The chain store Petland has been accused by The Humane Society of selling sick puppies and using a supplier that is little more than a puppy mill with horrible conditions, The Hunte Corp of Goodman, Mo.
The society is brought a civil racketeering complaint against Petland for fraud in claiming that it purchased goods from fine and humane breeders. It claims that its investigation of Hunte showed “puppies living in filthy, barren cages reeking of urine, with inadequate care and socialization.” The Society gave various examples of sick puppies including
Mainerd, a Boston terrier, was diagnosed with a congenital spinal condition. Some of her vertebrae have not formed completely while others have fused together causing tissue to grow underneath along with possible nerve damage. Mainerd is now receiving steroid treatments for her ailments and may require expensive surgery.
Minchy, a miniature pinscher, was sold by Petland at 10 weeks old. He was immediately diagnosed with coccidian, an intestinal parasite that causes diarrhea and weight loss. Minchy was also diagnosed with an inherited disorder, Progressive Retinal Atrophy, which will ultimately lead to permanent blindness.
Tucker was sold at 4 months old. The bloodhound puppy experienced severe separation anxiety and various health problems before developing orbital cancer at only 7 months of age.
Patrick, a Pomeranian puppy, was sold at 3 months old. He suffered from diarrhea and vomiting shortly after arriving at his new home. At 11 months old, Patrick was diagnosed with a genetic disorder, dual luxating patellas, which will require expensive surgery on both of his knees to correct.
Petland is barking mad. Petland vice president Joe Watson stated “At Petland, we offer healthy, happy and well-socialized pets to our customers. As our business requires that our customers be highly satisfied, it only makes sense that we would do everything possible to ensure that we provide healthy puppies.”
For a copy of the class action complaint, click here.
For the full story, click here.
I know someone that bought a English Bulldog from Petland in Ft Myers this summer. Where did this puppy come from, this is for my information only. This person that bought the puppy is claiming that the puppy is AKC Purebred with Champion Bloodline and the reason they spend soo much on him because they want to breed him. I don’t believe it if you ask me!
Where does this Petland usually get their puppies and the most important how much does this puppy really cost. I know petland charges soo much in selling their puppies, what is their reason for such high price.
Petland needs to be stopped. They are not animal lovers, they don’t care what happens to these poor puppies OR to their mothers being overbred in disgusting inhumane puppy mills. Petland will eventually run out of business. I bought my puppy from there 5 years ago. We named her Honey-B. She was as sweet as can be. One day we took her to the vet and they told us she had arthritus in her paws and hips. For a dog now at the age of 2, that was unheard of. Recently in the past week, right before her 6th bday, we had to put her down. Testing showed that she had CHRONIC KIDNEY FAILURE AT AGE 5. There was no solution to the problem. The vets beleived it was through genetics because of inadequate breeding. Pet lovers need to think first before they purchase a pet from this store. At the time, I was young and had no knowledge about this scandal. But I can make a promise to all of you Petland supporters out there, I refuse to shut my mouth about this hellhole until all of the Petland facilities are closed down, and i advise you to do the same. If you support Petland and what they do to innocent animals, you’re nothing more than a self-serving, pathetic peice of dog shit.
i had a litter of pit bull shep crosses and when i asked pet land if i could put a flyer up they offered to buy all 9 pups. they did not ask if the pups were de-wormed or had shots or if a vet had looked at them i did have all of the above done but they never asked and i told them i am a responsible pet owner and will find good homes with people i know will keep the pups for there entire life. and will keep in touch with the new owners … i asked if they did that and she said it would be to hard to fallow all the pups they sold like that. i only ended up with a litter because of the next door kids put there male in my fenced yard while i was in the bathroom. also a man i know would breed his shep each time he came in heat and sold the pups crosses or not to pet land and he got 20 % of the sales he is a unlicensed breeder and to me is a back yard breeder. i have been since kicked out of pet land for taping a pup crapping white jelly in the display window at pet land. this all happened in the last 9 years.
I have seen the dog’s that come from those puppy mill’s & petland is the only one that seems to be having alot of trouble w/ their stock ,prob. because of their greed & not being interested in the puppy’s health .If you look at those puppy’s they are pacing,& have problems w/ their feet from spending most of their life growing up in a crate on bars to stand on instead of a floor ( clean )feces all over under their cages ,they never get to come out and socialize w/ other dogs – Petland should be ashamed no 1 I wouldn’t treat my enemy the way those puppies are treated .those poor dog /puppies don’t even get a fighting chance at growing up healthy N into a senior dog b4 they die from some type of problems ,wether it be Parvo or another horrific sickness that could have been avoided had they been taken care of properly,PETLAND & anyone that works there better look for another job cause hopfully they will be out of bussiness soon & it’s not soon enough for me My husband N I are not just dog lovers but all animals, horses etc & are looking for a small farm in order for us to be a foster family for the pet’s that might need us & others like us. : )
i was sold a sick pup 5 days ago. He has parvo, my fience and i took him the the animal hosptial we are paying expensive money for our new lil puppy. I’a, just hopeing that he will make it through the sickness. I really love my Pup.
I worked for a Veterinary Clinic in Fort Myers, FL. Petland is a big pet store here locally. This vets office dealt directly with all of the incoming dogs and the care of the petland puppies. Well.. first this was back in 2006, and it was stated to me that 99.9% of all the dogs coming in from Petland were bought from puppy mills. Another thing, the care takers at Petland never brought in sick dogs until they were barely alive. Countless puppies died on our tables because of the neglect of the people working at Petland. Dogs coming in with every rib showing, parvo puppies, exposed to other dogs for days before coming in. So sick that when they got to us, they already had a horrible smell of death, fluids coming from all parts. Horrible. Its about damn time Petland is being held accountable for the bullshit they have been pulling for years now, on the customers buying these sick dogs, to the support of the pieces of shit breeding these dogs.
The one thing I find funny is that more then half the issues sited in this report, they are genetic or inherited. Most of which are issues that wouldn’t have shown themselves right away either. As for the other issues, such as the viruses and parasite. those are all issues that would appear anywhere that has a large amount of dogs that kept communally, and again, wouldn’t be treated until the symptoms became apparent. I’ll put good money on the fact that you could goto any HSUS kennel and find all the same health issues.
The lawsuit against Hunte Corp. was dismissed, and of 31 claims against Peland, only 2 survived at this point (5/2010) The point is that whether a dog is produced as a show dog, or pet quality, no dog is guaranteed except usually, by state law. Most states have differing laws on that. Breeders can guarantee their dogs beyond state law if they wish but are not required to do that.
If you have ever worked with breeding or rescued pups, you would realize that certain pathogens can affect even healthy dogs. No one forces anyone to buy a dog from any specific place, but the dog being from Petland, for example, does not mean it is sick, nor does it mean it is not sick. If in fact, a huge number of dogs in the ratio of how many sold vs how many were sick could actually be attributed to a specific kennel over a certain time, that might indicate a kennel had issues.
However just claiming that dogs were sick because of the alleged “mill” moniker does not do it. Puppies have been bought/sold for more than 50 years from kennels. It’s not until HSUS, which is being sued for RICO violations and far, far more [see humanewatch.org]— stole Katrina funds designed to help animals lost in the floods–but HSUS cannot account for $34million donated? HSUS just got popped for executing an illegal warrant in SD and judge ordered dogs returned to owner. HSUS conduct dog raids and actually kills all the dogs with help from local SPCA groups.
so before you start buying into the “mill” nonsense, realize what you are doing. HSUS is a fraud and basically is a lobbying/marketing firm designed to promote a vegan lifestyle. Pretty much that’s it.
Dearest Petland defenders:
I knew a girl who had the misfortune to be employed by Petland. Her boss had her feed the puppies benadryl daily to keep them quiet. Unmarked moving trucks regularly showed up with dead puppies in their cargo. Needless to say she didn’t stay long their.
Another friend bought a dog from Petland only to spend $800 treating him for parvo. She notified the store owner, who completely ignored the claim and kept his branch open through Christmas instead of quarantining like he should have.
Shame on Petland and anyone who is naive enough to believe they are anything but greedy corporate bastards.
To everyone:
Petland sucks, how many other pet selling franchises are under investigation? The only one i hear about is Petland. WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU?!!
To everyone out there who has not been to The Hunte Corp or their local Petland… you should not open your mouth toward any of them. First off it is impossible for The Hunte Corp to be a puppy mill. THEY DO NOT BREED PUPPIES! They simply buy puppies only from USDA approved breeders and that is it. Although most Petland’s are franchise, everyone is just as apt to get out in the field and check out exactly where their puppies are coming from. Petland does more work to make sure they know they are getting healthy puppies than HSUS does to try to stop any wrong doing. If anyone should be under pressure right now; it should be HSUS for claiming such slanderous things. I find it very funny that HSUS will point fingers at everyone else but fail at any attempt to help any animal that is treated inhumanly. If there is such a Petland that is such as HSUS claims; they will undoubtedly stripped of their franchise and put out of business. Obviously everyone at Petland loves puppies more than any of you because they are actually trying to do good, and not just complain about it; screw you!!!!!
Abbey, your comments do not address the issue raised in the post. If Petland purchases puppies from The Hunt Corporation, it is purchasing from a puppy mill. Your statements are silent on the principal allegation. Moreover, the fact that the FDA approves a facility is not determinative. We are all aware of the inspection record of the FDA under the Bush administration. Petland should be setting its own strict standards and conducting its own investigations. You sound pretty much like you are simply repeating drivel from the Petland public affairs office.
I work with Petland, and the HSUS has unfortunately hit us very hard right now. But their claims are baseless. We do not buy our puppies from puppy mills. The come from USDA-approved breeders. Any breeder we find that is substandard is put on our Do Not Buy list, which is sent to all of our franchises. We encourage people to visit a Petland store, take a tour and see how the animals are really treated and cared for. We want our pets to happy, healthy and well socialized to the can find loving homes for the rest of their lives.
i love puppies. screw petland.
max,
The answer to your question is price. The puppy mill puppies can cost less and that is very attractive to people who are unaware of the health issues.
All of Petland’s puppies are from puppy mills. I don’t understand why anyone would buy a dog there.
The culprits at the puppy mill and the people responsible for buying from them at Petland should be prosecuted and taught a severe lesson. The greed that causes these poor dogs to be brought up in miserable conditions that just breeds problems is amazing.