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NOTE:
Petland pet stores have been in the news since November 2008, when the
Humane Society of the United States released the results of an investigation
proving what we had known all along: Petland gets their puppies from puppy
mills. Please see Where Does Petland Get Their
Puppies? for more on the on-going Petland probe.
I
never visited a Petland Store, so with the upcoming protest, I walked into the
Pewaukee Petland on a Saturday afternoon in February 2009 to take a look
around.
Playing
a "potential dog buyer," I was given the tour. I was even given
permission to snap some photos, because Petland is proud of its
"state-of-the-art puppy-selling facilities."
The
dogs were lying on wire in Plexiglas cubes, under light, with no bedding, toys,
chewies, treats, or food in evidence. No companionship except for the
"giants" standing on the other side of the Plexiglas. Water was
supposedly supplied by a rabbit bottle behind the cube (you can see the spout
just to the right of this pup's head). I wondered how often the bottle was
filled, and who taught the pups how to drink out of it.
The
pups have no room to play and must walk on wire mesh all day long. By the way,
the Petland website states that these puppy bins" are larger in all
dimensions than recommended by the United States Department of
Agriculture." Since Petland claims that all of their puppies are bred in
"facilities [that] are licensed and inspected by the federal
government" -- aka the USDA -- you can just imagine the size of the
"kennels" the pups' parents must spend their entire lives in.
I asked where the puppies came from and was told they're all from a broker in
Iowa. Later I asked what part of Iowa and he told me near Dubuque. I suspect
that they're from Hunte Corp. I thought to myself that some of the pups also
could very well be from Clark County, as I learned last summer Hunte is doing
business there. [Note: 2009 records obtained from WI DATCP indicate that the
main supplier for the Pewaukee Petland is Heritage Puppies, Lake Mills, Iowa, a
USDA-licensed Class B "dealer."]
Anyway,
the dogs looked like they've been through a wringer...the eyes on the Puggle
puppy (top right corner of this page) telegraphed his hopelessness to me. Look
at the sticker below the Beagle's cubical: "Lord, Let me be the person my
dog thinks I am." Wonder what kind of person these pups think the owner of
Petland is?
 Full photo of the "Puggle"
Pup
Where Do
Petland Puppies REALLY Come From?
Our
Position on PETLAND Pet Shops Pewaukee Petland Janesville, WI,
Petland The Petstore
Connection
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