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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 Pet Shops
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NEW JERSEY PET SHOPSHow much is that puppy mill puppy in the window? New Jersey has about 50 pet shops that sell puppies and kittens - about a fourth sell puppies purchased exclusively from Pennsylvania Amish and Mennonite puppy mills - and we’ve received complaints on most of them!
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. Non-congenital illnesses seen in pet shop puppies are typically kennel cough, pneumonia, coccidia, giardia, parasites, and sarcoptic mange, among others. Serious illnesses include distemper and parvovirus, which can be fatal. The mark-up of a puppy sold in a pet shop can be as high as 1,000 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 and registration papers do NOT mean a quality or healthy puppy. 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. Paying for veterinary expenses cuts into their profits and many store owners will fight you every step of the way should your new puppy become ill shortly after purchase, even blaming you, the buyer, for your puppy’s health problems. The pet store trade is one business where, once you leave the store with a puppy, the customer is never right! It's the law!Puppy cages in NJ pet stores selling dogs or cats must have a label listing: What's wrong with pet stores?The Truth Behind Pet Store Puppies Actual sign posted in a NJ pet store!Commercial breeder vs. Puppy Mill There is a distinction between a legitimate commercial kennel, which also exists to produce and sell puppies, and a puppy mill. The former is generally clean, provides veterinary care for the pups and adults, and socializes the pups before shipping them to retail outlets. The latter is a vile death trap for dogs, cluttered, overcrowded disease-ridden, and foul smelling. Commercial kennels are registered with the USDA under the Federal Animal Welfare Act; puppy mills fall through the regulatory cracks. At the Pet Shop, we purchase our puppies only from legitimate commercial kennels. In other words, puppy mills, right? STORIES and VIDEOS Pets, Lies & Videotape: Exposing NJ Pet Shop Consumer Fraud and Abuse |
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.