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WISCONSIN PUPPY MILL PROJECT

Pewaukee Petland

Photos and report by F. Menish

Note:  7 September 2013 Update: The Petland store locator no longer shows a Petland store in or near Pewaukee, WI!
This little puggle spends his days lying on wire mesh in a brightly-lit "state-of-the-art" cube in a Petland pet store. No blankie, no mat, no toys -- no hope.

What Is A Puppy Mill?   *   What Can I Do About It?   *   Laws/Legislation   *   ACTION ALERTS!

 

2019 HSUS undercover investigation reveals more sick, dead puppies at Petland stores. Click here for details.

Please note: Most pet sellers in Wisconsin are now regulated by Act 90/s.173.41, the WI Dog Seller Program. If you have personally encountered any problems at a Petland (or with any other Wisconsin dog seller), please see our How To File a Complaint With the WI Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection page.

 
This little beagle pup was photographed in his "state-of-the-art" cube at Pewaukee Petland in Feb. 09. Note the sign below the plexiglass.
 

       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?

 pawprint bullet point   Full photo of the "Puggle" Pup   pawprint bullet point


 pawprint bullet point   Where Do Petland Puppies REALLY Come From?   pawprint bullet point

 pawprint bullet point   Our Position on PETLAND Pet Shops   pawprint bullet point   Pewaukee Petland   pawprint bullet point   Janesville, WI, Petland   pawprint bullet point   The Petstore Connection   pawprint bullet point

 
What Is A Puppy Mill?
What Can I Do?
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© Copyright, 2008. The Wisconsin Puppy MIll Project
P.O. Box 926    *    Sheboygan, WI 53082-0926   *   info@NoWisconsinPuppyMills.com

Photos & article Copyright © 2009, F. Menish. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

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