Media Release
February 13, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact : Vanessa Bosse
sickpuppies7@yahoo.com
WIZARD OF CLAWS VICTIMS PLAN DEMONSTRATION
People who have been sold sick puppies by WIZARD OF CLAWS - - a South Florida pet store accused of unconscionable and misleading business practices, are planning a demonstration on Saturday, March 11 from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm in front of the store at 9101 Taft Street, in Pembroke Pines, FL. They will be joined by other animal lovers to protest the store’s sale of “puppy mill” puppies.
Although Wizard of Claws has told customers that their puppies were from "reputable" breeders, in reality the puppies were obtained from large scale commercial breeding facilities in the midwest, commonly known as a "puppy mills", where animal welfare concerns are wholly secondary to profits.
Typical puppy mills have hundreds of dogs which are bred every time they go into heat. The sole purpose of puppy mill operators is profit, so dogs are bred without any regard to their genetic quality, and housed in substandard conditions where they spend their entire lives in cages, without proper exercise, nutrition or veterinary care.
Puppy mill puppies often suffer health and behavioral problems because of their poor breeding, lack of socialization and unsanitary mill conditions. These puppies are sold by pet stores to unsuspecting consumers that get their wallets lightened and their hearts broken when their new puppy gets deathly ill or develops genetic defects that require expensive veterinary treatment, treatment that pet stores routinely refuse to pay for in spite of legal requirements to the contrary.
The pet store has been sued by disgruntled customers many times, and a website,
www.stopwizardofclaws.com, is dedicated to informing people about Wizard of Claw’s tactics.