Petland donates to Make A Wish!
 

After the thread the other day about Petland having offering birthday parties to children for "fun" I stumbled upon the fact the Petland is donating animals to the Make A Wish foundation. I was personally apaulled and began a letter writing and email effort on my part. I just recieved the email below from Make A Wish that not only acknowledges that they do this but they think it is OK because Petland said they use "reputable breeders" and she even attached an article! Now I am totally blown away and not sure why everyone else here is not as upset about this as I am! :(

She did attach a letter from Petland that I was not able to find on their site that basically states the animals from Petland are viewed several times by vets prior to being sold. Below is a link to several of the recent newsletter from Petland on their website.

Petland News :: Pets Make Life Better!

I would have to say that the woman that came on here as a new member yesterday was probably alerted by my emailing MaW and St. Jude. This is more disturbing that I originally, I just assumed that they didn't understand that associating themselves with Petland was bad but now they have put into writing that they support Petland! Ugh!!!!!!:eek::eek::eek::eek:

I missed the post from the new member.....do you have the link to that thread? :(

Here you go:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...y-parties.html

I tried to follow the link from the above post about Petland offering kid birthday parties and just stumbled onto the information. I thought I would start a new thread because what I found out by digging around a little got a little buried within the post. I just cannot fathom that YT members would not be more outraged about Petland being linked to some of the largest charities out there that we all donate to! :confused:

If anyone is interested in the article I can cut and paste it but didn't want my original post to be huge. ;)

I guess I did too, I would love to read it.

This just makes me so sad. I can't really express it. :(

I know that Make a Wish and St. Jude's do such wonderful things for children and their families, but how can they turn the other way when they are essentially showing support for Petland, which in my mind equals puppy mills. I think it's just too easy for some people to turn the other way when faced with the reality of puppy mills.

That is just what I thought since I had to keep digging the OP off of the second and third page! Did you see where a "new member" joined to tell me that I was crazy :eek: and that she was a former Petland owner in FL! I really wish she would come back. I am positive that someone alerted Petland about my email otherwise how could she have possibly stumbled onto YT to post about how crazy we were to be upset about this MaW and Petlands association :confused:

Although I do not support them supporting puppymills I cant say enough about Make a Wish Foundation, one of my very good friends lost her son to Cancer at the age of 10, they were financially devestated by all the medical bills, due to make a wish they were able to take him to Disney , a family trip to the Bahamas, he got to meet the Red Sox and they helped them with thier mortgage the last 2 months of Nicks life, they also gave him his Great Dane , I dont know where he came from but they sure did make one happy child for the two years before he passed away. Golliath the great dane would lay in bed with Nick for hours after he had chemo and stayed by him till his death. I know its terrible that they support bad breeders and or puppy mills but I think Make a Wish has its best intentions at heart. Im sure if wonderful breeders were to donate pups to the they would take a pup from them as well, unfortunatly I dont think alot of people who are getting 800-1500 dollars a dog are willing to just donate a puppy!! JMHO

If you go and read the link to the Petland Birthday parties I too know someone who's child had Wilm's Tumor at 2 yrs old. She was granted a wish as well and I do wholeheartedly believe they are a wonderful organization that does great things for sick children. That is why I am so outraged that they are being blindly lead by Petland.

Petland is USING Make a Wish to gain exposure to sell more puppies. They do get their puppies from mills. Are you saying that because a child has cancer that a puppy mill dog is acceptable? I just cannot wrap my head around what you are trying to justify. Do you not understand the treatment that dogs in ANY large breeding kennel that are shipped around the country and sold is just not a good practice. Do you support pet shop purchases? :confused: There is no doubt in my mind that your friends son took great comfort in his great dane puppy while fighting cancer. But what about the suffering in the mills were that great dane puppy came from? :confused: Make a Wish should be stepping up to the plate and saying that they will not accept donations from Petland and their puppymill puppies.

This thread was not started to bash MaW by any stretch of the imagination. I was stunned with their response to my email this morning. I truly felt and still feel that they do not understand the entire scope of what it means to accept puppies that are breed in mills as gifts to grant wishes to children in their charity.

We have to be more organized in our education efforts. I suggested on the other thread an online protest, perhaps a well-written document, with facts and links. Petland is prepared for this, and we have to be more prepared. Petland isn't going to give the charity kids a sick dog, they will use one of the healthier dogs to give out, but these charities need to see the videos that show kennel conditions of the millers who sell to Petland. I think once the charities realize how many dog lovers are against this, they will rethink thier relationship with Petland.

Yes, I agree and just posted to the other thread. The link that MaW sent me from Petland to rebuttal their practice of using Petland to grant wishes was very well written and as you can see from the response that I received from MaW they too have been lead to believe Petland is doing good. So we need a game plan of who to address this any ideas?:confused:

From looking at the 'Petland News' on their website, it seems as though they've taken the approach that a good offense makes the best defense. There's a couple of articles where they're playing victim to the HSUS.
With their various community programs, they are acting as model corporate citizens. Model, that is, except for the fact that they are selling puppies from some of the worst mills in the country.
They are using these charities and other community 'services' to distract ordinary folks from the inescapable fact of where they get their pups from and the problems that have come from that. These efforts are likely to increase in an attempt to make themselves look better to people that aren't aware of the horrible conditions these puppies come from. Petland is the single biggest outlet for these mills and support for Petland DOES equal support for puppy mills.
It is very disturbing that charitable groups are allowing themselves to be used in such a manner. I am also bothered by the fact that Petland also sells Wellness dog food yet many people use that brand and recommend it to others.
Thanks, Megansmomma, for being upset enough to start this thread. I'll be writing my own letter and would hope that more YT'ers would do the same.

although their are alot people againist petstore that carry dogs and for the most part i agree. And there are alot of ways to go about reprimanding them or trying to put a stop to them.

i dont agree with puppy mill dogs i dont believe that reputable breeders (which on this site reputable have very strick rules to it) sell to pet stores but im guessing sometimes its back yard breeders and puppy mills. although byb arent the best way to go in a lot of peoples mind they are more affordable and not as strick on selling and give a lot of good people the opportunity to own a dog that in other cases wouldnt be able to. but i think its low to attact petland when they are doing GOOD deed by SICK CHILDREN. i dont care if it gives them exposure, they are making a very sick child happy!

i have never heard anything good about petland, ever and i believe the negatives about them, but this is different. and at the same time you are attacking them you are attacking a group that a LOT of people give thanks to for saving their childrens life and helping them keep their home at the same time. i personally think this is low. you may not be attacking per say but bothering them no less with something like this is insane they have a lot more to do then discuss puppy mills and defending their efforts to making childrens LAST wish come true.

and yes i think the birthday party thing is insane but giving a family a puppy, thats sweet no matter where it came from. if it makes the child and the family happy and brightens that child life, then why disrupt it? and if they have no case of sick puppies going to the st jude children then why bother it?

go full force against the puppy millers and the petstores for purchasing the puppymillers puppy i encourage you. but please for the children leave that little area alone.

I hope we can compose an article for Ipetitions, http://www.ipetitions.com/and get Yorkietalk signatures. If any one has some good links to information on Petland and kennel condtions, post it in this thread. It would also be useful to have know all charities that Petland is working with, as they should all be informed.

Why disrupt it? While it is a great thing, it is giving a horrible organization good feedback which will make people want to buy from them. I think the point is to maybe educate them so they choose a better BREEDER instead of a huge pet store that sells sick dogs from puppy mills. Basically, you're saying that just because they're putting a smile on the face of a sick child, it should just be left alone? What about the poor dogs/puppies? Do they not matter just because it's the subject of sick children? Do you not think the dogs are sick? Have you ever even seen a puppy mill video? If you have and you have a heart, I don't see how you could just push it aside because a kid has a smile on their face.

If the charities are of the mind that puppy mills are bad but believe the Petland propaganda, they need to be shown otherwise. Googling 'complaints about Petland' yields lots of instances. Also, the lawsuits against Petland speak volumes. And, their almost total reliance on the Hunte Corp. for their supply of puppies and the sources for them should be enough to convince almost anyone.

That's what Petland is hoping will happen, and you are living proof that it works. First of all we aren't attacking Petland for giving dogs to sick children, we are attacking Petland because they buy puppies from inhumane living conditions. They know what's going on, and they don't care, they give away a few dogs, and everybody's happy, except a few of us, who believe that this is just a marketing ploy to better their name. We just think the charities should be more informed about Petland's kennels.

Sounds like you could make a great protest letter! :D

Just wondering, would it be effective to let these charities know that their association with such a horrible business is being discussed on a forum that has over 46,000 members?

I know that would DEFINITELY catch my attention but I'm not sure, Nancy can answer it better. :D

how many reputable breeders do you know that WILL give away their puppies for FREE? on a REGULAR? AKC, show quailty (which is what most reputable breeders sell) i dont think their are a lot out there. Sure some people might occassionally.

yes i have seen all the stuff on puppy mills and im not fore them. but its best to go against it from the ground up. start at the puppy mills find all of them and attack them.

YES I THINK ITS LOW TO BOTHER ST JUDE ABOUT IT

yes i know there are alot of people who will fight to their dying breath to stop puppy mills and preventing people from buying from them and i respect those peoples ambitions. But i dont respect nor agree with this topic. if you dont like it, deal with petland or the people they get the puppies from but leave st jude alone. i understand you want to educate them but they are extremely smart people they save lives every day and research to save lives every day. this is not on their agenda. and its shouldnt be.

you fight and save the world of puppy mills but dont expect them to stop want they are doing to help you, they have enough on their plates.

and i dont mean that to be mean or rude at all. if people want to stop the puppy mills please do, like i said before i encourage it and respect that. i just think bothering st jude with this is disrespectful.

i love my dogs to pieces but my children come first and its it between saving my child and stopping puppy mills, its my children first and foremost all the way.

Tammy 8833, while I appreciate your sentiment, I can't agree with your rationale. I would think that it's doing these groups a favor by informing them of their associations. I would hate to think that such associations might cause donations to decrease but that is likely to happen if they continue these type of affiliations that can only tarnish their image in the future. I've never personally donated to Make a Wish but have been a regular donor to St. Jude's. I don't plan on withdrawing my support but do feel they need a 'heads-up' on Petland, who are using them as pawns to enhance their corporate reputation.

I think that already happened yesterday. If you go to the other thread about Petland Birthday parties that is were all of this started. I tried to follow a link within the Op and stumbled onto this. On the second page of that thread a former Petland owner jumps all over me for being ridiculous in my opinion. Go and take a look :rolleyes:

You know what I would really like to see happen is someone big get wind of this and make it news worthy. CNN, FOX, a good reporter who has been working on puppymills in the past. LISA LING!!!! OMG she is out ticket! Didn't she do the puppymill thing on Oprah?

I never said ANYTHING about attacking them. I said they needed to be educated, they actually have specific people who work for them to answer things like these concerns (as seen in the OP's e-mail response from them.)

I don't see how it has anything to do with "saving a child", it's more in the aspect of "saving the pups". Why would it be so bad for the Make A Wish people to take a child to a reputable breeder or rescue instead of Petland? It really isn't that hard. Also, you don't think a reputable breeder would give a dog away to a sick child? HA! You'd be surprised, they obviously have even bigger hearts than some idiot organization like Petland or they wouldn't care so much about what they're doing (IE... BREEDING THE RIGHT WAY.) It would also be a chance for them to get their name out there, right? So, what makes you think they wouldn't do it? :confused:

I appreciate your opinion too, don't think I'm coming off rude, I'm just trying to figure out where you're coming from as I'm confused.

i think its wrong to expect them to accept a decrease in donations because some people dont agree with what another company is doing to help st judes. Regardless of the marketing that the store gets.

its a petstore, that yes is not reputable by any means. but i hardly see it tarnishing their image. they are a extremely honorable organization and i cant for see something like this making them look bad. the big problem here is petland and the puppy mills not st jude and make a wish. someone has already stated to them what their opinions are of petland to the organizations, at this point to proceed further i believe in going forward with finding way to correct the root of the problems

petland would be the one at fault and therefore need the negative attention. my guess is if they get tons and tons of negative attention and it becomes national news, st jude would probably not bother with dealing with them anymore

Let Oprah know. :) or Ellen. :)

attack was probably the wrong word

i didnt say i didnt think that reputable breeders would give them away, i said i didnt think many would.

I, actually, think they both need somewhat negative attention. If an organization is going to be strict about certain things but not others (others that include the life of a living, breathing creature), how is that right?! I commend them for what they do but on the same level, I think it's ridiculous, especially with how much negative publicity Petland has gotten in the recent past. You know SOMEONE working with these organizations has had to have seen it. If they're looking over it? That's even more disturbing and disgusting.

Sorry, I apologize then! I just think they would... I know if I were a breeder, I would but I'm not so who knows.

I read the birthday party thread and I saw the 1 post by the former Petland owner. I didn't see that anyone was going to mention the # of YT members that were being exposed to this info, however. My idea was to just let the charities know exactly how many people were being informed of their ties with Petland, thinking that would grab their attention.
I'm not sure if I'd like to see this become a 'news item' as it could hurt both charities. They do need to be informed of the potential damage they are doing to their own reputations by continuing these associations. I really don't see how an occasional free puppy could be worth all the uproar this could cause if it were to make the news. Of course, if it did, the charities would have to rush to publicly sever their ties with Petland....hmmm.

I found a few good links:

Humane Society of the United States: Petland Investigation - Pet Store Sells Puppy Mill Dogs:
Introduction Video:

Petland Investigation | Humane Society


Actual investigation. One breeder does her own spaying and neutering without anesthesia, and she's not a vet.
Petland Investigation | Humane Society

Here are a few consumer complaint places that have lots of complaints regarding sick dog, and while I'm sure Petland gives the charities a healthy dog, this isn't true for many families.

Ripoff reports:

Ripoff Report Search Results: petland

Complaints.com: Complaints Against Petland

This was written by a former employee:

The Voice for Dogs.org What Petland doesn't want you to kow! First hand account of abuse behind closed doors as told by ex-employee Let's end dog abuse now!


We need to let the charities know that what Petland is saying about buying from reputable breeders, just isn't true.