight this disease. The doctor told me that Will's chances are low but that if he pulls through we would all pop a bottle of champagne. We kept the baby at the hospital (VCA Referrals) adamant that we will make Just Puppies pay for the hospital bill as their own covered vet had advised us to keep him at VCA Referrals. $1000 per night treatments that could hopefully help him and give him a chance to live. That Sunday I could not sleep could not eat, constantly fought with my husband as a result of my stress, angry and felt violated by this cruel corporation. Angry that there are other puppies and other owners who are going through the same or have gone through the same situation and hopeful that they will pay for all they have done. I stayed up researching the virus online, researched what I can do to close down places like Just Puppies. In the interim, I continued to call the hospital for updates every couple hours. They said he was stable, they said he was doing ok but not better, his temperature was down, BP was down, but he ate some food, they said that the bills will be expensive, they said that he has a 30% chance up until today, a day after my birthday through which I had no care to enjoy because my little one was suffering. I put my hopes up again. I am now waiting for another update. The wait kills me but I have a feeling he will--after all he is my miracle baby. Regarding the financial perspective of this huge ordeal, my husband is contacting Just Puppies manager to tell them about these expenses to which they claimed they would cover in either case. However now we are not so sure because we cannot get in touch with anyone in the corporate office. This is the problem we now face. The corporate office of Just Puppies, Inc. has made it extremely difficult for us to get in touch with a manager, so on and so forth. The owner/regional manager is supposedly on vacation and store manager advised us that the hospital expenses will be covered the first couple days. Now it is required for us with our puppy's critical conditions to have him stay at the ICU unit in VCA Referrals Animal Hospital. If moved from the current treatment, Will may have a relapse. Just Puppies, Inc, has sold us a sick puppy and for humane and natural reasons we believe it deserves a chance we are keeping him there and expect to be reimbursed fully once, God willing, Will overcomes this dreadful virus that due to Just Puppies' cruel and inhumane practices [he] is suffering. It is evident that many other puppies being sold at the location have been infected with this contagious virus and my aim is for this company to provide proper treatment for all of them and give them a chance to live, ultimately closing their business due to malpractice and crimes against humanity. This experience has drenched me with stress, anxiety, and tears and now anger and I wish to help end this vicious cycle that exists amongst pet stores, pet mills, etc. Our puppy looks like he has a chance and we want to make sure we do everything in our power to help him fight this virus. He has different fluids constantly flowing into his tiny 2-lb body and he sleeps and sometimes he wakes to show hope. He is my baby and I cry at the fact that he has gone through so much but I believe he will be our miracle come true. And now I wait. Update: Sadly, my Will couldn't make it through. He passed yesterday at noon. The doctors tried everything over the past week and he looked good and like he was improving but all of a sudden there was a complication and he went into cardiac arrest. I rushed to the hospital hoping that it wasn't true and went I got into the ER, there were ten people working on him trying to revive him. It was the worst I ever saw and they had no choice but to let him no. Afterwards I had the chance to hold him in my arms and apologize to him for all he went through. Every time I close my eyes all I can think of is him and how hard he fought and how much anger I have at the store and the mills and all those involved in such cruel acts. Dogs are truly angels in disguise. JUST PUPPIES--MARYLAND--TOWSON 2006--I went to Just Puppies last night in Towson. I was NOT planning to purchase a puppy from there, but wanted to see the different breeds as I am trying to decide which type of dog I would like. The situation there was horrible. Some of the puppies were coughing, some were so listless they only looked at you and did not lift their heads, and one was "asleep" though I don't know how asleep it was vs. nearing death, with a thick drop of mucus hanging out of its little nose, which was resting on the rubber grid that made up the bottom of the cage. It was despicable. I was offended at how terrible the place smelled, how dirty the puppies were, and how very sick so many of them seemed. There was an ADORABLE pomeranian puppy that was sweet and yippy and full of pep that I really wanted to scoop up, just to save it from the place. But they were selling it for $899! And I know enough not to purchase ANYTHING from that place, as it only encourages their practices. I don't think breeders even sell their pom pups for that price. I've visited a private pom breeder who was offering to sell me a puppy for $450. And her little ones were in great shape. I felt terrible for that little guy--just looking at the others around it and knowing it could very well end up like them. LA MAISON DES TOUTOUS--NEW YORK--FLUSHING 2007: My sister went looking for a puppy in her neighborhood. She came across La Maison des Toutous on Kissena Blvd in Flushing, NY. She, ignoring my warning of purchasing a dog through a pet store, fell in love with a Cocker Spaniel/King Charles Spaniel mixed female puppy with severely deformed front legs. The puppy's legs were completely bowlegged and the dog couldn't even walk on a smooth surface. The owner of the shop hid this fact by refusing us to allow the dog to walk on other than nest paper. We tested the puppy when the owner turned her back; sure enough, the dog couldn't even walk. The owner still insisted on selling the puppy for practically a full price. Also, most of the puppies were dirty, with scars, and mixed breeds listed for purebreds. I have nothing against mixed breeds, but for one to pay $1300+ for a dog without a reliable pedigree, then they are being fooled!! LONE EAGLE AVIARIES--VIRGINIA--MANASSAS December 2008: We received a complaint about the condition of birds at this store. [Note: This store, along with Petland and Le Chien (a Manhattan store), was featured in the Dateline NBC puppy mill investigation in the year 2000.] MARU PETS--VIRGINIA--FREDERICKSBURG 2009: This store's website advertises that its puppies are "of the highest quality." State health records show that in 2007 and 2008, Maru Pets obtained puppies from a Missouri broker, Tracy's K&J Pets, who had 448 dogs on the premises during a 2002 inspection, according to USDA records available at... http://www.petshoppuppies.com/report.asp?ID=43B0015 Proof that Maru Pets obtained puppies from Tracy's K&J Pets MAXIE BIGGZ-NEW YORK-STATEN ISLAND "In 2005 I purchased a beautiful 2-month-old pug puppy who we named Daxie Boy. I brought him to the vet the next day and was told he had severe kennel cough. This was the beginning of the downward spiral. Since then this puppy has had stones taken out of his bladder, a shunt repaired so he would have the use of his liver, and the head of both femurs cut off due to disease. The store has not helped at all. They gave me a false phone number and address for their warranty company. Their staff would not give me any information, and I just found out that the store filed for bankruptcy and says they are not responsible for anything to do with the purchase of our puppy. "If you look online there are many complaints about this company. They are linked to puppy mills and are lying to customers everywhere. We would not trade this dog for the world, but I want people to know what happens when they purchase from a store. Right now I have to hold Daxie up so he can go to the bathroom. This is not how I expected to spend quality time with the puppy. Daxie will be a year old in March. Please help us show the world." Daxie's initial price was $1,500. He has had 3 surgeries, and the vet bills so far are over $8,000. He was born at a breeding facility in Arkansas. May 2008: We received a complaint about conditions at this store. ************ MISSY'S PUPPIES AND GROOMING--WEST VIRGINIA--POCA We received this e-mail and are awaiting further information. "Missy's in Poca, WV has a reputation for selling puppies who wind up with parvo within a week of the sale. She does give a refund and offer to 'nurse them back to health,' but one I know personally never saw her puppy or heard from the shop again. Others I've talked to say the same thing. I don't know where they get their dogs, but they apparently don't know how to prevent the spread of disease." MONSTER PETS-PENNSYLVANIA--PHILADELPHIA Full address: Monster Pets 1946 S. Columbus Blvd. Philadelphia, PA 19148 Attn: Brian Fennell, Owner 1-215-336-9000 The following message is from Rat Chick Rat Rescue and Advocacy Group: Please message us or email ratchick@comcast.net. We would love some feedback on this! Even if you have already written a letter, write another one after reading this! We are sure you will want to! Please send copies of your letters. Also let us know if you would be interested in helping out with demos or other parts of this campaign. Enjoy the description of our meeting with Mr. Fennell. Thanks for the support! Maria and Rachel of Rat Chick Rat Rescue and Advocacy Group met with Mr. Brian Fennell owner of Monster Pets on Sunday, February 4, 2007. Here is what happened: We called Mr. Fennell to let him know that we would be coming in to the store to meet and discuss working together to change some of Monster Pets' policies. When Mr. Fennell greeted us, we assumed he would bring us back into his office; a quiet place out of public view would have been the best setting for a meeting. It became apparent to us that Mr. Fennell was not going to take us seriously when he decided to hold our meeting in the middle of the sales floor. We handed him our list of demands, which included: 1) Stop the sale of female rats. 2) Allow Rat Chick Rat Rescue and Advocacy Group to provide free in service training to your personnel. Training would be required for all employees within one month of their hire date. Training would include but not be limited to: rat history, basic rat care and humane handling. 3) Allow Rat Chick Rat Rescue and Advocacy Group to make spot inspections of the basic care and handling of rats and other animals in the store. 4) Stop the sale of cats and puppies. Instead, invite PACCA or other credible animal rescues (approved by Rat Chick Rat Rescue and Advocacy Group) to showcase their adoptable animals. PACCA has already volunteered to supply animals, veterinary care and spay/neutering services. He hurriedly scanned the material and said that he is already complying with our first request and that he has not been selling female rats for some time now. He then said that he would never allow us to provide training because he provides training to his employees. He said that we would have to agree to disagree on proper and humane handling of rats. He claims that PICKING UP A RAT BY THEIR TAIL IS THE UNDISPUTED CORRECT WAY OF HANDLING A RAT. When we asked if we could see the rats, which are kept hidden from public view, he said that we could not. We asked why and he said because it is his store and that he was in the middle of a Sunday afternoon and he was busy. So we cannot even say if our demand of not selling female rats is being met because we were not allowed to visit the rats. When asked how many rats are kept in a cage he said that the aquariums they are kept in are big. We asked again how many rats are kept in a tank and Mr. Fennell said that he did not know. Moving on to the issue of Monster Pets' sale of dogs and cats. While at Monster Pets, we witnessed, once again, the puppies in tiny wire bottomed cages, almost exactly like this one: One of the puppies was lying in its own feces and had feces caked around its rear area. As soon as Mr. Fennell read the demand that he stop selling puppies and kittens, he said, OH NO, I WILL NOT STOP SELLING PUPPIES AND KITTENS! When asked why he would refuse to work with PACCA or another rescue, he said, I NEED TO FEED MY FAMILY. We then said, so you are telling us that if you stopped selling puppies and kittens the profit that you make from your other products would not feed your family? Mr. Fennell told us, OH, DON'T GO THERE. We then tried to talk with him about how he was personally contributing to the companion animal overpopulation problem. He cut us off and said, I know the stats but we are just going to have to agree to disagree about my sale of live animals. Mr. Fennell then said that he gets his dogs from a private licensed breeder (code word for PUPPY MILL) called Hunte. Mr. Fennell claims that Hunte is the best breeding facility out there. He then told us that before we talk to people about issues that we have we should do our homework. Well, here is some homework that we have done about Mr. Fennel's puppy mill puppies source, Hunte: (See Hunte Corp. page of this website) http://www.thehuntecorporation.com/tour/ Mr. Fennell repeatedly stated his belief that, I DO IT THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS, because he claims Monster Pets' cages are air-conditioned, heated and clean. He said that Monster Pets abides by the standards when it comes to keeping the puppies in tiny wire bottomed cages. While still on the subject of Monster Pets' sale of puppies, Mr. Fennell said, I PRIDE MYSELF ON THE FACT THAT I DO IT THE RIGHT WAY. Since when is there a right way to profit off of sentient beings that come from the horrific puppy mill industry? In conclusion, Mr. Fennell said something that we find extremely humorous: MY WIFE IS AN ANIMAL ACTIVIST!!!!!!!!! PLEASE WRITE LETTERS, MAKE PHONE CALLS OR EVEN VISIT THE STORE TO VOICE YOUR DISGUST!!!! WE NEED TO STEP UP THIS CAMPAIGN AND PUT THE HEAT ON MR. FENNELL!!! We will also need many people to come out and demo with us. Dates to be announced soon. Monster Pets 1946 S. Columbus Blvd. Philadelphia, PA 19148 Attn: Brian Fennell, Owner 1-215-336-9000 NATURES NEST-IOWA-FORT MADISON 2006: I am writing because of what I witnessed this weekend at Natures Nest in Fort Madison, Iowa, 52627. I have already contacted the police department, who said that it is not something they handle. The town is approx 9,000 people, so there is not an animal control officer. The police department said it had already contacted the Department of Agriculture, who gave the pet store 60 days to clean up. I witnessed an adult cat whose eyes were so infected that they were sealed shut. While I was there (less than 5 minutes) it vomited blood on itself TWICE. Its breathing was labored. I fear it will not make it one more day. The rest of the animals were covered in their own feces. I have never witnessed anything so cruel. Update: The Department of Agriculture did go to the pet store and only gave it ONE violation. The owner of the store said that she had medicine for the cat with the eye problem and although she couldn't produce proof (vet records or the actual medicine itself) they did not write her up for that. I went back to the pet store this weekend and although things were SLIGHTLY cleaned up, they still were filthy. While I was there, the owner (who was chain smoking inside her store) kicked the cage of a dachshund and yelled at it because it was barking. I have never witnessed animals being so poorly treated. ****************** NORTHWEST SEED & PET--WASHINGTON (state)--SPOKANE 2006: "The birds in their Sprague St. store are fed chicken feed and left in dirty unkempt cages. Mass amounts of doves in rabbit cages with babies being born on the metal. The warehouse is full of cockatiels, rats, mice, gerbils, hamsters, snakes, lizards, and there was also pregnant cat. A lady with a bird mill was there recently selling more birds. They have an umbrella cockatoo who is fed chicken feed and is priced real high, so he's been sitting there a long time. He is not even allowed out of his cage. They have Patagonian cavies, conures in parakeet cages. They have been busted buying stolen puppies. They had Am Staff puppies who were showing serious aggression issues and just let them attack the other puppy they had them in with. Sick kittens with goopy eyes and filthy cages. This is a nightmare of a chain. The store on Division St. has a baby alligator that someone gave to them and the manager is fattening it up to eat it. The Sprague store has a caiman in a pool no bigger than a bathtub. This is so sad. Please post this store. The Animal Control here will do nothing about it." PAULEY'S PUPS--VIRGINIA--ASHLAND 2009: The website for this store makes no statements about where its puppies come from. In 2007 and 2008 Pauley's Pups obtained puppies from Tennessee breeder Jeanine Dyer, USDA license number 63-A-0171. We currently have NO USDA information on this breeder. Tennessee state records indicate that the types of puppies obtained from this breeder included Pomeranians, Yorkie-Poos, Dachshunds, Miniature Dachshunds, Poodles, Shih-Poos, Chihuahuas, Papillons, Morkies, and Shih-Tzus. Proof that Pauley's Pups obtained puppies from Jeanine Dyer PEDIGREE SHOP-COLORADO--BROOMFIELD 2008: Last year I adopted a Siberian Husky puppy Ivan, from Pedigree Shop (720) 887-1300 in Broomfield, CO and recently adopted a companion Siberian Husky from the same location. They informed me on both occasions that the puppies had come from local family breeders. They did not tell me who the breeder was, only that the sire and dam were not the same. I am interested in breeding my huskies because we have plenty of room and absolutely love the nature of the breed. Anyways...I thought I would contact the breeder who provided the new puppy, Lola to Pedigree Shop and find out if she had any recommendations on which heat cycle I should allow them to breed, etc. so as not to disrupt Lola's growth or cause pregnancy problems. When Lola's papers arrived I found the name of the breeder and looked her up. She is not local, she has many animal offenses and she is on your naughty list! I was absolutely disgusted to know that my precious little girl came from, Marsha Cox of Mo., and was probably crammed in a tiny cage and sold strictly to make a buck. She was very timid, thin and territorial of her food. She is now outgoing and a little on the chubby side. I really wish I had known sooner. I'm so sad to think that her parents are being used like a product maker. I'm so glad that Lola has a loving home now, but I want to help stop the cruelty. I did attach a scanned copy of the certification page, with Marsha's name and the Pedigree Shop envelope it arrived in. I can provide the adoption papers as well, if necessary. -Melissa Headstream PET BARN--CALIFORNIA--MODESTO (and Manteca) 2007: This store's new website says "finally a pet store that actually sells pets!" Local residents say that the store's small cages contain puppies brought in from out of state, in spite of the tragic fact that last year approximately 15,000 dogs were killed at the local shelter. 2008: We hear that the Modesto store may be selling locally bred puppies and the Manteca store sells small animals only. Still, we believe they should sell supplies only and not sell animals at all. PET CENTRAL--NEVADA--LAS VEGAS A puppy purchased from this store in 2006 came from the Missouri breeders Marnita and Charles Phelps of Stones Prairie Kennel. In 2004, a USDA inspector found that this breeder was confining some dogs in a pen with less than 6 inches of headroom, and other dogs in an area with a "very noticeable" ammonia odor (see our "USDA reports on various breeders" section). PET CENTRAL STATION--IOWA--IOWA CITY December 2008: We received a complaint about the conditions for animals at this store. PETCO--TEXAS--SAN ANTONIO March 11, 2007, I drove over to Petco to buy a gerbil. When I went there, the cages seemed clean, and the woman at the register provided me with much helpful information on how to take care of my new companion, Tabitha. The gerbils seemed happy, and had toys and a tunnel to play with, and were separated by gender to prevent unexpected pregnancy. However there was no food or water in the cages, so they must feed them when the store is closed, even though there should ALWAYS be food and water in the cage. As well as this, it was a 5-gallon (approx.) aquarium with three gerbils each. This is inadequate spacing even for small animals. Besides that, there was very little bedding in the cage for the gerbils to burrow in. I bought my new friend and set up her new home. A couple weeks later, we got another gerbil for my brother. This time, the cages were dirty and the fur on the gerbils was matted up. When the worker reached into the cage, she pulled the gerbil out by the tail, which can cause the skin to peel off and not grow back, as well as causing injury. When we took the gerbil home, anytime someone wanted to pick her up, she would run away. Now she is permanently traumatized because of her treatment before we bought her. PET CITY--IDAHO--BOISE Photo taken at Pet City in Boise, Idaho, in October of 2005. This dachshund puppy is sick, lethargic, and the green discharge coming from his nose is all over his face and ears, as well as on the mat and the window. His tongue is hanging out (not visible in this photo) and he is sleeping on a hard, dirty surface. [From an article by Lindie Patton for KBCI 2 Boise, April 8, 2005] Since September of 2004, Pet City in the Boise Town Square has been charged 6 times with animal cruelty by the local Humane Society. The charges include accumulated waste in the cages, inappropriate caging and overcrowding, and lack of food and water. The latest charge was on April 1, 2005, several months after the Humane Society warned Pet City the animals would be impounded if better care was not provided. Pet City is owned by Ron Hope. Customer Jessica Brothers recently purchased a pug there who had mucus on his nose. The employees said that was normal, "a pug thing." One day after the purchase, the puppy was coughing, sneezing, and listless and was found to have pneumonia. Veterinarian Lana Roberts of Mountain View Animal Hospital said, "It was severe and I think he could've died had he not had treatment for it." The treatment as of early April has cost approximately $2,000 and is not yet complete. PET CITY--WYOMING--CHEYENNE Cal is a puppy sold at Pet City at Frontier Mall, 1400 Dell Range Blvd., Cheyenne, for $700. The customer very soon found out that Cal had a tumor on the umbilical cord that would require surgery costing a minimum of $200. The store offered to exchange the puppy for another one, but the customer was concerned about what the store would do with Cal and refused this offer. Unable to pay for high vet bills, the customer gave the puppy to a friend who offered to pay for the surgery and give the puppy a good home. Cal was sold as a purebred Sheltie but has unusual markings and colors for dogs of this breed. Cal was born in Nebraska. [2007--a pet store employee not associated with this store wrote to say that this is a photo of an umbilical hernia rather than a tumor. Umbilical hernias vary in severity. Surgery is often done to correct them. They are considered to be a hereditary condition.] PETCO--TENNESSEE--CHATTANOOGA August 2006: A visitor to the store located on Highway 153 writes: "Gerbils and hamsters are living in filthy cages. All are lethargic. No activity whatsoever. All appear to be underweight." PET COMPANY (THE)--NEW JERSEY--MAYS LANDING--HAMILTON MALL I have purchased two puppies from the Pet Company in the Hamilton Mall. I knew their situation before coming into my home couldn't have been a piece of cake, but I never expected to see thousands of stories online about these innocent animals. I have been blessed with two healthy dogs, Murphy is my West Highland White Terrier (11 mo.) and Maggie is his new playmate, a Cairn Terrier (3 1/2 mo.) Maggie, however was not my first choice for Murphy. I was looking at another Westie whom I would have named Weston. Poor Weston looked completely calm in his cage. I thought to myself, "Wow this will be great--a dog less dominant than Murphy, he's handsome like Murph and everything!!" I asked the girl if I could see him. I noticed something was wrong right there because he cowered in his cage. When we took him out, he started running in a circle, banging his head into the walls and biting us, and when given a toy, he became completely fixated on it. I had no idea what to do...I started crying in the store. If I didn't have Murphy I would have bought him in a second and tried to rehabilitate him, but that was impossible. I went back 3 times and tried, praying he would calm down so I could take him home. It never happened. As soon as you put him in his cage though, he was fine. This dog will NEVER know anything other than a cage. I went back a few days later, and took Maggie out. She put her head down on my shoulder and let out a big breath. I knew I needed to take her home. She received a clean bill of health today!! I thought for sure something would be wrong. Her belly was SO BIG when we brought her home and when she had her first accident in the house, while cleaning it up I noticed she tries to eat her feces. No wonder why she was so bloated, the poor thing. Murphy is a different story, you couldn't ask for a better dog. However, we have not received any papers for Murphy yet. Nothing that says he is ours, that he's certified, that his microchip is in a database if God forbid he gets lost. NOTHING. He might as well not even be my dog. I can't say anything good about this pet shop, not about the workers, about the living conditions of the dogs, nothing. They lie to people, and swindle money. We paid $1200 for Murphy and $705 for Maggie. Not to say that they are not worth their prices...they are worth more that that in my eyes. They are priceless additions to my life. But to know where these dogs came from, and what they suffered through is horrible to think about. I will NEVER buy from a pet store again. EVER. Murphy and Maggie did not deserve to be taken away from their mothers too early, dumped on a truck and left in a cage for 2 1/2 months until someone came for them...no animal deserves that. I will fight until The Pet Company, Hunte Kennel and their greedy breeders are SHUT DOWN. I encourage others to do so as well. These people don't care about dogs, they care about money. They would rather see innocent animals suffer. Breed until they can't do it anymore, live in filth, have awful medical problems just so someone like me can feel sorry for the lonely puppy in the window and dump hundreds of thousands of dollars on them. An animal life should not be held in any less regard that a human life. You wouldn't do it to a baby, don't do it to a dog. -Erin Giacobbe ********************* Also... 2007: I purchased an 8-week-old Yorkshire Terrier puppy at The Pet Company in Mays Landing, New Jersey, at the Hamilton Mall. Upon purchase, of course, I was told the puppy was in "perfect health" and I was so excited to take him home. The next morning, he developed a cough that got progressively worse though out the day. I took him to my vet and he was diagnosed with kennel cough and nasal discharge and was deemed "Unfit For Sale." Due to the fact that I had two other dogs at home and could not take the chance of exposing my one elderly dog to this, sadly I had to take him back. Upon return to the store and after much wrangling, the sales associate admitted that the dog was treated for kennel cough and was still kept in the general population with the other dogs for sale. They also did not tell me that the dog had a loose right patella. They quietly slipped this information into the mounds of paperwork. I was disgusted at them knowingly selling me my sick Yorkie and keeping this information from me. And after much research, I was not surprised when I found they purchased this dog from a puppy broker called Hunte Corporation out of Missouri. Even though I only had this dog for two days I miss him and hope he gets healthy and finds a good home. It is so sad how these pet stores treat these animals and the sad and unhealthy lives they could grow up to live. PET COMPANY--NEW YORK--BAY SHORE 2008: A Papillion puppy purchased from this store about a year ago came from the breeder Travis and Betty Fanning of Washburn, MO. USDA records indicated that this breeder sold 244 dogs in 2007, 388 dogs in 2006, and 233 dogs in 2005. The puppy had giardia when purchased and is still hyper and has behavioral issues. PET COMPANY--TENNESSEE--CHATTANOOGA We bought a Mini-Schnauzer from The Pet Company in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on 01/13/2006, not knowing that they bought from HUNTE Corporation and puppy mills. Monday, 06/26/2006, at the age of 8 months old and after us only having him 5 months, we had to have our sweet Jackson put to sleep. He had been plagued with kennel cough since the day we brought him home and had been on numerous antibiotics for this, none of which helped. Even under our contract from The Pet Company, they never reimbursed us for our medication costs like they said they would. Friday, 06/23/2006, he woke up and was walking in circles. We took him to our vet that morning and he diagnosed him with an inner ear infection. We spent $166 on treatment/vet bill that day and were told that within 24 hours, the medication SHOULD help and he'd be ok. On Saturday, 06/24/2006, he was still walking in circles, but we thought that the medications given to him had not had time to kick in. I placed a call to our vet and was told to give it until Sunday. On Sunday morning, 06/25/2006, we woke up to our sweet pup Jackson thrashing about, paddling his forelimbs, eyes fixed, etc. We took him straight to our emergency vet and had numerous tests run, none of which were conclusive as to what his problem could be. We could now tell that his problem was NOT only an inner ear infection, but neurological as well. After 3 doses of valium, he was finally calm and peaceful. We were informed that he was blind and was suffering from seizures as well as other problems. We wanted to take him home with us so that just in case something DID happen to him, he'd be at home where he SHOULD be. Dr. Ashley said that was ok because there wasn't anything they could do for him except give him fluids and for us to take him to our regular vet first thing Monday morning. On Monday morning, we awoke to Jackson paddling his arms again, but he was still "asleep." We took him straight in to see Dr. Aaron Robertson at Wolftever Pet Hospital in Harrison, Tennessee. He said that it seemed as if Jackson was suffering from meningitis and we could TRY starting treatment for that, but his condition would remain grim. Not wanting to give up ANY hope that might be there, we agreed to start the treatments, see if he responded at all, and then get a referral for a neurological consult out of the University of Tennessee Veterinary Dept. I called to check on Jackson 4 hours later and was told that he was getting worse and not responding to treatment at all. He no longer thought it was meningitis. We thought when we took him in that he was still asleep from the valium the night before. He was not; he was in a coma. He was also suffering various other neurological defects and no longer showing the classic symptoms of meningitis. He never responded to any medications or people after the previous Saturday night. His body temperature was already starting to drop and his organs to shut down. We made the decision to have him put to sleep to keep from prolonging the inevitable. At the age of 8 months, our sweet Jackson had to cross the Rainbow Bridge. The lab report listed his cause of death as "Congenital Immune Disorder." The vet said he had basically had kennel cough his entire life, had no immune system to fight it off, and the infection took over his body even after being on antibiotics for the entire 5 months we had him :( Jackson was born at Wolf Point Kennel in Iowa, owned by Helene Hamrick. Now I am getting the runaround from The Pet Company. We had bought a lifetime health guarantee on him and they don't want to live up to their end. They don't return calls, their actual shop knows "nothing" and the manager is never in. She also doesn't take phone calls and neither does the district manager. I'll never again buy from a pet shop after SEEING where these puppies come from and how they're treated. I'll do anything I possibly can to see them shut down. Jackson deserves me out there fighting for him as much as I can fight. -Angela Pell Harrison, TN PETE'S PETLAND PET SHOP--ILLINOIS--ADDISON November 2008: We received a complaint about the condition of puppies at this pet store. PET-GO-ROUND--VIRGINIA--VIRGINIA BEACH Photo: Riot on his birthday. Riot is a Jack Russell Terrier purchased from Pet-Go-Round. Riot developed seizures shortly after being bred, and the puppies also developed seizures. Riot's guardian writes, "I love my dog dearly, but every seizure he has tears away at my heart. I hate to see him so out of it; it just kills me so much. I had thousands of dollars in vet bills for the puppies. There were four puppies in the litter. Three of them survived but one little angel did not. I just don't want to see any other person have to go through the pain of seeing their loved pet suffer from seizures that can be prevented by stopping the breeding of the dogs. I had my male fixed after he had seizures, but by then the damage was done to the puppies." Riot's guardian contacted the pet shop but was never given an answer as to whether the breeder was notified. Riot was delivered to the pet store by the Hunte Corporation. He comes from a breeder in Missouri whose name cannot be found on the USDA licensed breeder list. Riot's guardian has now adopted a Jack Russell from a rescue group. also from PET-GO-ROUND--VIRGINIA--VIRGINIA BEACH 2007: I stumbled upon your site when searching the internet about puppy mills. I was reading your hall of shame and wanted to add a little shame about the Pet-Go-Round in the Pembroke Mall in Virginia Beach, Virginia. My husband and I are big time pet lovers. We currently have 2 English Mastiffs, a German Shepherd and a mutt puppy. The German Shepherd was somewhat of a rescue from a friend who was not properly taking care of her. The mutt puppy we got from some neighbors who had a litter of pups and could not find homes for them, they said that if they couldn't find homes they would kill them. Our 5-month-old female Mastiff we bought online from a breeder in Arkansas, which I am now believing after reading more about puppy mills was probably a puppy mill we bought her from. Our male is 7 months old. We bought him from Pet-Go-Round in February after our beloved SPCA dog who was a bull mastiff German Shepherd mix died from prostate cancer. We don't like to buy dogs from pet stores for the simple fact that they are normally not healthy and not well bred and not well cared for. I did not want to support a puppy mill in any way. This purchase was completely against my strong beliefs. I guess the reason we did was because we had a void that needed to be filled and were presented with a dog that we had always wanted and we just bought him on a whim. Anyway, he was 3 months old at the time and barely weighing 30 pounds. A mastiff, now. He was skin and bones. We had been in the pet store a month prior to this and that is when we first saw him. But we couldn't and wouldn't buy him because he was in a pet store and we already had four dogs. Well, a month later our big old guy died and we found ourselves back at the pet store 2 days after having put him to sleep. The pup we had seen the month before was still there. We took him into one of the play areas and immediately fell in love. The price was steep but we didn't care. We asked questions about his feedings. We were in shock when they told us the Mastiff puppy was only eating once a day, and he was only eating a cup and a half of puppy food a day. He was very thin. He was a happy dog. So against our belief we bought the dog. We got him home and he seemed healthy, though he came home with a cough. The vets never called it kennel cough but it did last for over a month. The vet gave him meds but it didn't seem to help. He eventually stopped coughing. He still seems healthy now 4 months later. But he was very food aggressive at 3 months old because this pet store was starving the poor guy. He should have weighed near 40 pounds at 3 months old. We still have a problem with food aggression but are working on it. My husband and I are dreaming of showing and breeding this wonderful breed. We hope that our Mastiff will pass all the certs so he can be our foundation sire. We don't intend to be back yard breeders or a puppy mill. We are going to do everything right. If our dogs do not pass all the certs, then they will be fixed and never bred. I have done my research on the breed and breeding and showing. We do not intend to breed poor quality puppies. It may cost more to make a better quality puppy, but to me I would rather pay more to breed good quality than to make a dog suffer for poor quality. I am just outraged at the treatment of the puppies at this pet store. The training class that I have my Mastiffs in also has several other puppies from that pet store in it and most of them were half starved when they brought them home. Oh, my male that I bought from this pet store was from Hunte Corp, and the breeder Hunte Corp got him from was Ivan Yoder in Bloomfield, Iowa. The address is the same as that of Reuben Yoder on the USDA breeder list. Thank you for your time. Joanna Lain Norfolk, VA [Note from petstorecruelty: To view the Companion Animal Protection Society's investigation of the Reuben Yoder facility, go to www.caps-web.org/iowa_yoder_reuben.php.] PET HABITAT--CANADA--BRITISH COLUMBIA (several locations) This pet store chain has been selling puppy mill puppies purchased from the American puppy broker Hunte Corporation. See the TV expose at: http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2009/how_not_to_buy_a_puppy/main.html PET KINGDOM--FLORIDA--FOR MYERS 2007: I am a resident of Southwest Florida. I have been saddened by a certain store in my area. It is called "Pet Kingdom." They have "over" 100 tired puppies in bins where anybody can pick them up all day and night! You don't even have to ask to pick them up. They are so sore from being picked up constantly, and the worst part is that these puppies have beaming hot lights shining down on them and only get water every 3 hours! They are roasting! I have seen tons of sick puppies also. The same goes for all the small animals. I have seen little kids picking bunnies, and hamsters up by their heads and dropping them, and there is never any supervision for them. A lady usually stands by the puppies but just to make sure you don't steal them or to give you prices. I think it is wrong what they are doing! They are contributing to all the homeless in the world. PETLAND--ARIZONA--TUCSON (there are two Petlands in Tucson) July 3, 2009: Approximately one year ago I purchased a Boston Terrier, who I named Geoffrey, from a Tucson Petland location; unfortunately, he is no longer with us as of Monday of this week. I never thought I would condone a pet store by providing them with my business, but after witnessing the condition in which Geoffrey had been living for months, I considered removing him from that situation to be imperative to his health; I loved him. I initially entered the pet store at the will of a friend and was immediately disturbed by the filth in which these angels had to live. I held Geoffrey out of compassion and not intent to purchase; I wanted to show him an ounce of love, which I was confident he had never fully received. After weeks of daily visits, I brought him home. He was emaciated, barely knew how to walk, had only been drinking water from a bottle, and was used to the comfort of sleeping on what appeared to be chicken wire for almost the entirety of the each day. The closest object he received to a toy was a dirty washcloth which was sometimes in the glass confinement of his world. I frequently saw him on days in which he was sleeping on his own excrement because staff had not cleaned his area; it was a pathetic sight. Geoffrey was initially a mellow, warm loving boy who was compatible with all people, other dogs, cats, and even my parent's 11-year-old rabbit Boris. As the months went on, he started behaving aggressively towards the other animals. I entered him in obedience training, took him to see multiple veterinarians, including one that was also an animal behaviorist, and even resorted to medication along with showering him with the added attention. He had fits of hysteria; randomly screaming and attacking without warning or ability to control his outburst. Shortly after his first birthday, he started attacking people, including myself. He was in constant fear and had congenital mental abnormalities which would only progress and continue to torment him. After much consideration and the opinions of multiple veterinarians familiar with him, I made the difficult decision to free Geoffrey from the anguish that he was internally struggling with every day. I peeled myself from the floor of my room, which is now littered with his toys, to compose this letter. I struggle to be positive by constantly reminding myself that I explored every outlet to help my Geoffrey, but as I lay on the floor grasping his giant yellow duck and favorite pink bed, which I hysterically rummaged to find in the trash again last night, I need not turn a blind eye to the abuse and irresponsibility of Petland and the false advertisement that so many are a victim of. Geoffrey was sold to Petland by Louise Hite, who according to sources I've found, is a notorious negligent "breeder" operating a puppy mill. [Scroll down this page to find a list of dogs auctioned off by Louise Hite in 2006: www.petshoppuppies.com/report.asp?ID=43A2955--petstorecruelty.org] Geoffrey was my life after I removed myself temporarily from school for struggles with a health problem that semester and this past year. I ache to progress in my studies without his light as I remember his company and how the savior of one reflects. RIP Geoffrey 4/12/2008-6/30/2009. - Meghan Fern PETLAND--CANADA--ALBERTA--MacLEOD TRAIL Cody was a mini pin purchased for over $1,300 Canadian when he was 8 weeks old. His guardian says, "In the short time that I had Cody, he never did learn even the simplest of commands, such as 'sit.' I worked with him every day, multiple times a day, and yet nothing...I have trained dogs before and worked with them for many years and never have I had so little progress with any puppy of his age. Housebreaking was a complete disaster and even with routine he never, EVER got it...not even once did he 'go' outdoors. Cody was neurotic and would run into things constantly; he shook all the time...even when he wore his t-shirts to warm him." "Approximately three weeks after I purchased Cody, he suddenly died early in the morning...After coughing, wheezing, and an excessive amount of barking (for him anyways), he broke into convulsions and passed out dead." A necropsy is being done to determine the cause of death, and the Petland store, which provided only a 7-day health warranty, is considering whether or not it will refund the money paid for Cody. 2006: An person connected with this store wrote to us that this person would have received a refund if, within the first 7 days, a vet had declared the puppy "unfit for sale." We do not question that they would provide a refund if a puppy were declared unfit for sale within 7 days, but at most pet stores, the puppy needs to be RETURNED TO THE STORE in order for the person to receive a refund. Many people love their sick puppies and will not return them to get a refund. Some stores may allow the person to keep the sick puppy and refund part of the purchase price. We're not sure how this policy works at this particular store, as this case concerned a puppy who died 3 weeks after purchase, not one who was declared unfit during the first week. The employee went on to say that the person who wrote to us about a "7-day health warranty" was incorrect and that "Every dog, cat and several other animals come with a ONE YEAR WARRANTY that covers pretty much every hereditary/congenital disorder an animal can get." We are awaiting a reply to the important question of what is meant by "covered." People often think that "covered" means that all vet bills incurred as a result of the dog's disability (which can easily run into the thousands of dollars for repeated surgeries, for example) will be paid by the store. That is NOT what "covered" means at many, many pet stores. If the MacLeod Trail Petland does let us know that they promise to pay all these vet bills, we will add that information here. Our LOCAL (Fairfax, Virginia) Petland's 2006 "warranty" says "Should a veterinarian diagnose, within the first year of this puppy's life, a hereditary or congenital disorder that is currently interfering with this puppy's ability to lead a normal life, this Petland retailer will allow a full store credit of the original purchase price TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF ANOTHER PUPPY OF YOUR CHOICE." (emphasis ours). People suffering with a sick puppy from Petland seldom want another Petland puppy, so this "coverage" is useless to them. In capital letters, the Fairfax City Petland warranty states "PETLAND WILL NOT REIMBURSE OR COVER ANY SURGICAL PROCEDURES OR VETERINARY BILLS FOR ALL HEREDITARY OR CONGENITAL DISORDER (sic)." PETLAND--CANADA--WINNIPEG According to an article in CBC News from February of 2005, a woman bought a cockatiel at Petland. Her vet said the bird had Chlamydia psittacosis, or "parrot fever," a lung disease that can be transmitted to both animals and humans. She brought the bird back to Petland. The owners said they would treat the bird, then didn't. Then they said their tests shows the bird wasn't sick and that they didn't want to treat a bird that's not sick. The customer then took the bird back to her own vet and paid for the treatment, but the bird died. PETLAND DISCOUNTS--NEW YORK--BROOKLYN (5th Ave.) December 2008: We received a complaint about the condition of a bird in this store. PETLAND DISCOUNTS-NEW YORK-BRONX (5550 Broadway) 2006: Hi, I visited a Petland in NYC last night and was really upset. Dead fish, rabbits and other animals with no food, mice eating other dead mice because of no food (maybe that's in their nature but they had no food). Just gross, flies all over the place. PETLAND--FLORIDA--ORLANDO--LAKE FREDRICA I purchased a male, black and tan miniature pinscher on 7-31-07 (Saturday). He was throwing up in his cage, and the 'pet counselor' said it was due to his vaccinations. He was taken home, and slept all day and night. He continued vomiting the few times he awoke. The next day, he attempted to drink some water only to vomit it back up within minutes later. He had bloody diarrhea also. The entire night, he awoke every hour to throw up. I reviewed his paperwork to find that his vaccinations had been administered on Friday. First thing Monday morning, I took him to the Petland Vet (VCA). They took his temperature, a fecal sample, and a swab. They said he tested positive for Giardia and bacteria. They shot him up with antibiotics and fluids, gave me two forms of antibiotics to take home, and force fed him. They never mentioned the severity of his condition, or even that it was contagious to humans. He weighed 2.8 lb (He weighed 3 lb during Vet visit on Friday), and had not eaten in 2 days that I was aware, and they wanted me to take him home, attempt force feeding him along with his meds, and if he couldn't keep anything down, they would hospitalize him the following day. On the way home, he vomited up every bit of food that was forced. I spoke to a Petland manager that reminded me that all vet costs were covered under the warranty. I drove immediately back to the vet's office and explained he had already thrown up and he was to be hospitalized immediately. They called shortly afterwards to say that it was Parvo. I received updates daily that showed to be promising as he was responding well to the antibiotics. They attempted to feed him on Wednesday, but he couldn't keep it down. On Thursday, he started keeping food down, yet still had slight diarrhea. He continued doing well through Friday, and I was supposed to pick him up first thing Saturday morning. I arrived at the clinic at 7:30 am (Saturday), and all the tech told me was that he crashed the night before and they had him put back on IVs, and that I would be able to pick him up that afternoon, because the vet wanted him with someone to make sure he eats; again, never mentioning the severity. (Apparently, they took him off the antibiotics and fluids, left food for him to eat, and then left for the night.) About 20 minutes later, I received the phone call that he had died. That morning, he was found in his cage; his body temperature had dropped dramatically, and his blood sugar was undetectable. He went into diabetic shock and they attempted to revive him, but failed. I confronted the pet store, and according to their policy offered a 'replacement' puppy. Not being in the right state of mind, I agreed to that. The next puppy arrived on Wednesday evening, which began to strike my curiosity; my research into puppy mills began. I agreed on him (Chocolate Miniature Pinscher), and they told me he couldn't go home until that Friday after the vet checked him out. He couldn't come home Friday because of Kennel Cough. He was put into a nebulizer twice a day, and the following Friday, the vet released him; without antibiotics. I took him in to see my personal vet the following Tuesday, and she put him on antibiotics because he still had a runny nose and mucus coming out of his eyes. He has a healthy heart and is full of energy. She will be paying close attention to his knees, as they are a little loose but 'should' tighten as he gets older. The more research and information I turn up about puppy mills, the more disturbed I become. I have documented about both breeders and the instances that have taken place with each puppy. A complaint has been filed with the first puppy's breeder. PETLAND-FLORIDA-reprinted with permission of consumeraffairs.com Paul of Ft Myers FL (07/11/05) Purchased Yorkie on April 29, 2005 for 2,199 dollars. Dog soon began having attacks which turned out to be seizures. After many visits to their vet and ours, it was finally determined that the puppy has a liver shunt and will require major surgery to correct and will not be able to be bred. Petland has returned the price of the dog less the $300 they gave to our vet. I explained to the owner that according to the pet lemon law, she was responsible for the price of the dog plus vet bills up to the price of the dog. She shouldn't have shorted me 300 dollars when she returned the money for the dog, and she still should pay for my vet bills up to the price of the dog. At least that's my interpretation of the pet lemon law. The dog is scheduled for surgery on July 14th, cost will be approximately $1,879.00. I really feel that they should pay for this bill. I have spoken with the owner today, she refuses to consider it, claims my wife signed all the fine print in their contract and they aren't responsible for the extra vet bill even thought the law says she is. This dog unknown to me had a very bad upper respiratory infection and was on meds until the day before my wife picked her up. A few days later when we returned with the ill dog, the same vet said, without a physical or blood tests, that she needed nutrastat, a tube of basically corn syrup. On the second visit, again without tests, we were told to feed it more often. Finally with the dog still sick, we took it to our vet who discovered the upper respiratory infection and confirmed it with the Petland vets--it's how we became aware that THEY knew the dog was sick...and said nothing. PETLAND--FLORIDA--DELRAY BEACH 2007: "I got my puppy (min pin) in Nov '06 from a Petland store in Delray Beach, Florida. She didn't have papers when we first saw her in the store. It took them at least two weeks to get them, now I know why! They said she a little cough but not to worry and assured me it was not kennel cough. Long story short, it was, and she had to go on medication and had a terrible cough that would keep her up all night. She's getting better now but I hate to think of the terrible conditions she was in at the Jinson Kennel." [See "USDA Violations by Petland Breeders" for excerpts from USDA inspection reports on Jinson Kennel.] PETLAND--FLORIDA--LARGO The two puppies who died. Third picture, background: a rundown building where the breeder of one of these pups keeps dogs in cages. On 6/14/07 I puchased 2 Chihuahua puppies from Petland of Largo. The first 2 hours after getting them home, I saw runny eyes and mucus discharge from the noses. I took them the following day to the vet Petland said to go to.They said it was kennel cough. The next day they were vomiting and had bloody mucus stools. I took them to the emergency vet. They remained there for 2 weeks. They both died of distemper and parvo. I talked to Bridget, the manager of Petland of Largo, and was told to get over it, "you only had the puppies a short time." I wanted a refund of $2,700, the price of the puppies. She said too bad, take us to court. I am out over $5,000 in vet bills and a broken heart. I never knew the puppies were from puppy mills. I was told they were from local breeders and was not allowed to see the paperwork until I bought the dogs, and they then were rushing me to sign the papers and leave. That is my story, and if you can get my story out and help save others from the fate I and these puppies went through, that would be wonderful. THE PUPPY MILLS NEED TO STOP. Thank you. Michele Sako **************************** Another person's comment about the Largo Petland: 2007: I live in St. Petersburg, Fl. I recently started researching puppy mills and the more I research, the more I end up crying my eyes out and adding to this frustration and passion that is growing inside of me to do something about it. There is a Petland that is located near me and I am completely appalled by the store. Every time that I have been in there, there is always something that makes my stomach turn into knots. In the past couple of months I have seen big puppies like golden retrievers having to spend their time at Petland in small cramped window cages, other puppies getting aggressive with one another, and even a hamster eating another one in the cage. When I start asking the staff questions about where the puppies come from or what do they do when the puppies get too big for the cages, I always get a blank look and no satisfying response. There is a westie at the store that is breaking my heart. She has been there for a couple of months now and every time I see her she is looking more and more unhealthy. You can tell by her coat that she is not being taken care of the way she should be. One employee tried to sell her to me and when I started pointing things out, he became very defensive and made rude comments. He even attempted to negotiate a lower price with me and stated that he desperately wants the dog out so he can get smaller younger puppies. That particular employee gets on my nerves. He has been there forever and he discriminates against anyone that to him seems like they don't have the means to buy a $1,200 puppy that as we all know came from a puppy mill. The store also places ads in the St. Petersburg Times about sales on puppies, which really gets under my skin. PETLAND--FLORIDA--ORLANDO EAST (WATERFORD LAKES) Juliet.....................Juliet's grave..................Jewels 2007: On May 22, 2007, 5 weeks after we purchased her from Orlando East Petland, our family puppy Juliet became very ill. She was vomiting, refusing food and water, and was acting very lethargic. On May 23 I decided to go ahead and take her in to the vet. At that time they did x-rays on her and gave her a shot to help with the vomiting and also rehydrated her. She was sent home with strict orders to be watched closely and if her condition worsened to bring her back in right away. That evening my husband was forced to rush her back. That night they gave her an IV and catheter. The next day they decided to perform a barium series test on her. During the test her conditioned worsened and they called for permission to do emergency exploratory surgery on her. I gave them the ok and they went on with the procedure. Once they had her open they discovered her abdomen was full of blood and all of her organs were bleeding. They closed her up and started a blood transfusion. A few hours later I received a call that Juliet was now on a respirator. My husband then called the vet and asked them to let the dog go and to stop the suffering. We were advised that her cause of death was from lack of blood coagulation. I still have no answers not will I ever because after a complaint to the BBB, Petland East is refusing any guilt in the death of my puppy. I also sent in a sample to Nutro since that was the food she was eating. Their test revealed that her food was not contaminated. I will never know why my puppy died, but in my heart believe it all stems back to Petland. I purchased another puppy from the Orlando East Petland on 7/2/07. The day we brought Jewels home I noticed she had what appeared to be kennel cough. I got her in to the vet and her kennel cough had turned into pneumonia. Petland agreed to pay for all services as they sold us the dog in this condition. Now months later my puppy is still sick and is still being treated by the vet all going back to the kennel cough. She has been on medication since we purchased her. Last weekend I took her in for a re-check since she was still coughing and to my surprise was informed that Petland was refusing to pay for any further treatment. However, she has never been cured of her sickness that they sold her to me with. In addition, she had giardia when we bought her and needed to be treated for almost two months. I was also never told I had the option to get a new puppy, one without any medical problems. I strongly believe Petland is selling puppies that they know are sick for outrageous amount of money and then refusing to finish the treatment agreement they originally agreed to. I now have a sick puppy that cost over $2,000 and now also have to pay for all of our visits and medication. This visit alone cost me $110 and I was informed she would need to be brought back for further medication. I have all the receipts for every visit we have taken her to and all of them show the same exact illness that Petland sold her to us with. I know of others that have purchased sick puppies from this same store. -Kim Adair PETLAND--FLORIDA--ORLANDO EAST, N. ALAFAYA TRAIL Celia, a Chihuahua, was born in Missouri. Petland's Certificate of Veterinary Inspection said she had a luxating patella ("soft knee," a common problem in under-exercised dogs), a problem with her cornea, and that her fecal test was negative. An eye problem was evident at the store, but the employees said it was an eyelash, took her in the back, and claimed to fix it. Celia was purchased for $1,300. At midnight, the day after Celia went home with her new family, she went into major seizures and had to be rushed to the vet. This vet (not Petland's) determined that Celia had an intestinal parasite, ghiardia, which should have been detected by the fecal test. After a two-day stay at the vet, Celia was allowed to come home, where her family tended to her "all hours of the night." Her eye got worse, and medicine was needed for that as well. After additional vet visits and more care at home, Celia's family believed she was getting better, but 14 days after she came home, Celia died. According to the vet, she died of pneumonia caused by her having been taken from her mother too soon. Her guardian writes, "The condition of the store was atrocious. There was actually a hamster that had a hole in his head. The store was dirty. As soon as we walked in there, the smell of urine and feces just overwhelms you. I saw all the animals in the cages and it made me cry. The cages were covered in feces. "I picked up Celia and she melted my heart. I felt like I was saving her. What is so sad to me is that when she seizured, the day after we got her, if we hadn't bought her she would have died in the cage at Petland and no one would have known. Celia was sold to us sick and now because of their neglect, she's gone and I can't let her passing be in vain. I just don't want this to happen to other animals, and I want people to know how horrible Petland is." PETLAND--FLORIDA--ORLANDO--East Colonial Dr. (there are 4 Petlands in Orlando) A person who worked at this store in the year 2000 reports that she was instructed to put LIVE hamsters in the freezer to die when they were too old to sell. A different former employee said that the owner of this store seemed to care about the puppies. We hope that this store owner has severed ties with Petland. PETLAND--FLORIDA--ORLANDO--Lake Fredrica Shopping Center A former employee writes: "Eric and Trevor Davies [the owners], husband and wife, were very into profit. They wouldn't allow blankets/toys in the cage--they followed the Petland Code to the T. What scared me about that store is they had 3 tiers of cages and the jumpy pups would jump and often fall 8 feet if the kennel technician didn't catch them in time. It was very scary. What was very said is a dog that had a respiratory infection was kept in isolation for 3 months. He wasn't allowed to leave his cage and the owners told us to have limited contact with him. Basically nobody would touch him, only to clean his cage and feed him. He was very depressed; he'd cry and whine all day long. It was very difficult working there. The owners wouldn't let us pair up the puppies if there was an empty cage. They wanted all the windows full even if it meant the puppy would be all alone. A lot of rodents would die. It was awful. They had two aquariums full of feeder mice. If you look in there, the mice had very little room to move around, there were so many. The odor alone, even cleaned every day, was so bad. They had problems with hamsters dying. Later they found out it was their diet. The hamsters were raised on lab pellets and the owners were trying to feed them hard seeds and the hamsters would die within days." PETLAND--FLORIDA--PEMBROKE PINES 2008: A puppy for sale at this store came from a large facility in Missouri. PETLAND--FLORIDA--SARASOTA 2008: A customer of this store provided records showing that her puppy came from the breeder Lanell Eclair, who according to the " Tulsa World " was among the 10 worst USDA-licensed breeders in Oklahoma in terms of USDA violations, with a total of 16 violations. The number of dogs ranged from 211 to at least 724. Visit http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2007/puppymillsite/index.html and click on "Search the Tulsa World database" and "Top 10 breeder violations" for more information. PETLAND--FLORIDA--TALLAHASSEE "I was at my local Petland this past May and I bought the most adorable Chihuahua. The papers weren't AKC, which should have tipped me off, and I was informed that the puppy was not of showing or breeding quality, which REALLY should have tipped me off. But I was so enthralled with my puppy, and naive about how puppy mills work--I didn't even know what they were until today--that I brought her home. The vet affiliated with Petland, Northeast Animal Hospital on Timberlake in Tallahassee, gave her a clean bill of health, but we almost lost her at the beginning because her diarrhea was so bad and she got dehydrated. She also appeared to have developed an upper respiratory infection and urinated twice an hour. I called Petland, and they said they knew nothing at all about why the puppy was sick and difficult to train. I became suspicious about the store's vet and took my little angel to a trusted vet in Cairo who has thirty years' experience working with cats, dogs, rats, horses, birds, and exotic pets. I explained to her about Fawn's background, and she was extra thorough when checking out my puppy. She found that Fawn has an atrocious underbite, which is normally hereditary and indicates ignorance or just plain lack of concern by the breeder. Fawn has severe allergies and an especially sensitive sinus system. The vet said that probably comes from cramped quarters at the breeder's and subsequent places (e.g. Petland), since Fawn was like that when she came home with us. The vet said that Fawn's diarrhea and dehydration are a common problem with puppy mill puppies. I am angry at the Petland vet for not telling us how bad her diarrhea was. He told us that it would "clear up" and that her underbite was, and I quote from her purchase papers, "breed specific." Meanwhile, he recently called to let us know that Fawn also has a coccidiosis infection from when she was at Petland. Fawn isn't quite 'all there' psychologically and she is abnormally clingy, even for her breed, but thank heavens she is still with me." [Fawn's breeder is T.J. Patrick, listed on this website under "USDA violations by Petland breeders." In 2004, this breeder was cited by a USDA inspector for confining a Jack Russell terrier to a cage so cramped that her head was nearly touching the top and she could not "do the normal standing needed." The next year the USDA inspector found a Jack Russell terrier confined to a cage so small that "the dog's ears are touching and sticking through the wire openings of the top of the cage." Jack Russell terriers are commonly considered to be extremely active dogs that need a lot of exercise.] Petland--Georgia--Kennesaw 2005: A puppy purchased at this pet store came from the breeding facility of Shelia Gamblin, who according to a 2007 article in the Tulsa World (www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2007/puppymillsite/index.html) had the worst record of violations among all the USDA-licensed breeders in Oklahoma between 2003 and 2006. See "USDA violations by Petland breeders" for more information. PETLAND-GEORGIA--reprinted with permission of consumeraffairs.com Alison of Acworth GA (02/26/06) We purchased a puppy on Friday Feb 17th. My husband had originally gone by himself to look for a puppy. He came home and said he found a Boston Terrier/Bassett Hound Mix at Petland. We decided to go see the puppy. She was adorable. We got her out and she was very playful. We decided to put $100 deposit on her for 1 week so we could get things together for her at home. This puppy was for my 6-year-old son. He was very excited that he named her right away" HARLEY." We went about 4 times to see her before we got her so my son could play with her. She was always so playful and sweet. We finally did pick her up on Friday. I took her straight to the vet. She had a fecal done and I was told she had worms. She was given meds for the worms and I was told that she might get sick. That night she played for a while then she started to get very sick. She got sick all over our house. She wouldn't move. The next morning I called the vet. We took her in. She ended up having Parvo. She was half dead. She had to be put on fluids right away. I called Petland and told the manager that we had just gotten her yesterday and that she had Parvo. I told him that all the other puppies were probably infected too. Because we did notice that every time we went to see her she was in a different cage. Parvo is a very serious, contagious illness for puppies. The manager wanted us to bring her to him so his vet could check her out. We told him it didn't matter what vet she saw as long as she was getting treatment and to take her off fluids to bring her to him she could die. She stayed at our vet from Sat to Mon night. We did bring her home Mon Feb 20th. She didn't move all night. We took her to their vet Towne and Country on Tues. She has been there for 6 days so far. She is still there. I called 2 times on Tues to see how she was doing. Didn't get much info. Called Wed they never called back. So basically we need to decide what to do. We need to talk to the vet and the manager. I want all my vet bills paid for and I want full reimbursement for the puppy. She was $400.00. I feel that this is only far after what trauma my family has been thru. My 6-yr-old son keeps asking me why we got a sick puppy and is she going to die. He talks about her all the time. If she doesn't get better we can't get another puppy for at least 6 mos. to 1 yr because of the Parvo in our house. PETLAND--GEORGIA--ATHENS The Petland at Epps Village Shopping Center in Athens obtains puppies from the Hunte Corporation, notorious large distributor of puppy mill puppies. The sad, lonely puppies at this store suffer in Petland's standard cramped cages, and a visitor to the store in late 2005 noticed some puppies in wire mesh floored cages that did not have a solid surface for the puppies to rest on. Several puppies looked "pretty dirty, like they hadn't been cleaned up in quite a while." PETLAND--ILLINOIS--ARLINGTON HEIGHTS This information was posted on the website www.animalwritings.com, where the owner of the site has kindly included information about our Petland campaign. A white puppy with floppy ears was purchased from the Petland in Arlington Heights on a Saturday, 10/15/05. His guardian writes, "I felt like a new mother again taking care of this sweet baby who relied on me for everything! He was happy, playful, inquisitive, courageous, and loved our 70-pound dog so much. She would not even move when that 4-pound puppy was near, careful that moving a leg might hurt him." The store vet checked Payton on Wed., 10/17, giving him a DHLPP shot, heartworm medication, and a triple antibiotic for the puppy's eyes. A stool sample tested positive for "bacteria" and Payton's guardian was told to come back for pills to treat it. "It was too late because on Thursday morning Payton was dead. We found him in the morning around 6:30 A.M. He was covered in bloody stool. My heart broke." Payton's guardian asked for a necropsy to be done. The vet said the puppy had "wild mushrooms in his vomitis" but did not test for poisoning, and the necropsy came back negative. A person at nopuppymills.com advised Payton's guardian to take the puppy's stool sample to an independent vet, where it tested positive for PARVO. Angry, Payton's guardian went back to Petland. They offered her a puppy from Missouri for 50% off. She said "No thanks." Payton was born in an Iowa kennel owned by a Class B dealer named Leona Rasmussen. (A Class B license entitles the owner to sell large numbers of animals, alive or dead, to pet stores and research facilities.) Payton was brought to Petland by the broker Steve Steele Heritage Puppies, 4348 Bluebill Ave., Lake Mills, Iowa. PETLAND-ILLINOIS-BATAVIA (Randall Rd.) 2008: We bought what the Petland store was advertising as a Shar pei Beagle mix (Sharpeagle) puppy the day after Thanksgiving 2008. Right after we purchased her she started coughing and it went downhill from there. She hacked and spit up stuff and her lungs were crunchy-sounding. We found out that she had pneumonia and went back and forth to the vet 3 or 4 times and it was a half hour away because Petland makes you use a certain vet if you want your puppy to be spayed for free. She spent 6 weeks on medications and finally got better. I suspected that this designer puppy that we paid $1200.00 for was not a shar pei beagle mix at all, she looked a lot like a Chocolate Lab and not at all like a Beagle. We wanted a Beagle mix because we have four children and we know that beagles make good family pets. I decided to have her DNA tested to see what she was really made of and this is what they told us. She is about 50% shar pei, and a mix of Australian Shepherd, Brittany and Lab. No Beagle at all! Basically a mutt! They sold us a mutt for $1200.00. They lied and ripped us off and we got a sick puppy that was not at all what they said she was. We are very upset and would like to take this with our DNA papers to a higher level. This is fraud and a horrible thing to do to people. We love our puppy and she is part of our family no matter what she is made of. Please print this as many places at you like. This Petland store is located in Batavia Illinois on Randall Road. Sincerely, Susan Iwan PETLAND--ILLINOIS--CHICAGO--LANSING A visitor to the Petland in Landings Shopping Center in late 2005 reports, "The cages were loaded with feces and urine, and the store actually stunk when we walked in the door." Also, the legs of the smallest puppies fell through the wire grating on the bottom of the cage. When the visitor complained about this, an employee placed one mat, about 8x10, in the cage. "The little guys were just happy that they could stand," she says. The larger puppies were reaching with their tongues through the wire flooring, trying to reach food that had fallen through. There were a couple of larger puppies--a Golden Retriever and a Bassett Hound--whose cages were so small for them that they could stand but basically just turn in a circle. Some large puppies were kept in the same cages as toy breeds. An employee explained that one of the puppies was hyper because he is hardly ever let out of his cage. PETLAND--ILLINOIS--CRYSTAL LAKE 2006: Our family recently purchased a 12-week Golden Retriever puppy from Petland in Crystal Lake IL. 4 days after we brought him home we noticed that his two front paws were turning in when he walks. We were concerned so we took him to our vet. Our vet said that the puppy should have never been sold to us and it has bow-legs. That concerned us so we called Petland and they told us that our 4 days is up and they would not take the puppy back. We then took the puppy to their vet and that vet told us that he is concerned with the puppy's growth plates. That vet must have called Petland and told him the news because he called us right away and said bring the puppy in so they could refund us. We said we will bring the puppy in the next day in order to bring him to one more vet for a third opinion. At this point we all fell in love with the wonderful puppy. This morning we took him to a vet that we know and trust in Wisconsin and he told us that his concern is not only the front paws but the back legs are hypertensive and he fears hip dysplasia. This really upset us and we took the puppy back to the Petland about an hour ago. I asked the manager what they are going to do with him and they said the breeder is going to come and pick him up on Tuesday. I want to make sure the puppy is taken care of. We are all very sad and upset because of what happened and we will never purchase another animal from Petland. I really hope something can be done because of this. An orthopedic surgeon for dogs was offered to us but surgery is just much too costly for us. The breeder's name is Gary Applegate. The broker is Lori Conrad 6104 Pike 9, Frankford MO 63441 [also known as Conrad's Cuddly Canines]. The puppy was extremely loved and will be missed. Registry: American Canine Association Note from petstorecruelty.org: Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that Petland, the broker, or the breeder would pay for expensive surgery for a dog. 2006: UPDATE: a couple of weeks later: The store returned the puppy to Conrad's Cuddly Canines (the broker, not the breeder, as the store had said), who apparently has had him for over a week. They claim to have taken him to more than three vets down in MO to find out what is wrong with his back legs. Is it hip dysplasia? I got permission to contact them about the puppy. I called and nobody called me back. Then I called 3 days later and I was given a cell # to call. Nobody called me back again. Then I had my boyfriend call from a different cell # and area code and they picked up the phone. He talked to the owner's daughter and she said that they have taken Murphy to plenty of vets there and they're not sure what's wrong with him. She told my boyfriend that they are taking him to one more vet and they would call us back that night. Lori Conrad called my mother that afternoon. We confronted them about the front legs and the malnutrition. They tried to say that it was because his legs grew too fast. That may be, but they knew that they should have switched to a richer puppy food for him and they neglected to do that. Lori said that the dog does not have hip dysplasia (yet?) and we are not allowed to contact them anymore. My mother told her that Murphy was underexercised and not fed the proper amounts of food. Lori said his front legs are straightening out and she does not believe that he was malnourished. She said she has worked with the owner from Petland for many years. Strangely enough he told us that he has only owned the place for two. During the phone conversation she was very rude and angry at us. At first working with them I started to think that they mean well and that they just might take care of the puppy, since they bothered to take him to sooo many vets... It does sound like they will be keeping him at their kennel. [From petstorecruelty.org: Note that despite the grave concerns of the three vets in Illinois, the broker's vets apparently did not find it necessary to spend any additional money on surgery or anything else for this puppy, and the broker did not say what would become of him.] Please post this update on the Hall of Shame for me. I want people to know the WHOLE story and not just the Mr. Nice Guy part. Our family has moved on and adopted another puppy from a Golden Retriever Rescue. He is 8 weeks, healthy and soooo cute. PETLAND-ILLINOIS-reprinted with permission of consumeraffairs.com Glenn of Elk Grove Village IL (4/26/00): On 8-5-99 I purchased an American Eskimo Puppy that was born on 5-27-99. We were assured over and over again that all of their puppies are from reputable breeders. So we gave in and purchased him. He is now 11 mos. old and has already had two knee surgeries for "trick knees." The vet that Petland sent us to, according to the owner of the store, did not check for this and according to Mr. Bosco they should have. Yet he was only willing to refund us the purchase price of the dog. This is crazy--the owner of the store admitted this was a problem by saying that their vet should have checked for this and didn't. Now our current vet has found that our dog has imperfect hips also. We have spent thus far $2,800 and it could be much more in the future due to the hip problem although he is not clinical yet on the hips. As for emotional: this pup was bought with the sole intention of getting my wife's mind off of getting pregnant as we are have problems in that area and all it has done is create a headache of a different sort. My wife is so upset watching our pup suffer through surgery after surgery. PETLAND--ILLINOIS--JOLIET "We had an AKC registered Cocker Spaniel named Clancy that we had to have put to sleep last August. Clancy lived to be almost 12 years old. Both my husband and I were so despondent after losing Clancy to cancer that we decided to get another puppy. We went to Petland here in Joliet, Illinois, and purchased a male Cocker Spaniel puppy for about $700. We named him Beasley. He was a beautiful puppy, a red and roan color. We brought Beasley home on a Saturday. On Sunday I noticed him coughing occasionally. I first thought of Kennel Cough. The sales assistant at Petland did tell us that Beasley had been sick, sent back to the breeder, and put on medication, but that he was better now--WRONG! Our Petland offers a free initial checkup--if you go to one of the 3 veterinary clinics that they use. On Monday I called and made an appointment for Beasley to be checked out at what I considered to be the closest clinic to us of the 3 they recommended. I saw a young vet who looked like he was fresh out of school. I told him that I had noticed Beasley coughing. He said sometimes if the puppy gets a cold that it's like it is with humans, that the cough will linger. He prescribed cough suppressants. I want to add here that I never gave any of the tablets to Beasley. On the whole, other than the coughing he seemed to be fine, he ate and played as any other normal puppy would do. By that Wednesday you would have never known it was the same puppy. He looked sick, wouldn't eat or drink, and seemed to have a fever. We immediately called our regular vet and made an appointment. Turns out Beasley had pneumonia. He required an IV for hydration. Our vet gave him a shot of antibiotics and sent us home with two types of additional antibiotics to give him, and the instructions to sit with him in the shower 3 times a day to relieve the congestion. The vet bills were approximately $1,200 to $1,500. Needless to say after just losing our other beloved dog just 3 weeks before, we were beside ourselves worrying about Beasley. I was working a full time job, that I had been at for 3 yrs, and sincerely loved what I did. But I ended up giving up that job to stay at home and care for Beasley. I couldn't in good conscience throw medicine down his throat and leave him for 8 hours. Thank goodness that we could financially survive on just my husband's salary, or this situation could have caused major problems. Of course Petland offers the return policy for 48 hours after you have purchased a puppy, and you can return the animal and get a refund minus some sort of processing fee. It would be an understatement to say that we were very upset that Petland had sold us a sick puppy. My husband went back down to the clinic where I had taken Beasley and talked with one of the other vets, since the one I had seen wasn't working that day. And then went to Petland and raised holy h--l with the manager there. She told him we could have brought the puppy back, or we could have taken him back to the clinic that we went to, and they would have covered the charges. WHY would we want to do that when they didn't diagnose him correctly to start with? He just told the manager that if anything happened to Beasley that he would see them in court! So we have racked up quite a few vet bills with office visits, and medication. But as of December our vet said she wouldn't need to see him again for a year unless something else arose. He does have scarring in his one lung, and he does seem to get short of breath easily if he overdoes the running, and chasing of his toys. Other than that he is a wonderful member of the family and we love him dearly. And I like to think that we saved his life, because who knows what would have happened to him if we would have taken him back. I think we were meant to be his family. We should have learned a great lesson with buying him from Petland, but in February we decided he needed a playmate, and we went back to the same store, and purchased a little girl Cocker, she is the same color, as Beasley, from the same breeder, though different parents. Her name is Muffin, and she is a pistol! We have had no problems healthwise with her, Thank God. After reading the articles posted about all the problems and conditions at some of the Petland stores, I just wanted to share my story. I think it is an absolute abomination that animals are treated this way. It truly breaks my heart to read of what these poor animals go through. I am just grateful that we were able to take 2 of them out of one of their stores, and I would take more of them if I could. I hope that we have Beasley and Muffin for a good many years, but if the occasion should ever present itself to where we need a new companion, I will go to the shelter and rescue a dog and provide a loving home for it. The cost of an animal should have nothing to do with the love and loyalty that you receive from them." Beasley and Muffin were delivered to Petland by the broker Conrad's Cuddly Canines, located in Missouri. Their breeder was Bonnie Sue Schindler. In 2003, Herman and Bonnie Sue Schindler were cited by a USDA inspector for overcrowded conditions in the truck they used to transport 75 to 100 puppies from Missouri to Iowa each week. For details and numerous additional violations at the Schindlers' facility, see "USDA Violations by Petland Breeders." PETLAND-ILLINOIS-NAPERVILLE--reprinted with permission of consumeraffairs.com Laurie of Ottawa IL (06/09/05) On 3/31/05 I purchased a Chocolate Lab from the Naperville Petland, I was given a 14-day Warranty which covered physical health problems. 3 days after my adoption my puppy began choking. Being a new dog owner, I did not know what was happening and rushed her to my vet. After an examination and x-rays totaling almost $250 it was determined that my pup had pneumonia brought on by kennel cough. Adhering to the agreement with the Petland warranty I contacted them within 24 hours. The mgmt did not seem surprised when I started to tell my story and agreed that it sounded like kennel cough. They said that it is common. I was advised to take my pup to their vet. Which I did, right after leaving mine. Their vet was 1.25 hours away. I spoke to management on several days regarding the bills from the original visit, when I was promised to be reimbursed for medication. After 1 month of not receiving this money I insisted on talking to the owner who called me back and assured me that I would be refunded for this and 2 other RX I had picked up from my local vet. Another 2 weeks passed and I still had not received this payment and I spoke to his wife who explained that the receipts had been misplaced. I reminded her that I had sent them 3 previous times. She apologized and said she would send a check that day. 1 week later I received a check for $48, half of the cost of medication that I was promised. I later looked back at my agreement with Petland that does not state that I am required to seek attention at their vet. My pup has been sick with pneumonia for 9 weeks and we still make trips to their vet every 2 weeks. Because she has kennel cough I can not expose her to other animals who may also go through this same ordeal. PETLAND--ILLINOIS--ROCKFORD 2009: Hi, I am doing a search because of my experience with our local pet store. Listen, I grew up with my mom breeding respectfully and told myself I would never buy from a pet store and then I did. Our puppy is now 16 weeks, so we think. When we got her home she was exactly 8 weeks old and only weighed 6.8 lbs. She was so calm at the store and we thought she would fill the void that we had for the loss of our Golden Retriever that passed away at 14 years of age in November. When we came home we thought she was so well behaved and laid back but within 24 hours we realized something was wrong. She would not eat. We tried all kinds of things so I called my vet right away and brought her in and with in minute he had discovered she had giardia and loss of control of her hind quarter was increasingly getting worse. He recommended an antibiotic and trying baby food and then under his breath said I doubt that this animal is 8 weeks old. She is a Golden and had a nubby nose and really could track much past a couple feet in front of her. He felt that she was awful small and even told us to take her back. I just couldn't because I felt like I would be giving her back to someone that wouldn't care about her health and maybe even just get rid of her. I felt very responsible for her and went into rescue mode. I am sure what I am telling you is very typical, looking back on this. So a few sleepless nights with her and the pet store calls and wants to do a call to check on puppy. I thought great how nice, I will tell them the shape she is in since it may have just been where she came from's fault that she was sick. She had only been in the pet store for four days. They gave me the owner and I told him everything and he became quickly defensive when I recommended that she not be as old as we think since she had no clue how to eat solid foods. He told me that's impossible, they watch all their animals eat and that the law is they cannot sell an animal before 8 weeks. I asked him if he was calling me a liar since I was the one having to liquid feed her. This feeding issue lasted for 10 days and all I could get her to lap up was baby turkey or chicken. How dare he. I thought that it was interesting that he state the law to me since I never asked about it. Heck, the day I brought her home she was exactly 8 weeks. Wait--how could they have her in a cage four days sooner and keep track of her eating since she was caged with another animal? Didn't they notice her diarrhea, since they are so watchful? Why didn't they have their vet start treating her for this giardia? The questions mounted for me. Honestly had the pet store said, "I am so sorry that she has been sick, bring in the bills and we will pay for all the treatment, not just the medicine but the visit too. Can we call next week to see how she is doing, etc..." I probably would have thought they were truly concerned about the well being of the animals they were selling. This just was not the case. They were complete jerks. She is 16 weeks now (supposedly). She is doing good and has recovered from her initial problems. Socially we struggle here and there. I am hoping that with puppy class and diligence of the whole family she will turn out to be well adjusted. I truly feel bad that her life started out so horrific. I feel bad for the ones that are stuck there. I have done some research online and have found the mill. It's listed on your site and many others. It's very upsetting since my local store told me that most of their pets are from local respectable breeders. I should have known better. Below is the info: Owners Carla Steffensmeier Sire IA-ABA-0783991 Dam IA-ABA-0548621-004 puppy female Golden whelped 11/11/08 Bought at Petland 7358 N Cherryvale Mall Dr. Rockford, Il 61112 I am in the process of trying to send away for the paperwork. I hope my experience can help just one dog or person to know what is behind it all. - Mary Todd [Note: It appears that this breeder is located in Iowa. The Federal Animal Welfare Act states, under section 2.130 Minimum age requirements:"No dog or cat shall be delivered by any person to any carrier or intermediate handler for transportation, in commerce, or shall be transported in commerce by any person, except to a registered research facility, unless such dog or cat is at least eight (8) weeks of age and has been weaned."] Also about the ROCKFORD PETLAND: A former customer of this store writes, "Growing up, we always had parakeets, and they lived 10+ years, giving us such joy. They were such happy, darling birds, but those we purchased from Petland were sickly and died within weeks." Their problems included an overshot beak and numerous feather cysts. Two schipperke puppies she purchased at this store, Winnie and Lizzie, "were very sick, and our veterinarian was a miracle worker," she writes. Both had kennel cough, worms, and diarrhea. Winnie had a severe case of ear mites and also had to be cared for at the vet's for 3 days on fluids. These puppies came from Wisconsin. A third schipperke puppy from this Petland came from Iowa. Their guardian notes, "Petland here does not stop. There are shiploads of puppies that come in every week. They do not have AKC registrations anymore but are from the American Canine Association. Rockford has only one no-kill shelter and it is very small and suffers from lack of funds. Here our local shelter killed over 6,000 companion animals last year. I never knew about puppy mills until I purchased sick animals, researched and joined a schipperke e-mail list, even though I have had companion animals my whole life." also about PETLAND--ILLINOIS--ROCKFORD 2009: A few years ago, www.asapinrockford.com [link now broken] documented FORTY-ONE cases of very sick puppies purchased from the Cherry Vale Petland, located in a small town with a population of 150,000. The store owner was Dean Johnson, and his father Dale Johnson was a silent owner. Concerned local residents have held numerous protests against this store. PETLAND--ILLINOIS--ROUND LAKE BEACH Papagaai, a baby African Grey parrot, was purchased at Petland for $1,400. The vet recommended by the store's staff, who was not an avian vet, said the bird was "thin" but did no further testing (required to detect illness in birds--like most prey animals, they do not show signs of illness until extremely sick). Not yet weaned, Papagaai was taken home but was never a very good eater. Her guardian bought her expensive cages, gyms, toys, the best food possible, and gave her loving care, but 6 weeks later, Papagaai stopped eating and was taken to the emergency animal hospital, where despite the best efforts of the vets, she died. At the time of purchase, Papagaai's guardian was given the impression that Petland's warranty covered all happenings/illnesses within reason or any medical problems her bird had during the first year, as long as she brought the bird to the vet to validate the warranty during the first week, which she did. However, although Papagaai's guardian believes Papagaai's death was due to a condition that existed while she was at the store, Petland will not pay, maintaining that their warranty only covers hereditary or congenital defects. Petland routinely sells unweaned baby birds, promoting the idea that hand-feeding enhances the human/animal bond. What this also does is cut down on their employees' labor, as weaning is a delicate, time-consuming endeavor. An experienced bird person tells us, "The advice that if you feed a baby bird s/he will bond better with you is hogwash. Bond is not developed by hand-feeding; bond is developed through a relationship of mutual trust, respect, and acceptance." Petland also provides little or no educational materials to help people learn about how to care for these highly intelligent, emotional birds, who can live 50-70 years under good conditions. Please see the "Petland--Virginia--Fairfax City" entry for further information about Petland's inadequate care of birds. We encourage anyone planning on adopting a bird to research this subject thoroughly from sources other than pet stores. PETLAND--ILLINOIS--WHEATON Maya 2008: Thank you for taking the initiative to help put an end to puppy mills and pet stores like Petland who promote their existence. While I have always been an advocate of adoption, since the demise of my Golden Retriever puppy, Maya, I have more passionate of a reason to speak out. Maya's life was cut much too short just one day shy of her five month birthday. She was purchased from Petland and relinquished six days later at the tender age of 10 weeks to a Golden Retriever Rescue group. Maya already had a lengthy medical history and compounding medical bills, which her purchaser chose to walk away from. As a member of that Rescue Group, I took Maya into my home until her death in order to give her the life she deserved, even for a short while. This sweet Golden Retriever puppy never should have suffered the way she did, and it is my mission to share her story to prevent these horrifying sad endings.. A very a-typical experience I'd say of what Petland promotes on their website. Maya's breeder: Tom Steffensmeier of West Point, Iowa. She was relinquished to a rescue group due to severe medical issues and expensive medical bills. Initial vet record indicates "listless, won't eat, drink, loose stool, vomited, bloody urine with fleshy chunks, nasal discharge, severe parasite infection." Emergency Vet ultra sound showed that her kidneys were severely malformed. It was determined that Maya only had 25% remaining kidney function. The vet and radiologist said they've never seen anything like it. She also had an ulcerated stomach with an upper respiratory infection. Total cost of care exceeded $4,000.00. Aside from my efforts with the Humane Society of the United States, the Iowa Department of Agriculture, the Attorney General of Iowa and Illinois organization, PETA, the Better Business Bureau and various pro-animal websites, I have also contacted the puppy mill breeder Tom Steffensmeier and Petland Corporation's Headquarters. When I told him Maya's story, there was silence and he ultimately hung up on me. I also contacted Petland Corporation's Headquarters, only to be rudely transferred to a "Carolyn's" voice mail - never receiving a returned call. I'm writing because I don't want to see another puppy suffer as Maya did, nor a family to experience the devastating and heartfelt loss of losing part of the family. Maya left such a huge imprint on many peoples' lives in her short time with us, and her loss will not just be swept under the rug. I will continue to share her story with everyone I meet through rescue, as well as educate the public of the dangers of impulse shopping of any animal at Petland coming from breeders who are not in it for the love of the breed, but only to make a buck at any cost of the animals' welfare. -Mayajustice08@hotmail.com PETLAND--INDIANA--FT. WAYNE A visitor to the Glenbrook Commons Petland described this store as "FILTHY." (November 2005) PETLAND--IOWA--WEST DES MOINES See http://network.bestfriends.org/truth/news/23843.html for more information about this store, which was the focus of a WHO-TV news story. The store is owned by Tim Mohrfeld. At the time of the story his supplier was his brother, Brian Mohrfeld, a puppy broker who sells to many pet stores. The original breeder for some of these puppies was Steve Kruse, who has a very large breeding facility. "His name was foudn on several certificates of pedigree on dogs purchased at Petland, including one that had parvo," the Best Friends article reports. PETLAND-KANSAS--OLATHE The achievement of an organization are the results of the combined efforts of each individual. - Vince Lombardi My name is Stephanie Henshaw. I am a small business owner in Overland Park and Olathe Kansas. I am also an animal lover. I have six dogs. Two are from rescue groups, one a breeder and three from Petland in Olathe, KS. In 2004 I purchased a Rottweiler puppy from Petland. On 3-9-04, x-ray procedures were performed on Sissy to see if she had hip dysplasia. Her diagnosis relayed that she had shallow hips, subluxation, and early osteoporosis on the femoral necks of the legs. Unfortunately, she was not a candidate for hip surgery. I treated her with Metacam (an anti-inflammatory & pain medication) for three years. Just before her fourth birthday, on 8-2-06, she was euthanized. The pain had become so intolerable that she was crying every time she got up. For weeks before she had started chewing on the carpet, urinating everywhere and showing a great deal of discomfort. On March 10, 2007 I entered Petland in Olathe to look at a Landsear Newfoundland that my husband had seen a few days before. This is where "The Choice for Pepper" began. I fell in love and bought her for $1,500, no questions asked. I took her for her puppy wellness exams and everything was fine, except for some minor diarrhea. During this time, my husband had stopped by Petland and noticed anot her Newfoundland puppy. She was a friendly and happy puppy when she first arrived at Petland. As the weeks went on and she continued to sit in a cage, her spirit started to break. She would no longer raise her head when someone came to the glass. She would lie in the cage making no eye contact with the customers who came into the store. My husband became worried. On 6-2-07, I went in to see her. I had inquired about her age and her price. Her whelp date was 2-14-07, so she was almost four months old. The asking price was $1,799.99. I informed the manager Julia that I felt sorry for the dog and apparently they were having a hard time selling her because she had been there for a while. I wrote down my phone number and told her when she got tired of trying to sell her for that price to give me a call. She immediately took $1,000 off the price. I left, called my husband to discuss it and went back. She ended up selling me the dog for $699.99. When Minnie came home I noticed that she was not walking on her paws, but on her legs. My vet informed me that her leg muscles were weak and that exercise would correct the problem. Over the last three months, I have dealt with several bouts of diarrhea and have noticed that she is walking awkwardly on her hind legs. She is getting spayed on 9-13-07 and will be x-rayed for hip dysplasia. If she does have it and is a candidate, I will have the surgery done. Back to Pepper. On 7-23-07, Pepper went to the vet to be spayed, I also requested x-rays for hip dysplasia. Her diagnosis came back as subluxation of both hip joints consistent with moderate hip dysphasia. The x-rays were transferred to Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center. On 8-21-07 Pepper was reevaluated by Dr. Riley and had more x-rays done. Dr. Riley recommended surgery on the left hip. Due to her age she needed to have the surgery preformed within 3-4 weeks. Once that was healed, we would look at the right hip to determine if she would need surgery again. That evening I went to Petland with all of the documentation for Pepper and told Julia the manager that I wanted my money back. I was told that I could keep Pepper and pick out another dog for the price I paid for her. I explained I did not want another dog; I wanted the one I purchased fixed. The next day, she called and told me the owner of Petland would make an exception and refund me $750, if I provided him with a copy of the x-rays. The x-rays were delivered that night and I agreed to these terms. A week passed and there was no communication with Petland. That Tuesday I went to the store and found out that the x-rays were never sent to the vet and had been misplaced. Angry, I informed them that the x-rays needed to be returned so the doctor could perform surgery and that I wanted a resolution and all of my money back with in 24 hours or I would take further action. The x-rays were returned, my $1,500 was not. I started investigating Petland online by googling them and feel that there is truth to what I have read. I also started speaking to people I know locally and found out that the owner of Petland, Jessica Rook, is in fact the daughter of Andrew Hunte. Hunte Corporation is located in Joplin, Mo and is know to be the largest dog broker in the United States. Others online have quoted that he also purchases puppy mill dogs. On 8-28-07, Pepper underwent surgery for a triple pelvic osteotomy. Her hip was rotated 20 degrees so the ball joint would fit properly into the socket. I also spent $2,691 for the procedure. Pepper is slowly on the mend and doesn't understand why she has to be caged, again. I wish I could explain to her that someday, she will be able to run and play. As far as Petland is concerned, I feel that they need to be accountable for selling puppies that are sick or have genetic disorders to the public. I also strongly believe the public needs to understand what is going on in places like Petland. It is no longer about the money I have or will spend on my dogs; it is about what is right. My dogs are like my children and they are living, feeling, and breathing animals. Not a piece of clothing that can be returned or disposed of. Since this has started, I have been fortunate enough to come into contact with other people who have puppies from the local Petlands who share the same vision as I do. Unfortunately, for some of them it's too late, their dogs have passed at young ages from disorders that were beyond their control. I am in contact with In Defense of Animals, a California based non-for-profit organization that is working with myself and others to look into a class action lawsuit. If you know of anyone who has had these problems, I urge them to contact me at shenshaw@everestkc.net. [Stephanie and others will be protesting at the Olathe Petland on September 22, 2007.] PETLAND-KANSAS-reprinted with permission of consumeraffairs.com Jennifer of Shawnee KS (4/2/03): My four-year-old niece and I went puppy shopping one afternoon at Petland. It was one of the cleanest pet stores around. We fell in love with an American Cocker Spaniel, or that's what we were told she was. We came to the conclusion we were going to make her part of our family. Her original selling price was $600, however the sales person made the comment, "If we know she's going to a good home were willing to work with you on the price." This should have been my first clue! We bargained the price down to $350 and that included shots and a microchip for identification. Now we were told that this microchip was worth at least $150, so after all we thought this was a fair price to pay. Along with the puppy came a warranty for one year against any congenital defect. At that time the associate was unable to find the paperwork from the breeder and told me to check back in a few days when they have had a chance to look for them. So with this we had to have the puppy, Haley, examined by a veterinarian. I did so the next day, and was told she is healthy but there is no microchip in her. I took Haley home and drove directly to the pet store. To my surprise the store was closed and locked. Everything and everyone were gone. Just the day before I was in there and no one said anything about this. And to my shock, I now did not have the paperwork for Haley. I became panicked and called our local news station and they came out and did a story on it. I also called and had the credit card payment stopped, after all there was a 48-hour return policy for all animals. I received the phone number of Petland Corporation from the news reporter and gave them a call. Their response was the individual owner of that store is the person responsible. We cannot do anything. With that I have begun my battle. I did manage to locate a P.O. Box for the owner, to send in our requests. I did that and one month later nothing. To heighten the excitement, Haley has now come down with a disorder of the eye called cherry eye. We had to take her to an eye specialist who is recommending a surgery to have this problem fixed. This problem can be painful if not fixed. It can also be very expensive. PETLAND--LOUISIANA--BATON ROUGE 2008: A puppy purchased from this store came from the breeders Kale & Sandra Rottinghaus, who in 2007 had 285 dogs. See "USDA Violations by Petland breeders" for more details. The puppy had a respiratory problem for 4 months. *********************************** According to a message sent to an e-mail group, a former employee of thie Baton Rouge Petland said she quit because she couldn't stand to see any more puppies die. She said the owner wouldn't bring them to the vet until they were dying. She also said that the "store" vet only checks incoming puppies for severe defects like subluxating patellas; the rejects are sent back on the truck. She said the vet never examines the puppies already at the store, even if they are obviously sick, and never examines any of the birds or small animals. A visitor to the store saw large puppies in areas so small they could barely turn around. They couldn't sit up without bumping their heads on the cage above. The visitor also saw puppies with mucus running out of their noses, an indication of sickness. The store also sold socialized pet rats as snake food. Complaints have been made to local animal control but apparently nothing has been done. PETLAND--MICHIGAN--STERLING HEIGHTS 2006: I am completely heartbroken and frustrated. I have owned my Maltese, Shelby, for almost 90 days and feel she and I are both being robbed of her puppy-hood. 2 days after purchasing her from Petland, I took her into the vet for kennel cough. She was extracting green mucus from her nose and chest. She was on antibiotics for 2 weeks. Was off antibiotics for about 5 days and appeared to be doing ok when she got her second bout of kennel cough. Shortly thereafter, I noticed green mucus coming out of her left eye. Took her in to the vet and an ophthalmologist and she now has a cornea ulcer and dry eyes of both eyes, which is a life-long health issue. Then, about a couple days later, she started urinating in the house when she had been doing extremely well with potty training for at least 2 plus weeks. I realized it was a UTI and took her to the vet. She was then put on more antibiotics. She has now had the UTI for over 30 days, and she was urinating blood for about 14 of those days. We go for a vet checkup next week. I am looking forward to him telling me he doesn't see any more white blood cells in her urine, but I cannot handle the fact that now it appears she urinates whenever she feels like it and cannot seem to hold it anymore at all. She urinates in her crate; it doesn't matter where she is. It is totally sad because she was actually accident-free for over 2 weeks and going to the door, where she would hit a puppy chime paw to let us know she had to go out. Now she doesn't even go to the door, she just wanders around the house and urinates. She doesn't even stop when I yell "No." I hate Petland with a passion, and I never use the word hate. I LOVE my puppy but I am at my wits end with this and the vet bills are really starting to add up. I found that my puppy came to Petland via the Hunte Corporation in Missouri. The Hunte Corporation won't give me the breeder's phone number, address or anything. I feel sad that I get frustrated when I take my puppy out @ 6:00p.m. to go potty and at 6:15p.m. she has an accident, and then again @ 6:22p.m. and then again @ 6:30p.m. and then again @ 6:36p.m. and then again @ 6:42p.m. And then when I put her in her crate, she cries so hard that I take her out potty again and she does go again. This is all after the vet says they only found one (1) white blood cell in her urine. I have an excellent DVM who believes in conventional and alternative medicine. My puppy has been on antibiotics pretty much since I have had her and supplements to help support her immune system. What can I do in Michigan to help stop this?? - I would never consider giving my puppy away because once you take on the responsibility of a puppy, it's for the duration of their life. However, what Petland gets away with should be considered illegal. Apparently they don't believe they are doing anything immoral but anyone who purchases a franchise of Petland has no morals or ethics anyway, in my opinion. Signed, Sad and frustrated in Shelby Township, Michigan, Kip Cote' P.S. The first vet I went to was Macomb Veterinary Clinic on Van Dyke in Shelby Township. It was on the list of associated vets from Petland that would provide the first free vet visit and the spaying. The vet there told me that the dog was very sick and I should consider giving it back to Petland. This was when Shelby was diagnosed with kennel cough only 2 days after I brought her home. The vet was very dry and she really scared me and of course already being in love with my puppy, giving her back wasn't an option. I found another vet who believed in Alternative and Conventional medicine willing to work with me and my puppy. However, I called the Macomb Veterinary Clinic just a couple of weeks ago, and the office manager said that shortly after our visit to their office, they severed ties with Petland. They wouldn't tell me why but they said they just didn't want to be associated with them any longer. I know when I got back from that first vet visit and my husband spoke to Petland about what the vet had said, they were defensive and basically blamed the vet that she was being too harsh and that I really shouldn't listen to her. Abbey Animal Hospital located in Warren, Michigan, is also associated with this Petland. Supposedly they were the first vets to see Shelby when she was delivered to Petland, but they forgot to put her weight down on the certificate. My vet, when reading the information, couldn't even figure out some of the stuff they had written down on her medical chart. Also, I called them a couple of weeks ago to get some more information about Shelby and what her weight was when she was seen by them, and I haven't heard anything from them; they have not returned my phone call. UPDATE: Shelby was taken to an excellent internal medicine vet. An ultrasound revealed 3 large stones in her bladder. Liver shunts were also a possibility. Shelby underwent surgery in December 2006, and 8 stones were removed from her bladder. Fortunately she tested negative for liver shunts. Shelby's guardian writes, "Please spread the word. If the puppy is urinating extremely frequently and doesn't respond to antibiotics, have all medicine stopped and a complete urinalysis done, and an ultrasound. If that doesn't tell you what's wrong, then a full blood workup will. "The doctor said Shelby should recover fully but I will need to feed her a special diet once the stones have been analyzed to deter these types of stones from developing again. It is true heartbreak to have your 6-month-old puppy undergo such serious surgery." PETLAND-probably MICHIGAN-reprinted with permission of consumeraffairs.com Tracey of Redford MI (09/10/05) My boyfriend and I purchased an eleven-week-old Boston Terrier from a Petland in March of 2005. As soon as we saw her we knew that we had to take her home, we named her Brooklyn. We paid $1500.00 for Brooklyn. Two months ago Brooklyn began losing her hair and her stomach was covered in red pussels. Our vet diagnosed her with mange. We were told that this type of mange is genetic and once this is disease is discovered the pet should not be bred. We contacted Petland and we were told that we needed to see their vet and if this was the case they would replace Brooklyn with another puppy. Obviously replacing Brooklyn was not an option but we made an appointment with Petland vet for another opinion. When we met with their vet we asked if mange was hereditary, we were told yes. We asked if her mother and father should have been bred, and we were told no, the vet told us that this mange had to have been seen somewhere along her family line before. We asked the vet to write this down for us, he told us that he would. The vet left the room and never returned, a vet tech came in the room and told us that only the owner had the authority to write such a thing down. We were told that the vet that we spoke to was new, and didn't know any better. We never saw the owner and we never got anything in writing. I have wrote letters to the vet and to Petland with no response. We have spent over $1000.00 on vet bills and medication with no guarantee that she will ever be cured or that this disease will not continue to come back. PETLAND--MICHIGAN--WATERFORD Petland of Waterford, which recently opened, is selling puppies born in puppy mills. The store also sells kittens and many other animals. An area resident describes the place as "disgusting" and says that stores like Petland make her feel like throwing up. Involved in animal rescue for many years, she advises the people in her community to adopt homeless dogs, cats, and other animals, and never to shop at Petland. PETLAND--NEVADA--HENDERSON Roxy and friend Roxy is a miniature dachshund purchased at this store in late 2005. Store employees assured Roxy's guardian that they would NEVER get puppies from puppy mills and that Roxy was the "pick of the litter." Roxy was sick at the time she was brought home from Petland, and as of February of '06, despite the best efforts of a trusted family vet, she still has severe respiratory problems and is coughing, sneezing, and has runny eyes. Roxy has been on 4 different types of antibiotics, and at one point her white blood cell count reached 43,000, but she is showing some improvement. When Roxy's guardian complained to the store owner, he said she was the only customer complaining about having purchased a sick puppy, although an employee had previously said that a lot of the puppies sold at the same time as Roxy were coming down with something they called "dog flu." The owner paid for some of Roxy's vet bills but refused to refund Roxy's purchase price of over $1,000. Roxy's guardian learned that Roxy was transported to the Henderson Petland by the Hunte Corporation and that this store also gets puppies from Lambriar, another large puppy broker. She also found out that Roxy was born in a Kansas facility owned by Larry Cox. USDA records show that the facility contains approximately 100 dogs. Violations of USDA regulations in the past four years include: In 2004, a vet had not been to the facility for over 1 ½ years (USDA regulations require an annual visit.) Dogs were confined in an area where a "strong ammonia smell" caused the inspector's eyes to water. There was inadequate bedding for 60 dogs. The outdoor temperature was 32.5 degrees. The inspectors also found unsanitary water buckets, dogs with matted hair, and dogs who were not identified by collar, tattoo, or microchip. Roxy's guardian writes, "I am so against EVERYTHING that has to do with puppy mills. It makes me sick to think I contributed to that." She is sharing her story so that others will not purchase puppies from pet stores. To sign a petition against this store, go to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/184533197 PETLAND--NEVADA--LAS VEGAS Hello, my name is Tonilynn Bade and I did purchase a Petland puppy in Las Vegas, Nevada. The store charged me $1599.00 on 01/23/07. Since then, I have accumulated vet bills totaling $509.00. My female chihuahua is fighting giardia which she is now on her 3rd treatment. She has also had ear mites, a respiratory infection, an ear yeast infection, and now her doctor is waiting for results on ringworm. I would never ever buy any animal in Petland again. For the price of $1599.00 this puppy should be in PERFECT health. Petland's mission statement is to match the right pet with the right person, when in fact, all they really care about is making the ALMIGHTY DOLLAR!!!!!!! *********************************** Wagsy was a beagle purchased at the Las Vegas Petland in 1994. The next day, he was taken to the store's vet, who treated him for an upper respiratory infection. His heart and respiratory system were never the same after the initial infection, and he always suffered from breathing difficulties. His guardians returned from dinner one night and found him dead when he was only 1 1/2 years old. His guardian says, "I called the store to let them know what had happened and was told by an employee that if I returned the "carcass," I would receive half off a new puppy. I was horrified!!!!! We had just lost a child in our eyes! Wagsy's ashes remain here with his family, and I have never been so disgusted by a business in my life!! Jade (our pound puppy) also a beagle, never recovered from losing her best buddy." PETLAND ARBORETUM--NORTH CAROLINA--CHARLOTTE Milo is a shih tzu/poodle mix purchased at Petland Arboretum in March of 2006. His price was approximately $1,200. 5 days after he was purchased, he developed a cough that worsened throughout the day. Milo's guardians contacted Petland and were advised to take the puppy to the vet affiliated with Petland if it got worse. They were not told what to do in the event that that vet's office was closed. The coughing became "unbearable" late at night. When Milo's guardians contacted that vet's office, it was closed, and the answering machine referred people to an emergency vet. At the emergency vet, Milo coughed, sneezed, and had a white discharge from his nose. He was diagnosed as having kennel cough and sent home with medication. Despite treatment, he continued to cough for days. His lung x-ray was abnormal, indicating the possibility of pneumonia, according to a vet not affiliated with Petland. When selling the puppy, Petland employees had explained the benefits of the "health guarantee"-the inexpensive shots that would be provided for free-but left it for the customer to read the small print-that emergency visits are NOT covered from the moment the puppy leaves the store, and that bills from any vets other than the one affiliated with the store will not be paid. The Petland owner refused to pay the emergency vet bill not only for this reason but also by claiming it was unnecessary. Citing her vast experience with puppies with upper respiratory infections and stating that 25% of their puppies have this illness, the Petland owner would have preferred that Milo's guardian not rush her coughing puppy to the emergency vet, even though this vet stated in writing that a severe cough should be checked out immediately, as it could indicate a life-threatening condition. The Petland owner felt that Milo's guardian should have waited till the next day, called Petland, let HER assess the puppy's condition, at which point she would have advised that Milo be brought to Petland for Nebulizer treatments twice a day for several days. Two vets unaffiliated with Petland indicated that in Milo's case, this treatment would not have worked. Milo's guardian asks the Petland owner, "If you are not a licensed vet, then how could you have properly assessed my puppy's condition? Are you or your employees licensed through the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy to dispense, administer, and/or prescribe medications?" The vet affiliated with Petland had seen Milo only once before purchase, at the store. The full checkup included weight, temperature, teeth, gums, ears, ear mites, eyes, entropion, "upper respirator" (which was marked as negative), hernia, heart, knees, and testicles. Milo's vet also discovered that Milo needs nasal surgery in order to improve his breathing. Petland required that Milo be brought to its own vet to confirm this diagnosis. After much negotiation, Petland agreed to pay for the costs of treating the upper respiratory infection and the nasal surgery. As of this writing, Milo is scheduled for nasal surgery. Milo was brought to Petland through the Class B dealer QD Kennels of Missouri, owned by Herman Schindler. Milo was born in a breeding facility also located in Missouri. PETLAND ARBORETUM--NORTH CAROLINA--CHARLOTTE 2008: I bought an adorable Cavalier King Charles Spaniel at a Petland store in Charlotte, NC in November 2006. When I saw the puppy, I fell in love with her. Never owning a dog before, I was unaware of the horror stories about pet stores animals. I just thought I was going to take home a new companion. My puppy, Sadie, was sick when I first brought her home. She had a respiratory infection and I brought her to the vet to be treated. In my heart, I always knew there was something wrong with Sadie. While she was the sweetest puppy, she often had some problems catching her breath. Sadie was also a poor eater, which I always thought was because she was super picky. When Sadie was 13 months old, I took her to my vet, different from the one Petland recommended, to get her spayed. The operation went well according to the vet. Two weeks later, Sadie was extremely sick. Not only was she sleeping and not eating, but she was urinating blood clots. I took her to the vet 4 days in a row. They tried everything to treat her, but during a required surgery (to stop the bleeding) Sadie suffered a cardiac arrest. A liver biopsy was done on my dog, and later a necropsy. Sadie had a liver disease that left her liver a greenish-yellow color and caused her to have problems clotting blood. The report indicated that it was most likely an autoimmune liver disease that caused her to die. Sadie was still under warranty when she died. I've been fighting Petland for compensation on my poor baby, Sadie. Petland is a horrible company! Never again will I step foot in the store. While I've been going through this hardship, I've researched where my dog has come from and the price they paid for her. Petland got my dog from a supplier in MO. The supplier got my dog from a place called Tripple H Kennels, a 'very large breeding facility.' Blood work was never done on my dog before she was sold and I paid a 100% markup on her. I would love for other first time buyers, like me, to know what they are getting into when they purchase a dog from Petland. I would hate for someone else, especially someone with small children to experience what I did with this terrible company. - Nicole Zarella PETLAND-MAINE-TOPSHAM FAIR MALL December 2008: Hello. My name is Karen Saindon and this is info from a Shih Tzu which we purchased at Petland at the Topsham Fair Mall in Topsham, Maine. Reagan was marked down a lot as he had surgery for a hernia and the vet neutered him at the same time. I fell in love with him right away. He was in drastic need of a brushing and grooming but is my lil man. The vet he goes to did tell me his back legs are bowlegged but his knees are OK. I used to work for a humane society years ago and am all for the animal. As far as I'm concerned people who adopt a dog, cat, or whatever have committed to that animal for life as you do a child. Enclosed you will find all Reagan's information. Hopefully this will help you to help these precious babies. [Enclosed records show that Reagan came from USDA-licensed breeder Sheryl Gleeson of Fulton, MO. This breeder also advertises online and sells pugs, Pekingese, Chihuahuas, Maltese, and Yorkshire Terriers.] PETLAND--OHIO--AKRON See the TV news story at: http://www.woio.com/Global/SearchResults.asp?qu=petland&search=Search I just rescued a Lhasa Apso puppy from the Petland store at Chapel Hill Mall in Akron 11/11/06. The sales rep explained and even sent home a brochure on kennel cough BUT never said that the puppy WAS sick and needed immediate veterinary attention. I'd guess all their puppies sold there are sick. Kennel cough is highly contagious. None of the puppies were coughing at the store due to giving them a cough suppressant (I'm assuming). Within 4 hours of bringing the pup home it started coughing and running a fever. I paid $800 for a sick dog and they originally wanted $1000. The pup is supposedly 12 weeks old, but looks 6 to 8. You can also feel its spinal cord, suggesting it was malnourished.(5.1 lbs. Should have been closer to 6.5 lbs.) Not trusting Petland's Vet located in Medina (25 miles each way), the pup was taken to Banfield Vet Clinic whom I have dealt with before and received excellent care. Keep in mind that this pup was seen by Petland's recommended vet on 11/10/06. Banfield's diagnosis was severe pneumonia and ran a series of other related tests along with X-rays. The puppy was in their care for 2 whole days 11/13 & 11/14. Total cost of the vet bill is $565.00. The puppy has to be nebulized 3 times a day for the next 4 weeks and is on antibiotics twice a day for the next 4 weeks. Having sent a letter to the owner Gary Winslow of the Petland store and to the vet Dr. Steven Hicks of the Akron-Medina Veterinary Hospital, I received an e-mail from Dr. Hicks stating that he had never seen this puppy at all during its 3-week stay at the store. Sincerely, Greg Gribble PETLAND--OHIO--ATHENS In order to decrease the number of homeless animals put to death due to lack of homes, the city of Athens passed an ordinance prohibiting the sale of dogs and cats older than 6 months unless they have been spayed or neutered. The law also prohibits the sale of dogs and cats younger than 6 months "without proof of purchase of spay or neuter services from a licensed veterinarian...that such services will be rendered by the age of 6 months." The Athens Petland, which sells unspayed and unneutered puppies and other animals every day in spite of the company's professed concern about homeless animals, opposed the law and filed a lawsuit against the city. PETLAND--OHIO--BURLINGTON Minnie, a Maltese puppy recently purchased at this store for about $1,800, turned out to have kennel cough, ear mites, and parasites in the bowel. When Minnie's guardian complained to the store, they offered to take the puppy back and refund her money or exchange the puppy for a different one--"as if it were Walmart or something, not a real life." Since that would not help the puppy, she refused. She believes Minnie would not have survived much longer if she had not intervened and provided proper vet care. The puppy came from an Oklahoma breeder. Store conditions include puppies living on metal floors, with some cages containing three puppies in a small space. When a puppy pooped, the other puppies fought to eat it, which can be a sign of malnutrition. PETLAND--OHIO--CINCINNATI FAIRFIELD 2008 So I was on my way home from work last week when I passed Petland in Fairfield, Ohio. I decided to turn around and go in. Here is what I found: One wall was nothing but their kennels of wire flooring and puppies. Some seemed in good health but my concern was on their Yorkie pups. They all seemed to have ear mites from what I seen and scratched continuously. Two wouldn't get up to see out the window with kids and people tapping on the glass. One of them lifted his head when I kept tapping to get his attention. He had the saddest face I've ever seen. Watery, gunky eyes and flakes throughout his fur. He didn't seem healthy at all. I wanted so badly to ask to hold him and comfort him but I couldn't get myself attached to this puppy that I couldn't/wouldn't buy and bring home. I named him Bambino Dolce (Italian for Sweet Baby), my prayers are with him. I asked a worker if she knew how old the puppies were and she told me between 6 and 8 weeks old. UGH!!! Way too young to be away from momma. I then asked her where they got the puppies. She said very quickly "From USDA breeders." Too quick of an answer, as if they highly trained them on this matter. Then she said "Why?" I responded with, "Well, the Yorkies don't look very good and they need to see a vet. This one (the one I mentioned above) wouldn't even lift his head until I practically banged on the glass, and he's the worst one." She told me, "He was just up and playing a little bit ago, he's fine." I know he was NOT fine. She said a bit snotty, "Would you like to talk to the manager?" I, of course, said yes. The manager asked if he could help me. I said that I wanted a list of his breeders where he got the puppies from. He then had me step outside to talk to him. He first asked to see my driver's license before he gave me any information. What? Driver's license? OK then. I went to my car to get it and showed it to him. Now I wanted the information I asked for. He wouldn't give it to me. He asked what organization I was with. I told him that I was my own organization but that I supported every one that I came across that were helping to shut down puppy mills and pet stores that sell puppy mill puppies. I then told him about the Petland horrors I heard through people I actually know and from other sources. (Someone I know used to work for Petland and told me enough to make me sick.) He asked me what her name was. I told him I wasn't going to tell him because I didn't have her consent. He then said he wasn't going to give me anything if I didn't tell him her name. That really pissed me off. I then yelled, "Petland gets their fuckin' puppies from puppy mills and you can't prove you don't!" He then got up to get the couple who was walking by to talk to them because of my language. What an asshole. That's when I left. I've since heard that they get puppies from Hunte Corp. BOYCOTT PETLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!! -Tara Simpson PETLAND--OHIO--CLEVELAND HEIGHTS This store just opened (early 2006) and is already bringing puppy mill puppies into Cleveland Heights. An alert citizen investigated and wrote this letter to the editor, which appeared in the "Sun Press" in February of 2006: "Dear Editor: After reading about the recent opening of Petland in Cleveland Heights, I feel compelled to make people aware that if they shop in a pet store such as this one which sells puppies, they are most likely supporting the cruel puppy mill trade. Puppy mills are commercial breeding facilities that mass-produce purebred puppies which are sold to brokers and pet stores across the country. These facilities are literally factories where hundreds of breeding dogs live their entire lives cramped in filthy cages and are forced to produce litter after litter until they are killed when their reproductive capacity wanes. The dogs are housed in small wire cages for their entire lives. After speaking at length with the owner of Petland and researching the puppy mill trade, it has become apparent to me that this store is definitely obtaining dogs from these types of commercial facilities. I've been told that the puppies are coming from Missouri. This state is home to the largest concentration of puppy mills in the country. Last week I witnessed a truck from the Hunte Corporation pull behind Petland to unload puppies. The Hunte Corporation is currently the largest puppy broker in the U.S. The breeders that sell to Hunte are scattered all over the Midwest. Petland's owner has admitted that she has never personally checked out any of these breeding facilities to make sure the animals are treated humanely. Anyone looking to purchase a pure breed should know that legitimate breeders always screen people who adopt their puppies and they do not sell to pet stores. The Humane Society of the United States along with every other animal protection organization, warns people never to purchase puppies from pet stores. Cleveland Heights definitely has a need for a pet supply store and I believe this business can thrive without profiting from the misery of animals in puppy mills. I urge the owners of Petland to make animal welfare a higher priority than profits and stop doing business with puppy mills. Until this happens, we should all refuse to shop at Petland and visit our local animal shelter if we want to adopt an animal companion." PETLAND--OHIO--COLUMBUS January 2007: "I entered Petland on West Broad Street, Columbus, last night just for an occasional visit to see some of their puppies. I noticed a lonely boxer attempting to digest some dog food, but I then noticed the dog's price was VERY low for a Petland. I observed the dog choking and coughing while trying to eat. It was so sad I literally almost cried in front of about 20 people around the store. This dog looked as if he had a severe case of worms or something because on more observation his stomach was very enlarged and his upper torso was as skinny as could be. His eyes were bloodshot and it was as if you could see the pain in his eyes. I went back today and he was gone." PETLAND--OHIO--COLUMBUS (Town and Country mall) 2007: This is my little baby Rusty! We live in Columbus, Ohio. GO BUCKS!!!! My little miniature Dachshund Rusty is very sick. I am in the process of suing Petland. He has so many health problems it is unreal. I am so glad we bought him, though. Someone else my have got him who would have put him to sleep. I know it will take a long time IF I ever see any money out of Petland, but I am working to get them in the public eye and make people see who Petland gets their dogs from and why this is so bad. But my dog is my dog, sick or not. He is going to be having surgery at the Ohio State University very soon. He is our baby, and we're going to do everything in our power to save him. I am in contact with media to try to get the public eye to see how much suffering puppy mill dogs go through. Here is what Rusty, myself and my fiancé have been going through. This was one of my letters to a news station. At the end of April and the beginning of May 2007, I had been in Petland Town and Country about 3-4 times looking at a red Dachshund. His price was like 1,700 dollars, which was way too high for me. On May 10th, my fiancé and I went in and he was down to 499.99. We decided to purchase him. When I bought the dog, I specifically asked, "If the dog has an emergency and he goes to a vet other than the one you recommend, you will pay the vet bills as long as your vet confirms the problem is in existence plus the price of the puppy?" The girl confirmed that I was correct. On Saturday, May 12th, 2007 I took Rusty to The Animal Medical Center, as directed by a Petland employee in order to keep my warranty, where the vet did an extremely minimal check up. He held him, gave a quick look over, and listened to his heart. Afterwards he said the heart sounded nice and clear. He was noted to weigh exactly three pounds. Suspicious, I took Rusty to my own vet whom I know and trust. She immediately noted a heart murmur and said not to say anything yet and cause a problem if not necessary. If I had a year, it shouldn´t have mattered when in that year the heart murmur was found. She said to wait and see if he grows out of it. Over the time we have had Rusty he had no appetite and I used Nutri-stat as I was told to do so by a Petland employee in order to help him eat. He was only 5 lbs and almost 6 months old. He had on and off bouts of lethargy, diarrhea, weakness, shaking, coughing etc... On Monday, June 25th Rusty had a seizure. His neck stiffened completely upwards, his jaw clenched together, he was foaming from the mouth, breathing hard, and lost control of his bowels. I immediately jumped in the car and drove to the nearest vet about five minutes away, which is Banfield off Brice Road. I ran in hysterical, yelling for someone to help me. A vet immediately got him, and listened to him. His heart rate was 35. It should have been up between 120 and 140. His body temperature was at 96. The normal body temperature for a dog is 102. The doctor noted that he was in respiratory distress with a slow heart rate and pale gums. Luckily, she was able to stabilize him but said his heart had abnormalities. There we paid $334.19. Banfield then transferred him to Medvet on emergency. He was than transferred to Medvet for further evaluation for acute disorientation, lethargy, and being unresponsive. The vet noted that he weighed 5 pounds. Rusty was found to have a heart murmur that is not innocent. He also has an extraheptic liver shunt. Rusty has been suffering from seizures, lethargy, weakness, loss of appetite; failure to gain weight, diarrhea, and now has neurological damage due to this congenital disease. Here our bills are $1,826.24. I called Petland Tuesday morning and they only offered a credit towards another dog! Rusty is in need of serious high-risk surgery. He is now being stabilized on medicine until we can get his surgery, which is quoted at $2,600. Rusty is on a prescription diet. He is on lactulose, an antiseizure medicine, three times daily. He is on Neomycin three times a day, which is an antibiotic used for dogs with liver shunts. He is on Potassium Bro. twice daily, which is an antiseizure medicine. He is on panacur for 6 days. These are his requirements in order to keep him alive until we can do the surgery. On Thursday, June 28th, 2007, I spoke with an employee at Petland, once again, who took my information but said she couldn´t do anything and told me who could. I explained my situation without trying to be rude or pushy. She stated that Petland only covers up to the price of the dog. But the health of the dog is supposed to be guaranteed. Both disorders are congenital. Rusty was also neutered. When male dogs have liver shunts, it often causes the testicles not to drop properly. Petland does not normally sell neutered dogs, so this is evidence that someone knew this dog had health issues. Also, I have the breeder, Margie Williams´, address, name of the kennel, and license number. With this I was able to contact the USDA and get information on the facility. I have an inspection report that showed that this particular breeder, who sells to the Hunte Corporation, is a puppy mill. The report shows that the facility was not compliant with the USDA guidelines, which further shows that this puppy was not from a reputable breeder. At time of the inspection she had 188 dogs, 115 adults, and 73 pups. I am also waiting on further reports, violations, fees, and the person who is assigned to this particular case. I have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General. I wrote to Petland stating that I would like the price of the dog plus tax refunded because he has two birth defects. I would also like the 334.19 and the 1,826.24 paid for. I was asking this because I did my part by taking Rusty to the vet like I was told to do within the first 4 days in order to keep my warranty. He failed to recognize the heart murmur which is a congenital defect. I also let Petland know that I had USDA information on their breeders who did not even meet the pathetic USDA guidelines. I also let them know I filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General. I told them that if they did not want to settle this I was taking them to court for the amount of $2,695.42. We have had Rusty for about 7 weeks, which is enough time to bond with him. He is now part of our family. I do not want a store credit or a credit for another dog as Petland has offered me. I want the dog we have. I have asked Petland that the vet bills and the refund of the puppy plus tax be given because I was told by the sales person that as long as the condition could be verified by your vet,,that the bills would be taken care of along with a refund for the dog. But even more that their vet failed to diagnose a heart murmur that could simply be heard by listening to the heart. I did what I was supposed to do as a customer in order to keep my warranty but the vet did not to his. If I were to not have taken my animal to the vet within four days, I would have voided my warranty. But in this case, the veterinarian did not diagnose a congenital heart murmur, which should in turn mean that I should be refunded the money for the dog that I had a health warranty on and for the vet bills because I was told he was a healthy dog by the vet himself. Unfortunately, this dog´s life will never be the same. Rusty may have to stay on a prescription diet for the rest of his life and possibly even medication. Not only is the surgery that is needed risky, but his heart murmur makes it all the more dangerous to put him under anesthesia. I have been quoted at 2,600 for his surgery, if there are no complications. Because of these congenital diseases, Rusty has to live with neurological damage for the rest of his life. On Friday, June 29th, 2007 the general manager, Trina, called and tried to say that they only cover up to the purchase price of the dog. In turn, I told her that I would be suing Petland and I gave her some unkind words about the treatment of their animals to which she didn´t have much to say. Please help us get our puppy the care he deserves and needs in order to survive. PETLAND--OHIO--HOLLAND Daisy was purchased at the Petland at 1484 Spring Meadows Drive, Holland, Ohio. At the time she was purchased she had kennel cough and filthy ears. She later developed severe flea allergies and had calcium deposits in her urine. At age 2 ½ she needed surgery for patella luxation and a torn ligament. Now 3 ½, she throws up about once a week due to a stomach problem. Her guardian says she has spent several thousand dollars on vet bills. "We love her very much. She is like our daughter. It just really hurts to know where she came from." PETLAND--OHIO--LANCASTER Update 2009: We heard that this store CLOSED in November 2008!! 2007: Hi. My name is Kendra. About a year or a little less ago a women came into our work with three puppies--an Australian Shepherd, chocolate lab and boxer which she had purchased from Petland in Lancaster, Ohio, the night before. They had managed to talk her into 3 puppies and everything you could ever need to go with them. She could not end up keeping any of them; we decided to help her place them in homes. All day we made calls and ended up finding places for the Aussie and lab. However the boxer puppy seemed to be extremely ill. I ended up taking him home that night because I didn't want any of the dogs in our facility to come in contact with him and possibly get sick. I fell in love with the sick puppy and decided I would just go ahead and keep him in fear that if I didn't he wouldn't get the medical attention he so obviously needed. I read the fine print in her cutesy little Petland puppy package and saw that the puppies come with a free initial vet visit within the first 4 days and that anything found in that visit they had to cover. So I made the appointment and took him out. He had kennel cough, pneumonia, demodectic mange, and a heart murmur. The vet I took him to had been out to the Petland to administer shots and said that my puppy had been sick since they pulled him off the truck and that they refused to let them treat him. Also in his puppy package I noticed that in one month they had vaccinated him 3 times for kennel cough, so I can only assume they thought that would cure the problem instead of just administering the antibiotics. Just looking at this dog would bring you to tears. He literally had almost no hair on him from the mange. I was in and out of my vet's office 2 and sometimes 3 times a week with him and my other one who although was vaccinated for kennel cough caught it. He was on different medications for the first 6 to probably 7 months I had him. He also started getting hives the size of 50-cent pieces for a couple months that couldn't be explained except for maybe he had some kind of allergies. He has a lump between his shoulder blades. My vet thinks that it is a injection site reaction from being vaccinated all of those times and that it could turn in to cancer as a result. He has to have that removed next visit, to find out. The fact that he was sheltered his entire life makes him extremely scared of everything he comes in contact with. I must admit that despite the hard life this dog has had he is the best dog I've ever known--I think due to the fact he is now out of that situation he is solely dedicated to me, he will not leave me side no matter what. I cannot crate him because of the fact. I have tried in the past and he totally freaks out and ends up cutting himself on the crate from trying to get out. It's a terrible ordeal for him. I will admit that until I recently started working in the dog world I was unaware of the fact of the huge problem with puppy mills. Having this puppy has opened my eyes to a world that absolutely pains me to think about or see. I will admit that Petland has covered the cost of most medications he has needed but only because it's in their contract that most people never read that they must. However my vet's office has said that eventually they will quit this, saying that somewhere in there it does say that they will only cover costs up to the purchase cost of the puppy. Although I have gone rounds with them about paying for it, it has not been an easy task to get them to abide. I see clients every day that buy puppies from there, and as much as I try to educate them, most won't believe it until they see it with their own eyes. It makes me sick to think people that know about this will still walk into a pet store to purchase a puppy. I just wanted to share this with you, I do not know if this will help, but I wanted you to know that there are people out there who care and if there is anything I can do to contribute I would be more than happy to. Thanks so much for your time, Kendra Nusser *************************** 2007: I worked with a vet clinic that was attached to Petland from 1991-1996 [note from petstorecruelty--this was not the Lancaster store]. I would go out to the box trucks that delivered the puppies. I saw the terrible conditions in which they transported these dogs. There was absolutely no air or ventilation. There was oodles of different breeds cramped in cages from floor to ceiling that filled the entire truck. Sick, dying puppy mill puppies. The employees would go in the truck and start picking puppies that they wanted. They typically paid 50-75 dollars per dog, then turned around and sold these dogs for 1000+ dollars. I would say ninety five percent of these puppies all had serious health conditions. The rate of death before they even made it to customers was extremely high. The ones that survived had life-long health problems. For years I've been an advocate trying to raise public awareness begging people please don't buy pets from pet stores. If people only knew from which the conditions those puppies came from they might change their minds; however I've known lots of people who think that they are in fact saving these dogs from this terrible ordeal, not realizing they are just promoting the business, thinking they are saving one dog, but that dog has a mother and father living in those terrible conditions, and by purchasing that puppy they are only creating the supply and demand that these companies are flourishing from. ***************************** PETLAND--OHIO--LEWIS CENTER 2008: I just lost a 4 year old 3 month Papillion to a seizure/heart attack, who was diagnosed at age 3 with a level 5/6 heart murmur. It was purchased as a puppy from a Petland store in Lewis Center Ohio. Prior to taking him in for a neutering at age 3, no note had been made of a heart murmur. Vets recommended by the store were used. The breeder is listed on your page as Patsy Evans, Purdy MO Tara Winds Kennel. This is certainly irresponsible breeding and care of the animals, and organizations that continue to let these people register their dogs are equally irresponsible. -Anne Horsman PETLAND--OHIO--MARIETTA 2007: We are told that this Petland CLOSED on November 23, 2006 but reopened on March 31, 2007. If anyone knows the reason behind the closing and reopening, please let us know. Teddy sleeping, and Annie "I purchased 2 Cavalier King Charles from Petland, one for about $1,900, the other for about $1,100. My first, Teddy, got sick only 2 days after I bought him. He had to be put on IVs due to dehydration, and had breathing treatments for 2 weeks. He was on antibiotics for the first three months. I was so mad at Petland that I demanded that they pay his vet bills. They offered me the chance to return him, of course not getting all of money back. But I refused--I knew what would happen to him if I sent him back. The vet that they used told me that the dogs are brought in on trucks that travel several hundred miles and that if the pups are sick they just send them right back. What puppy is going to survive another 700 miles when they are already looking death right in the face? But no thanks to Petland he is as healthy as ever, although he is spoiled rotten because of all that he's been through. I purchased a female only a month or so ago. I should have known better, but I felt like I had to save her too. She appears to be healthy, but is very small. She only weighs five pounds and is 5 months old. But I know with my love and affection she will be just fine." PETLAND-OHIO-SOUTH POINT** [Petland employees are told emphatically that the store's puppies do NOT come from puppy mills. Some find out for themselves the real story after a while, and some never do. It's helpful to go into the store and TELL them what their bosses won't. Just don't expect to be invited back into the store. Here is what one knowledgeable rescuer did.] 2006: I was on my way to WV to do some computer work for my dad and decided to stop and kill some time and stretch my legs. Well, instead of going to the WalMart close by, I figured I'd go take a look inside the Petland I spotted close by..... Well, I walked in to a very small but tidy store, crammed with all sorts of pet supplies and cages and tanks to sell the new pet owners. I made my way back to the animals along the back wall of the store. Oh, the puppies they had there were just too numerous to even try to name all the breeds--I do recall Peke, Pug, Dachsie, English Springer Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, Greyhound, JRT, Poodles, Mini Schnauzer and Chihuahuas. There were many more too, even a French Bulldog!! As I made my way down the length of the puppy display, simply disgusted by the diarrhea the pups had, some were even lethargic, others were acting like they had been given a stimulant as they bounced all over their cage, I hear a young man "May I help you with the puppies?" I turned to look at this fresh-faced kid, and shook my head, "No, not with THESE puppies." He came closer and said "We have the finest selection of pups around this area and they are all from excellent breeders from the Mid-West." I paused a second, "Oh, is that so??" "We have our pups vet checked and do not accept them unless they are in perfect health," this young man boasted. I said "Really? So what is this stuff I keep seeing linking Petland and Puppy Mills all over the internet?" He pauses a second to think, "Must be a rumor, we get our dogs from private breeders who take pride in their litters." At this point I was ready to just smack this kid for being stupid and gullible. I nearly died laughing at this crap too but it was too sad to be laughed off. "So, are your pups AKC registered or what?" I asked with honest sincerity. "Oh, our boss does not think AKC is the highest standard of the breeds so he prefers to take only CKC, ACA and a couple other registries. As you can see, we have excellent pups here," this young man goes on with his sales pitch. At this point, I had heard enough trash talk and that was when I let him have the WHOLE story on these pups and their origins. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that AKC is the 'lowgrade' registry? Let me introduce myself before I continue. My name is Joanie Stambaugh, from McDermott, OH, and I am a dog rescuer specializing in small seniors, PUPPY MILL Dogs and special needs dogs. My rescue is Joanie's Lil Senior K9 Sanctuary and Placement and I currently have 4 Mill dogs in my house that came from some of those illustrious Mid-Western breeders you speak so highly of. Let me tell you, if you have NOT seen a mill dog, I can tell you all about them. I have had them come in to me with NO social skills at all, matted so badly you couldn't tell one end from the other, so sick they could barely stand, no teeth or lower jaws from the lack of proper care and the females being bred so much that their little bodies re-absorb their jaw-bone in order to have calcium for milk. Oh, I can tell you about a friend of mine in NE who gets them and some have their faces broken up from being kicked and brutally beaten by those wonderful breeders you speak so highly of. I can go right on with a list of things that would make you want to vomit but I know EXACTLY where these pups were born--Puppy Mills in the Mid-West!!! If you decide you want to learn more about those hell-holes, I will be more than happy to introduce you to my poor Mill Survivors and show you website after website with pics of these places and the ACTUAL conditions these pups came out of." This kid is soooo convinced of the good work these Millers do that he tells me that their pups are the best in the country. They are genetically sound and have NO health problems. He even says they were made to watch a video on the horrors of a real puppy mill but it wasn't so bad..... I could have went through the roof!! I stood there a second and then looked him in the eye...."Have you seen these places yourself? Have you seen the actual dogs that come out of those mills? What they send you here are the cleaned up versions of the mill dogs. I recommend a site for you, NoPuppyMills.com or better yet, go to the HSUS or PETA sites and type in Puppy Mills for a list of sites and info on these "doggy concentration camps" and have a look for yourself. Also, all of the puppy purchasers who have paid anywhere from $600 to $1500 for a pup from Petland and then spent thousands more to save the dog's life, tell them how sound and healthy their pups were too. I have seen the reports, read their statements and in NO way do I condone selling of Puppy Mill Pups to the unsuspecting public." At this point, the kid is so blown away by the info he is hearing that he asks me if I am for real. My response--You better believe it!! At that point, I decided I had said more than enough. This kid had a look on his face that said plenty. I paused before heading out the door, "If you think I am joking, please do check out the info on those sites I mentioned or Google Puppy Mills and see what you find..... Oh, and see, I was right, you can't help me with THOSE pups....." This happened Nov. 1, 2006 in South Point, OH at Petland. Yours in rescue, Joanie Stambaugh McDermott, OH Please see "Pet Store Hall of Shame, part 2 for Petland--Ohio and the rest of the entries, in alphabetical order. Back to top Home