Latest News
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SAVING GRACIE By award-winning journalistCarol Bradley A compelling true story of one dog’s rescue from a Pennsylvania puppy mill SAVING GRACIE (Howell Book House; Hardcover; $21.99; March 2010) chronicles how one little dog is transformed from a bedraggled animal worn out from bearing puppies into a loving, healthy member of her new family; and how her owner, Linda Jackson, is changed from a person who barely tolerated dogs to a woman passionately determined not only to save Gracie’s life, but also to get the word out about the millions of American puppy mill dogs who need our help. Puppy mills have been around for decades and are one of America’s most shameful secrets. It is a hidden world of substandard kennels, where dogs are caged like chickens and forced to produce puppies over and over, until they can produce no more. SAVING GRACIE traces this resilient dog’s journey out of a puppy mill, and tells the stories of the people who helped her along the way: from Cheryl Shaw, the humane society police officer who raided her kennel; to Lori Finnegan, the prosecutor who took Gracie’s breeder to court; to Pam Bair, who cared for Gracie in a shelter; and finally to Linda Jackson, the woman who gave her a permanent home. |
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NJ Complaints
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PET DEALER COMPLAINTSNew Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) took effect on July 8, 2002 and, with a few exceptions, opened all government records to the public. NJCAPSA, on occasion, requests records of consumer complaints filed against New Jersey pet shops, kennels, breeders and other pet dealers; some of these complaints generate up to hundreds of pages of documents. Included in the complaints filed with the Department of Consumer Affairs and county health departments are copies of breeders’ paperwork, broker information, store sales contracts, pet shop health records, veterinarian receipts of bills for treatment of sick or dying puppies, and more. NJCAPSA compiles data to show where the puppies come from, breeder information, wholesale and retail prices, cost of additional and unexpected medical treatment to cure the sick animals, and whether the shops are in compliance under the New Jersey Pet Purchase Protection Act, also known as the Puppy Lemon Law. Many testimonials of consumers who unwittingly purchased sick puppies from pet shops or other pet dealers can be found on ConsumerAffairs.Com and RipoffReport.com. If you've encountered trouble with a particular pet shop, breeder or Internet seller, feel free to post your story to those sites (registration is free) and urge others to do the same. Your story will reach thousands of readers! CONSUMERS: Read the fine print before signing ANY contract, and don't initial anything that isn't fully explained to you. Ask questions and don't be fooled by slick advertising ploys. Ask where the store's 'breeders' are from and who their brokers are, then call us - we can research them. If stores won't disclose the names of breeders, kennels or brokers BEFORE you buy, walk away from the sale. There's a reason they want to keep you in the dark! Pet stores bank on uneducated consumers! Household Pet Protection, Inc (HPPI) is an escrow company serving pet stores, not individual pet owners. Itswebsitestates “This is not insurance but a self-funded warranty program for consumer protection.” Pet Guardian in Jackson, NJ, another so-called health warranty company, is actually registered to the owners of the now-closed Pet Paradise! Remember, New Jersey has one of the strongest puppy lemon laws in the country. The pet stores are responsible for reimbursing your vet expenses up to twice the puppy's purchase price, plus tax, if your puppy is sick and your veterinarian certifies this in writing. Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Never Purchase a Puppy From a Pet ShopReason #10: Emotional Problems These puppies are the offspring of intensively confined (caged) parents who have little or no socialization, so chances are great that your puppy will suffer from inherited emotional and behavioral disorders such as nervousness, hyperactivity, fear, and food aggression. Reason #9: High Cost The mark-up of a puppy sold in a pet shop can be as high as 1,000 (one thousand!) percent. Many brokers or pet shops pay as little as $10.00 for a puppy or as high as $300.00, then turn around and sell the puppy to you for as much as $3,000.00! High price does NOT mean a healthy puppy! Reason #8: Purebred Papers “Papers” from canine registries like the AKC, ACA, IKC, APRI, and others do NOT guarantee the quality of the dog, nor do they guarantee the health of the dog. These papers are often switched or fraudulently filed by the breeder or broker, making them virtually worthless. Reason #7: Poor Breeding and/or Inbreeding Most of the dogs in pet shops come from puppy mills: there is NO guarantee that your puppy will be what you think he/she is. Many puppies grow into dogs that have uncharacteristically long or short legs, ears and tails. Some people end up with 20-pound Chihuahuas or 50-pound cocker spaniels; others get Shepherds that are mixed with Malamutes and Huskies; still, others purchase what they are told is a Maltese that look more like Havanese and ShihTzus as they mature. Remember, there are NO breed standards in puppy mill dogs or pet shop puppies! Reason #6: Impulse Purchases You simply don’t know what you are getting into. Most pet shop employees have limited knowledge about different breeds. They do not properly screen buyers to match them up with the “best” companion animal, resulting in a puppy that needs lots of exercise but is confined to a crate all day while no one is home; or a puppy that is not good with children, and so on. The innocent victims of these “impulse purchases” end up in shelters or rescues sooner or later. Remember, pet shops are only interested in making the initial sale – most are not interested in providing follow-up support or additional resources and information to buyers. Reason #5: The Puppy’s Health Non-congenital illnesses seen in pet shop puppies are typically kennel cough, pneumonia, coccidia, parasites, and sarcoptic mange, among others. Serious illnesses include distemper and parvovirus, which can be fatal. Reason #4: Bad Genes Inherited disorders might not show up for 5-6 months. They include demodectic mange, deafness, blindness, hip dysplasia, cherry eye, premature cataracts, glaucoma, epilepsy, retained testicles, spinal arthritis, overbite, underbite and more. Reason #3: Additional Vet Costs If your puppy is sick from the get-go, be prepared to spend many more times his/her purchase price to treat or cure him, or for surgeries down the road. Although the Pet Purchase Protection Act (commonly referred to as the NJ Puppy Lemon Law) provides for consumers to be reimbursed up to TWO TIMES the purchase price of the dog, future veterinary costs can run into the thousands of dollars! Beware of the pet store “lifetime” or “extended” health warranties: many have hidden meanings, have time limits, or simply do not apply to specific health problems. Reason #2: USDA Inspected/Licensed Breeders Neither of these terms means “quality.” If anything, they mean “quantity”, as in large-scale commercial kennels (puppy mills). “USDA licensed” means these facilities are inspected only once in a 12-month period and that the breeders are required by law to provide only food, water and shelter. Many puppy mills operate under deplorable conditions with known violations, but that doesn’t stop the puppies from ending up in a pet shop near you. And the #1 Reason: PUPPY MILLS! The bottom line is this: You are supporting puppy mills with every purchase of a puppy from a pet shop. It’s the “supply & demand” theory: what goes out must come in! For every puppy purchased at a pet shop, a homeless or shelter animal dies. |