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Found this info,, on a local rescue site,, thought I would post it,, Im glad they are checking into Ohio puppymills, they have alot. :mad: Still more has to be done.
Pet Store Problem: A Carl Monday Investigation
Reported by Carl Monday
POSTED: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 2:39:29 PM
UPDATED: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 10:43:39 AM
CLEVELAND -- They’re beloved household pets that become part of the fabric of daily family life, but why are many dogs getting sick, even dying just days after their purchase from local pet shops?

Puppy mills in Amish country supply Cleveland-area stories
Mika Williams’ new puppy is being treated for kennel cough at a private vet just days after buying the dog for her daughter at the Adriatic Pet Store in Collinwood.

This comes after the store’s owner says their vet gave the puppy a clean bill of health.

“He performed an X-ray and [its lungs were] completely clear,” said owner Linda Beltowski.

“We were expecting a healthy dog that was going to be chasing my daughter around … who’s going to be able to feel lots of love, but we’re catering to a very sick puppy,” Williams said.

Adriatic’s own papers show the store bought the dog from a licensed breeder in Amish country - in Tuscarawas County.

The picturesque, rolling countryside belies what our undercover cameras found there … puppy mills, housing stacks of tiny, cramped cages and unsanitary conditions.

Deborah Howard, the director of the Denver-based Companion Animal Protection Society, explained, “more than 90 per cent of the puppies in pet stores come from what we call puppy mills.”

Adriatic claims its part of the ten percent that doesn’t patronize puppy mills.

“We go to our private breeders,” said Beltowski. “We don’t do puppy mills or anything like that.”

But, the Animal Protective League says many breeders are puppy mills in sheep’s’ clothing.

“I think anybody who is breeding a dog and selling puppies to a pet shop is a puppy mill,” said APL Director Dori Villalon.

Curtis Beachy is a private breeder in the heart of Amish country.

“Do you sell at all to pet shops?” he was asked. “Some of the males,” he replied. “Females I don’t.”

Beachy sold a puppy to Adriatic - who in turn, sold it to Jennifer Kabat for $1,200.

“He was infested with fleas and parasites and I just felt that’s completely unacceptable,” Kabat said.

Beachy’s kennels are unlicensed and not subjected to USDA inspections. On the day we pulled a surprise visit, we found what appeared to be clean and sanitary conditions.

That can’t be said for other puppy mills in Ohio’s Amish country.

“This is the first time that we have investigated in Ohio and we found unbelievable squalor,” Howard said.

Recently, the Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) sent an undercover investigator into Ohio’s Amish puppy mills.

“They were pretty appalling,” Howard said. “We saw some very sick animals … a lot of fecal accumulation, rusty cages, insufficient food and water.”

CAPS also paid a visit to Adriatic Pets in Cleveland.

It didn’t take long for the puppy cop from CAPS to spot a problem. They asked to see a pug.

“[There’s lot of puppy mills in Amish country … Do you buy any down there?” Beltowski was asked. “No, I usually don’t,” she replied. “I go there. I see the conditions.”

But, here’s where the pug in question came from. CAPS says in their opinion, there’s no doubt: the Millersburg kennel, USDA licensed, is a puppy mill.

“He had cleaning violations,” one person said. “I know there were some food violations.”

CAPS also sent a board member and licensed vet Dr. Don Allen into Adriatic Pets.

“There are two puppies in there that had spots on their head,” Dr. Allen said. “The girl said that was ring worm and she also said it’s not contagious. Well I beg to differ. Ring worm is highly contagious.”

Allen says Adriatic was generally clean, but says as long as you buy a dog from any pet store, you’re taking a chance.

“There’s no other source for pet stores to get their puppies from other than from puppy mills,” Dr. Allen said. “It’s plain and simple.”

Emilee Mullary bought her son a dog at Adriatic.

“It was like a child we had for a short amount of time,’ she said. “I was the one who was picking him up from the hospital.”

The dog died within days.

“We talked to some customers - they say, ‘yea, we bought a pet, looked fine in the cage, took it home -it died,’” Beltowski said. “What happened,” she was asked. “That’s highly unusual and must be some underlying reason for that,” she replied.

But Leslie Sinclair says it happened to her.

“They did not care that my daughter was hurt,” Sinclair said. “They didn’t care that my daughter was upset. They didn’t care that the dog was lying there dying.”

Attorney Patricia Kidd, who represents several Adriatic customers, wants to know. - and so does the APL.

“For those folks who do go to the pet store and feel sorry for the dog and buy it … you’re perpetuating this problem,” Dori of the APL said. “You have to walk away.”

The owner of Adriatic Pets says they sell about 125 dogs a month.

She says they’re bound to get a few complaints of sick dogs and will exchange any sick dog for a new one.

The store says it has many repeat customers.

So what can be done to better police pet stores that do buy their dogs from puppy mills? Frankly, not much - the APL, for all the good it does, has no real enforcement powers.

And the health dept. can inspect a store, but they’re looking more for human health concerns, not animal.

USDA inspectors have what’s called the "Animal Rights Act" at their disposal, but we’re told it’s seldom enforced.

Others say many puppy mills have cleaned up their act and our better than they were, even just a few years ago.

Related
Have a complaint about a pet store? File it here

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