The NAPRP Blog

Nov 21

Written by: NAPRP Admin
11/21/2008 5:32 AM

Today I read that the Humane Society busted Petland for selling puppy mill dogs. Frankly, I doubt this revelation will come as a surprise to a lot of people. However, the HSUS gets big points in my book for investigating it and finally at long last proving that even some large pet stores are part of the puppy mill problem.

Apparently, the HSUS conducted an 8-month investigation. They visited 21 stores and traced the origins of 17,000 puppies. They even went and visited breeders and suppliers to prove that Petland has been lying for years about the origins of the puppies they sell.

Personally, I can't remember the last time I set foot in a pet store. I know that some chains offer adoption events and that's the way it should be. (We don't have a chain store in our small town; the pet stores here are "independently owned" which usually means the pets don't come from mills, but do come from the next step in the chain: backyard breeders).

The only way puppy mills will go away is when people stop buying animals from pet stores. When the market goes away, so do the mills. As we all know, many of these dogs end up in rescues and shelters, so it's in our best interest to help get the word out.

- Susan
Whose own golden retriever Tika was adopted from an animal shelter at 5 months old. Her original owners found her as a 6-week old pup in the middle of the road in January with her feet frozen into the ice. They found her the day after a Newport, Washington golden retriever puppy mill was raided in 1997. Coincidence? I don't think so.

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