PuppyMillWatch.org

Tougher Laws Against Puppy Mills Coming in New Jersey and Pennsylvania

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 19:45:37 -0800

Tougher laws are coming to New Jersey and Pennsylvania to help stop puppy mills. This article comes from, The Lansdale Reporter Online.

Elaine Brim says her dog Buddy is a "genetic mess."
She also says he's friendly, and makes for a good watchdog.

Buddy was "Mr. December" in a 2006 calendar featuring pets with disabilities, Brim said.
Buddy is paraplegic and uses his front legs to push himself around on a cart. He's a mixed breed or, as Brim described him, a "designer dog." He visits a veterinarian almost once a month, she said. In the two years she's owned Buddy, Brim estimates she's spent about $4,000 on vet bills - a large sum for a dog that is only about 5 years old.

When Buddy's previous owner grew too ill to care for him, Brim adopted him through an animal rescue group in Maryland. During the adoption process, Brim learned Buddy had been purchased originally from a pet store. She's not sure which one. "But I'm 90 percent certain he came from a puppy mill," said Brim, a retired psychiatric nurse clinician living in Upper Salford.

Pennsylvania has been called the "puppy mill capital of the East Coast." However, that unfortunate designation could soon change. Proposed legislation circulating in Harrisburg would toughen the state's dog laws and apply other regulations designed to improve conditions under which dogs are bred and sold.

Stephanie Shain of the Humane Society of the United States, in Washington D.C., said Pennsylvania is making strides in solving what she calls "a national problem." "Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kansas, they're some of the worst states" for puppy mill offenses, she said. Pennsylvania is "not at, but near the top" of the list, according to Shain. She credits Gov. Ed Rendell for taking action last year.

In October, Rendell fired all 17 members of the Dog Law Advisory Board. At a meeting in December, before the newly appointed board, he urged its members to push for tougher laws and regulations. Rendell also expanded the Department of Dog Law Enforcement.

Shain said the governor's actions are a welcome change, albeit overdue. It shows other states Pennsylvania is serious about the humane treatment of dogs, she said.

Another state waging its own war against "puppy mills" and the pet stores that allegedly sell these dogs is New Jersey.

Libby Williams is the founder and president of New Jersey Consumers Against Pet Shop Abuse.
Williams, a former Lansdale resident, said she started the nonprofit organization "to help consumers when they've unwittingly purchased sick puppies from pet stores, breeders, kennels, Internet sellers and other dog dealers."

"We receive complaints from many people in Pennsylvania," she said. The most common complaints are from owners who've purchased puppies from pet stores, Williams said. These dogs are most likely to suffer from a series of ailments brought on in part by the unsanitary conditions of the breeding kennels, Williams said. Such ailments include kennel cough, upper respiratory infections, pneumonia and "parasitic infestations."

"With absolute certainty, I say that all puppies sold in pet shops come from puppy mills," she said.
Shain supports these allegations against pet stores, though with less finality. "We don't like to say something is 100 percent," Shain said, "but the majority of pet stores buy from puppy mills."

Mark Arabia is someone who knows the argument well. He owns the Pets Plus store on South Broad Street in Lansdale. In the last several months his store has been the target of protesters claiming the Pets Plus franchise buys its dogs from "puppy mills." Arabia said these charges are untrue.

"Our inspector from the Department of Agriculture, who makes regular visits, always says our store is one of the best," he said. Outside his store in Lansdale there have been incidents of "violent yelling" between the protesters and customers, Arabia said. "We figure just ignore them and they'll go away," he said.

Williams said her organization has received complaints filed against two Pets Plus stores in New Jersey. In both cases, the dogs required extensive veterinary care for illnesses such as kennel cough, hookworms and other "bacterial diseases," Williams said. Arabia doesn't own any Pets Plus stores in New Jersey.

State Rep. Robert Godshall, R-53rd District, said he wasn't that familiar with the "puppy mill" issue; however, he recalled a conversation he had recently at the quarterly meeting of the state Game Commission. During a break in the meeting, Godshall said he was in the hallway talking to several "small, legitimate" breeders of "mostly bird-dogs," who were concerned about how the negative publicity surrounding this issue might adversely affect their business.

"There's abuses in everything," he said. "A lot of pet stores buy from legitimate breeders." Pennsylvania residents have until March 16 to submit a letter to Harrisburg supporting the new kennel regulations, said Shain. After that the proposed legislation will undergo further revision based partly on the public's input.

"This is an opportunity to make a difference for dogs in Pennsylvania," she said. "These are dogs who spend most of their lives in cages." Shain stressed that although the legislation would improve the conditions under which dogs in Pennsylvania are bred and sold, it stops short of eliminating "puppy mills" altogether.
"It's less inhumane," she said, referring to breeding conditions that could result from the legislation.

Brushy Creek Puppy Mill in Houston, Texas - Why You Should Never Buy a Puppy Online

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 19:17:36 -0800

This from an Inside Edition undercover investigation.

According to the Humane Society, more than 400,000 people buy puppies online every year, most without ever having actually seen the pet. But while the internet can be a convenient and economical way to buy a puppy, as an INSIDE EDITION investigation found, it can also lead to heartbreak

Eleven-year-old Casey Poore learned the hard way how risky it can be to buy puppies over the internet. Her parents ordered a King Charles Cavalier puppy from brushycreekkennel.com. The dog cost $1000 dollars less than what local breeders were charging.

Casey's dad, Dan Poore, told INSIDE EDITION that they worked out all the arrangements, sent the company a check for the dog and went to pick him up at the San Francisco airport.

"I just wanted to like hug him forever," Casey told INSIDE EDITION.

But within days the puppy started coughing. They say they took him to the vet and found out that he had chronic lung disease, so they sent the puppy back.

It took nine months, but Brushy Creek finally sent a new puppy.

"When we first saw him, he was just shivering and cold, and he was just like very sick," Casey said.

Dan said the dog looked comatose. "He couldn't drink, couldn't eat, and woke up in a pool of his own vomit," he said.

The Poores, who live near San Francisco, say they spent close to $2000 trying to save the puppy, but after two days, he had to be euthanized.

Brushy Creek, owned by David Moore, is actually operated out of a modest looking ranch house in Hockley, Texas, about 40 miles outside of Houston.

Posing as a customer, INSIDE EDITION went to Brushy Creek with a hidden camera.

While there, INSIDE EDITION was shown many different kinds of puppies. It turns out Moore was actually running more than a dozen websites selling various breeds of dogs.

The footage from Bushy Creek shows one filthy schnauzer used for breeding, whose nails hadn't been trimmed in months.

INSIDE EDITION showed the video of the schnauzer to Stephanie Shain of the Humane Society who said of the schnauzer, "This dog is in desperate need of grooming. She is very dirty. That is very likely a mixture of feces and urine and water caked up on this dog's fur."

Carol Ritter, of Houston's Better Business Bureau, says they've received dozens of complaints about Brushy Creek.

"I think they're taking people's money. They're taking advantage of people.

INSIDE EDITION also spoke to Lisa Bushman, a Houston area breeder who used to be in business with Moore. Bushman says he sold her dozens of sick dogs. She sued him and won a nearly $350,000 judgment.

She says Moore would knowingly ship sick dogs to families with kids. "He brags about the fact that once they have the puppy they're not gonna bring it back because it's gonna break the kids' heart," she told INSIDE EDITION.

Working with the Humane Society, INSIDE EDITION ordered a puppy from one of Moore's websites, westiecity.com, for $750. The puppy was shipped from Houston to New York's LaGuardia airport. The puppy was shivering and looked scared when the door on his shipping crate was opened.

The puppy was supposed to be an eleven-week-old Westie, but according to Dr. Andrew Kaplan, the dog was at least 6 months of age. He also had a nasty looking rash on his feet and skin.

The puppy also developed a limp, and the Humane Society took him to another vet, who determined the puppy had hip and knee problems, a sign of poor breeding. He also had an intestinal parasite called giardia, which can infect humans.

Brushy Creek's owner, David Moore, did not respond to INSIDE EDITION's requests for comment. But just recently, several of the websites operated by Moore have been taken offline.

Following are some tips from the Humane Society of the United States on buying a puppy:

Never buy a puppy from anyone unless you see where that puppy was born and raised and the conditions that the puppy's parents are kept in.
Avoid puppy mills by buying dogs from local breeders or adopting from a shelter.
Learn about the importance of USDA licenses and purebred paperwork.
When youve found a knowledgeable breeder, learn about their business history and practices:
- The breeder should only breed one or two types of dogs.
- Puppies should be kept within the home and not in outdoor kennels.
- The puppies should appear healthy and happy.
- The breeder is willing to show you where the dog is kept - should be in a clean, well-maintained area.
- You should be allowed to meet the parents.
- A history of veterinary records should be provided.
- Make sure you get a written contract and health guarantee.

Scrabble's Keystone Kennels Puppy Mill Survivor Story

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 13:57:00 -0800

This survivor story reprtinted from www.ittybittydachshunds.com, regarding Keystone Kennels USA, aka Miniature Dachshunds of Georgia, Dixieland Kennels, in Canton, Georgia. This is the story of our Miniature Dachshund, Scrabble, and our terrible experience with Keystone Kennel, now also known as Miniature Dachshunds of Georgia! Their domain name has also changed! I can only wonder why there are so many changes in a business name...and you should wonder, too. This site is dedicated to Itty Bits, my husband's childhood Dachshund, to our Scrabble, who brings us immeasurable joy, and to all Dachshunds everywhere! My husband and I proudly belong to Scrabble. All of my dogs prior to the purchase of Scrabble have been rescues. My husband�s only dog was a Miniature Dachshund named Itty Bits. I knew it was time for us to share the experience of having one together. Once we�d decided that we were ready for a puppy, I began my search for a breeder on the internet. Unfortunately, I had no one to guide me to a reputable breeder. In truth, I really didn�t think that I would have anything to worry about. In my mind if you were paying a lot of money for this puppy, what should there be to worry about? Stupid, huh? On October 16th 2004, I came upon a website and within a few minutes, found the puppy I knew we wanted. Even though Keystone Kennel, [owned by Patti McCarty] sold us a sick puppy, she cleverly has a decent website. The kennel and website are nothing alike! Their kennel is located in Cherokee County, GA. They had puppies galore to choose from! ***Having this many dogs and puppies is not considered a good sign according to the reputable breeders that truly concentrate on "perfecting" the breed...but I didn�t know this at the time! Keystone has since downsized the amount of puppies they display on their site. When I bought Scrabble there were approximately 50 - 60 puppies available on their website. *** ***You can view public comments and conversations on The Hotdog Blog. Look for DachLover in the HDB forums. Patti is also known as Dachshunds Rule! on the Doxie Spot ***BUYER BEWARE: KEYSTONE KENNEL is now known as MINIATURE DACHSHUNDS OF GEORGIA, they currently have a STOP SALE order issued by the Department of Agriculture in GA. The order means there should be: NO MOVEMENT, NO SALES, NO INTERNET SALES until order and investigations are lifted. This STOP SALE has been in effect since MAY 2006 and is currently active. Patti McCarty currently has several domains. www.keystonekennelusa.com , www.miniature-dachshund-puppies.com , and www.dixielandkennels.com Patti McCarty has now dedicated her DixielandKennel site to me. Read it carefully and then come back here look at the photos and please read the about the terrible experiences of other Keystone puppy customers. There are many previous Keystone customers that are just now finding out the truth about the many others that have purchased sick and dying puppies. If you would really like to see some truth about how Patti and Ian really view their dogs and the business they run, you can read their comments here: On October 17th 2006 the owner of the HDB posted a video that I created with real photos that were taken at Keystone Kennel. What you will read are the comments from other members and the responses of Patti & Ian McCarty. The original postings have since been removed from the HDB and the McCarty's were banned from the site for being so disruptive and for violating the rules and regulations of the site. My response to Patti's Dixieland Kennel site is this: I HAVE NEVER trespassed, slandered, threatened or attempted to steal dogs, sent spies to their home, sent fake e-mails, stalked them, harassed their landlord, threatened physical harm to ANYONE or made false reports to authorities. I called the breeder that day and asked if the puppy that held my interest was still available. She said yes, and I told her that I was on my way to purchase him. I arrived at Keystone Kennel a couple of hours later and within an hour after my arrival; I was on my way home with our new puppy! I was so excited! My husband was at his office that afternoon and didn�t know I was on my way home with this wonderful little surprise�needless to say he was thrilled at the sight of this sweet little red puppy. Later that evening, we began to notice that our new puppy had very little energy, he had no interest in food or water and as the evening progressed much later into the night, there was blood in his urine and stool. Less than 12 hours after bringing home our puppy we found ourselves in the Emergency Vet�s office. We had a very sick puppy and they had to care for him overnight. We were back at the animal hospital first thing the next morning and the prognosis wasn�t too good. Our new puppy, Scrabble, was near death. He was suffering from dehydration, a massive urinary tract infection, was very anemic, loaded with parasites and had blood in his stool and urine. He didn�t even weigh a full pound. For the next ten days it would take constant vet care including a transfusion from our Vet�s Rottweiler "BLADE" to save Scrabble�s life. Our vet bills soared to over a $1000 in those first ten days. Saving our Scrabble was our priority. With our patience, care and love, and the incredible care give to Scrabble by Dr. Karous and her staff at the Lawrenceville-Suwanee Animal Hospital , Scrabble finally pulled through! In the early hours of Scrabble�s ordeal I began to try and contact the breeder. When I was able to finally reach her, I was told that their �3 day health guarantee� states that I could return our Scrabble for another puppy of equal value. We argued about Scrabble�s health and she said to me that she was not responsible for what may have happened after I took Scrabble home. All she knew was that he was in good health when I bought him. She also had the gall to point out that I had signed her (in my opinion "worthless") guarantee that states that I purchased a puppy that �appeared� to be in good health and that I should not have bought him if he looked ill to me! Can you imagine? How was I supposed to know that this tiny little puppy was so ill? I�m not a breeder, nor am I a vet or vet tech! But I am smart enough to know that it is impossible for a puppy to develop all the health problems that Scrabble had in less that 12 hours. I was furious. Patti McCarty has been in the breeding business for a VERY long time. She told me that she had 13 years of experience as a Veterinarian Technician. She insisted that our puppy had been examined by her Vet just the day before our purchase and that he had been in excellent health. Interestingly, when our Vet called her Vet (Orr Animal Hospital) they had no record of them seeing not only our puppy but any puppies from his litter or his parents. During the early days of Scrabble�s ordeal, I mentioned to Patti the extent of the Vet bills and she told me that the charges were exorbitant and that we should bring Scrabble back to her Vet, where she gets a much better deal. Of course, this is the same Vet that she claimed had given him a clean bill of health just a few days earlier. Not a particularly credible offer. And as for �exchanging� him, this was simply not an option. To quote a friend, �he was not a defective tee shirt that could easily be exchanged�, he was our baby�we would do all we could to ensure that he would be a healthy and happy puppy. Our frustrations with Patti began to mount. Besides her intransigence regarding reimbursement for some of the vet bills she began to stonewall us on getting Scrabbles AKC registration papers. Excuse after excuse piled up and I began to do some research. I contacted the Department of Agriculture in GA and asked that they send me all public records and documents on Keystone Kennel. On February 28th 2005, we received close to 200 pages of reports! Needless to say, the complaints and problems overwhelmed us. Scrabble was on the road to healing but we were amazed to find out that there were others with similar problems that seemed to go unresolved. I am sure that there are more complaints dated after August 2004 which I do not have. However, the Better Business Bureau of Cherokee County does have 13 unresolved complaints registered with them in the last 36 months (Keystone Kennel is not a member of the BBB). It was only after I created a web page telling Scrabble�s Story to the internet world and her finding The HotDog Blog community of Dachshund lovers did Patti start to get the message. The negative publicity was �causing her a problem� and she offered to pay half of our Vet bills if I would take the �bad stuff� about our experience with Keystone off of our website. In late June, I learned that Patti had moved again. Losing her lease for the second or third time in less than five years resulted in her leaving approximately 200 miniature dachshunds in a friend�s field with no shelter from the elements. The high temperatures at this time were in the 90�s with tremendous afternoon thunderstorms. How can someone responsible for hundreds of little dogs not take care of basic business responsibilities like making sure they have a safe place to stay??? How do you not have a plan available to move a large kennel like this when you don�t own the property that you lease? Yet it happens time and time again. Originally, I had posted the reports from the Department of Agriculture on www.hotdogblog.com where they are linked in PDF form. They are also located right here on my website. Just click on the Keystone Kennel Reports tab above. Why is a breeder with so many complaints against them still allowed to breed and sell puppies? In all my contact with Patti McCarty I have never been able to get an honest answer. I was treated terribly by Patti and I would never recommend her as a breeder! There are so many questions that just gone unanswered and most of all, I am so upset about the obvious poor treatment these dogs get (though you would never suspect such just by looking at their website). This kennel is run by Patti and her husband, Ian. The following question must be asked...how can this many dogs get all the proper care and socializing they require from just two people?? Until weak and poorly defined animal protection laws are changed and strengthened �businesses� like this and the people that run them must be challenged for answers. There has to be a voice for these wonderful little dogs that cannot speak for themselves. Dogs are man�s best friend...when will we be their�s? PLEASE visit the "We need forever homes" page. "Like time, the love and loyalty of a Dachshund are never-ending..." ~Rita Edwards 2004

Pennsylvania Tries to Get Tough on Puppy Mills

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:14:00 -0800

New Pennsylvania laws attempted to crack down on puppy mills but many of the provisions are getting push back from all sides. Published: Jan 28, 2007 LANCASTER - Nina Schaefer�s favorite is the one about �lateral recumbence.� Buried deep in 67 pages worth of new dog laws proposed by state officials to crack down on Pennsylvania�s �puppy mill� problem is a provision governing the size of �primary enclosures� for kennels. They are, according to the proposed rule, to be big enough so that a dog may lie in a �lateral recumbence� � on its side or back with legs fully extended � without any part of its body, tail, feet or head touching any side of the enclosure. �Haven�t they ever seen a dog lie down?� asks Schaefer, president of the Pennsylvania Federation of Dog Clubs. �Any time I�ve ever seen a dog lying with its legs sticking straight out, it�s dead.� It is, she said, all too typical of the proposed new rules, which she and other critics say appear to have been written by those with little background in animal husbandry, in the intent of putting breeders out of business. �Honestly,� said Schaefer, �you don�t know whether to laugh or cry.� Instead of doing either, breeders, dog clubs and others have gotten angry, deluging the state Department of Agriculture with comments and complaints about the new rules, which could go into effect this year. Officials who back the new regulations � part of a broad effort by Gov. Ed Rendell to reform the breeding industry and rid Pennsylvania of its reputation as puppy mill capital of the Northeast � say some things should and likely will be tweaked. But the state has long needed better, stronger, more specific laws regarding the treatment of dogs, and the proposed new regulations provide exactly that. �This is an attempt to improve conditions at large commercial kennels,� said Jessie Smith, special deputy secretary for dog law enforcement in the state Department of Agriculture. Series of raids Smith, hired last fall to oversee a revamped and strengthened state Bureau of Dog Law, has begun to crack down on puppy mills. A series of high-profile raids has taken place over the last month, with one, on Dec. 21, resulting in the seizure of 23 sick dogs from Long Lane Kennel in Narvon. Last week, a state dog law officer charged a Cumberland County couple with 139 counts of animal cruelty for allegedly keeping more than 60 dogs in unsanitary, makeshift pens. Investigators said most of the dogs were malnourished, and many were matted with mud and feces. Animal lovers have cheered the crackdown. The dog industry has been less thrilled. More than 200 people packed a Dec. 13 meeting of the state�s new Dog Law Advisory Board � Rendell fired the old one � and many attendees were Lancaster County dog breeders, worried that the new laws might shut them down. "I think [the draft regulations are] written to put kennels out of business, not to make kennels better," said Nathan Myer of Lititz, according to a report in the Harrisburg Patriot-News. Anyone who wishes to comment on the proposed new regulations has until Feb. 14 to do so. Then the Agriculture Department�s Bureau of Dog Law must respond in writing to each of the comments, before any proposed regulations can be submitted to the Legislature for review. Lancaster County has 275 licensed kennels, the most in the state. Many of the breeders here are Plain � Amish or Mennonite � and the emergence of dogs as a cash crop has helped keep Plain families down on the farm. Without the income from dogs, �many families wouldn�t be able to pay their mortgages,� said Ken Brandt, a former state representative who�s now a lobbyist for the breeding industry. Brandt said Myer�s fear is widespread. The proposed new rules, he said, �read as if [the state] doesn�t want any more breeding in Pennsylvania.� He cited one that stipulates that outdoor facilities where dogs are kept �shall be kept free of grass and weeds.� �So now dogs aren�t allowed to be on grass?� Brandt asked. Another stipulates that if an outdoor area for dogs is constructed of gravel or stone, �it must be constructed in layers to provide proper drainage and footing that will not cause injury to the dogs.� �So now Dog Law�s in the construction business?� retorted Brandt. �Whoever wrote this is obviously far removed from animal husbandry,� he said. �They�re treating the dogs like they�re human.� Other side But that�s hardly the point, said Sue West, a member of the Humane League of Lancaster County board of directors as well as the governor�s new Dog Law Advisory Board. �The draft of the regulations is meant to add more detail in areas that are currently subjective,� said West in an e-mail. For example, she said, current law doesn�t address the temperature inside a kennel; the only requirement is that ventilation be added should the inside temperature reach 85 degrees. �In other words, it could be 102 degrees with high humidity in a barn full of dogs, but if a fan system is running they are within the current stated regulations,� said West. And while the breeding industry, pet store owners or dog clubs might object to various aspects of the proposed new laws, �We need to be able to have measurable standards that hold up in front of a court or DJ, and we need to be sure that dogs are receiving care that is going to meet all their needs, especially if kept in a facility for a long, long time,� said West. �Yes, some of the changes will cost money ... [but] why is it asking too much for them to put something back into the business for the sake of the very animals which are making them money?� But Schaefer and other critics of the proposed new rules say many are so vague they pose insurmountable obstacles to licensed kennels. One, for example, would require that each establishment have a big enough facility not just for all the dogs currently on the premises, but all dogs to be kept on the premises � meaning, Schaefer said, that someone with a �class I� license to keep or breed 26 dogs per year would have to have a facility big enough to handle 26 dogs at one time, even though the license holder may never have more than five or six dogs at any given moment. Many small or �hobby� breeders who hold kennel licenses � seeing them as the equivalent of the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval � might be prohibited, by local zoning ordinances, from building such a large facility in the first place. And what she suspects is that many license holders will simply give up their licenses � but �do not, for a minute, think that those people will give up breeding dogs.� Brandt, the breeders� lobbyist, also suggests the tough new rules could have the opposite of the intended effect, driving breeders underground in an attempt to evade laws with which they can�t afford to comply. �There�s a demand out there for dogs,� said Brandt. �And that demand will stay.�

Speaking Out For Dogs in Canton, Georgia

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 14:39:28 -0800

This story comes from a brave woman who summoned her courage and stood up for dogs being sold in freezing temperatures in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Read her story about how a single person can take a few minutes out of their day to help stop puppy mills! Another point of light.

What can you do to stop puppy mills?

I went to my local Canton, GA Walmart to get some things. This Walmart is not in my general direction of day to day errands, so I don't frequent it often. Any who..I digress.

I drove into Wally World with the intent of dash in, and dash out. I drive in and what catches my eye, PUPPIES FOR SALE - AKC BASSET HOUNDS. My blood pressure starts to rise, but I am on a mission, I only have 30 minutes to get what I need and get home. As soon as I pull into the parking spot, I put the car back in reverse and decide that this woman sitting in her nice warm car needs a verbal slapping. Her basset puppies were in a playpen on a grassy medium in the parking lot while her fat keister sat in a warm car !!! It was 38 degrees out and the wind put the chill factor at 29 !!

I approached the woman and her puppies just as she is starting to take money from another woman who is buying one of the puppies. My words...."excuse me ma'am, but don't you think it is rather cruel to have these puppies outside in this cold weather and to be selling them to just anybody in a parking lot? I would think that if they were truly AKC puppies, you would certainly want them to go to good homes? People who sit in parking lots and sell their puppies to strangers are puppy millers and I dont' think you want me and this woman to think you are an irresponsible breeder and uncaring human to treat such an animal inhumanely"

Her response: "Mind your own effing business. I am not a puppy miller and I can do whatever I want with these dogs. They are just dogs for Christ sake"

My response: "No these aren't just dogs. They are sweet loving animals who love you back despite all your faults. Having them out here is animal cruelty and you have to be aware of how cold it is. You sit in your car while these babies huddle together in a playpen trying to find warmth."

I then turn to the woman buying the puppy (who by the way has her two sons with her):" Ma'am, you are purchasing this dog from someone you met in a parking lot. You need to see the parents of these puppies and get shot records. Do you know if they have been seen by a vet? Do you know what their current health is and that of the parents? Your boys have picked out a dog that could be sick and you may be inviting thousands of dollars in veterinary care and then what do you do if the puppy is sick and you have to euthanize it? How will your boys feel then because you didn't take the time to insure the dog is well and it came from a responsible and caring breeder?"

The woman who is buying the puppy responds: "Damn, your a ~ edited ~ and you need to mind your own business"

My response" Well, I can see why you are buying a puppy in a parking lot because you don't care about being a good parent or dog owner. You just cursed at me IN FRONT OF YOUR CHILDREN ! What are you teaching them to be?"

Her response: "My boys know a ~ edited ~ when they see one, so it's not new to them. Right boys?

The boys (who are about 10 and 6): "Yeah Mom, she's a ~ edited ~"

I then am so taken aback, that I don't know what to say. I have never been spoken to like that EVER by a child, nor have I ever witnessed an adult speaking to another adult in front of their children and calling them names.

I am so flustered beyond words, so I call Scrabble's mommy. I tell Rita what just went down...her advice..."tell the Walmart Manager". Good choice !

I then find the Walmart manager, Christina, and tell the whole story again. She asks for a description of the woman selling the puppies and the kind of car. Christina then tells me that woman has been there before and she has run her off, but now that woman has taken it too far. She tells me she has also had to run off some other woman who sells DACHSHUNDS in her lot. Yes, kids, that dachsund seller is Patti !!

Christina, the wonderful Walmart manager, calls the Sheriff and decides she is now going to press charges against her. She said it is against Walmart policy for her to be selling anything on Walmart property and since she has run her off before, she has had enough. Sheriff arrives, takes my statement and then Walmart presses criminal trespassing charges against this woman selling the puppies.

Of course, since Georgia laws against animal STINKS, the did not take the puppies who were still there. The puppy miller woman calls her husband who comes and picks them up.
Guess what this husband does? Takes them to the next parking lot over at a restaurant called Stevie B's Pizza and sets up camp to sell them !!! It is not against Georgia law to sell them in a parking lot if the owner of the lot does not mind. Stevie B's Pizza doesn't care according to Christina, the Walmart manager.

I also asked the Sheriff "why can't you seize the puppies, it is animal cruelty to be out here". He replied "no, it is not and if you look on the Cherokee County website, you can read the ordinances". Well, to keep myself from landing in the pokey, I kept my mouth shut.

Christina tells me they do chase people off like that when customers let them know because it is against Walmart policy to sell in their lots unless you have permission (i.e., Girl Scout cookies). She then tells me from now on when I see it, just come directly to her and she will press criminal trespassing charges.

Later that night, Christina calls me from her house to apologize for what happened. I told her that it is not her fault, but I do appreciate the call. She then tells me her husband is a sergeant on the City police department, and that the Sheriff was wrong on whether it was animal cruelty or not. According to him, it was animal cruelty to have the puppies out in this weather.

Well, I will be frequenting that Walmart just to be on puppy selling alert !

It is also very apparent that Cherokee County is going to keep this an uphill battle.

Ugly Jake's Puppy Mill Crusade

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 10:51:06 -0800

The 'Ugly Jake' campaign to stop puppy mills is going global. Jake, a contestant in the Word's Ugliest Dog Contest held earlier this year, is proof that you don't need to be beautiful or ugly to be famous.

Despite losing the contest, this pint-sized crowd pleaser has nonetheless rocketed to stardom, and his message about the perils of puppy mills has gone global. But despite being celebrated for his less-than-appealing appearance, the only ugly thing about Jake is his puppy mill past.

Since the World's Ugliest Dog contest wrapped up, Jake has proved to be one popular pooch, appearing on the Geraldo at Large show and gaining mention in People magazine. He's also been promoting his blog and peddling his "Who's Your Daddy" T-shirts. Jake's celebrity doesn't end there -this fall he'll be featured in an Animal Planet show documenting the World's Ugliest Dog contest, and an Humane Society stamp featuring his mug will soon hit the shelves.

Despite his demanding schedule, Jake takes time to relax and, throughout everything, remains true to his mission - to educate people about puppy mills. Jake's beginnings as a puppy mill pooch - he lived in a mass dog breeding facility as a stud dog for nearly nine years - nearly killed the tenacious Chihuahua and left him with a host of physical and emotional problems. "He is a perfect example of the kind of dogs held for breeding at a puppy mill - he's a dog with genetic problems, multiple health issues and has had no socialization with people," said Scheele.

Despite his shortcomings, Jake has become a celebrated spokesdog for the issue of puppy mills. His message to dog lovers is simple: Avoid pet stores, newspaper ads and Internet sales - where puppy mill puppies are sold - and instead look for a new pooch at local shelter, breed rescue group, or through a reputable breeder.

"I run into so many people wanting new puppies," said Scheele. "They buy them from pet stores or online, and most of the time they find out later their puppy actually came from a puppy mill. They find out because the dog ultimately has genetic health issues even before the age of one.

It's heartbreaking to see these animals suffer and the families go through the pain of dealing with chronic health issues or, worse yet, having to put a dog down because she was suffering. To prevent further suffering, people need to know about puppy mills." Check out more about Ugly Jake at the Humane Society of the United States

"Johnny" & "Piper" Save the Day!

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 05:36:04 -0800

A member of the Hotdog Blog! found this video and so I'm posting it here. Not sure who made this, but they did something wonderfully entertaining to help stop puppy mills. Another point of light.

What can you do to stop puppy mills?

Cleveland, Texas Puppy Miller, Brenda Shumaker, Caught on Film

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 11:32:55 -0800

Cynthia Hunt, a local news reporter in Houston, documents an accused puppy miller as her dogs are being confiscated by police. The miller, Brenda Shumaker, demonstrates the classic anti-social behavior seen so often in puppy farmers. Only a someone with a very twisted psychology is able to commit such abuses against animals and on such a large scale.

What can you do to stop puppy mills?

Hundreds of dogs in deplorable conditions were rescued from a puppy mill .
The Houston Humane Society went to the Tyler County residence with several trucks, trailers and nearly a dozen volunteers.

Officials said the place was a puppy mill with nearly 200 animals. The dogs were bred so their puppies could be shipped and sold in pet stores, according to authorities.

"This has to be the worst conditions I have ever seen. I mean, these dogs are living in squalor. The fecal matter is piled up in their kennels," said Sgt. Mark Timmers, with the Houston Humane Society.

Veterinarians with the Humane Society said the dogs were traumatized from being caged up for so long. The animals received immediate medical attention.

The owner would not speak when confronted by Local 2.

"What's your name?" Local 2's Cynthia Hunt asked.

"None of your business," the woman said. "No filming. Go."

Officials said the puppy mill has been in business for more than 10 years. Records showed the owner has sold to pet stores all over Texas.

A husband and wife lived at the residence with their 14-year-old daughter. Due to the conditions at the home, Child Protective Services was called to investigate and the girl may be removed from the home.

Dirty Little Secrets of Puppy Mills

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 11:24:42 -0800

This puppy mill educational video was produced by Companion Animal Protection Society. Visit them at: http://www.capsweb.org

What can you do to stop puppy mills?

Check out Animal Wise Radio at: Animal Ark Shelter

Puppy Mill Gas Chamber

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 11:05:07 -0800

Warning: This video is extremely disturbing and has images of mass execution of dogs at a puppy mill in what is known as a "kill box" but is in effect, a gas chamber. You can hear the dogs screaming wildly. The gas chamber is the most efficient and inexpensive way to kill dogs in mass quantities when they have become too sick or old to breed. Why these puppy farmers would kill any dogs but especially what look like healthy puppies in this manner is beyond comprehension.

What can you do to stop puppy mills?

Contact the person below to express your concern about what's happening in his county:
Cecil Wood
County Manager
Yadkin County Commission
PO Box 146
Yadkinville, NC 27055
FAX: 336.679.6005
cwood@yadkincounty.gov

How Can They Be Man's Best Friend?

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 11:00:56 -0800

This nice person produced the highly informative and very disturbing video to help educate about the horrors of puppy mills. Another point of light.

What can you do to stop puppy mills?

Toffee-Aussie-Puppy-Mill-Survivor

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 10:58:02 -0800

This kind woman made a video showing her efforts to rehabilitate an Australian Shepherd that she rescued from a puppy mill. Another point of light.

What can you do to stop puppy mills?

Puppy Mill Dog Dumped By Breeder

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 10:45:15 -0800

This person made a video capturing the story of the rescue of a dog that was dumped by a puppy miller. Another point of light.

What can you do to stop puppy mills?

Part 2

Check out the website at: Eskiedog.com

Puppy Mills and Pet Stores

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 10:39:12 -0800

Kate Franzman produced the news story to educate about puppy mills and their primary sales channel, pet stores. Another point of light.

What can you do to stop puppy mills?

Truth About Puppy Mills

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 10:34:03 -0800

This Rottweiler lover made a highly informative presentation showing the truth about puppy mills.

What can you do to stop puppy mills?

Pet Stores and Puppy Mills

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:50:26 -0800

This is an unbelievably horrifying and thoughful video about pet stores, puppy mills and the relationship between humans and animals. Warning - it contains images that will be extremely disturbing to anyone who values all living creatures.

What can you do to fight puppy mills?

Linda Blair Speaks Out Against Puppy Mills in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:39:37 -0800

Linda Blair travels to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to speak out against puppy mills. Check out her foundation at Linda Blair World Heart Foundation. Another point of light!

What can you do to fight puppy mills?

Charlize Theron Fighting Puppy Mills

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:34:48 -0800

Big kudos to Charlize Theron for speaking out against puppy mills. Another point of light!

What can you do to fight puppy mills?

Meet Nadia - A Regular Girl Fighting Puppy Mills

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:25:42 -0800

Meet Nadia, an 11 year old, regular girl, who is a point of light in the fight against puppy mills. She is a shining example of what can be done to help stop the mistreatment of dogs by commercial dog breeders.

What can you do?

Cleo's Story

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 07:40:00 -0800

The inspriration for this site came largely from members of my other site, The Hotdog Blog!, many of whom have become increasingly involved in the effort to stop puppy mills and disreputable breeding practices. I'm sympathetic to this mission because my own lovely dachshund, Cleo, was a puppy mill survivor. Here's her story. . .

My partner and I decided that we wanted to bring a dog into our lives. We both had nice experiences with dachshunds, and so we decided to start our search. We were not that educated about puppy mills and pet stores and all the great reasons to never purchase a dog from either.

I looked for smallish dachshund breeders online, but was unsuccessful finding any with puppies. It's funny because looking back after starting the world's most popular dachshund website :-), I'm surprised that I had a problem finding a breeder, because now I know so many. Anyway, we found a large puppy store out on Long Island and drove out of the city to just take a look. We really didn't have any intention of buying a pup.

When we arrived at the puppy store, we were a little overwhelmed. it was massive. Not your typical pet store. There were at least a hundred puppies there in all varieties. They looked very healthy for the most part, though there were clearly some older dogs that were a bit frazzled, like an 18 month old dachshund that was manic.

Anyway, we cruised the different cages and we found the most adorable dachshund puppy, who we would later bring home and name, Max. It was an immediate love connection. But, we had previously discussed getting a female. What to do. We would get two.

There weren't very many females on site, so we asked the manager if they would be getting any more females. The manager said that this was no problem, that they had lots of females at the "kennel" nearby. This in retrospect was a very bad sign. They had at least 100 pups on site. . but they had another nearby location where the "kennel" was. . How massive was this operation?

So, we wait in a little room with a couch and they bring in about 8 adorable little dachshund puppy females. They're jumping around the floor and raising a roucous and having a blast. Meanwhile, I can't decide which I like best. There is a freakishly manic one that I write off immediately. But there is an adorable cream one that is the perfect temperament. As I'm playing with the pups while seated on the couch leaning down to the floor, I notice the tiniest pup jump up from the floor onto the couch, and then up from the seat of the couch and onto the back of the couch. I raise up and site back on the other end, and she walks down the edge of the top of the couch, and gets to my back, where she promptly jumps up onto my shoulder and positions herself behind my neck on the side farthest from the other puppies.

I realized I had no decision at all. She chose me.

So we pack everything up, get all the information about how the dogs were all wormed and vaccinated already, etc. etc. . . blah blah blah something about CKC registration being just the same as AKC and we'd get our papers in the mail, etc. etc.

Well, we get home and the female (now Cleo) is petrified. . We finally coax her out into her new home and she seems happy. We all go to sleep.

We wake up the next day to a total disaster in the crate. Cleo had terrible diarrhea, chock full of white worms and red blood. We freak out. Once we clean up the mess, we inspect Cleo further. It turns out what appeared to be a tiny but healhy looking pup to a novice, was actually an malnourished, starving but extremely bloated puppy full of intestinal parasites. But wait, I thought she was wormed and had all her vaccines already? Hmm.

We rush her to the vet. We are told that she is in terrible condition. She's supposed to be 10 weeks old and weighs only 2.5 lbs. We thought she was just really tiny. The vet suspects that she is only 7 weeks old or so. We notice a scar on top of her head looking quite a bit like a tooth mark. They give her an IV and high nutrient paste to offset her malnutrition. They keep her overnight and we take her home the next day. They ran tests. . She had worms, giardia, coccidia and several more I can't remember. She wouldn't eat. We thought she would die.

After literally hand-feeding her high nutrient mush for several days, she started to recover. Eventually, she started exploring the house, but she would not walk across a room. Instead, she would cower along the edges of the wall, as if she was afraid to have so many sides exposed. She always kept her tail between her legs.

When she was old enough to go outside and had gotten all her shots, we started housetraining. Turned out she was PETRIFIED outside. She was paralyzed with fear. She could not move. She would shake uncontrollably like epileptic convulsions while on the street. We started to freak out more. By this time, we realized that Cleo was a physical and psychological mess. We also realized that this puppy store was in fact a puppy mill outlet and that she was lucky to have chosen us because she would not have lasted long at that place. She was the smallest dog in the place and was obviously the lowest on the pecking order. She obviously had not gotten any care whatsoever. We knew nothing about dogs, but now it would be obvious to us if we saw a pup in that condition.

Long story short, Cleo survived and thrived. But it took many years of attention and love and training to get her to live a normal puppy life. Her tail is still permanently depressed but sometimes it lifts a little higher than horizontal and we know she is happy. She no longer cowers along the walls and while she is still very suspect and sometimes timid, she is also quite a bossy personality. She can now go outside without panicking, though she still sometimes shakes uncontrollablyl.

Never buy a puppy from a pet store. Don't support large- scale, commercial dog breeding. Research your purchase from a reputable, small breeder or better yet, rescue a dog like Cleo and give her another chance. She'll make you very happy.