Petland needs to shut down all animal sales operations. And if they don’t do it willingly, States Attorneys and Department of Agriculture should do it for them, store by store, and make them foot the bill.  After HSUS nailed them as purveyors of puppy mill dogs according to Department of Agriculture transportation records, another story has surfaced. And given Petland’s sheer numbers, you can be certain this story is not unique. 

An employee of the Akron, Ohio store, Elizabeth Carlisle, had the audacity to post a photo on her Facebook page–taken by her Manager–holding up two soaking wet dead rabbits she had just drowned. She had a big grin on her face., mentioning that although she had been swearing at the rabbits to ”hurry up and die” her Manager was “so kind” as to take the picture.  A case of the inmates running the asylum. 

The rabbits had been allowed to fight each other, which happens when they are improperly housed, and had sustained many injuries including an missing eye and a broken jaw.  So not only did they have a horrible life, but also a horrifying death. 

The report from PETA shows the Facebook photo, and quotes other complaints they have received from employees, most of which are well reflected by this one: “[I] used to work at a Petland … and [I] can totally relate to this picture … The stores … have puppies dying all the time, due to not having water and food. [T]he kennel techs are untrained and underpaid and they get back at the company by not taking care of the animals!”

The whiff of good news is that because of the public outrage, the Akron store has been permanently closed as of this afternoon.  Elizabeth Carlisle has been charged with cruelty to animals and will be in court later this month.

Wouldn’t it be great if everyone just stopped going to all 3,600 (2007 count) Petland outlets?

A new HSUS six-month study provides an irrefutable chain of evidence that “the most notorious, abusive puppy mills supply more than 95% of Petland’s dogs.  Using Department of Agriculture transport documentation, the study traced 15,000 dogs transported from puppy mills straight to Petland’s front doors.

Petland made a lot of noise proclaiming their innocence last year when HSUS revealed their initial findings, claiming, without evidence, that parts of the HSUS undercover film were “footage” from other busts, trying to switch the public’s focus away from their despicable practices.  In a fit of hubris and narcissism worthy of Bernie Madoff, several Petland locations actually continued to purchase animals from those puppy mills already exposed by HSUS, one of which has gone through prosecution and was convicted in March for their heinous cruelties to animals. Petland’s claim they procure all dogs from small family breeders is shown to be, and let’s not sugar coat this, a very bold lie according to Department of Agriculture transport records.  Did Petland believe this would simply go away? 

Since March last year when the class action suit was instituted by HSUS, more than 500 people have come forward to show they received sick dogs from Petland.  The lawsuit claims the Hunte corporation “one of the country’s largest broker distributors of factory-farmed puppies” conspired with Petland  to deliberately defraud consumers by selling unhealthy puppy mill puppies, purported to come from reputable small breeders.

The word should be out that a quality breeder never ever sells a pet in a pet shop or over the internet.  Quality breeders do not sell puppies to make money.  And they do not hand over their dogs to anyone with cash.  Breeding is a very expensive, time intensive endeavor done for the healthy perpetuation of that breed and all the best of their traits. 

If you want to share information on puppy mills and pet shop practices, you can go to HSUS’s stoppuppymills. 

I had to think twice about publishing this news update, but of course transparency is always the best policy. We will keep you updated as this suit moves its way through the legal system. ” An animal protection group has accused the Petland Inc. pet store chain of scheming to sell sick puppies bred in filthy conditions to thousands of unsuspecting people.

Petland intentionally misled thousands of customers into believing the puppies came from the finest breeders and were healthy, the Humane Society of the United States said in a lawsuit against the company, which is based in Chillicothe, Ohio.” Continue Reading

I’m pretty sure the writers at the LA Times wrote the following article with a tongue and cheek attitude and if they didn’t well all I have to say is lighten up..

“But we were, frankly, nearly as shocked by another aspect of the story: Stewart’s deceased puppy, a chow chow, was named Genghis Khan.

Now, don’t get us wrong, we enjoy unusual pet names.  But if we were going to name a dog after a famous historical figure, we’re 100% certain we would pick a historical figure famous for something positive.  The original (human) Genghis Khan is, in many parts of the world, considered — to quote Wikipedia — “a destructive and genocidal warlord.” Continue Reading

Did you catch the headline the other day that the Humane Society of the United States has proof that Petland uses puppy mills as their supply source?  After years of denying this fact, Petland will finally have to answer to litigation.  Happy Holidays!  

The special that Oprah had with Lisa Ling reporting on puppy mill practices has really helped remind everyone that this cruelty needs to stop.  I know from 11 years experience in the animal community that bringing this practice to the national stage in a significant way—and getting an hour on Oprah and more on a follow up was just that—was a major priority of many.  The real meaning of buying pets from pet stores was made clear: many pets suffer and die for choosing to buy a pet rather than adopting from a shelter. 

It’s good news that HSUS and ASPCA’s partnership (September 2008) in this effort has resulted in a multi-pronged approach of investigation, video proof made public, law enforcement, prosecution, and lobbying for humane legislation issues that is netting real results.

Find out more at http://stoppuppymills.org a special topics page in the HSUS site. 
 
We all pick and choose our concerns and level of involvement with organizations working effectively toward making change.  Sometimes all we can do is donate a few dollars and other times we can only pay attention and pass it on.  The more people hear about this topic, the more a constituency will grow, so passing it on is no small thing!  

HSUS’s and ASPCA’s recent successes closing down some major mills after the in-depth reporting of Lisa Ling makes me think about how these issues are brought to the fore: it all starts with the power of one voice and can reverberate through a population to change what needs changing.  It is always time consuming, but is well worth the effort.

What’s your take on this?