So Incredibly Sad to Report That I Was WRONG!

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I decided to do more research after our DK disussion about Animal Planet's Investigation into Pet Land after a conversation Karen and I had. I wrote that Samantha was from a BYB and not a Puppy Mill.

I knew that BYB breeders didn't raise their puppies in their living rooms and than that Momma Dogs didn't sleep in the kids bed but I guess I thought that at least conditions were at least cleaner. I guess I had hoped or I just lived with me head in the sand. Gotta tell you I wish I didn't know this information but I had to share what I know. Hopefully those who are looking for a Doodle will read this or someone will share this information at the dog park to someone who asks.

I wrote to petshoppuppies.org and I was able to get the following report on where Samantha was born. I had the information on the paperwork that the store gave me. It didn't say that they were all locked in small cages but the conditions that the inspector found made me ill. The report follows and if you click on the link you will see the conditions that were found. Granted, they are not anything like you see on footage of a PM but no dog should live in condtions like this.

Karen, thank you for planting the seed that made me search even further. I wished I could have stayed with the image of this family having my Samantha born on their land was a lovely little farm but alas, I cannot.

Please share this information with friends, family and any fool that thinks BYB just had an 'accidental' litter and their dogs live the life that we want for them.

Cases:

ID: 11120
Date Submitted: 5/18/2010
Breed: Labrador Retriever Poodle
Date Purchased: 5/1/2008
Broker: The Hunte Corporation
Petshop: Shake A Paw
Details: Healthy

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Breeder:
Name: :Ebel, Janine & Clint
DBA:
Address: 31550 108th Street
City: Herreid
County: Campbell
State: SD
Zip: 57632

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USDA Inspections:
Description:
Date: 6/3/2009
Inspection File: 46-A-0336.pdf
Notes: The inspection date does not reflect the actual date of inspection, but instead the date in which our databases were updated with the most recent inspection. Normally this file will contain inspection records between 2006-2009.

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Inventory:
Date: 8/20/2008
Species: Puppy
Count: 13

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Date: 8/20/2008
Species: Adult Dog
Count: 16

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AKC Suspensions: I have no suspension information for this breeder.

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Miscellaneous: Nothing to report.

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[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

Adrianne -

It doesn't matter where Samantha came from she is now in a great place. A warm loving home. You have done great with Samantha. Try not to think about all of the other stuff, just give her hugs and kisses for us.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Karen - Samantha loved your hugs!! I am heartbroken at my 'reality check' but I guess somewhere deep down I knew but just couldn't admit it even to myself.
But - we are incredibly lucky - her health is perfect and her only 'issue' is that she will never, under any circumstances, even with a prime rib bones or a new marrow bones EVER get into a crate. GF there was ever an emergency and she needed to be crated, she would literally have a heart attack.

[The Berry Oaks Doodle Ranch]

Thanks for sharing this...I watched the Documentry on TV the othr night about Petland stores...it this....

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Thanks for sharing - this helps further explain why we should not support pet stores that sell puppies. But I sure am glad you have your Samantha, regardless of where she came from. I just wish these puppy mills could be stopped all together =(

[Adina P]

Too bad, but now you know and Sam was one of the lucky few who came out healthy, happy and has had no issues! Awesome.

What I consider BYB is someone (family/couple/whatever) who breeds their pets and MIGHT raise puppies in their home, but not necessarily. It's usually innocent for the most part (in my definition) but they didn't go about it responsibly or armed with knowledge about breeding (even if they attempted to read about the physical aspects of whelping and puppy care). They could be NICE people who you would otherwise be friends with or they could be awful people. And if they have kids and lots of people over their pups could be well socialized by the time they leave. But there's no health testing and no thought into 'after pups go to homes" or other important responsibility aspects.

When I think of puppy mill I think of both LARGE VOLUME OUTPUT and POOR LIVING CONDITIONS.
When I think of commercial breeder I think of LARGE VOLUME OUTPUT with clean living conditions and possibly good treatment of animals but they are not pets and don't live in a home.

These are my personal definitions as legally I'm not sure there is an official "puppy mill" definition...I'm guessing legally puppy mills can be shut down due to neglect/abuse not due to number of animals alone or volume of output alone.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Adie, I'm glad you were brave enough to look into it. It's so hard sometimes to accept these painful truths when they involve a dog you love. I think so many of us get hung up on the labels, "BYB", "puppy mill", "commercial breeder", etc., but they are really all the same...filthy places where dogs are treated badly and puppies are just a for-profit commodity.
I sometimes have fantasies of breaking into the shelter where I adopted Jack and finding his records so I can finally know exactly where he was born and the names of the animals who bred him. Shouldn't matter, right? We know it couldn't have been a good place. I couldn't love him any more or less regardless. But somehow, not knowing drives me crazy. When you love a dog, you want to know everything that happened to them from the minute they're born. At least you have that knowledge now.
Thank you so much for posting this. It is so important that people understand that all puppies sold in pet stores come from horrible places, whatever name you call them. People get angry and defensive when I tell them this, and seem to feel that their dogs are being criticized along with the circumstances of their birth, but that just simply isn't true. Until people are willing to accept the hard and hurtful realities that no decent human being sells puppies through pet stores, these puppies mothers will continue to spend their lives in wire cages, exposed to the elements, without veterinary care or even clean food & water, and be dumped when their breeding days are over, filled with tumors and disease, to finally find peace in a better world. If even one person reads your post and understands why they must never enter a store that sells puppies, you will have done a great service to puppy mill dogs everywhere.
Give Sammie a hug from JD & me. Thank you so much for sharing this.