I am a veterinary technician with over 15 years in the veterinary industry. I worked at Petland in 2018 before I knew what the were really about. I, like so many others who don't know better, fell for their lies on their website about their concern for animal welfare. People need to know the truth, ugly as it may be. Puppy mills exist because the public funds them. When you shop at Petland, that is where your money goes. Petland is the only remaining national chain of pet stores to sell puppy mill puppies and they single handedly keep puppy mills in operation. People who sell puppies online and mom and pop pet stores also sell puppy milk puppies, but not to the extent that it would justify the costs of running a puppy mill. Petland sells the majority of puppies produced in the mills and they create create a market for those puppies where there would otherwise be none.
People think they are "saving" a puppy from pet store life when they buy a puppy from Petland, but they are not saving anyone. They are simply creating a space in a cage to be filled by another puppy mill puppy. For every $1200 on puppy sales, Petland buys 5-10 more puppies to suffer in the place of the one that was purchased. As long as there are people to buy these puppies, the mills will continue to produce them. Why wouldn't they? There are so many ignorant people out there that fall for the lies, who don't bother to do their research first, that they keep the puppy mills in thriving business and make Petland over 100 million dollars every year in revenue.
Many Petland locations are franchised, however, the Petland corporation maintains strict control over the operations of every store through their franchise contacts because they have a financial interest in the the revenue of each store, 4.5% a week to be exact. Corporate dictates from where the stores source their puppies. Store owners can only choose from a group of "approved suppliers", all of which are puppy mills.
Their sales staff are comprised of young, easily manipulated, inexperienced, money driven employeess in their late teens to early twenties. Their income is commission based and once they get a taste of the kind of money they can make, they will tell whatever lies they have to to make a sale and fatten their own wallets. They don't know enough to stand up for themselves or speak outt when something is wrong. And if they don't fit in with the Petland scheme, they are promptly fired and the darwinian sales team is like a bunch of pushy used car salesmen that wont take no for an answer.
They will tell you that their puppies come from USDA certified breeders, and in fact, many of them do. But don't be fooled- that sales pitch is not a good thing but rather an insult to your intelligence. The very fact that the breeders are inspected by the USDA means that they are puppy mills. The USDA oversees livestock, "Farmed" animals, as in puppy farms. The USDA enforces the Animal Welfare Act, the act requires only food, water, and 6 inches of cage space beyond the length of the animal. Many times, they do not even get that much at the mills because they only Care about maximizing profits while minimizing expenses.
Disease runs rampant in the mills, and most of the puppies are sick upon their arrival at Petland Stores, those who are not soon will be. Their diseases are highly contagious and are transmitted through airborne contamination. The sick puppies contaminate the others in transport and while housed at Petland. Petland knows they are all sick and they try to sell them quickly before signs of illness become readily apparent, during the incubation period of their diseases between when they are exposed and when they show symptoms which is approximately 7-10 days.
When I would arrive at work on the morning, there would be so much vomit and diarrhea in the puppies cages that it was impossible to tell what was what, let alone which of the multiple puppies it came from. Puppies die in Petland stores every day. Since they only pay $50-200 a piece for their puppies, the are not going to spend more in veterinary Care than they spent on the cost of the dog. Better to let it die and get credit for A new one from the breeders, They are dispensable and disposable "merchandise". I was reprimanded for doing a Fecal exam when I suspected parvo. They don't want to know if they have A parvo outbreak because then they will be held accountable if people know they know about it. They sell sick animals all the time. The will tell you the diarrhea is normal, the cough is just excitement, the lethargy is from playing,,,, none of that is normal. And when the puppy shows that it is sick or dies soon after you get it home, they will tell you its YOUR fault. YOU didn't care for it properly, YOU killed it. They will require you to take your sick puppy to "their vet" who is paid to say it was fit for sale and Petland will not be liable for anything. When you sign that puppy purchase contract, you agree to everything and you sign away your legal rights so that you will have no legal recourse. A contract is legally binding, no matter how unfair or slanted the terms. People are supposed to read contracts before they sign them, especially the fine print. And when you don't, you have no protection under the law. Petland knows this and uses it to their full advantage.
Petland will tell you they sell the puppies with a 14 day warranty and then direct you to their "preferred veterinarian" for your free exam, who will then fail to diagnose or misdiagnose the puppy's condition to save Petland from covering expenses under the "warranty". The vet then sends the puppies home to suffer in illness and often die from their treatable yet untreated conditions. By the time that happens, the warranty period is over and the owner is left without recourse. And for those who finance their puppy, they are still expected to make the monthly payments on a puppy that died because that financing option was not a line of credit like they lead you to believe, but was rather a loan for which Petland has already received their money and you are left having to repay the bank that issued the loan. They do not Care that the puppy has died, and neither does Petland. In fact, there are so many ignorant people out there to keep buying these puppies from Petland, that they don't even need to pretend they care when someone comes to them with a sick or dying or dead dog and thousands of dollars in vet bills incurred when trying to save the puppies lives. They do not need to Care about the terrible reputation they earn for themselves because they never run out of ignorant people to but their defective merchandise. They will just refer to you to "pawsitive solutions", claiming they are the warranty company, but who is really just a subsidiary of Petland they use to further the interests of Petland and screw over their customers. They will not help you.
Every Petland store has an "isolation" room in the back out of public view. In a veterinary practice setting, the iso room is where contagious patients are isolated from others while they are treated so as to avoid spreading contagious diseases. Not so at Petland. At Petland, the isolation room is where the sick animals are hidden away, not medically treated but in fact denied Care in order to hasten their death. This is because the owner sends then back to the breeders where they are given "credit" towards other younger less sickly puppies. If you have ever wondered what happens to the puppies that don't sell... they are sent back to the breeders for credit as well, and they are turned into breeder dogs. They will spend the rest of their lives in a cage. They do not come out for any reason. The are not socialized. The are not properly housed. They do not receive medical Care. Improper breeding practices at the mills lead to the production of puppies who are predisposed to genetic diseases that become evident later in the puppies lives, usually at age 3 yrs and later. Hip dysplasia, liver shunts, tumors, and many other typical puppy mill diseases. In addition, inbreeding and lack of socialization, causes aggressive behavioral traits in dogs. Those dogs are taught to fight for every little thing, a space to lay down, every crumb of food they eat.... all of which leads to aggression, aggression against other animals, and aggression towards humans as well.
You may think Petland is a pet store, but I assure you, it is not a pet store at all. The Petland business model is founded on a scheme to defraud consumers by knowingly selling genetically defective, inbred sickly puppies purchased in bulk for $50-200 a piece and selling them for thousands of dollars a piece under the guise of a sham warranty and with fake health certificates signed by the veterinarian with which the store had financial ties. Petland does not disclose their financial ties with the veterinarian who are paid in kick backs to so Petlands will, not do the veterinarian disclose the conflict of interest with the steady stream of new clients they receive from Petlands forcing customers to their practice under the terms of the puppy purchase contract and "warranty".
Petland is not A pet store at all, its just the place where their scheme is executed. They threw in some rawhides and chew toys and called it a pet store. They exploit animals, causing them to endure suffering and abuse, and they further the existence of the puppy mills while deceiving consumers with misplaced trust.
Puppy mills exist because the public funds them.
Don't fall for their lies.
You don't have to take my word for any of this. In fact, don't. Please do your own research and see for yourself. There is no excuse, in this age of technology, not to do your research before buying a puppy from Petland, or anywhere, for that matter. Educate yourself so that you can make informed decisions.
I always wonder how it is that people are able to find the time to go online and complain when their puppy is sick or died and they are out thousands of dollars and Petland Could Care Less, but yet they couldn't find the time to do their research before making the same mistake as so many before them....
I speak from personal knowledge and first hand experience. I am not an "activist" out am "extremist". I am simply a veterinary technician who cares about animals and cannot be silent when I have seen the animal abuse and the corruption with which this organization operates. They are disgusting and despicable and people should know who they are conducting business with when they spend their money in Petland stores.
Please...Do Your Research! Protect yourself and don't support the practices of Petland. They will NOT stop until they run out of victims that don't know any better..... why would they? They make hundreds of millions a year off those people. Greed only feeds greed...
Google "Dr. Good Petland Affidavit" Google the Humane Society Petland investigations Google the Cisneros vs Petland lawsuit Google INDIANA PUPPY PIPELINE AND PETLAND
And if your wondering how it is that Petland is still in business, if you REALLYwant to know the truth... if you want to know just how deep the corruption of this pet store" runs, watch the documentary "Dog by Dog". It explains Petland's political ties and their connections with agricultural corporations and the USDA.... LEARN THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT PETLAND!
from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/hzuvf3/the_truth_about_petland_as_told_by_a_veterinary/
