Puppy Mill Protest

                              Awareness group protesting purchase of puppy mill puppies this holiday season

Novi - The approach of the holidays signals one thing- the rush to buy gifts.  For some this could mean a new puppy from a local pet store, without knowing where that puppy actually comes from.  

Many Saturdays and the occasional weekday, large signs reading “Don’t Support Puppy MIlls” and “Boycott Petland” cover the lawns in front of Twelve Oaks Mall.  Members of Puppy Mill Awareness of Southeast Michigan stood on the lawn listening to people’s car horns in response to their “Honk if You Support Us” sign.  They are doing more protests now than ever to stop people from buying pet store puppies in time for the holidays. 

Leader of the protest Pam Sordyl stood at the corner of Novi Road and the 1-96 West exit.  Sordyl was inspired to take action against puppy mills after attending a Take Action for Animals conference in Washington D.C.  She also joined a group in Belleville protesting Petland for 8 months, where she learned about puppy mills and what they do.  Since then she has been organizing investigations and public education campaigns in the area.  Sordyl spoke about why Puppy Mill Awareness is targeting Petland with their protesting.  

“Reputable breeders do not sell to a pet store. It is written in their code of ethics with their breed club not to sell wholesale,” Sordyl said. “Most breeders cannot keep up with the demand of a pet store as dogs are only in heat every six months and a reputable breeder would not breed them every cycle.” 

This time of year, Petland is full of potential customers looking into the cages, forcing people to squeeze through to go look at other puppies.  Ada Stapha, an employee of Petland Novi, knows the increase in business better than anyone.

“We definitely sell a higher number of puppies during the holidays,” said Stapha.  “We get about 10 to 15 dogs at a time, about every 2 weeks.”     

Sordyl went on to describe why many pet store puppies come from puppy mills, and the conditions of many of the mills.  Also known as mega mills with over 1000 dogs, mini mills with 25 dogs or less, or backyard breeders, puppy mills breed dogs for profit.  Dogs are housed in small cages with wire floors and are bred whenever possible to ensure maximum output.  This often leads to health problems for both breeding stock and puppies. 

Stapha said she visited a Petland breeding facility once, and estimated it to have about 40 dogs.   

“Many people don’t know that their puppies could be coming from puppy mills,”  Sordyl said. “We have collected nearly 50 health complaints from Petland and 70 from The Family Puppy. Complaints have been filed with PetShopPuppies.org, the MDA, Police, Animal Control, and at our protests.”

Stapha explained that puppies receive a vet check upon arrival, and are usually very healthy.  

“The most common thing found is luxating patella, or sore knee cap,” said Stapha. 

According to Chapter 81 in the University of Pennsylvania’s Textbook of Small Animal Orthopaedics, patellar luxation is a congenital defect seen most often in small breed dogs.  It is painful for the dog and can require surgery for permanent correction of severe cases.  

Petland is a nationwide chain, though many of its stores are located in the Midwest.  According to Stapha, the puppies come for breeders outside of Michigan.  

“Michigan does not require a license, and we use only USDA licensed breeders,” said Stapha.    

According to petshoppuppies.org, USDA licensed businesses are inspected annually to make sure they meet the minimum standards dictated by the Animal Welfare Act.

“We collect interstate health certificates for puppies coming into the state. The breeder names can be traced back to USDA inspection reports that show repeated violations and inventories,” said Sordyl.  “USDA standards are minimal, so even if they did not have violations report during an inspection, it doesn’t’ mean the dogs live a healthy life. Most of them live in small kennels with wire floors…and that is ok with the USDA.”

Often in malls or within other establishments, Petland stores feature walls of built-in stacked cages with glass windows and wire floors, so that the dogs aren’t standing in any debris.  There are usually 2 dogs per cage, with breeds ranging from purebred Golden Retrievers and Dachshunds to the new trend of mixed breeds such as the Walrus (Sharpei and Basset Hound mix) and the Schnoodle (Schnauzer and Poodle mix).

“Large kennel inventories, multiple breeds, designer breeds, cash only, no waiting list, no screening are sure signs of a puppy mill operation,” said Sordyl.  “Any kennel that is USDA licensed is for profit – puppy mill.  Commercial means mass production and wholesale.”

Stapha has her own insight as to why Puppy Mill Awareness is protesting Petland. 

“Protestors are usually people from PETA,” said Stapha. “They don’t believe that puppies should be sold for profit. The puppies are still getting a good home.”

Puppy Mill Awareness of Southeast Michigan isn’t the only organization targeting Petland.  Animal Planet ran a documentary called Animal Planet Investigates: Petland back in May of 2010.  The documentary was an undercover investigation of specific puppy mills linked to Petland.  Cameras followed a secret investigator into the mills to show the conditions and to get some evidence.   

Both Sordyl and Stapha had different to say about how protesting potentially effects Petland’s business.

“It’s like my manager says, the protesting increases business,” said Stapha.  “People who didn’t know there was a pet store in the mall see those signs and come check us out.”  

Sordyl commented that she has heard the same thing from other pet stores.  

“All pet stores like to say that to us, but in the long run long term bad publicity and media attention don’t work out for the pet store like celebrities who can rebound,” said Sordyl. “The Family of Pets hired a pr firm, updated their website, switched breeders, created a picture book, customer feedback book and a letter to customers telling them about us and how they are trying to improve the industry.”

The Family of Pets is another area pet store located in Twelve Mile Crossing at Fountain Walk.  Their local chain includes The Family Puppy in Brighton, Flint, Roseville, and Troy.  The Family Puppy website advertises AKC registered puppies, as do numerous signs inside Petland.      

"AKC is not a guarantee of quality,” said Sordyl. “It is a label that can be bought by a breeder or puppy mill.”

There are ways for people to find out where their pet store puppy came from.  Petshoppuppies.org offers a free puppy report that uses FOIA and gives buyers the opportunity to trace the USDA licensing, inspections, inventories from the place the puppy came from, and any possible media coverage on that location. 

Petshoppuppies.org also has its own Petland tab.  It links to information about the lawsuit The Humane Society of the United States has filed against Petland.  There is a short video outlining the case also available on the page.      

 

“We have around 23 stores in Detroit selling puppies,” said Sordyl. “Remember, reputable breeders would NEVER sell their puppies to any pet store.  I haven’t found one store to be acting in good faith. If they will not provide breeder information, they are hiding something.”