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Petland Faces Class Action Lawsuit
Thanks to the Humane Society for this urgent press release:
Petland Faces Class Action Lawsuit for Peddling Unhealthy Puppy Mill Dogs in at Least 20 States
PHOENIX (March 17, 2009) — Members of The Humane Society of the United States and other consumers filed a class action lawsuit alleging that Petland, Inc. and the Hunte Corporation are conspiring to sell unhealthy puppy mill puppies to unsuspecting consumers in numerous states. Petland is the nation’s largest chain of pet stores that sells puppy mill dogs and Hunte is one of the country’s largest distributors of factory-produced puppies.
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Phoenix late Monday, alleges that Petland and Hunte violated federal law and numerous state consumer protection laws by misleading thousands of consumers across the country into believing that the puppies sold in Petland stores are healthy and come from high-quality breeders. Many of the puppies sold by Petland come either directly from puppy mills or puppy brokers such as Hunte, which operates as a middleman between the mills and Petland’s retail stores.
“Unscrupulous dog dealers like Petland and Hunte reap massive profits by pushing unhealthy puppies on well-intentioned dog-lovers who would never knowingly buy a puppy mill dog,” said Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president & chief counsel for Animal Protection Litigation at The HSUS. “Families often bear the great expense of veterinary treatment for sick and unhealthy dogs, or the terrible anguish of losing a beloved family pet. This industry has been systematically lying to consumers for years about the source of the dogs they sell, and it’s long past time for a reckoning.”
The class action lawsuit is the result of many months of investigative and legal research, and comes after an eight-month investigation into Petland stores by The HSUS that demonstrated a direct link between multiple Petland stores and unscrupulous puppy mills. Numerous other reports have also surfaced of Petland’s allegedly deceptive sales practices, including the marketing and sale of puppies with life-threatening genetic defects and highly contagious parasitic and viral infections.
The 34-page complaint includes numerous examples of sick or dying puppies that Petland sold, including:
Mainerd, a Boston terrier, was diagnosed with a congenital spinal condition. Some of her vertebrae have not formed completely while others have fused together causing tissue to grow underneath along with possible nerve damage. Mainerd is now receiving steroid treatments for her ailments and may require expensive surgery.
Minchy, a miniature pinscher, was sold by Petland at 10 weeks old. He was immediately diagnosed with coccidian, an intestinal parasite that causes diarrhea and weight loss. Minchy was also diagnosed with an inherited disorder, Progressive Retinal Atrophy, which will ultimately lead to permanent blindness.
Tucker was sold at four months old. The bloodhound puppy experienced severe separation anxiety and various health problems before developing orbital cancer at only 7 months of age.
Patrick, a Pomeranian puppy, was sold at three months old. He suffered from diarrhea and vomiting shortly after arriving at his new home. At 11 months old, Patrick was diagnosed with a genetic disorder, dual luxating patellas, which will require expensive surgery on both of his knees to correct.
Puppy mills are mass breeding operations where the health of dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits. The dogs are often kept in wire cages, stacked on top of each other, with no exercise, socialization, veterinary care, or loving human interaction. They are treated not like family pets, but like a cash crop. Petland denies it supports these substandard breeding facilities, and claims to follow “Humane Care Guidelines” developed in conjunction with the USDA. However, USDA recently informed HSUS in writing that it has no record of any such guidelines.
The class plaintiffs are being represented in the case by Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky, PC; Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, LLC; Garen Meguerian, Esq. and lawyers in The HSUS’s Animal Protection Litigation section. The suit requests a jury trial on behalf of the consumer class plaintiffs, and seeks reimbursement of the puppies’ purchase price along with compensation for all related monetary damages for the class members.
To learn more about puppy mills, visit humanesociety.org/stoppuppymills. A multi-media release is also available.
we hate puppy mills. several were just busted in our area with over 600 dogs being seized.the poor pups had a lot of problems, needed dental care and were not socialized at all. puppy mills are cruel places and we would like to get rid of them all.
wofos.
Puppy mills are evil. Our Mom won’t even go inside a Petland.
Woos, the OP Pack
We hope they go under. Shame on them to make money on the innocent dogs and the people who can’t help falling in love with them.
Check this out, if you haven’t seen it already.
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2009/how_not_to_buy_a_puppy/main.html It’s shocking.
Love Ruby & Penny
We were reading this earlier, so we’re glad to see you’ve posted it. We wish puppy mills could be shut down forever so puppies can be born healthy and have long lives like those born to reputable breeders.
The first of my three dogs came from Petland. I call her “My Favorite Mistake” because then I was ignorant about the connection between Petland and puppymills. Shortly after bringing her home I learned the rest of the story and I have made animal rescue and responsible pet ownership my passion.
I recently purchased a male Maltese puppy from the Tallahassee Petland location. He was supposedly 8 weeks old. I signed all of the necessary paperwork. Little did I know that I might as well have signed away his life and my ability to fight back. My payment of $2,000 might as well have been given away. I brought Kai home the first day, and was astonished at home quickly I fell in love with him. He was small but still a very active little pup. The morning after came around, and I noticed that he was beginning to act sluggish. I tried feeding him regular food and the sugar substance they give each owner upon purchase. Apparently it’s supposed to perk them up. It did no such thing for my Maltese. He could not keep any of it down, as he vomited it all up. I took him to Petland immediately and asked for help. They told me that I should see their recommended vet. I met with the veterinarian, who decided Kai should be kept for the day for observation. Upon pick up, the receptionist told me that in her 20 years working for this clinic, she had seen countless cases like mine, and that I should take him to the emergency clinic immediately. For two more days, I travelled between the day vet and the emergency clinic, shelling out over $700 in the process. During my afternoon trip from the veterinarian, Kai died. I called the doctor and he told me that this puppy had been immune to the wormer, and that Kai should have been checked numerous more times prior to his adoption. When I spoke to Petland, they instructed me to bring him in the back of the store, so I wouldn’t “disturb the other customers.” I was promised a call-back after some type of autopsy was performed. When I tried to follow up with them, they told me that my doctor ruled it malnutrition, and that I was at fault. I later spoke to the veterinarian’s receptionist, and she informed me that this man receives kick-backs from Petland when he rules a death the owner’s fault.
So now, I am without a dog and have lost nearly $3,000. Is there anything that can be done? Can I join this lawsuit?
Brad – I’m so sorry about your puppy. You can contact the HSUS with your story at http://www.hsus.org. Read more about the Petland investigation and lawsuit at the HSUS puppy mill campaign website http://www.stoppuppymills.org.
It’s about time they started cracking down on pet stores. Personally I think it should be illegal for pet stores to sell pups, they are almost always from puppy mills.
We have purchased four dogs from Petland but the one story that I would like to tell is of our French Bulldog Sammie. We purchased her on January 26, 2008 for $3499.99. Sammie’s Certificate of Pedigree came from The Hunte Corporation and the breeder is Jason Chriswell. Pets purchased from Petland come with a Puppy Waranty Sheet and one of the items on the list is that the new owner must take their new puppy to VCA Animal Hospital within the first five days. She had been diagnosed with Giardia since the very first visit to Dr. Brown at the VCA Clinton Township. We are still dealing with Sammie’s low immunity and diarrhea. Her low immunity has caused her to have irritability, skin problems which cause her to itch and she is starting to get bald spots, constant ear infections and throwing up. When I called Petland, they asked me to fax all of Sammie’s bills and file from the VCA and that they would evaluate it for a refund which tells me that they are admitting to the puppy’s sickness. I have not done this yet. We thought that having a pure bred dog would mean that they come from a high quality breeder. Petland deceived us with all of the facts they had and unfortunately we did not do our research before we bought our dogs. If we would have known that these poor puppies come from puppy mills where the dogs are stuck in small cages and may never touch the ground, with minimal to no health care, we would never have bought our dogs from them. When I talked to the staff at VCA Clinton Township, the ladies on staff have even stated that “You should see how many pets we see that are very sick from Petland.” Please us the information that I have provided in any way to help close Petland and as many puppy mills as possible. Thank you for your time!