|
5 LOS ANGELES PET STORES
NO LONGER SELLING PUPPY MILL DOGS!
POSH PUPPY, BEVERLY HILLS, CA
- CLOSED
POSH PUPPY, TARZANA, CA
- CLOSED
MILLIONAIRE MUTTS, MALIBU, CA
- CLOSED
PUPPIES & BABIES, LOS ANGELES,
CA - CLOSED
PETS OF BEL AIR, LOS ANGELES,
CA – STOPPED SELLING PUPPY MILL DOGS
Millionaire Mutts Malibu
Posh Puppy Beverly Hills
Posh Puppy Tarzana
Puppies & Babies Los Angeles
“PUPPY MILL FREE STORES” CAMPAIGN TARGETS
LOS ANGELES PET STORES SELLING PUPPY MILL DOGS!
Last Chance for Animals (LCA) campaign, “Puppy Mill Free Stores”, is aimed at
fighting the sale, breeding and importation of puppy mill dogs, beginning in the
Greater Los Angeles area. Through a combination of weekly, non-stop peaceful
protests and information from LCA’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU), LCA has
shut down four pet stores in Los Angeles that sold dogs originating from puppy
mills. One of these investigations has aided an attorney who has brought a class
action lawsuit against a fifth store in Los Angeles.
LCA’s weekly protests at pet stores are aimed to stop the stores from selling
puppies supplied from puppy mills. Please note it is not LCA’s intent for the
stores to go out of business, but to deal only in accessories and rescue
animals. The goals of LCA’s “Puppy Mill Free Stores” campaign is to educate the
public to “Adopt, Not Shop!” when choosing a pet, and to establish Los Angeles
as a national model for putting an end to the puppy mill industry and the pet
stores they supply.
LCA’s puppy mill investigations in LA County led to the exposure of World
Kennels in May, 2008. World Kennels supplied puppies to the now closed high-end,
Posh Puppy stores in Beverly Hills and Tarzana. LCA and many dedicated animal
lovers protested Posh Puppy pet stores for over five months before they closed!
More pet stores that are supplied by puppy mills are being targeted by protests
throughout the Los Angeles area until we achieve “Puppy Mill Free Stores” in Los
Angeles.
LCA PUPPY MILL INVESTIGATION
LEADS
TO THE RELEASE OF WORLD KENNEL DOGS!
Click here to see CBS report on World Kennels.
LCA President, Chris DeRose,
with dogs rescued from World Kennels
LCA's investigation into World Kennels in May 2008, a puppy
mill located in Los Angeles County, resulted in the surrender of dogs. Over 50
dogs were released directly to LCA.
LCA’s SIU investigation into Southern California puppy mills, reported by CBS
reporter David Goldstein, resulted in an inspection of World Kennels, a puppy
mill located in Lancaster, California. It was discovered the kennel was housing
402 dogs in inhumane conditions. The County ordered World Kennels to reduce the
number of dogs to 100 or else be shutdown. Over 50 of the dogs were released
directly to LCA.
LCA has uncovered that LA County is riddled with puppy mills like World Kennels.
These mills are supplying pet stores, such as Posh Puppy, formerly located in
Beverly Hills and Tarzana, California. World Kennels was one of Posh Puppy's
primary suppliers, providing puppies that sold for up to $4,000.
LCA and many dedicated animal lovers began protesting pet stores in 2007 in Los
Angeles to expose the pet store-puppy mill connection and to spread the message,
“ADOPT – DON’T SHOP!”
LCA SPEARHEADS JOINT TASK
FORCE TO FIGHT PUPPY MILLS
Following the exposure of World Kennel puppy mill, LCA’s SIU is spearheading a
county wide Joint Task Force with Supervisor Mike Antonovitch’s office, aimed at
eliminating puppy mills within the County of Los Angeles. With your help and
continued financial support, LCA perseveres to investigate and expose the
practices of large scale dog breeders and the stores that sell dogs supplied by
them.
Puppy Mill Awareness
Day 2008!
CLICK HERE!
CLICK HERE
to read about Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
The “Puppy
Mill Capital of the East Coast”!
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
-
DONATE to LCA and allow our Special Investigations Unit
to continue investigating and exposing puppy mills and the
pet stores that sell animals supplied by puppy mills.
-
Attend a Protest or Organize Your Own! Contact us for
information on joining the weekly protests! Not in L.A.?
Start a protest in your town.
-
Spread the message, "Adopt-Don't Shop!" 99% of pet stores
are supplied by puppy mills. Your local shelter and rescue
groups have plenty of puppies, all kinds of dogs, and many
purebreds. Contact us for brochures to hand out.
Contact: Campaigns@LCAnimal.org or
310.271.6096 x 27
INFORMATION ON THE PUPPY MILL
INDUSTRY
A puppy mill is a mass breeding facility that produces puppies for sale. There
are thousands of puppy mills across the country, producing over 2 million
puppies per year. These facilities, most of which are inspected and licensed by
the U.S.D.A., are notorious for their filthy, overcrowded conditions, and the
unhealthy animals they produce. Many of the dogs suffer from malnutrition and
exposure, usually remaining outside year round, enduring both freezing
temperatures in the winter and intense heat in the summer. Cat breeding occurs
on a smaller scale and under similar conditions.
Mill Life
Puppy mill kennels generally consist of small, outdoor wood and wire cages or
crates. The animals are cramped into these filthy cages. Their eyes are filled
with pus and their fur with excrement. Many of the puppies suffer from
malnutrition and exposure. Like pet store owners, breeders save money, and thus
maximize profits, by spending little on food, shelter, and veterinary care.
Puppies consequently receive below standard food, minimal if any veterinary
care, and inadequate shelter which, combined with the inbreeding prevalent in
puppy mills, produce animals with genetic diseases and abnormalities. Puppies’
legs often fall through the bottom of their wire cages, causing additional
injuries. Since they are mistreated (instead of socialized by humans) during an
important developmental period, they may be excessively timid or ferocious and
thus unsuitable as house pets.
Rescued puppy mill dog suffering from a severe case
of untreated mange and a ruptured eye.
“Brood Bitches”
Female dogs kept in puppy mills their entire lives are called
“brood bitches.” They are typically undernourished and receive
little veterinary care, in spite of being kept perpetually
pregnant. Their puppies are frequently taken from them before
being weaned. As a result, some puppies do not know how to eat
and thus die of starvation. At approximately six or seven years
of age, when they can no longer breed more puppies, “brood
bitches” are killed.
“Brood bitches”, like this dog, could easily have 50 puppies
before she is killed.
The hind leg of this "brood bitch" was eaten off by another
dog in a puppy mill. She lay for two days without medical
attention -- even though the puppy miller was aware of her
condition and died in a hospital shortly after being rescued.
Transportation and Sale
At four to eight weeks of age, puppies are taken from their
mothers and sold to brokers (or retail businesses). The brokers
then pack them in crates and transport them for sale at various
pet shops. Frequently, the puppies are not provided with
adequate food, water, ventilation, or shelter during transport;
consequently, many die en route. Those that are not sold will be
killed, brought back to the mill to breed, or sold to
laboratories for research.
Cramped, filthy conditions like the ones in this mill are
common to the industry.
Diseases Common to Puppy Mill Dogs
This mill dog’s body is covered with sores. Her cage
barely allows room to turn around.
The Problem with Pet Stores
-
Most of the puppies sold in pet stores
come from puppy mills. Purchasing pet store animals entails
not only supporting the cruel puppy mill industry but also
taking a home away from one of the 4 to 5 million unwanted
shelter animals killed each year.
-
Because of the inbreeding and filthy
conditions common to puppy mills, they often produce animals
with serious health problems, which typically result in
hefty vet fees.
-
Pet stores generally do not socialize
their animals. The puppies may consequently develop
behavioral problems which do not make them ideal as pets.
-
Most pet shops do not check the
references or histories of their customers. Subsequently,
they send animals home with potentially abusive and
irresponsible “owners.”
-
Pet shops dispose of unsold animals in,
at times, unscrupulous ways. For instance, former pet store
employees have reported finding animals starved or frozen to
death.
-
Cockroach and rodent infestation may
spread disease to animals in pet shops.
-
The overcrowding common in pet stores
sometimes causes animals such as birds to attack one
another. Ailments Common to Pet Store Puppies
Ailments Common to Pet Store Puppies
The American Kennel Club
Although the AKC claims to be devoted to advancing the
health of purebred dogs, it typically spends only about 2% of
its total yearly income on research towards that end. Moreover,
AKC papers do not guarantee the value or health of a puppy. The
organization does not try to work with breeders to improve mill
conditions, perhaps because breeders pay the AKC millions of
dollars in registration fees for purebred dogs each year.
The Law
Anti-cruelty laws are rarely enforced in rural areas where
most puppy mills are located. The United States Department of
Agriculture is responsible for inspecting puppy mills to ensure
that they are in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act, but
kennels are inconsistently inspected. When violations are found,
puppy mill operators are allowed to remain open while they
remedy them. Repeat offenders often refuse to allow Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service workers to enter and inspect
their facilities; these kennels sometimes remain licensed in
spite of this noncompliance.
What You Can Do
-
Adopt from an
animal shelter or rescue group; never buy from a pet store.
Remember that 25% of shelter animals are purebreds
-
Do not shop at
stores that sell animals
-
Volunteer at
your local animal shelter or rescue group
-
Ask your
elected officials to outlaw puppy mills. Urge them to demand
that the USDA enforce the Animal Welfare Act. For your
senators’ and representatives’ contact information, visit
www.vote-smart.org/index.phtml
-
Write letters
to the editors of your local newspapers about the horrors of
the puppy mill industry and its connection with pet stores
-
Distribute
brochures about puppy mills and pet overpopulation outside
of pet shops
-
Ask shopping
mall managers not to renew the lease of the pet store on
their property
-
Report pet
store abuses to whomever is responsible for enforcing
anti-cruelty laws in your town. Write a detailed statement
of the abuses and take photographs, if possible
-
Educate others
about the cruelties of puppy mills and the importance of
adopting from shelters
|
