Kennel cough (bordatella) is so common in pet shop puppies that store personnel often pretend that it is a normal condition. It is not. It can develop into life-threatening pneumonia, and we know of three cases (and we expect there are many more) in which this occurred in puppies purchased at the Fairfax Petland. The puppies were coughing within a day or two after purchase. When the condition worsened and the store vet's office was closed, the puppies had to be taken to an emergency clinic, avoiding the Petland warranty, which requires that the dog be brought to the store's vet. Petland offered to pay only a fraction of the vet bills. Pneumonia is only one of the illnesses found frequently in Petland puppies.
What happens to the puppies who are rejected by Petland's store vet and are put back on the truck? According to someone who has worked on this issue for many years, they are not sent "back to the breeder," as we have heard Petland employees state. If they cannot be passed off to another stop the truck was making, they are sent back to the Hunte Corp., who subjects them to yet another long truck ride and sells them, along with other "Grade B" puppies, at a flea market or to people selling dogs over the Internet.
Several local vets who have treated puppies purchased at the Fairfax Petland have stated that the many of the puppies are sick. One said, "I HATE Petland!" Another said of a Petland puppy, "This puppy is a walking time bomb." A local trainer working with Petland puppies found many of them unsocialized, extremely difficult to train, and mentally and emotionally ill.
We have been disappointed by the failure of most veterinarians to take an ethical stand against pet stores and puppy mills.
from petstorecruelty.org |