Concerning Animals: Don't be fooled by pet store claims
Sunday, November 28, 2004
BY JOAN LOWELL SMITH
For the Star-Ledger
DON'T BE FOOLED by an "AKC" label on puppies in a pet store. A
potential customer thinking that's like the Good Housekeeping Seal of
Approval would be mistaken. The American Kennel Club does not condone
puppy mills that sell to pet stores around the nation.
Primarily located in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Pennsylvania,
assembly-line puppy mills focus on the bottom line, not on producing
healthy pets. Tiers of small cages are stacked on each other and in
many cases left out in the elements. If you're lucky, you might find
a rare healthy specimen at a pet store, but the odds are definitely
against it. Why gamble?
Gail Miller, speaking for the AKC, explains their position: "The AKC
endorses breeding of dogs by responsible breeders. ... We oppose
random, large-scale breeding solely for commercial purposes. We
believe all breeders bear a responsibility to assure that people who
purchase their dogs are capable of carrying out their
responsibilities as owners. The AKC supports scrupulous enforcement
of the federal Animal Welfare Act and state and local regulations
governing the humane care of animals. We recommend and support
programs that teach the public to purchase puppies from responsible
breeders and to avoid impulse buying of dogs."
Buyer beware
Libby Williams of Lebanon, founder of New Jersey Consumers Against
Pet Shop Abuse (e-mail: info@NJCAPSA.org), warns that some pet stores
in New Jersey claim puppies are registered with the American Canine
Association or another pseudo-registry that essentially "means
nothing." "Pet store employees will insist their puppies come
from 'good' or 'local' breeders. They perform cartwheels in an effort
to distance themselves from puppy mills."
In the January-February 2004 issue of New Jersey Pet magazine,
Williams addressed the genetic impact of irresponsible breeding
practices in which females in confined cages are bred every
cycle: "Puppies manifest attention deficit disorder symptoms. They're
jumpy and often aggressive. They can't calm down. What buyers don't
realize is that this puppy they've fallen in love with may harbor a
contagious disease in addition to genetic problems that won't appear
for many months, even years. By then the pup has become a part of the
family and hearts and bank accounts are broken."
Uninformed consumers
"Pet stores sell indiscriminately," says Pete Campione of Howell,
another crusader against pet stores abuses. "They do no counseling on
what breed to select. They rely on impulse buyers who spend more time
picking out a pair of shoes at the mall than selecting a puppy." The
owner of Kindred Souls Canine Center in Howell for 15 years,
Campione, a certified trainer, has also shown purebreds. "There's no
such thing as a pet store selling a puppy from a good breeder. All
good breeders belong to breed clubs, there for the betterment of the
standards. Inherent in their bylaws is that they never broker a dog.
They deal directly with the buyer."
Campione told of an 80-year-old woman who brought her Neapolitan
mastiff to him for training. She had purchased the pup from a
Monmouth County pet store that never told her anything about the
breed, nor had she done any homework.. "Pet stores count on
uninformed consumers," states Campione.
Campione can spot a pet store dog instantly. "You have a dysfunctional
background on top of dysfunctional parents -- a double whammy.
They're so off the breed standard it's an abomination, and people
don't even realize pet store puppies generally cost more than those
from a reputable breeder."
The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council reports that 3,500 to 3,700
of the 12,000 pet stores in the nation sell cats and dogs. In those,
300,000 to 400,000 puppies are sold each year. The Humane Society of
the United States says the number is closer to half a million.
Humane view
The HSUS says on its Web site (www.hsus.org ): "Documented problems
of puppy mills include over-breeding, inbreeding, minimal veterinary
care, poor quality of food and shelter, lack of socialization with
humans, overcrowded cages and the killing of unwanted animals. The
unwitting consumer faces an array of immediate veterinary problems or
genetically borne diseases that do not appear until years later."
Speaking for the HSUS regional office in Flanders, Samantha Mullen
said, "In an ideal world, the breeding of puppies would be restricted
to responsible professionals. ... In the real world, however, the
breeding of dogs by virtually anyone is subject to little regulation
apart from the minimal provisions of the Animal Welfare Act that
pertain to breeding and sale of puppies to pet shops. Much stronger
measures, along with adequate enforcement of (existing) laws, are
clearly needed in order to address the rampant problems associated
with puppy mills."
Clifford P. Sporn, of Burlington, president of the New Jersey
Veterinary Medical Association, expressed his views: "Whenever the
health of an animal is unnecessarily compromised, it is upsetting to
veterinarians and we want to see that situation corrected. ... If
breeders and sellers are compelled to use best management practices,
there is no reason why they couldn't produce quality, healthy dogs.
Pressure needs to be put on those aspects of the business that
produce and sell sick animals. Stricter enforcement of New Jersey's
sale of pets is one immediately available remedy."
New Jersey's "lemon law," passed in 2000, guarantees that the owner
of a sickly dog purchased from a pet store will receive up to double
his money back from the store to cover veterinary bills. The dog may
be returned within one year. Williams told of a woman who paid $ 1,500
for a Labradoodle at a Somerset County pet store. The pup landed in
the ICU at the University of Pennsylvania for eight days with
pneumonia. Vet bills exceeded $ 6,000. The family was reimbursed
$ 3,000 in accordance with the law. They're stuck with the rest.
To report pet store abuses to your county consumer affairs office, go
online at www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/ocp/countyoff.htm.
"Puppy mills will cease to exist when people stop buying from pet
stores or directly from puppy mills," says Williams, who
acknowledges, "That simple solution is a long way off."
To find a quality purebred dog, send $ 2 for the New Jersey Federation
of Dog Clubs Directory of Breeders to Lorraine Mullecker, 158 Sunrise
Parkway, Mountainside 07092, or check www.petfinder.com, type in your
breed preference and give a formerly owned dog a new home. The AKC
Web site lists breeders by state at www.akc.org.
Next week:
New pet products for gifts or every day.
Contact Joan Lowell Smith at P.O. Box 302, Garwood, N.J. 07027 or e-
mail RTR4PA@aol.com.
http://www.nj.com/living/ledger/index.ssf?/base/living-2/1101621326275790.xml
Posted on SHARE Yahoo group Nov. 30, 2004