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petstorecruelty.org
P.O. Box 2036
Fairfax, VA 22031

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THANK YOU!!

Frequently Asked Questions

1) Isn’t protesting a bit harsh? Have you tried speaking to the management?

The Petland corporate office knows exactly what it’s doing and doesn’t care that animals are suffering. There’s more hope for the franchisees, who may have signed on without knowing the full extent Petland’s cruelty and may eventually tire of selling a "product" that is so difficult to keep clean and that horrifies the animal-loving public.

We have had a cordial debate with the manager of the local Petland. He feels that selling supplies only, as we would prefer, would not be possible in a store that small, even though he feels it is enough space for several hundred animals (that number includes fish). He does not believe his puppies are coming from puppy mills and chooses to think they are coming from more spacious kennels, although he has visited only one or two, from a select list provided by the Hunte Corporation.

He does not find the cages in the store extremely small or uncomfortable, as we do. He does not believe he is contributing to the homeless animal crisis but feels he is instead providing a choice for shoppers looking for a particular animal at a particular time. We respectfully disagree on these issues and hope that he will change his mind before more animals are harmed.

2) Many rescue groups have adoption days in cooperation with pet stores. Do you think rescue groups should work with Petland?

If Petland sells 100 animals in a week and finds a home for 1 homeless animal during the same week, have they done a good thing or a bad thing overall? We feel that Petland’s sale of animals does so much more harm than good that rescue groups would be better off going elsewhere to adopt out their animals, giving positive public relations to someone more deserving. Besides, Petland’s cages are so small, most rescue groups would not want their animals housed there.

3) Do you think your protests are doing any good?

Yes, we think they are doing a lot of good. We have handed out literally thousands of fliers explaining that Petland gets puppies from puppy mills. Virtually every weekend since mid-July of 2004, hundreds of cars have seen our very visible "Boycott Petland" signs as they drive along Pickett Street. We are spreading the word everywhere we go. We have seen the shock on the faces of people when they learn about the connection between pet stores and puppy mills. People who were planning on buying animals at Petland walk away with information about rescue groups and shelters instead. When we protest, former employees and people who bought sick animals at Petland come up to us with valuable information. People who had their suspicions about Petland are reassured by our presence and our information--yes, puppy mill puppies are being sold HERE, in Fairfax, at this store, not someplace far away. They wave, honk, give us a thumbs-up, and tell their friends. There are a million residents of Fairfax county. That is not an infinite number. We reach more people every day.

4) I've been to some of the stores in your "Hall of Shame," and the owners seem pretty nice. Why don't you limit your list to the worst stores?

Animals are living creatures with feelings who find themselves alive on this planet just as we do. We do not feel humans should be buying and selling them for fun and profit. We feel people should know better, and that's why this list is called the Hall of Shame. Beyond that, there are so many variables to weigh to decide what stores are the worst, we're not going to attempt it here. Here are some issues that people take into consideration, although we don't agree with all of them:

1) Is it a chain store that sells hundreds of thousands of animals or just a Mom and Pop operation that sells a few hundred a year?

2) How are the living conditions at the breeding facilities, during transport, and at the store?

3) If cages in animal shelters are sometimes small because of the constant surplus of homeless animals, does that mean it's OK for pet stores, whose motive is profit, to bring more animals into the world and then house them in small cages?

4) Do some of the animals in the store appear sick or in distress? How many of the animals must be sick or in distress before we consider it a bad store?

5) What happens to the sick or unsold animals?

6) Does the store do anything positive for homeless animals, such as inviting rescue groups in to adopt out animals? Is that enough to offset the harm the store does by selling animals? It is just a token gesture for public relations, or is it more substantial?

7) Does the store make more money by selling animals or by selling supplies?

8) Does the store make a big profit or is it just squeaking by?

9) Do the owners take good care of some of the animals but not others? Is that good enough?

10) Is the store truthful about where it's getting its animals from and about their health?

11) Do the store owners act as if they care about animals? If they do, is it just an act? Or are they openly hostile when someone informs them their animals are sick or dying?

You decide what is important to you. Whenever it is humanly possible, we choose to buy at stores that sell supplies only.

5) Most pet stores do sell animals. If we boycott those, where will we get supplies for our own companion animals?

We boycott the stores that we find the most repulsive, such as Petland, where you look into the eyes of many suffering animals every time you go into the store. There are a number of stores in the DC metro area that sell supplies only, not live animals, and we recommend those. I'm going to spell them backwards so that they aren't accidentally linked with "pet store cruelty" through a quick search on Google! Our local favorite is (spelled backwards) S'REBEW near the intersection of Route 236 and Route 29 in Fairfax City. They sell no animals, the supplies they sell tend to be more healthful for animals than those in other stores, they very frequently invite rescue groups in for adoption days, and they are happy to display anti-puppy-mill information on their bulletin board. A chain store that very rarely sells animals is (spelled backwards) ULAVTEP.

There are also FEED STORES that may have what you are looking for. You can also get supplies by mail order from a reputable company such as KV Vet Supply. They will send you a paper catalog if you like, or you can go to www.kvvet.com or call 1-800-423-8211 for more information.

In some cases you may need something not commonly carried in stores, such as certain supplies for birds. If you don't have time to go far out of your way to mail-order something or drive a long distance, you may find yourself shopping at a store that sells animals. It's an imperfect world.

6) What about Petsmart and Petco?
These large chain stores get points for not selling dogs and cats, for donating to animal charities, and for giving rescue groups a place to show animals available for adoption. That's great. However, they sell a huge number of small animals. That's bad. Recently, both Petsmart and Petco have taken a giant leap in the WRONG direction by starting to sell rabbits when they previously did not. We leave it up to you to decide how you rate them. For a thorough consideration of this issue from the point of view of someone who cares about animals other than dogs and cats, see www.avianwelfare.org/issues/articles/ppadvant.htm.

7) Why don't you help people instead of animals?
When we stand out on the street protesting about the suffering and death of animals, we get this question in many forms. Yet in all the times we've gone to movies, restaurants, shopping malls, video stores, concerts, beaches, hotels, sporting events, and any other place where people go for entertainment, we have never been asked this question. Why don't you ask people at those places what they are doing to help? Some people there may help others, and some may not, but you are asking us this at the very moment when we are doing something that is not fun, trying to alleviate some of the suffering in the world. Each individual is passionate about certain issues because of his or her life experiences. Do you ask a mother whose child has been killed by a drunk driver to stop volunteering for MADD and devote all her time to helping hungry children in Africa instead? Do you ask a person whose parents died young of cancer to stop worrying about disease and fight nuclear proliferation instead? The amount of suffering in the world is tremendous, and we cannot all do everything. We care about people, and we care about animals. The two are not mutually exclusive. We are moved to help creatures who are suffering because of human greed and selfishness. We hope you will spend your time helping to make the world a better place in whatever way you choose.

8) I've been in some of the stores you list on your site, and the animals look OK to me. What makes you think they are suffering?

Currently, the general public is often satisfied when there is some semblance of cleanliness to a pet store (although according to a local vet, the appearance of cleanliness is often an illusion, as the constant influx of sick and healthy animals makes it impossible). In addition, former pet store employees say that the appearance of cleanliness is sometimes obtained by feeding animals at infrequent intervals, especially at night, when there are no customers. This is not healthy for many animals, especially very young ones.

But what is often overlooked is that most pet store animals are confined for long periods of time to spaces so small that puppies can't run, kittens can't climb, rabbits can't hop, snakes can't slither, birds can't fly, and fish can't swim more than a few inches. (Some fish are confined to containers so small they can only tread water.) These are natural behaviors that these species MUST engage in to be healthy and happy. Freedom of movement is a terrible thing to deny to any living creature. These animals do not know they are confined because humans enjoy looking at their beautiful feathers or cute, furry faces. All they know is they want OUT.

Once you reject the familiar notion that there's nothing wrong with the way pet stores confine animals, common sense dictates that an active animal who is confined to an area only slightly larger than his or her own body all the time or nearly all the time cannot possibly be getting enough SPACE or EXERCISE as is necessary to maintain physical and mental health. Many pet shop animals are taken from their mothers at an early age and are forced to live (and often die) in barren cages with absolutely no toys, no companions, nothing to engage their minds or bodies. Dogs are domesticated animals, meaning that their ability to survive in the wild has been taken away, but they still retain some natural behaviors, without which they are neither happy nor healthy. Puppies still need to run, play with others, learn about the world, and receive loving care from their mothers. Pet store puppies do not have these opportunities. Wild animals--that is, those who could survive in the wild if given the opportunity--are also sold in pet shops. These animals have a whole range of behaviors that they would be engaging in if they had been left in the wild. Anyone who has watched a nature show has seen this. These behaviors are almost totally absent in the frustrated and depressed pet shop animal. But all the casual observer sees, in a very brief visit, is an animal sitting in a cage (or sleeping, as there's nothing much else to do).

For those who feel common sense isn't enough to make these judgments, one of the primary contributors to this site has a degree in Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell University--Animal Behavior, not human behavior.

Please help stop this kind of animal abuse. Visit your local pet stores, and even if one animal out of a hundred in the store is suffering due to inadequate care, report this to Animal Control or the local SPCA or Humane Society that same day. It's especially important to explain to children that pet store animals are not happy. Save lives by adopting small animals, not just dogs and cats, from shelters and rescue groups.

Some stores are on the verge of becoming supplies-only. Please encourage them to go all the way and stop selling any animals. Other stores make almost all their profit from the suffering of animals. Visit your local stores and decide for yourself where they fit on this spectrum.

9) Why should we believe what you say and not what Petland says?

Consider the motivations. Petland exists for one reason: to make MONEY. Everything that corporate Petland, its distributors, its franchisees, and its current employees say is designed to get people to buy animals at Petland. We, on the other hand, do not make any money from fighting Petland. Our motivation is simply to HELP ANIMALS. Everyone who has come to a protest or supported these efforts in other ways has other things to do, whether it's enjoying their weekend or helping animals or people by volunteering their valuable time somewhere else. We are disgusted to even have to spend our time fighting something so backwards as Petland. Petland invaded our community in 2003. This kind of store should have become extinct decades ago. No longer do people talk of "the pound" and "the dogcatcher." Many people consider themselves "guardians," not owners, of their companion animals. During Hurricane Katrina, ordinary people put themselves in grave danger, and some died, because they stayed with their beloved animals when they were not allowed to evacuate with them. People CARE ABOUT ANIMALS all over the country. Yet Petland continues to live in the past, taking advantage of the free slave labor of suffering dogs, birds, rabbits, hamsters, ferrets, and other animals. PRETENDING to care about animals is very important for their business. The better they are at convincing people that they love animals, the higher prices they can charge. ACTUALLY caring would make them choose another line of work.

10) What's the difference between "buying" an animal, which you say is bad, and "adopting" an animal, which you say is good? In both cases, money is exchanged.

It's no wonder that people are confused about this, with animal sellers frequently stealing terminology such as "adopt" and "finding a good home." From your perspective, it may seem pretty much the same in that you have to pay a fee, even at the shelter. But from the seller's perspective, there is a huge difference: where the animal came from. If a person has deliberately caused an animal to come into the world--as pet shops do by ordering puppies from puppy mills--they are SELLING the animal. Their goal in doing this is primarily to make a PROFIT. Sometimes they do not succeed and may end up giving an animal away or selling him for a low price, but that does not mean that they are suddenly benevolent rescuers. It is more like a grocer who finds himself with a defective orange, so he gives that one away for free to get rid of it and also gain the good will of a customer.

When you buy a sad pet store puppy to "rescue" him, yes, it is true you have saved that one, and your kindness and generosity is admirable. But you have just rewarded people who caused an animal to suffer, and they will do it again and again, literally thousands of times. (Or think of it this way: you've paid off a kidnapper who was holding your loved one hostage.) The pet store will happily replace him with another puppy just as miserable, and the puppies' parents will continue to suffer in a breeding mill. But if you ADOPT a homeless animal that will not be deliberately replaced, you are reducing the number of suffering animals in the world by one.

If you go to a kill shelter to adopt an animal, aren't you "supporting" the idea that they are killing?

No. Government-run animal shelters do not breed animals, so you are always adopting when you get an animal from a shelter, whether you like the conditions there or not. Government employees do not get paid extra for killing more animals per day. They are not paid on commission. If your local shelter looks like a jail and the people there kill animals without trying very hard to get them adopted, learn about some of the more progressive shelters and work to change your local shelter into one of those. Information on working to change your local shelter into a no-kill adoption center is available at www.BestFriends.org and www.maddiesfund.org/nokill/index.html. Search for "no-kill movement" online for others.

You are also adopting when you get an animal from a "real" rescue group. In the case of dogs, here are some ways to recognize a real rescue group:

- Real rescue groups DO NOT BREED DOGS.
- They rarely have AKC papers or any other registration papers.
- They charge low adoption fees (maybe $200) which they use for food, shelter, vet care, and other expenses involved in their mission of saving the lives of homeless animals.
- They are usually licensed nonprofit organizations.
- They are usually trying to find homes for adult dogs and mixed breeds, although many groups specialize in a finding homes for a particular breeds. Most of these dogs will be adults, although sometimes puppies are available.
- They will interview you and may visit your home to try to ensure that the dog is going to a good home.
- They will generally want to take the animal back if things don't work out at your house, even if you have had the dog for a long time.
- The dog they give you will either already be spayed or neutered, or they will require that you have the animal spayed or neutered as soon as it is physically possible.
- It is very unlikely that they would offer to SHIP you a dog, especially without knowing you.
- They will not "order" you a puppy.

Not every rescuer is an official rescue group. If a person has found an animal who was abandoned for whatever reason by someone else, and they offer that animal to you in order to save the animal's life, that is true rescue. A true rescuer does not bring animals into the world on purpose, as there millions of companion animals--dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, ferrets, hamsters, guinea pigs, and more--being killed simply because they are homeless. A rescuer's goal is to reduce suffering, not to make money.

The terms "adopt" and "buy" and "sell" are easy to understand when you consider their original application. People do not talk of "buying" and "selling" babies brought into the world for profit. This would be horrible and criminal. We do not endorse the selling of animals for profit, but we wholeheartedly endorse efforts to find a loving home for every animal who needs one, including the old, sick, and those unfortunate enough to have been born of breeds considered innately aggressive, and who are so often horribly abused, such as Rottweilers and pit bulls. We support this well-known motto that refers to homeless animals: "Don't buy while homeless animals die."

11) I see PETA mentioned on your site. I'm not sure I like them, so I'm not sure I like you.

We are an independent group based in Fairfax, Virginia. Nothing we do, and nothing on our website, is created by or reviewed by PETA. Not every group protesting animal mistreatment is PETA. Some of our volunteers and supporters like PETA, some don't, and all are free to express their own opinions. Moreover, if a person contacts us with important information about suffering pet store animals but has opinions contrary to ours that they want to express, we include those opinions along with their statement on our website.

PETA is on our website for one main reason. It was their undercover investigation of a puppy mill that led Dateline NBC to do its exposé proving that Petland got puppies from puppy mills. If you watch the Dateline video, you will see NBC give PETA credit for this.

Our group exists to help animals suffering because of the pet store industry. We are delighted to mention any group or individual that is helping these animals. The animals need all the help they can get.

12) Why don't more veterinarians speak up against pet stores and breeding mills?

Good question. Vets, where are you?? Is profit more important to you than helping animals? We have been disappointed by the failure of most veterinarians to take an ethical stand--in public--against pet stores and puppy mills, although they seem willing to discuss them in private with individual clients. Dr. Michael Fox is a notable exception. He speaks out frequently about this issue, as in this column:

http://www.animal-advocates.org/info/display?PageID=1684

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What You Can Do

Many people ask us, "What can I do?" So here is a list of some things that you can do anytime, anywhere. But come up with your own, too!

First, learn as much as you can about puppy mills. The easiest way is by reading the websites and watching the videos of groups who work on this issue. Then spread the word in whatever way you can think of. Here are some ways.

1) Visit pet stores. Unless they see filth and extreme overcrowding, many people think these places are just “fine,” yet each store often contains probably 200 or more animals, being taken care of by employees who are not experts in taking care of everything from fish to tree frogs to snakes to birds to rabbits to puppies. Don’t be sucked into the concept that this is OK simply because “people want pets.” If you have any plans to revisit the same store to check the animals later, DON’T let the store owners know you disapprove of what you see, or they will kick you out of the store, and you won’t be able to go back.

2) Learn the laws of your state regarding animal care so that you can report violations at pet stores to local Animal Control (sometimes this is handled by the local SPCA or Humane Society) the same day you see them. Before you even visit the store, find out the phone number for Animal Control for the city or county where a store is located.

3) If you purchased a sick dog from a pet store, complain to the state Consumer Affairs office. Also complain online to www.complaints.com, www.ripoffreport.com, and www.consumeraffairs.com. If you are willing to disclose your name on the site, complain to us at www.petstorecruelty.org. You can sue the store, but be prepared for a tough fight.

4) The EASIEST THING POSSIBLE, especially if you are shy--put an anti-puppy-mill bumper sticker or magnet on your car. You can also convert bumper stickers into magnets by sticking them to flat magnetic strips available at craft stores. The advantage of magnets is that you can remove them at times when you might be in “hostile territory,” such as during your pet store visits.

5) Wear an anti-puppy-mill or anti-pet store t-shirt. Carry a card with an anti-puppy-mill website address on it so that when people ask you about your shirt, you can give the card to them.

6) Encourage everyone you know to adopt homeless animals rather than buy them. Let them know what rescue groups are and that not only dogs and cats but a wide variety of other animals are in desperate need of homes and can be adopted from shelters or rescue groups.

7) Email, call, or write to stores that sell puppies and other animals. Explain that you will not shop there until they sell supplies only.

8) Email, call, write, or visit the office of the vet who works for the store--the one who approves their sickly, puppy mill puppies for sale. Explain that you would not go to a vet who supports this cruel industry. Give that vet some puppy mill fliers and videos. He or she may not know about puppy mills.

9) Volunteer for a local animal rights, animal welfare, or animal rescue group and encourage them to make this issue part of their agenda.

10) Focus on a particular local pet store that you suspect is selling puppy mill puppies. Find out the names of its breeders and broker, and write to the USDA for inspection records. Use those records as proof that they do, in fact, obtain puppies from puppy mills, regardless of what they tell the public.

11) Organize a protest or protests outside a pet store. See our "Protesting for Beginners" page for tips.

12) Write a letter to the editor about pet stores and puppy mills when there has been some animal-related story recently in the paper.

13) Ask your local city government to ban stores that sell puppies.

14) When anti-puppy-mill legislation gets to your state government or the U.S. Congress, write to your legislators in support of it.

15) Support efforts to improve enforcement of current laws that supposedly regulate puppy mills.

16) Thank the media for puppy-mill-related stories and encourage them to do more.

17) Complain to advertisers who have accepted ads for a puppy mill or a puppy mill pet store.

18) Mention these issues prominently on your myspace page, blog, or website.

19) Complain to the AKC for providing registration papers for puppy mill dogs.

20) Complain to the mall owner for leasing to puppy mill stores.

21) If you are too busy to donate your time, donate money to a group who is doing something effective that you agree with. If you want to make sure your money isn't being wasted, donate to a group whose members or officers you have met and trust.

22) If you get the opportunity, visit a puppy mill, which is no mysterious, unusual thing, just another name for breeder who keeps dogs in conditions that you consider cruel.

23) Distribute anti-puppy-mill fliers wherever you can. Get a table at a local event and talk to people and hand out fliers about puppy mills and pet stores. These fliers are available from many groups—pick your favorite one, or make your own.

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

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

1) the breeder's NAME and, if possible, the STATE where he or she is located 2) the name of the pet store where the puppy was purchased

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

PetStoreCruelty
P.O. Box 2036
Fairfax, VA 22031

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

Not everyone can make it out to a protest, but there are other ways to help fight pet-store cruelty. Here are a few suggested actions you can take. They are mostly geared toward the D.C. area, but some are national. We will be updating this list regularly.



The following suggestions are mostly specific to the DC area region, but others can do similar things in their area:

* VISIT PETLAND and see for yourself the cramped, hard cages and sad, lonely puppies--and that is nothing compared to the misery their mothers and fathers are enduring in puppy mills. If you ask where their puppies come from, they will probably say "private breeders" or "brokers." They don't want to tell you their puppies were born in the Midwest--Puppy Mill Central in the U.S.--and that their broker is the Hunte Corp., notorious for obtaining puppies from puppy mills. But whatever you do, don't buy a puppy. Each week, very young, fragile puppies are trucked from the Midwest to this store. Any puppy you "rescue" will be immediately replaced by another. Encourage everyone you know to boycott pet stores that sell animals for profit.

* COMPLAIN TO AUTHORITIES. At any Virginia pet store, look for these violations of state law: 1) mesh flooring that allows an animal's legs to fall through, sag under the animal's weight, or otherwise injure the animal's feet and toes; 2) puppies without a solid resting platform, or with a platform not large enough to lie on; 3) animals in cages too small for them to turn around in; 4) animals that are sick or in distress; 5) very dirty cages--animals in contact with waste; 6) animals that appear undernourished or dehydrated; 7) animal being abused by a person; 8) animals suffering in excessive heat or cold; 9) puppies or kittens under 8 weeks old, if imported from another state and offered for sale without their mothers. If you see violations at the Fairfax Petland, call the Fairfax City Police at 703-385-7924.

* REPORT VIOLATIONS OF CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS. Virginia state law requires pet dealers to include the NAME and ADDRESS of their breeders when selling puppies registered with the AKC or similar registries. Yet Petland has been known to tell customers it has a "strict privacy policy" and has failed to disclose its puppies' Midwestern origin. (The papers may say "H&H Pets," but that is the broker--Hunte Corp.--not the breeder.) If you or someone you know purchased a puppy at Petland and the breeder's name and address are not on the registration papers, please complain to Petland. If they do not provide this information, call the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at 1-800-552-9963. They will ask you to file a written complaint by printing out the simple form at www.vdacs.virginia.gov/consumers/complaint2.pdf and mailing it to the address on the form. Mention Virginia state law 3.1-796.78 and include a copy of your dog's registration papers. Also alert other customers about this: send a letter explaining your complaint to the local Better Business Bureau (fax) 202-393-1198 or mail it to BBB, 1411 K St. NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005. Or submit your complaint online at www.bbb.org/complaint.asp. Include a copy of your dog's registration papers. Whether or not you received the breeder information, please write us at all4theanimals@yahoo.com.

* REPORT YOUR PURCHASE OF A SICK PUPPY. Local vets confirm that Petland puppies are sicklier than most. Did you or someone you know buy a sick puppy at the Fairfax City Petland or any other area pet store? Report this to the Virginia Department of Consumer Services at 1-800-552-9963. Also let us know at all4theanimals@yahoo.com.

* PROTEST! Join one of our peaceful, legal protests outside Petland. Contact us at all4theanimals@yahoo.com for more information.

* GET THE WORD OUT. Know another sickening pet store that sells puppies and kittens? Tell everyone you know, and also e-mail us at all4theanimals@yahoo.com. Briefly describe the conditions there and try to find out who their supplier is so that we can include that, too. Please note that if you would like this info posted on our site, your name will need to be listed, and you are legally responsible for what you say.

* LET THE STORE KNOW WHY YOU'RE NOT SHOPPING THERE. Write or call the local Petland to tell them you will never buy anything at their store as long as they sell animals. Email the Fairfax store at petlandfairfax@verizon.net or write to Kareem Koshok, Manager, Petland, 9404-A Main Street, Fairfax, VA 22031. Phone: 703-323-6355. Also tell the Petland corporate office at 1-800-221-5935. Or check out their website at www.petland.com and e-mail them at operations@petland.com, or write to Petland Corporate Office, 250 Riverside St., Chillicothe, Ohio 45601.

* ENCOURAGE PEOPLE YOU KNOW TO ADOPT A HOMELESS ANIMAL. If you know someone in the Washington D.C. area who is planning on getting a dog or other animal, please refer them to www.petloverscompanion.com, also available as a free booklet that you can pick up at the entrance of area stores. It lists local shelters and rescue groups. Tell them they can save the life of a beautiful, healthy purebred or mixed breed dog by adopting for a small fee, rather than paying Petland's outrageous prices of over $1,000. Remind them that AKC papers have nothing to do with the health of an animal. Also let them know that abandoned cats, rabbits, ferrets, and other animals desperately need homes and are readily available from shelters and rescue groups. www.petfinder.org is another very useful site for adoption information.

* VOLUNTEER FOR A LOCAL SHELTER, HUMANE SOCIETY, OR RESCUE GROUP. Many groups are desperate for foster homes to take care of dogs temporarily while group members search for good permanent homes for them. This might be a great option for you if you love dogs but aren't in a situation where you can keep one for his or her lifetime.

* WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR. When you see an article about dogs in your local paper, write a letter to the editor explaining what puppy mills are and why Petland's sale of puppy mill puppies and other animals disgusts you. Try the Fairfax Extra section of the Washington Post at fxextra@washpost.com or fax to 703-273-2836 or write to Fairfax Extra, 4020 University Dr., Suite 220, Fairfax, VA 22030. Or the Northern Virginia Journal at vaedit@jrnl.com; fax 703-846-8366, or mail letters to Northern Virginia Journal, 6408 Edsall Rd., Alexandria, VA 22312.

* Residents of Fairfax City may have seen the "FETCH a dog from a shelter, not a pet store" ad on the back of four city buses. PETA learned of our Petland campaign and kindly offered to help by placing these ads. To explain WHY not to buy animals in stores, email the DC Examiner by going to www.dcexaminer.com, Contact Info, Voice your Opinion; or email the Fairfax Chronicle at viewpoints@chroniclenewspapers.com.

* ASK FAIRFAX CITY TO BAN STORES THAT SELL PUPPIES AND KITTENS. Let Fairfax City elected officials know you would support such a proposal. Mayor Robert Lederer's e-mail address is rlederer@fairfaxva.gov. City council members and their e-mails are listed on the Fairfax City government website at www.ci.fairfax.va.us.

* CONTACT YOUR U.S. SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN. Currently, many breeders are advertising online and selling directly to the public (see our page "Buying puppies online--buyer beware." Many of these are puppy mills, but because they do not sell to pet stores, they are not required to have a USDA license, and they are NEVER inspected by the USDA. The Pet Animal Welfare Statute of 2005 (S1139 and HR 2669), promoted by the Humane Society of the U.S. and other organizations, attempted to address this problem but did not pass. E-mail or call your U.S. Senators and Congresspeople through www.senate.gov and www.house.gov and tell them you want inspections of breeding facilities who sell puppies online. Inspections will not stop cruel, filthy, cramped breeding facilities from existing, but they are a step in the right direction.

Also encourage them to sponsor a bill OUTLAWING PUPPY MILLS COMPLETELY.

* SUPPORT EFFORTS TO IMPROVE VIRGINIA ANIMAL PROTECTION LAWS. www.VirginiaVotersforAnimalWelfare.com is a group that is working to help companion animals by calling for the ban of gas chambers and improving other animal protection laws.

* GET THE MEDIA TO EXPOSE PUPPY MILLS. Ask Dateline NBC to rerun and update its excellent April 2000 puppy mill story. They can be reached at dateline@nbc.com or Story Suggestion, Dateline NBC, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, NY, NY 10112. Or call 212-664-7501 or fax 212-664-7073. Write to Chris Hansen, the correspondent who worked on the puppy mill exposé. Also contact other national news shows such as 20/20 (2020@abc.com), Primetime (abc.news.magazines@abc.com), and 60 Minutes (www.cbsnews.com, contact us). Geraldo Rivera has a new show. Write to him at www.geraldoatlarge.com, "Submit story ideas."

* Ask Oprah to expose puppy mills. Oprah Winfrey calls her dogs "humans with fur." Write and, if you like, send pictures (for example, of your rescued dog) and videos to the folks at the Oprah Winfrey show, at:

Oprah Winfrey Show
c/o Harpo Studios
1058 W. Washington
Chicago, IL 60607-2103.

On the lower corner of the envelope, write "Show Idea" so that it will go to the correct department. You can submit show ideas online at www.oprah.com and proceed to "e-mail us."

* COMPLAIN ABOUT PETLAND ADS. (2007) Commercials for the Fairfax City Petland have been airing on Animal Planet in our local area. Even in the ads, the legally required resting platforms are absent from the cages! For commercials that mention specific LOCAL stores, complain to the local cable company, which in our area is Cox Communications, by e-mailing mark.milversted@coxmedia.com.

For commercials that are NATIONAL in scope, complain to Discovery Channel Viewer Relations at 1-859-342-8439 or write to
Discovery Communications
One Discovery Place
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.

Or go to www.discovery.com and send an e-mail by going to "contact us" and "viewer relations." You can also try e-mailing Discovery President William Campbell, billy_campbell@discovery.com, and three other Discovery executives: Maureen_smith@discovery.com; clark_bunting@discovery.com; bronagh_hanley@discovery.com.

* TELL THE STORE VET TO SEVER TIES WITH ANIMAL ABUSERS.

UPDATE August 2006--The Fairfax City Petland's vet used to be Dr. Rose Fiskett of Potomac Valley Veterinary Hospital.

Dr. Fiskett has sold her practice. The vet she sold her practice to, Dr. Sandeep Cheema, has started to work for Petland.

May 2007: Dr. Cheema is still Petland's vet. Vets don't necessarily know more about puppy mills than the average person. Inform him that Petland gets puppies from cruel puppy mills, that many of the puppies will be sick, that the sick puppies that he deems unfit for sale will be sent back to be killed or turned into breeders, and that many compassionate vets in the area have refused to work for Petland. Please write to Dr. Cheema to urge him not to work for this disreputable company.

Dr. Sandeep Cheema
Potomac Valley Veterinary Hospital
9553 Braddock Road Fairfax, VA 22032-2539
pets@pvvh.com
phone: 703-425-PETS fax: 703-425-8082

*Petland's previous vet was VCA Old Town Animal Hospital, which kept working for Petland for many months after it found out about the many sick puppies coming from Petland. Ask what took them so long to sever the ties and why it is STILL WORKING for Just Puppies, another notorious puppy mill store.

VCA Old Town Hospital
425 N. Henry St.
Alexandria, VA 22314 703-549-3647
(phone) 703-549-0992 (fax)

*TELL THE AKC TO STOP HELPING PUPPY MILLS MAKE MONEY. The AKC registers hundreds of thousands of puppy mill puppies each year, making a tidy profit off of an industry it claims to despise. Tell AKC directors to stop registering puppies from breeders who attempt to register more than 6 (or whatever number you like) litters each year. Write to:

Ronald H. Menaker, Chairman
American Kennel Club
260 Madison Ave. NY, NY 10016
Or call 212-692-8200 or e-mail www.akc.org, "Contact us." You can also sign the petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/737886219

*TELL THE PFIZER CORPORATION TO STOP SUPPORTING THE CRUELTY OF THE HUNTE CORPORATION. At a recent Hunte Corporation Open House, not only was Pfizer present as a vendor, but they also had one of their vets give a lecture. The Hunte Corporation has a long history of buying from puppy mills and is the supplier to Petland and many other pet stores, shipping roughly 1,000 puppies every week.
Pfizer’s Manager of Marketing Communications, Denise Ulrich, can be reached at 1-800-366-5288. They cannot be contacted via their website at http://www.pfizer.com.

* TELL PETLAND'S LANDLORD WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE STORE. The company that leases property to Petland is Combined Properties, Inc. Encourage them not to renew Petland's lease. Let them know that Petland is a disreputable company that deals with puppy mills, violates anti-cruelty law, makes animals miserable, and that neighbors are disturbed each week by the cries of puppies being unloaded from the Hunte Corporation's truck. Please write to:
Mr. Steve Halle, Vice President, Property Management
1255 22nd St NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20037

Or e-mail Steve Halle and Andrew Nadler at shalle@combined.biz and anadler@combined.biz, or call 202-293-4500, or fax 202-833-3013.

* LET BUSINESSPEOPLE KNOW THAT SELLING PUPPY MILL PUPPIES IS BAD BUSINESS. Entrepreneur Magazine recently rated Petland #1 among pet store franchises, and 248th out of 500 franchises of all kinds. Let its readers--aspiring businesspeople--know that they should not join the Petland franchise if they care about animals. E-mail your comments by going to www.entrepreneur.com, then select "Contact Us" and Letters to the Editor."

* TELL THE STATE GOVERNMENT TO INTERPRET ANIMAL PROTECTION LAWS IN A MEANINGFUL WAY!
For Virginia residents (check state laws in other areas): Virginia state law, section 3.1-796-68, requires that companion animals be provided with "sufficient SPACE to allow each animal to easily stand, sit, lie, turn about, and MAKE ALL OTHER NORMAL BODY MOVEMENTS in a comfortable, normal position for the animal." It also requires that companion animals be provided with enough EXERCISE for animals to maintain "NORMAL MUSCLE TONE AND MASS."

Normal body movements for most animals include WALKING and RUNNING, sometimes JUMPING and CLIMBING, and in the case of birds, FLYING. Yet pet stores routinely confine animals to cages just larger than their bodies, so it is impossible for them to engage in these activities essential to good health. Yet when you report these conditions to local Animal Control and they consult the State Vet, the State Vet's office says these cramped cages are "adequate." So we have a law that sounds good on paper but is rarely used.

Please write to Virginia State Vet Dr. Richard Wilkes, asking him to enforce the space and exercise requirements of Virginia state law section 3.1-796.68. Remind him that walking and running are normal movements, and ask him to notify all Virginia Animal Control officers and Humane Investigators that pet stores that confine animals to small cages are not providing adequate space or exercise. Contact him at Richard.wilkes@vdacs.virginia.gov or fax him at 1-804-371-2380, or call 1-804-692-0601.

Some of us who wrote received a reply from Robert E. Pitts, DVM, Program Manager for the Office of Veterinary Services. In his letter, Dr. Pitts states, "The exercise requirement may be met by either the size of the enclosure that the animal is housed in at all times or by providing an 'opportunity' on a daily basis by allowing time outside the primary enclosure for exercise in a more spacious environment. If you suspect that animals are not being kept as required by the animal laws, I would recommend that you contact your local animal control authorities to file a concern." He also says, "We will attempt to make sure that this important issue is addressed adequately at any training that is approved by our office for Animal Control Officers or Humane Investigators."

2007: We have not noticed ANY change whatsoever in the sickeningly inadequate way that this law is usually interpreted by the State Vet and by local Animal Control. It is up to US to make ourselves heard on this issue.

If you see an animal in a pet store who is confined 24/7 to a cage that you consider too small to provide enough exercise, please REPORT THIS TO LOCAL ANIMAL CONTROL and mention these laws.

* Complain to those who advertise cruel pet stores. Summer 2008: The multiplex theater at Lee Highway in Fairfax, VA, continues to air ads for Petland. Please complain to National Amusements at customer_service@national-amusements.com.

* Out-of-towners:

Even if you are too far away to attend protests, would you like to be notified by e-mail when you can help pet store animals by sending e-mails, letters, etc.? Contact us at all4theanimals@yahoo.com if you're interested.

Contact Us

You can contact us at all4theanimals@yahoo.com. We try to answer every email; however, sometimes legitimate emails are getting filtered out by our spam catcher, and we never see them. If you don't get a reply within two weeks, try emailing from a different email account.

Or write to us at:

PetStoreCruelty
P.O. Box 2036
Fairfax, VA 22031-0036

Please note that if you contact us by regular mail, it may be several weeks before you get a reply. E-mail is much quicker.

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