Rescue Me Rally – Texas Gathering for National Homeless Animals’ Day

August 20, 2007 : 5:59 PM
“Rescue Me Rally” in Austin brings together people who want to make a difference.

By Jennifer Hayes: Best Friends Network

Since 1992, the International Society for Animal Rights (ISAR) has sponsored National Homeless Animals’ Day, held annually on the third Saturday of August. While the date has been observed previously in Austin, this is the first year that individuals from throughout the area gathered on the downtown Pluger Pedestrian Bridge with thousands of paper collars wrapped around the guardrails as a visual memory of euthanized animals from Town Lake Animal Center (TLAC) last year.

The “Rescue Me Rally – bridge the gap between homeless animals and forever homes” brought together individuals with differing philosophies on solving the pet overpopulation problem, but they all came together to honor those souls who are without a home to call their own and to mourn for those who never do find homes.

In addition to the chain of paper collars and various signs, leaders from some of the most active animal welfare organizations in Central Texas addressed the crowd.

As she introduced the speakers, event organizer Julia Hilder of Spay Austin, spoke of the unnecessarily high numbers of homeless animals in Austin. She showed the proclamation that it was officially Homeless Animals’ Day in Austin and explained that due to the windy conditions, the collars on display were only a fraction of the 12,000 of those that represented the animals whose lives were taken at TLAC in 2006. In partnership with ISAR, there will soon be billboards displayed around town speaking to the plight of shelter animals. She showed that the faces of homeless animals are no different than those with loving homes and families and welcomed organizations and individuals to join the Spay Austin coalition.

Amy Mills, Executive Director of emanciPET, asked the crowd to visualize no paper collar chain at next year’s rally and that seeing an unneutered dog on the street would have the same social stigma as seeing a pregnant woman smoking and drinking alcohol. EmanciPET has performed 68,000 spay and neuter surgeries since its inception, 8,000 of which were performed this year to date. She said that between emanciPET and Animal Trustees of Austin, 200 free or low cost spay and neuter surgeries are available daily in Austin. Mills said, “It’s tragic that 12,000 [animals] were killed in our community,” but that “this is preventable.” She encouraged people to not just “look the other way” and to talk to others about spay/neuter, microchipping, and TNR (trap, neuter, and release of feral cats).

The next speaker was Ryan Clinton, of Fix Austin. His recommendation was for citizens to “reject the advice of people who are giving excuses” and “to continue to spread the positive message of hope.” He too suggested talking to anyone who would listen and that it is important to come across as informed, trustworthy and respectful, not as a crazy fringe militant. He introduced Lori Rogowski as one such individual. She was the whistle-blower on the deteriorated conditions at Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter, though she did not choose that role. Throughout her campaign to help the shelter animals, she has rejected excuses, continued to spread the message, and has acted with professionalism. Clinton, closed by stating, “Austin already has all the elements to be no kill,” including a large budget, a perfect location, and a community that clamors to become no kill.

David Lundstedt, of Chain Free Austin, gave a message of hope to the crowd. His organization set out to rewrite the chaining ordinance for dogs in Austin. They approached the city leadership with a new ordinance, and in June, the city council voted unanimously to approve the new law that prohibits the chaining of dogs, which is set to take effect on October 1, 2007. However, his group did not stop there, and has also helped to establish an assistance fund aimed to help low income individuals to pay for fencing. Lundstedt advised the crowd, “Keep on fighting because good things can happen.”

Animal Trustees of Austin (ATA) representative, John Silberberg, spoke of the feral cat issues in the city. Austin currently has a population of between 200,000-400,000 feral cats and Silver urged citizens to become involved in TNR to halt their rapid reproduction. He continued the day’s theme of spreading the word. Unfortunately, many uninformed people believe that there is a “magic number” to call to rid themselves of stray cats. However, if given some guidance and a live trap or two, these same people can “become a part of the solution.” ATA is even currently working on the development of a feral food bank to help take some of the financial burden off of those who maintain colonies. Fortunately, Austin leaders have been supportive of local TNR efforts, because they realize it is “cheaper for the city to fund spay and neuter, than it is to pay people to kill cats and dogs.”

Pat Valls-Trelles, of the Austin Animal Advisory Commission, introduced a somber reminder to the crowd. “It is important to gather together once a year to commemorate the animals who have died.” She emotionally read a fax she had received in 1993 from Peter Marsh. It was the true account of one New Hampshire shelter worker who gave a loving memorial at a candlelight vigil for a friendly and playful cat, who had become the shelter’s longest resident, and whom he had euthanized that very day. Valls-Trelles reminded us that each euthanized animal has its own story just as that cat did. Then she listed the rounded figures for Town Lake Animal Center in 2006; 21,800 intakes, 2,900 returned to owners, 4,100 adopted, and 2,600 rescued. That left about 12,000 cats and dogs that were killed.

The community must work toward decreasing the number of animals coming into the shelter and increase the number of adoptions, rescues, and returns. If that occurs, the euthanasia number will automatically decrease. She urged organizations to work together and to respect and support one another to work collaboratively to accomplish the goal of saving animals. To end her talk on a positive note, she told another story, that of Shiloh, a dog with a death sentence who through hard work and perseverance of many rescuers was able to live. Like the starfish story , each life saved makes a difference to that one animal.

For more information:
• Spay Austin
• International Society for Animal Rights (ISAR)
• National Homeless Animals’ Day
• Austin American Statesman: Mobilizing to save animals
• No More Homeless Pets: Chain of Collars

For additional Texas Community articles about the participating organizations:
• emanciPET Spay/Neuter Clinic for Hays County Feral Cats a Success
• Williamson County Commissioners Court Votes to Increase Budget and Staff Additions for Animal Shelter
• Why Is This Dog Smiling?

How you can help:
• Please take part in community outreach and talk to others about the importance of spaying and neutering companion animals, microchipping, adopting animals from shelters and rescues instead of purchasing from pet stores and breeders, and TNR. Only through public education can we reach the goal where there are no more homeless pets.
• You can light an online virtual candle associated with the ISAR organization.
• Financially support animal welfare organizations that work to end pet overpopulation and eliminate unnecessary shelter deaths. Laughs for Lives is an upcoming comedy fundraiser for Fix Austin and Spay Austin on Thursday, August 30.

Photos: taken by Jennifer Hayes.
Lead Photo: Julia Hilder addresses the crowd.
Photo #2: Tina Rosenzweig with Trucker, a rescue from Animal Trustees of Austin.
Photo #3: Lilly (right) and Missy (left) both still need a home. While Lilly needs daily medication for a missing eye, both are fabulous dogs that only want someone to love. For more information, contact Sylvia Marroquin at 512-474-4499 or sylvia23@sbcglobal.net.
Photo #4: Nancy Cusick, the Austin Pet Directory’s “Awesome-ist Dog Trainer,” attends the event with her dog Mazzy.
Photo #5: One of the signs informing passers by of the paper chain’s significance.

ASPCA® Mission: Orange™ at Work in Austin

One of the largest cities in the southern United States, Austin, Texas, experienced a 41-percent growth rate from 1995 to 2005, and is home to 1.4 million residents. It has a rich history of working toward the goal of becoming a “humane community.” In fact, the City of Austin and County Commissioners Court passed a resolution in 1997 to make Austin a “no-kill” city. Now, as a target community in the ASPCA^® Mission: Orange™ campaign, Austin hopes to realize that dream in the near future.

Austin’s lead community and animal welfare agencies for this campaign are: Town Lake Animal Center (the city-funded shelter), Austin Humane Society (a non-profit, no-kill shelter), Animal Trustees of Austin (a stationary spay/neuter and wellness services clinic) and emanciPET (a mobile and stationary spay/neuter clinic).

Australian Company Launches New Non-Surgical Sterilization Product

There may soon be a new non-surgical sterilization product available for male dogs. Suprelorin®, made by Australian drug company Peptech, is a non-surgical method to suppress testosterone – first launched in Australia in December 2004 and New Zealand September 2005. It can be used for long or short term suppression of reproductive function of dogs and in situations where a reduced testosterone level is required, such as controlling antisocial behaviour and treating prostatic enlargement.

We have a video!

Campaign raises funds to spay, neuter animals

Nonprofit works to keep Austin spayed

By: News 8 Austin Staff
1/18/2004
Unspayed female animals can reproduce at astonishing rates. The numbers are overwhelming — one female cat is capable of producing more than 11,000 kittens over the course of five years.

To combat this epidemic, a group of residents have teamed up with members of the animal welfare community to launch Spay Austin.

To wrap up the month-long awareness campaign organizers will hold a Pet Festival on Jan. 31 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Cantu-Pan American Recreation Center on East Third Street.

News 8 Austin’s Jitin Hingorani spoke with Natasha Rosofsky, an organizer with the Spay Austin campaign.

Q: There have always been stray cats around town. Why are you launching this campaign now?

A: The short answer is that there are too many pets and not enough homes in Austin and we’re trying to raise awareness in the community, not just about the population problem, but the solution to the problem. And that solution really centers around spaying or neutering your pets.

Q: How does the program work?

Chain of collars shows tragedy of pet overpopulation

2/22/2004 6:19 PM
By: News 8 Austin Staff
If you didn’t realize pet overpopulation was a problem in Austin you might now. Exactly 10,000 animal collars lined Barton Springs Road Sunday to represent the number of cats and dogs killed each year at Town Lake Animal Center.

The chain is made up of the same temporary collars issued to dogs and cats when they are admitted to Town Lake.

Spay Austin organizers want people to take responsibility for the problem by having their animals spayed or neutered.

Protesting For Puppies

Truth about the Pet Trade
Different people in different regions, all with one goal – stopping stores from selling dogs

By Jennifer Hayes, Best Friends Staff

How much is that doggie in the window? Such an innocent question from a song of a long-gone era; however, today’s puppy mills are an industry that generates significant profits. They stay in business because of a market for the animals they sell. Take away the demand and there is no longer any need to supply “merchandise.”

That is the goal of many individuals nationwide, who take time out of their busy lives, because they feel the need to educate the public about the appalling origin of those cute little puppies featured in the store window. They brave freezing temperatures, glaring sun, gale winds, and driving rain; all in the effort to be a voice for the voiceless.

Pets Plus in Landsdale, Pennsylvania
In one of the states most well known for its proliferation of puppy mills, Jenny Stephens of North Penn Puppy Mill Watch is so passionate about the cause, she has attended every Saturday protest of Pets Plus since November 2006. Every week an e-mail reminder is sent to participants who gather in front of the Landsdale, Pennsylvania location for approximately three hours weekly to voice their disapproval of their puppy sales.

“We try to raise awareness about the plight of the breeder dogs kept in the mills and to educate consumers about the many wonderful dogs that are available by way of rescues and shelters,” noted Stephens. “We’re giving people the tools necessary to make a conscious decision as to what is and isn’t right.”

Despite her perfect record, Stephens has never actually been in the store, though she has been told that there is signage that states that the puppies for sale all come from licensed breeders. She is quick to point out that “licensed of course does not translate into reputable or ethical” and urges others to refrain from shopping at the store completely. “We don’t just tell people not to buy pets, we specifically say to not shop at stores that sell companion animals.” Instead, she believes that people should support businesses that do not sell puppies, even if that causes some inconvenience, such as paying a bit more or traveling a little further. “It in the end that is going to help reduce the suffering of these breeder dogs, then it’s worth it, because everything in life is compromise.”

The protests are peaceful and courteous and most onlookers support their efforts. They do not have bullhorns or chant, their signs are straightforward, and they do not partake in any intimidating or sensationalistic behavior. “All of us are professionals and we give up our free time to do it. So it’s not like we don’t have lives or don’t have jobs; this is how we choose to spend our free time,” commented Stephens.

She feels that a successful picket can be started with only four committed individuals and those new demonstrators do not need to invest a lot of time or money into a protest. Her group educates customers by distributing puppy mill literature already created from the Humane Society of the United States, PETA, and ASPCA. In addition, they have created their own puppy buyer’s guide that gives information on puppy mills, local shopping alternatives, and includes links to Petfinder and Pets 911. The other secret is to concentrate on one store, as occasional protests will not make any impact. “I think longevity is the key and I think that’s probably where some of the demos unfortunately fall short. They think they can do it once a week, or once a month, or once every other month. That’s not enough, it has to be a constant, in your face, message.” Her hope is that when people think of this store, they immediately associate it with their demonstrations.

While focused on the protests, participants also reach out to other animal advocacy groups. They push to strengthen the Pennsylvania Dog Law Regulations and members recently attended the Pennsylvania Legislative Animal Network (PLAN) press conference last month to support House Bill 1065, the state’s anti-tethering law. Stephens noted, “I think that by forming a group that is showing consistency and being able to have a cohesive relationship with other groups, where you are all working toward one goal, is paramount to success. The groups have to start working together.”

“If you’re not willing to do this for the dogs, how can you ever expect it to change?” questioned Stephens. “We all have our own personal talent in life and mine isn’t necessarily going out and taking dogs out of the mill, but I am absolutely dedicated to raising awareness about these puppy mills one way or another.”

Petland in Austin, Texas
Julia Hilder, of Spay Austin is a relative newcomer to pet store protesting. A Petland opened in Austin, Texas in late March and she and others from the area have been protesting weekly. She believes that there are many people who are unaware of the pet overpopulation problem, who believe it is okay to purchase pets, as opposed to adopting. “The goal is to go ahead and raise awareness of people who don’t know that we have a crisis on our hands,” Hilder stated. “I feel like this is too important to keep quiet and it gives us a really good reason to get out and talk about spay/neuter. It gives us the platform and the reason to be in front of the public.”

In February, shortly before Petland opened, the Austin City Council passed Ordinance # 20080228-057. The new legislation requires “pet traders” to pay a $50 animal processing fee for selling unaltered cats and dogs, microchip all cats and dogs when sold, and provide a document signed by a veterinarian licensed in Texas stating the health of the cat or dog. Hilder noted, “I was very pleased that they passed it, because I wasn’t sure that the City was going to be that interested in helping us out and giving us some backup on this subject. This gives us the support that we needed to really hold pet store’s feet to the fire and make them be accountable.” The protesters plan to be vigilant, making sure that the City upholds the new law and Petland is required to pay the dictated fees and file the required paperwork.

Still learning more with each demonstration, their approach is non-confrontational and respectful of traffic. Participants smile and wave at the thousands of cars that drive by on the nearby highway. Those vehicles that pull in to the shopping center are offered flyers which give background information on Petland, puppy mills, and offer alternate places to adopt and purchase pet supplies. The response has been heartwarming, with many commuters honking, waving, and displaying a thumbs-up gesture. Some interested people approach to learn more and a few, after discovering why the demonstration was taking place, even joined the protest themselves. Hilder further noted, “I think that we are getting through to some people who have never rescued or are not involved in the animal welfare community; who are showing up to our protests because they heard through Craigslist or they heard through the Yahoo group and the word is getting through to these people.”

Hilder has also been filming and photographing the demonstrations and plans to create a short video. She has interviewed people in key animal welfare roles who have chosen to oppose the new store and explain why taking part in the protests is so important. Once complete, the video will be posted online to further inform people about puppy mills.

“It’s not just that we’re protesting the opening of a pet store, it’s that we want people to know that there’s a lot more to this,” noted Hilder. “People need to know the crisis of pet overpopulation in Austin is there and it’s not going to go away unless we as a community solve it.”

A Trip Behind the Scenes at Petland

written by former Petland employee, Jennifer Brown
reprinted from A Voice for Dogs

You hear a lot of gossip and rumors about some pet stores and some pay heed to them but others refuse to believe unless they’ve actually experienced a problem from that particular store. They wave off all concerns thinking that everything looks fine there to them so everything must be ok. Well for all you out there who doubt that Petland is a horrible place to buy pets or supplies from read on…

I went to work for Petland in Beaumont, Texas about 9 years ago because I loved animals and wanted the chance to work with them. That particular Petland location was closed down last I heard but Petland still operates in many, many states and even overseas. They displayed a plaque from the Better Business Bureau and everything looked so nice that I was very happy and excited when I was hired but during the course of working there about two years I learned what went on behind closed doors.

I’ve left out gossip and second hand information in this so everything in here are things that I saw with my own eyes. I cannot promise you that ALL Petland stores are this bad, or even this good, but I can tell you that ALL Petland stores should be boycotted because I’ve contacted the main office several times and the fact is that Petland, Inc. doesn’t care two bits about the suffering I witnessed. As long as they get their money they’ll continue to let any store abuse their animals. If Petland would care to contact me and work with me to put an end to these atrocities I’ll be more than happy to help out in any way I can.

I soon was made manager at this store and made it a point to hold the pups for the vet when he visited so I could talk to him about their conditions. The vet only visited each pup once soon after they arrived, shots and wormings were up to the kennel hand after that and I soon found out that the kennel hand would sometimes forget to give a worming or vacination but to keep all the records looking perfect he would write on their charts that he’d given everything on schedule. Who knows how many animals went to homes where the new owners thought that they’d bought a healthy, fully vetted pup only to have it come down with some illness because they truly WEREN’T up to date on everything they needed?

I saw precious few pups that didn’t have some sort of problem and most had several, most common was luxating patellas, open fontenels, coccidia, kennel cough, and undescended testicles. The vet and store owner assured me that puppies usually outgrow most of those and the rest was very common and treated with medicine and in my ignorance at the time I believed them.

I don’t recall the name of the kennel we bought the puppies from when I began working there but I began paying more attention as my suspicions grew with each customer that complained of a problem. Many, many times customers that bought puppies would come back to say that their puppy developed problems, was sick, wouldn’t eat, needed an operation to correct a problem, etc. Some of them were handled quickly and quietly while others had to really fight to have the store reimburse them for vet expenses. When I left they were buying their puppies from a “breeder” called Best Friends in Neosho, MO which I’ve found out since then is reported to be one of the worst puppy mills. I can easily believe this after seeing the pups in the store but I haven’t actually been to Best Friends so I can’t vouch for that 100%.

The worst was watching while a few puppies actually died in the store. Several puppies, I believe siberian huskies, would go into some sort of seizure within 24 hours of arriving at the store. The owner insisted that it was simply stress from the trip and would put them in a kennel in the back supposedly so that it didn’t “upset the customers.” In each case the vet wasn’t called to check for problems and the puppy was found dead in the kennel the next morning.

The single most horrible experience I had there was when we got in a lovely little sheltie pup. You could see right off that she was listless and not eating but again the owner waved off our concerns saying that the pup was just tired, stressed, etc. Finally customers started pointing her out so she was put in the back out of their sight. She was the first one I checked on each day to see if I could coax her to eat a bit of food or just pat her a little since she was never let out of that kennel and must’ve been so lonely.

I got there one day and when I went to check on her found her laying on her side with her eyes matted up and mucous running from her nose in a solid stream down to the pan beneath the wire grating. I got a damp rag to wipe her face but when I slid a hand beneath her head to lift it she suddenly jumped up and started literally screaming, trying to run in drunken circles around the kennel, falling down and staggering up time after time. Nearly in tears I put her in a travel kennel and told the kennel hand that I didn’t care what the owner said he was to get the pup to the vet right away.

The owner walked in right about then and grudingly agreed. The kennel hand came back in before he ever even got to his car and said “I think this dog is dead.” She coldly replied, “What do you want ME to do about it?! Take it to the vet!” The puppy never even made it to the vet, she was already dead. The vet said he suspected distemper, I believe it was, and with early treatment he might’ve been able to save her. Apparently Petland doesn’t feel that vetting ill or injured puppies is “cost efficient.”

Another one that sticks out more in my mind was when an Old English Sheepdog pup was brought in with an obvious hip problem even though she got around on it just fine at that time and seemed an otherwise more or less healthy, happy pup. The vet said that it looked like the balls of her bones had come out of the hip sockets and the bones had tried to compensate by growing more bone on top of the balls to meet the hips and surgery would have to be done to correct the problem. The store owner decided that this wasn’t cost effiecient and wanted to put her down but I talked her into giving the pup to me. I found her a lovely home with a vet tech who got her the surgery she needed. Other puppies at Petland weren’t so lucky.

Even all of that doesn’t begin to do justice to what I experienced at that horrible place. If what you’ve read so far isn’t enough to horrify you read on… There were the larger breed puppies that were only fed the same amount as the tiniest toy breeds, the kennels so dirtied that it took customer complaints to get someone to pull the pans and clean them, several dogs in the same kennel sometimes fighting over a food bowl or a larger dog put in with a smaller breed so that the smaller dog was constantly bullied, and so much more. And that’s just the pups…

**When we pointed out that some fish tanks had ich we were told to take out the fish with obvious spots and sell the rest. When customers came to complain that their tanks had come down with ich after introducing the new fish they were usually told that it was either just a result of the stress of moving lowering their immune systems causing them to come down with the illness or that there must’ve been a preexisting problem in the tank and the stress of introducing a new fish had brought it out. What kind of business blames a customer for something they good and well know was the store’s fault?

**There was a wonderful oscar fish that would come up to take tidbits of food from our hands. He came down with hole in the head and instead of medicating him he was wrapped in a towel and beat repeatedly on the tiled floor to kill him. That must’ve been a real pleasant death for him, right?

**The birds were terribly overcrowded and often you’d find one huddled on the bottom of the cage. The other birds wouldn’t let them onto the perches or get to the food and water bowls. Everytime I saw one sitting at the bottom like that I knew that it wouldn’t be long and sure enough they would eventually die. Can you imagine their misery? Alone, outcast, hurting and starving, constantly harrassed…

**Larger parrots were put out on perches that customers could access then the birds were either abused unwittingly by customers who simply didn’t know how to handle them, developed bad habits such as nipping, stealing bits of jewelry, breaking watches, etc., and were actually slapped when they acted out these bad habits. Were these problems really the bird’s fault or the store’s fault for not protecting them?

**One baby parrot was improperly hand fed food that scalded a hole right through his skin at one time. Can you even imagine being so helpless, not being able to say “ow that’s hot,” and having SCALDING liquid poured down your throat till a sore appears on the outside?

**Two to three foot ball pythons always arrived at the store starved, with ticks, many with shedding problems from dehydration, and undoubtedly internal parasites. They were all piled into one cage and would huddle on top of each other under the heat light. In a book at the store on ball pythons, there supposedly to educate both new owners and store personel, it specifically says that ball pythons are shy creatures which should be given someplace to hide and must be trained to eat on their own. Petland obviously didn’t think this was “cost effective” either. I talked to the vet who suggested injecting a saline ringer solution for dehydration, force feeding, and letting them soak in the sink to help with shedding but despite my best efforts many died.

**Baby ball pythons and red tail boas had mites covering them. They’d soak in their water bowls trying to rid themselves of the discomfort leaving them with water filled with little mites that was only changed once a day at most. They were never medicated.

**Against the vet’s advice several kittens were sold at the store that developed severe resperatory problems. The vet said this was in the mall’s air vents so that any kitten brought in would develop the same problem and every one that came through there certainly did. The store finally sold very, very few kittens but how many ended up sick and miserable, their new owners being forced to put out loads of money on getting them well?

**Small rodents were crowded sometimes a few dozen each in ten gallon tanks, walking over each other, their tanks incredibly dirty, sometimes several litters being raised together with fights breaking out over them…

**The baby rabbits were kept beneath the large parrot perches so that they had to endure being defecated on, their water bowls fouled, and one even suffered a broken back when one bird fell of it’s perch and bit it. Would YOU keep a rabbit beneath a macaw’s perch?

**Several rabbits developed eye ulcers and after being kept in a cage in the back where their eyes got worse and worse the owner took them out and turned them loose in the woods. We’ll never know what happened to those poor babies. They likely ended up food for some predator, hit by a car, or starved to death. They were domesticated rabbits who had no idea how to fend for themselves but I guess Petland feels that rabbits are cheap so vetting them wouldn’t have been “cost effiecient.”

**Hamsters were kept where customers could reach in and I often had to chase customers away that thought it was hilarious to put one on their running wheel and spin it around so fast that the hamster tumbled around helplessly inside.

**Guinea pigs were also kept in open cages and many times I’d find customers that thought it was funny to tap their rears to make them leap and scramble away squealing. Is it any wonder that these guinea pigs would scramble and squeal frantically in terror when someone bought one?

**A handfed nanday conure was put in a cage made for a finch so that customers could put their fingers inside and see how gentle he was. He was constantly huddled up in the middle of his perch trying to get away from the fingers poked between the bars and obviously miserable. All he knew was that people raised him so he never even tried to fight back against the frightening fingers.

And the list goes on… I started out there wanting to work with animals, stayed for awhile sneaking around trying to help them, then finally quit in disgust. I wasn’t fired so I’m not out for some kind of vengence against a business that fired me. I AM a “disgruntled ex-employee” but I’m only disgruntled about the acts of abuse I witnessed against these poor, gentle creatures.

I’ll leave you with one last story that will stay with me forever no matter how much time and old age fades my memories. A little black and tan chihuahua was brought into the store one day that I thought for sure would sell quickly. She was so adorable. When we put her on the floor she would race around, a little blur of black, loved it when we’d jump out from behind a shelf and surprise her, and when we’d call her through the glass in front she wouldn’t look at us she would immediately turn to stare at the back of the kennel where the puppies are taken out to wait for us to come get her for a romp. But day after day, week after week she stayed in that kennel.

One day I came to work to find her kennel empty. I was happy she had a home, if a little sad that she was gone, but I soon found her with one leg bandaged up in the back. A customer had let her climb onto his shoulder and she was injured when she fell off. I felt so sorry for her and asked if she could come out after the store was closed to run around but the owner refused from fear that a customer would see her. I even offered to take her home while she healed then bring her back to sell but the owner became angry at my persistance and refused that too. Would it really have been so hard for this person to extend even a tiny bit of kindness to this sweet little girl?

I’m a big dog person and was looking for a great dane at the time but I couldn’t stand seeing that sweet little thing penned up like that, her little firey spirit squashed, and bought her. Her name was Chica and she was the most wonderful little dog I’ve ever had. She would dance at my feet begging for a pat, leap up into the air completely trusting me to catch her and scoop her into my arms, sleep curled up at my neck at night, and delighted in racing through the yard showing our mixed breed how fast she was with a game of tag.

Chica was always very petite and had skin problems making her hair thin but when she was about three years old she gained weight very suddenly and her hair came in thick and glossy like magic. I so hoped that this was a sign that she was healthy but took her to the vet to be sure. To my dismay, but not to my surprise, her systems were beginning to shut down due to genetic defects that hadn’t been detected yet.

We did what we could for her and gained her a little time but not nearly what she deserved to have. Before her fourth birthday I let her outside as usual and she was the same way that she’d grown to be, that day was no different. Chica couldn’t play tag anymore and she walked stiffly but she seemed cheerful enough and tottered out to sit in her favorite patch of sunshine at the foot of a tree. When I went to get her a few hours later I found her still curled up there, dead.

To read a heartfelt full account of Chica’s short life from someone who didn’t care if she was “cost effective” or not click here.

Am I sorry I ever went to work there? I’m very sorry and will be haunted forever now that I know that I helped perpetuate a cycle of misery by selling those animals but I can’t completely regret it all. I did help some animals in there, I had a dearly loved little dog that I wouldn’t have traded for anything in the world even if it was only for a short while, and it opened my eyes to the horrors animals endure in pet shops. I share my story now to try and put an end to pet stores that sell animals and puppy mills and in Chica’s name and memory I’ve become an animal rescuer.

Please boycott Petland and all petstores that sell live animals. 9 out of 10 of those puppies in the window came from a puppy mill and the only way to put an end to the abuse is to stop buying them. It’s sometimes hard to pass up these little ones, especially the ones who’re older or ill in some way, your heart goes out to them and sometimes you just want to help them but every puppy you buy provides a place in that store for yet another puppy mill puppy. We have to end this suffering so please, have the courage to pass that puppy up so that more don’t have to suffer this way.

Most states have a Humane Society or pound where dogs are put to sleep everyday because there aren’t enough homes for them all and yes, you’d be surprised how many purebred dogs end up there. There’s also many rescuers in most states that are under enormous amounts of stress, struggling to house and feed everyone, that need you to adopt a pup from them. With so many less expensive, healthier, puppies in places like these there is no excuse at all for buying one from a petshop.

If you work in a petshop that sells animals or used to work in one please send me your story at amtfool@aol.com. We need the public to see first hand accounts of these atrocities that go on behind closed doors where they can’t see them and only you can tell them. All personal information will be withheld if you like and it’s such a simple thing to do to make a difference.

Why we are Boycotting Petland and hope you will, too

You may know purebred dogs are sold at auction. You may not know these dogs are bred as though they are livestock, a cash crop, except livestock are treated better than the dogs. Commercial dogs are sold through pet stores to homes who expect them to live long lives as companion pets. Instead, many commercially bred dogs turn out to be genetic nightmares. Puppy mills are commercial breeders, in business to make a profit. Many are USDA licensed. Pet store puppies come from puppy mills and the cottage industry.

The “cottage industry” breeds dogs for brokers. These are the “local breeders” Petland refers to when asked where they get their dogs. They whelp litters, then give them to USDA licensed breeders who consign them to auction or send them to pet stores including Petland. Names you will see on registration papers from “commercial breeders” owned by Hunte Corporation (one of Petland’s primary suppliers and the largest puppy mill in the U.S.) are:

HONEY DEW/ I LOVE MY PUPPY/ DOBOTRI/BEST FRIENDS. They are ALL “commercial breeders” for THE HUNTE CORP or H & H Pets of Elkland, MO

You may also be surprised to learn that Petland has a history of “partnering” with local animal shelters through Petland’s in-store ‘Adopt a Pet’ program. This gives just enough reputability to satisfy the animal welfare activists who don’t see the big picture. Others, including the Spay Austin Coalition, remain outraged at the perpetual cycle of abuse, neglect, and infusion of intact animals into the community.

“Here’s a national pet store that has a reputation for not doing what’s right for the animals that threw out a bone and the Town Lake Animal Center bit,” said Julia Hilder, President of the Spay Austin Coalition. “We urge a complete boycott of Petland until they make a positive impact in the community by spaying and neutering the animals they sell. Until then, they will only add to the problem by selling animals to anyone with a credit card who thinks their new, expensive Petland animal should have puppies or kittens.”

Now, after years of refusing requests from individuals and animal rescue groups offering to transport and showcase animals at PetsMart and PetCo, the Town Lake Animal Center has decided to partner with Petland.

The Spay Austin Coalition strongly opposes this partnership, believing it will not benefit animals in the long term. Petland and their puppy and kitten mill suppliers will continue to profit while intact animals, many with congenital defects, will flood into Austin.

Other cities have faced the same problem Austin faces now with the opening of a new Petland in their community.

Columbus, Ohio

Financial impact of Petland stores on Franklin County (statistics provided by the Director of Franklin County Animal Shelter, Lisa Wahoff, in November, 2006):

7-10 Petland dogs per day are admitted to the shelter. 80% of those dogs are:

• not spayed/neutered
• are in very poor health and/or mental state
• have no microchip registered to anyone other than the broker, and no owner can be tracked. Petland takes no responsibility.
• are not an appropriate match to the owner, resulting in owner release within one year of the purchase.

The Results?

A low-end average of $30 per day for each Petland dog (if the dog is healthy) X 7-10 dogs = $210-$300 per day!

McHenry County, Illinois:

McHenry County Animal Control staff have spoken with representatives at the Crystal Lake Petland about hanging a bulletin board featuring photographs of adoptable animals inside the store. Animal advocates who work at nonprofit shelters in the county are strongly opposed because they say Petland buys its animals from disreputable sources and sells them to people who are not sufficiently screened.

Winnebago County, Illinois:

Petland directly contributes to the homeless pet crisis and the overflow of animal at Winnebago County Animal Services.

Athens, Ohio:

What Petland doesn’t tell you and doesn’t want you to know speaks volumes and includes the following:

• Petland says, “Puppies are checked by at least two veterinarians before being offered to customers.” What Petland doesn’t disclose is what the veterinarian checks, and this is not the same as a written health guarantee. Many congenital problems are not apparent before the dog is 2 years old, so there may be nothing for the veterinarian to find.

• Petland is being boycotted nationally by In Defense of Animals and the American Dog Owners Association for its sale of puppies and kittens. According to Petland, “Our registerable puppies come from professional and hobby breeders as well as licensed professional pet distributors.”
• What Petland doesn’t want you to know is that no reputable breeder would ever consider selling an animal to a pet store. The term “pet distributor” is a euphemism for a puppy or kitten mill. In fact, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) estimates that more than 90 percent of all pet store animals originate from puppy or kitten mills.

In recent years, following some high-profile investigations by national news organizations, the terms “puppy mill” and “kitten mill” have become increasingly recognizable. Gut-wrenching scenes of malnourishment, filth, overcrowding and inadequate medical care are common to these factories, whose sole purpose is to maximize profits from mass-produced, tailor-made animals. Mothers are forced to breed every heat cycle, which for dogs usually makes for a life span of about five years. After five to eight weeks, her puppies are sold to brokers who pack them into crates to be sold (or killed, should they outgrow their cuteness and marketability) in pet stores all over the country. Many of the dogs back at the puppy factory watch silently as they are often “de-barked” by a steel rod, which is shoved down their throats to rupture their vocal cords.

Each time a customer enters a Petland store and thinks he or she is saving the life of a poor puppy or kitten in a cage, that customer has unintentionally condemned another animal to a cruel existence of mass production.

• * Petland labels its “merchandise” as “AKC registerable.” What they don’t tell you is that this is no guarantee of a purebred animal. These papers simply record what the breeder has told the AKC. By the AKC’s own admission, the club’s seal has never been intended as a guarantee of the animal’s health and quality of upbringing. Many puppy mills have been suspended from AKC registration, so they resort to using labels such as Canadian Kennel Club, America’s Pet Registry, and American Canine Association.
• Since most of Petland’s puppies are from puppy mills, they are ineligible for AKC registration. APRI (America’s Pet Registry) is usually the the registry of choice.

For those determined to seek a purebred dog, the HSUS reports that approximately 25 percent of dogs in rescue shelters are purebred animals.

From a former Petland employee Jan 27, 2008:

(excerpted, not edited)

Iapplied and was hired at Petland, and after only one day on the job, I wouldnt go back for a million dollars. Okay folks, lemme fill ya in on my first day of training and how petland trains its employees and how to treat the customer.

You either make min. wage or commission, which ever is higher. Most of the dogs there sell for 2,500 or higher so you can make a easy 500 bucks in one day of sales. well when it came to the guy and owner who were supposed to train me, lets just say they were to busy selling dogs then to train me. Everytime theyd start to tell me a policy they would rush over to someone looking at pups. they wouldnt rather no miss a commission then do their jobs training a new employee. first off the owner lauren tells me that, my main goal is to sell a puppy and to make money, this is a commission job.Its not like “hey guys lets find these puppies homes”, nope its like “move them out at any cost”.

Now about kittens. it seems that people off the street come in with litters of kittens and surreneder them to petland. petland makes a copy or their current drivers license and then keeps the plain off the street joe anybodies kittens and sells them for up to 150 bucks a pop. I have cats and my cats all came from friends or shelters. I couldnt in good faith sell someone a plain ol cat for 150 bucks when i know they can go to a shelter and give one a home or get one for free just about anywhere.theres are not breeds of cats, these are off the street kittens being sold for that price.

When I actually did quit, after one day they were even ruder to me. They asked me why I was quitting, and i told them that i had to much of a conscious to work there. I told them i couldnt stand there and watch person after person stick their hands into cages where i knew they would be hurt and bitten. the owner just said well “if the customer gets bit, they are stupid”.Can you believe that??? Its not like their animals might bite, their petter WILL bite.The owner told me “well we figured you wouldnt have lasted”…Ive never been more happy about quitting a job, Id of felt like a sell out and a horrible person to have kept working there. I actually like people, theres no way I could work at a place who has no concern for its customers. Petland doesnt care about its pets, customers or employees.

One last thing I thought about the night before I quit was about their puppies health. Now Ive had tons of puppies in my life time but something they said about their dogs struck me as odd. When you buy a puppy, they give you Hypoglycemia med for the puppy and tell the new puppy parent to limit play for the first four days. The owner told me that after the puppies are taken home, their new owners might play to much with them making the puppy go hypoglycemic from loosing to much blood sugar and then crash and go into shock and maybe death. Now all of the puppies Ive owned over my life time have never crashed and killed over after playing to much. A normal health puppy will simply stop playing and go to sleep when its played to much, not go into shock. maybe their puppies arent as healthy as they say.

Ive got a friend who has a chipmonk from the store and it was a bitter when he got it, and it still is. Their small critters are treated so badly that they will never make good pets and its not even their fault. these poor animals are allowed to be stressed poked and prodded by teens and jerks cus petland doesnt care enough to protect them. Ive had gueina pigs for nearly 25 years and ive never seen pig pigs as agressive as petlands. I couldnt even get my hand in the cage long enough to give water to or pet the *** pigs.

I just want people to know that petland isnt worth your time because they dont consider you worth theirs. Do you wanna visit a store that considers you “F.O.S- FULL OF ***”?

From a former Petland Asst.Manager:

(excerpted, not edited)

I used to be an Assistant Manager for Petland, for 3 years…. That was WAY before I knew what was going on with the “brokers” and puppy mills. Hell My first dog was from there, and she was “AKC” registered.

Here is how her pedigree went… The same male on her Sires side,was her father, her grandfather, her uncle, and that SAME male was on her DAMS side as her grandfather, and great-grandfather. I spent 5800 dollars on her in 5 years, JUST on MEDICAL PROBLEMS. Althoough, she was the best dog I ever owned, the suffering she had to go through was horrible. i finally had to have her put down. Mercedes (her name) was a good dog that fought until the very end.

Puppy choosing at Petland:

• A list of different breeds are faxed to the seperate stores telling us which ones are available, and for how much. SO depending on which breeds are “hot” right now (remember the 101 dalmation thing?) we would choose those first. Then smaller dogs, like min-pins, shitzu, poms, poodle and poomixes, and all the same things that you see on t.v. Like Goldens, labs and My baby (RIP) Huskies. I only saw 2 GSDs (German Shepard) come thru in the 3 year span, Show line, poor quality at that, Severe underbites, cow hocked, HD, soft ears and what not…
• Then we fax it back to Best Friends Broker in MO. (the #1 state for puppy mills BTW)
• They would then pack up those pups (6-7 weeks old) and ship then in a cargo truck, and to our back door.
• I or the Manager would then go back, and look at each pup, if they wernt “cute” enough they went back… To who knows what kind of fate..
• We then brush, spray and stick em in the window, to fast for 24 hrs…
• The dogs were priced by how much we paid, + cuteness, champions in pedigree, and how “hot” that breed was at the time.

So I will tell you how it worked for my Sibe. The store paid 250 for her. She was black/white with BLUE eyes, small, and very quiet. VERY CUTE!! we automatically multiplied the cost by 2.5, and then added on 175 just because… grand total $800.00 for a heavily inbred dog…

MOST of the dogs, have URI, watery stools, coughs, it was so sad. Mercedes was so sick, and would only eat for me, so I sucked it up and bought her for 350. She had an auto immune problem where she was rejecting her teeth, bladder and bowls… SO CHRONIC poops, peeing, and barfing because I had to have so many of her teeth pulled she swallowed her food whole… close to 6000dollars later, and 5 years I helped her stop suffering…

Petland is a SICK place that needs to be stopped, I am SO ashamed at working there I dont even add it into my work history…

From ripoffreport.com; a Georgetown Petland customer:

Like everybody else with an aggressive dog they were assured didn’t come from a puppy mill, add our name to the list. Petland Georgetown (listed as Petland Austin on Petland’s site) got us good. When asked directly ‘Did the puppy come from a puppy mill’ they looked at us straight in the eye and said ‘Absolutely not! We don’t do that here’. They sure do. Our very expensive, over-aggressive, unsocialized puppy came from a puppy mill in .. wait for it .. Iowa! Oh the education we’ve since gotten. We even tried to get the BBB to help. I didn’t know they were funny. We’ve started a website http://www.puppymillssuck.com and intend to keep adding to it. The HQ never responded to us. Nobody at Petland Georgetown ever signed a name to any correspondence and we’ve had health issues, aggression issues, etc. They lie they lie they lie!

Rene
Austin, Texas U.S.A.

Another Georgetown Petland customer

They sold us a puppy that within 24 hours of bringing him home, he was so sick that he could not even hold his head up and was starting to have seizures. So sick in fact that he needed around the clock medical care! Guess what? Their contracted Vet happened to stay open only during the daytime. But he referred us to another clinic that was open during the night.

For 4 days & 3 nights we brought him back & forth between clinics thinking that the owners of the pet store would be honest and pay all the Vet bills. Was we surprised to discover that they were only taking care of their Vet. When we tried to call and talk to them about it they never seemed to be in. We also found out that our puppy was also shipped from Iowa.

I sent in a complaint to the bbb and saw that there had been 9 other complaints besides mine in the last 36 months. I will never again walk into a petland store, ever!

Billy
Liberty Hill, Texas
U.S.A.

I bought a puppy from Petland in Georgetown. No one mentioned that the puppies they are selling are sick.

2 days after I brought my puppy home we rushed him to the vet where he was diagnosed with a severe upper respitory infection. After 6 days of breathing treatments given 3 times per day and 2 rounds of antibiotics we finally go him feeling better All this in a 2 week time frame.

I specifically asked the Manager about where the puppies come from and he looked me right in the face and told me they do not buy from puppy mills. After researching the breeder where my puppy came from it is indeed a puppy mill in Kansas.

How these people sleep at night knowing they lie to people everyday and let people be surprised when their new puppies becomes really sick after they get them home is beyond my comprehension.

There are lots of web sites with stories of peoples experiences with the same Petland. All of them very similar to mine. They also have over 200 complaints with the Better Business Bueuro.

Kelly
Round Rock, Texas U.S.A.