Petland: One Store Sees Light, Will Adopt Pets from Local Shelters

Petland is a franchise operation, and amidst the heaps of the usual bad press the corporation deservedly gets, plus this new hot mess in Texas  there is a husband and wife team in East Liberty, PA who have decided to hear their community and stop buying animals from commercial puppy farms. 

Therese Kopiwoda founder of  PetSitUSA   reported Tuesday that owners Eric and Marci Caplan made an agreement with two local shelters to supply kittens, rabbits, and (to a lesser extent) puppies for adoption.  Adult dogs will be shown by groups on weekends.  The animals will live on the premises, but will not be in cages all day–the franchise has play and exercise areas in the store. 

What a turn of events.  Now at least one Petland store (that we know of) out of a 131 in the US (according to their website) has gotten ahead of the curve.  We’ve had a few posts here on this topic and the positive impact on adoptions and reduced euthanasias in the towns that have implemented the ordinance is notable.  It’s too soon for data on this one, but John Egan, the Austin Market Examiner, wrote that the only Petland store in Austin closed this past July knowing there was a pet selling ban coming into effect.

There will be a fifty percent surcharge on top of normal shelter charges which run $200 for a dog, and similar charges attached to other rates for kittens, rabbits, and the rest.  The Caplans believe this will cover expenses but will not yield a profit. Petland Corporation does not object to the arrangement.  It seems one of the reasons for the change was regular “adopt don’t shop” type demonstrations in front of the store.  I’d like to know if there are other Petlands out there planning on moving or that have moved in this direction? 

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Tagged as: Animal welfare, Petland converts