On Sunday, for the second week, animal activists associated with the Companion Animal Protection Society picketed the I Heart Puppies pet store in Corona del Mar, demanding that the shop stop selling puppies from what the protesters characterize as “puppy mills.”
The owners of I Heart Puppies say they don’t sell puppies knowingly from puppy mills, and go to great lengths to disclose and provide information about where the puppies they sell do come from. They insist the animals they sell are healthy and have been checked out by multiple veterinarians.
Suzanne Bradford, Brooke Bradford, and Summer Gorjian also say animal rights activists have been wrongly targeting them and their legal business in pushing a political agenda that seeks the outright ban on the sale of dogs from all commercial breeders. Animal rights activists have repeatedly touted ordinances enacted in a few cities around the country banning the sale of commercially bred puppies in pet stores.
One puppy in particular, a Puggle, has been at the heart of the activists allegations that the owners of I Heart Puppies are doing business with breeders and brokers who either neglect or abuse the dogs they breed and sell in the commercial puppy trade. CAPS claims that despite the breeders being overseen by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and licensed by them to operate, a lack of government enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act means the oversight of the puppy breeding and selling industry amounts to little more lip service to care and of dogs.
The Independent has spoken extensively to the Nebraska-based breeder and the animal broker who sold the Puggle dog that ultimately made it’s way to I Heart Puppies.
The breeder that CAPS and protest organizer Carole Davis have targeted specifically is Barbara Crick of Burwell Neb. Burwell is a small rural community with a population of just more than 1,000 residents, smack dab in the center of the state. Crick’s dog breeding business, known as Cricks Kennels, has been in business for more than 10 years. Crick said she sold just under a 100 puppies last year.
According to sources in the USDA and in the commercial dog breeding business, her operation would be considered a small-scale puppy breeding facility.
Cricks, a feisty 61-year old widow, has always run the business herself with occasional help from family and friends. Crick’s husband, Bryan, died in 2008.
When contacted by the Independent, Crick said she had no idea that one of her puppies had become the center of a controversy in Southern California. According to Crick, she had sold the puppy to her longtime Nebraska dog broker, and from that point forward she had no knowledge or involvement in where the dog ultimately ended up being sold to the public.
Cricks says she only recently learned that animal rights activists had visited her kennel “undercover” last year on at least three occasions. According to Cricks, she became aware of it when a friend alerted her that CAPS had posted a video online showing her kennel and claiming she was an abusive and neglectful breeder.
Cricks explained that last year a woman came to her home out of the blue seeking to buy puppies from her. The woman, according to Crick, was in her 30s to early 40s and went by the name of “Amy.” A silver-haired man came with her, as did a teenage girl on at least one occasion.
Crick claims “Amy” repeatedly tried to buy puppies from her and told her that she wanted to bring them back to California where she lived. According to Crick, when she asked whether or not “Amy” was a dog broker, with a government license, the woman told her she wasn’t. Crick’s told the woman she couldn’t sell her any puppies, that is was illegal to do so and that she would have to talk to the dog broker Crick works with.
Crick claimed the woman persisted and showed up unannounced one final time at her property trying again to buy puppies. Crick had to ask the woman to leave the property, and told the teenager, who approached the kennels, to stay away from the dogs. She again told “Amy” that the puppies she wanted to buy could not be sold to her legally.
As the Independent previously reported, Crick’s record with the USDA had been uneventful and little noticed, even by animal rights activists, until she was cited after regular a USDA inspection of her kennel in 2008. Since 2008, according to USDA spokesman David Sacks, Crick and her kennel have become the subject of an investigation into her compliance with the Animal Welfare Act. Animal rights activists claim this is proof positive that Crick runs a so-called puppy mill and does not properly care for the puppies she breeds and sells.
Crick maintains “she has tried to do everything the USDA has asked her to do” since she began having problems with her inspections in 2008. She claims USDA inspectors have repeatedly changed and altered what they have required her to do in trying to follow and adhere to federal regulations concerning the care and welfare of her kennel dogs.
Throughout the interview Crick repeatedly defended her care and treatment of her dogs and told the Independent that “if they (animal rights activists) took as good care of their kids as well as I do with my dogs they wouldn’t be saying this” she also told us that “my vet has never found a dog in bad condition in my kennel or neglected, ever.”
When asked about an incident in 2008, cited by repeatedly by animal rights activists and the USDA in an inspection report that same year concerning the euthanizing of a dog at her kennel with a gunshot, Cricks provided this statement concerning what took place:
“The reason I put the Golden Retriever to sleep is because she became very aggressive after she whelped.
“She bit the heads off of her puppies and then killed two beagle puppies in a pen next to her. When I moved her to a run she was fighting with the other female Golden Retreiver. So was moving her to a run where she could be alone and she turned and bit me. At this point I didn’t feel I had any choice but to put her to sleep. She could not be trusted to give away or safe around smaller animals or children.“
Cricks said the USDA informed her that euthanizing a dog with a gunshot is not allowed, and that she should not do so. USDA spokesman David Sacks confirmed that, and provided the Independent with this statement:
“The shooting incident will be reviewed during our agency’s current investigation involving Crick’s Kennels. It will not be ‘investigated,’ per se, because an enforcement action [in this case, an official letter of warning] has already been issued based on the February 2008 inspection, and the inspector has already explained to the licensee that gunshot is not an acceptable method of euthanasia under the Animal Welfare Act.”
Crick’s says she sends her dogs to a vet to be put down when necessary, but that this single incident was an isolated case based on special circumstances.
When asked about how activists are pointing to her record with the USDA and her inspection reports and the current USDA investigation, Crick repeatedly defended her care of her animals and claimed the activists “don’t know what they are talking about.”
Crick’s inspection reports, including her most recent one from March of 2011 are online and available publicly via the USDA (APHIS) website. They can be viewed directly at http://acissearch.aphis.usda.gov/LPASearch/faces/Warning.jspx.
The USDA provides only the past three year’s worth of inspection reports online. Additional reports and other information going back further can be obtained via the Freedom of information Act.
Crick strongly disputed allegations made by CAPS about the care of her dogs and the state of her breeding kennel. She provided numerous photos to the Independent to show what the kennel looks like.
Crick told the Independent that “I would like to clear my name” and that she “does not have a puppy mill.” She said she is “not ashamed” of her dog breeding kennel and will continue to run her business and provide her dogs with above-standard care, despite the allegations and claims of animal rights activists like CAPS. Crick repeatedly told the Independent she would gladly allow this reporter or anyone else to come see her kennel and see for themselves what it looks like and how well she treats her dogs.
Last week, two of the owners of I Heart Puppies did just that.
“Everything looks good,” said Suzanne Bradford in an email to the Independent. She wrote that the operators are “hard-working people who love their animals. Dogs look good, clean, nails all trimmed and clean teeth. Good shelter and conditions. Lots of room to move and play.”
More photos of Crick’s Kennels:
Still looks like a [*****] way for a social animal to spend its life… Moreover, she is inherently an unreputable puppy mill breeder because she doesn’t know — or care — where her dogs wind up. Shelter? “Put to sleep?” Another puppy mill? Tied to a 3-ft chain in someone’s yard? It’s all the same to her as long as she gets the cold hard cash. Any legitimate dog breeders will want to meet and talk with the ultimate buyers and usually require that you sign a contract to give the dog back to them so you can’t give it away, sell it, or drop it off at the shelter.
The author is the “reporter” who lobbed a few softballs at the real housewives wannabes who run the shop. I am just baffled that he let her get by with TWICE saying she “put the dog to sleep.” Putting a dog to sleep means that you give it a drug cocktail so that loses consciousness and then dies in its sleep. Shooting a dog in the head is not “putting it to sleep” — it’s just “shooting it in the head.”
Guess what, it doesn’t matter how you word it. Let’s just call a spade a spade. “Putting an animal down” or “Putting the dog to sleep” or “shooting it in the head” is simply: killing the animal. The phrase is just a way to make a person feel better about themselves and what they are doing or having done. No matter HOW it’s phrased, it still sucks.
I think we can all agree that for ourselves as well as animals, some deaths are better than others. I’d be OK if the vet had to humanely euthanize my dog using a drug cocktail for humane reasons, but most people would be distraught if they later learned their veterinarian had taken the dog out back and shot it!
The key points are that (1) shooting a companion animal is taboo, (2) it is definitely NOT ‘putting it to sleep’; (3) it is not permitted by USDA regulations; and (4) it seems as though she’s trying to confuse people regarding her failure to comply with the USDA regulations and the manner of death of the animal.
You are all over the place with illogical arguments, Cheri.
Here is a spade Cheri…The point is she broke FEDERAL LAW! Laws that are unarguable and any respectable breeder follows at a minimum! They are in place for a reason!! It’s called “Animal Welfare Act” She responsibly should have called out her veterinarian even in her own fabricated lie. Which shows that violates animal welfare on a federal level thus putting her her main concerns not with animal welfare, but with profits…
TIME MAGAZINE NEWS FEED defines puppy mill..
“puppy mills — commercial breeding facilities that focus more on profits than animal welfare.”
I never once have stated that she didn’t break a law by shooting the animal. I’m simply saying that you can paint killing up to sound better (put to sleep, euthanize, etc) or you can paint it to sound worse (shot it, destroyed it, etc.). Either way it’s killing and it’s never pretty.
It’s never pretty… but sometimes it’s CRIMINAL!…on a FEDRERAL LEVEL… You should quit twisting it with your word play and call it what the United States Federal Law calls it…A CRIME!
THIS IS A PUPPY MILL, LOOK AT THE PHOTOS!! Are you kidding me? Mr. Longabardi, Ms. Bradford and the rest of you who believe them, how would you like to live in a cage your whole life breeding then be put to sleep? This should be outlawed! Dogs are social creatures for them to live like this is cruelty plain and simple.
The poor dog that was shot to death, couldn’t take living in hell that’s why she acted out, you took her puppies away, what a monster. Makes me want to protest this store more!
“took her puppies away”? where in this article did you read that?
Cheri, are you kidding? What do you think they do with the puppies? Of course they take them away, so they can sell them, and get the mother dog pregnant again as soon as possible. They’re in the business of selling puppies.
Well of course the puppies are taken away eventually! You don’t leave animals with their mother for life. I’m not sure if I’m not interpretting what you wrote or if it’s just the way you phrased it but taking the puppies away has nothing to do with getting the mother pregnant again. Dogs don’t come into heat when they stop nursing the way cats and some other animals do.
Dogs are not meant to live in kennels. I know that this might be a disturbing thought for those that support puppy mills, or any other kind of breeding facility, but it’s true. You can research the mind of a dog, or any animal quite easily on the net. Not only should dogs not be confined to a kennel, it is important to understand what happens to the mind of a confined animal. They go NUTS!; This is why you see animals pace in the zoo, or elephants suddenly charging through a crowd. This issue is really hard to understand from a compassionate point of view. While thousands of dogs are put to sleep everyday in shelters, thousands are being held hostage to breed their entire life. When will this country figure this out? So frustrating. This contradiction always boils down to greed and money. What an exploit! And yes, children as mentioned in the article are exploited too, but if you profile the typical animal lover, they’re not in this group. As a matter in fact, you will find many animal activists advocating for children as well. I’d like to express my opinion on this matter, but sometimes the facts are more interesting, so that intelligent people can form their own.
Slanted and biased “journalism”. The reason this “widow” cleaned up her act was because of numerous USDA violations in the first place. Gee maybe the reason Retreiver killed her puppies was because of the stress of being forcibly bred over and over again and never living outside of her kennel! She has no choice in that matter! This is like saying one concentration camp is better than another. Puppy mills have no place in his country when over 1 million dogs are killed in our animal shelters each year…PERIOD!
I can understand why you would put journalism in quotes…because you are saying it sarcastically, or without credit as to what it really is. But why is widow in quotes? Do you think being a widow or widower is dumb or ridiculous? Do you think she faked her husbands death? Or his obituary and funeral? (Yeah, I googled it.)
Dear Cheri…This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
The pictures provided by CAPS do not lie, and the puppy mill buyers being targeted in the protests are not exactly a reliable source.
Of course this puppy miller cleaned up her facility after USDA inspectors cited her for dangerous violations, and protesters shone a spotlight on the appalling conditions of this puppy mill. But the inspection reports tell the real story of what went on there:
“…excessive accumulation of feces on and in the mesh wire, and slatted plastic floors. These three areas of raised pens are completely covered in heavy clear plastic… it is freezing to the ground and not allowing the required cleaning to take place on a daily basis. Note: not all pens under the plastic could be observed due to the plastic being frozen to the ground.”
“…dogs are exposed to rough, mangled wire.”
“Flaps, dog doors, or other methods of blocking wind, snow and rain must be installed.”
“The outdoor temperature at the time of inspection was 35.5 degrees F… additional bedding is required.”
“These pens must have the feces and other wastes removed daily to prevent the excessive accumulation of feces in the runs and to reduce the risk of disease and health hazards due to exposure and contact with the feces and wastes. It must also be done to prevent the dogs from becoming soiled. This involves 28 dogs.”
And that’s just ONE inspection report!
This puppy miller can put up all the trellis work and freshly-transplanted landscaping she wants, but it doesn’t change the reality of those short-coat dogs shivering in filthy, freezing, dangerous conditions as the USDA revealed.
Don’t take my word for it, go look up the inspection reports for yourself. They’re publicly available at http://acissearch.aphis.usda.gov/LPASearch/faces/LPASearch.jspx . Search for “Crick”. Read the inspections, and judge for yourself.
That’s not “freshly-transplanted” landscaping.
Yes!.. that is freshly transplanted landscaping!
This is how Barb Crick has been neglecting her animals welfare for years.
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DGLclYVClXMs%26feature%3Dshare&h=GAQAZsJ_RAQBfYWebmyjaMgOFub2ua6wGz0uTFWwiZ274Vw
This video was shot in the winter. You do realize plants don’t grow outside during the winter, right? So just because those plants weren’t there in the video doesn’t mean they’re freshly transplanted. Things get planted in the sping and then they grow through the warm weather. That’s not transplanting…it’s just planting. And certainly not freshly transplanted by the looks of the photo. (No damage to the ground around the area, etc.)
Cheri, Those are new(er) plants in the foreground. Not well established by any stretch of the imagination. They’ve been there one maybe two years at the most ie; New Landscaping. And Barb Crick has been in the dog factory business how many years now? Tell us just how many years have you lived in Nebraska, Cheri?
Cheri.. your tone is ignorant.. I am a dual citizen of Canada and I will tell you, I KNOW EXACTLY how cold 5 degrees is with no insulation but a plastic tarp freezind even from underneath the floor of the cage…and those plants WERE freshly transplanted because that type of plant does not survive freezing temperatures…she should have bought shrubbery where the roots would actually survive the fronzen ground of winter.. It’s a dress up transplant and I dont believe for a second she will continue to do it next year and send you her photos for you to give to the paper..:)
@robincdm: I’ve spent quite a few years in Nebraska, as well as North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, and Kansas. And yes, during the winter in all of them.
@Kelly: You’re right, those types of plants don’t survive freezing temperatures. They’re Cannas, some of my favorites (which is how I know what they are from the picture. Couldn’t tell ya what that viney one is though.) Cannas are a bulb plant, like gladiolas, tulip, etc. In colder zones they have to be dug up in the fall and replanted in the spring. Tulips are hardier, so they (as well as irises) can survive in harsher zones if they have plenty of mulch and/or are in a protected spot which allows them bloom earlier in the spring/summer. Cannas however require more warmth. So since this bulb is replanted every spring there is no way for any of us to be able to tell how many years she has or hasn’t planted them. None of this has anything to do with the dogs’ welfare, I realize. I am no plant expert but I’m far from ignorant.
Your hedge idea is, however, relative to the dogs. Shrubbery there wouldn’t make a lot of sense. Since you know about cold weather, you know snow makes it difficult to get around and has to be removed. Having permanent shrubs/hedges in front of the kennels would make for very difficult snow removal, which would hinder cleaning and maintaining the facilities.
Dear Cheri..
Dearest Kaitlyn…
This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
Cheri,
I have cannas that were planted 8 years ago and they come back every year…no digging them up..and this is in wisconsin! It gets as cold as 50 below here at times. So I think the whole fresh landscaping is a bunch of crap.
@Whatever: I’d like to know how you get them to come back! Seriously. No sarcasm whatsoever in that statement. I get really tired of digging up my bulbs each fall and would genuinely LOVE to know a trick on how to keep them growing in such nasty temps. (I apologize for this having nothing to do with the article, but I’ve never found a way to keep them from turning to mush over the winter.)
This is a puppy mill. Simple logic says you obviously don’t know what that is. Well here you go. This is a puppy mill. Regardless of how “clean” the cages are, or how “well-fed” the dogs are, or how much they “see” a vet…this is still a puppy mill. These are still dogs breeding for their entire lives, and kept in cages until they are “put down”.
If the man who wrote this article intended to discredit the claims made by the people protesting this store, he’s actually done the opposite. The breeder sells her dogs to a broker and has no idea where they go from there? She tied up a dog and shot it? She sold almost 100 puppies last year? Everything she does directly contradicts the bylaws of every breed club out there. The following are a some of the tenets from the Harrisburg Kennel Club, a group founded in 1935 that supports breeding. Every other breed club has something similar.
A reputable breeder:
– Does not breed dogs “to make money” or so “our children can experience the miracle of birth.” A reputable breeder breeds to advance their breeding program and for their love and devotion to purebred dogs.
– Usually only breeds a litter if they intend on keeping something out of the litter. They are breeding to further improve their breeding program, not just to produce puppies for pet buyers.
– Does not breed a volume of puppies. A breeder with 7 adult [female dogs] is not going to breed all 7 in a single year.
– May ask you for references or ask to visit you at your home. The breeder wants to be sure that the housing or yard is suitable for the dog.
– Will usually insist puppies sold as pets be spayed/neutered or placed on an AKC limited registration. The limited registration makes the dog exempt from having any of its offspring registered by the AKC.
– Will usually take back any dog of their breeding at any age. Reputable breeders do not want to find out a dog they bred has been left in a pound or dumped by the roadside. They assume a lifetime responsibility for the canine lives they have put on this earth.
If anyone thought this store used reputable breeders, they certainly know better now.
This breeder sells her dog to a broker – which broker Mr. Lombardi? Did you go down there and take pictures? Who provided you with the pictures? the kennel? A concentration camp for dogs so people can make money off of them. This piece just confirms what the public has known all along. I HEART Puppies loves money and hates puppies.
It doesn’t matter where these dogs are coming from in the end! What matters is that the are selling dogs.. it’s 2011, animals should not be sold in pet stores when millions of animals that are IDENTICAL to those in the pet store are killed in our local shelters.. OC Shelter is exactly 17.0 miles from this store and euthanizes almost 15,000 cats and dogs per year.. It averages to 10 dogs/day and 30 cats/day KILLED. Wake up people… These owners are and will continue to look like heartless people until they realize they are selling dogs for their own profit, instead of helping shelter dogs. Do they even realize that these groups (like CAPS) would be willing to help them go humane and help them obtain shelter dogs? They can sell the shelter dogs for a profit, and I guarantee their profit margin would be higher. Ask any pet store that has converted to a humane model.. they are doing good and still making money.
PS Puggle is not a pure-bred dog, it’s a mixed-breed designer dog.. beagle and pug. There are PLENTY of puggles at OC shelter on any given day.
Love the tiny coffins these animals are caged in 24/7 for life. With electrical cords running right into the cages for animals to get electricuted and free standing fans with open doors for ventilation. This is Nebraska! they have no ventilation system and will either freeze during the winter or suffocated in their own stench of amonia. And those plastic igloo dog houses are not sufficient shelter from below freezing temperatures. I like the owner of “I Heart Puppies” to live in one of those for a Nebraska winter and during the sweltering heat of summer. She has over 100 dogs with No employees. This is the worst inhumane journalism I have ever witnessed. Video of CAPS investigation does NOT lie!
Oh good Lord. I puppy mill is a puppy mill. Anyone, and I mean anyone, breeding animals for profit is exploiting them period. Exploitation is abuse plain and simple. What a horror story of a human being to keep animals in cages and breed them for profit. Shame on you. And what a ridiculous piece of “reporting” in defending a practice such as this. Reporter, you’re fired for bias dummy.
So are we to assume you’re a very strict vegan, Kim?
Once again Cheri.. it is a sad and weak attempt to dilute an argument.. People personal habbits are none of your business and its ignorant for you to assume they are… This is about the cruelty that takes place in the puppy mill shown in the pictures above. If you cant stick to the topic and hand, go bore some lonely persons ears off. This is a serious discussion about criminal acts and animal cruelty..
Not diluting anything. When somebody makes a comment such as: “Anyone, and I mean anyone, breeding animals for profit is exploiting them period. Exploitation is abuse plain and simple.” is either just ranting without thinking, a hypocrite, or a very strict vegan. (Which I don’t look down on but actually admire. It takes a lot of research and dedication to do that.) And if personal habits are nobody else’s business why does CAPS have the right to make this woman’s personal habits their business? And I’m not referring to the kennel, I’m referring to where and how she lives. So technically that is about the topic at hand, finding out what gives the author of a comment the right and/or knowledge to make said comment.
And from what I’ve read, there is very little “discussion” going on…just a lot of we’re-right-and-you’re-wrong.
Mr. Longabardi should learn the first rule of journalism – GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!
Why these women who own this store won’t own up to the fact that their dogs are from puppy mills is beyond me!!!
Roger Bloom and the Newport Indy have proven yet again that not only do they provide shoddy journalism, they are incapable of critical thinking. To say Bloom is a dolt would be too kind. I agree this article only provides more proof that these demonstrations need to continue and these greedy nightmarish women need to stop selling puppy mill dogs – and the only way to do that seems to be for the citizens of Corona Del Mar to lobby their city council members that their community will not abide having this cruel and inhumane industry in their midst.
Wait, are there DOGS in the closed-up cabinets in the third picture after the “article”? If so, that is beyond awful.
Those are not “cabinets”. That is the inside part of an indoor-outdoor setup.
With electical cords running thru them so the dogs can chew on them and get electricuted?!!..any person with concern for their animals does not run electrical cords thru their housing…that whole building looks like a complete fire hazzard. Barbara Crick needs a housing inspection before she sets fire to their caged in unescapable tiny bins!
Looks like a hellhole…
The fact that both “I Heart Puppies” and Crick Kennel use a broker is the very definition of Puppy Mill most legal experts agree on. It illustrates direct emphasis on PROFIT above welfare of the animal. “Reputable breeders” are met with in person, they give lifetime gaurantee for their animal (which I am sure “I Heart Puppies does NOT), and track the animals welfare for the life of that pet. Mass brokering puppies from commercial breeding facilites to pet stores with no concern of welfare for the future of the pet is a puppy mill. Y
Humane Society of the United States ” It’s important to know that, in many cases, puppy mills are not illegal. In most states, a breeding kennel can legally keep dozens, even hundreds, of dogs in cages for their entire lives, as long as the dogs are given the basics of food, water, and shelter.”
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/qa/puppy_mill_FAQs.html
The explanation of the reason Barb Crick shot her dog in the head, is not the one she supplied to the USDA officer on report. Its a fabricated lie so that Brooke Bradford will continue to use her as a supplier to unload puppy mill dogs on the citizens of Newport Beach and our patrons. Brooke Bradford, your comments are shallow and insufficient regarding the quality of an inspection of a supplier that sells you live animals. On your basic ignorance to detail or concern for the puppies alone, I would never buy an animal from you. Your concern only goes as deep as your pocket and it is very obvious in this article.
The report to the USDA officer says the dog was shot because it killed its puppies. Isn’t that what the article states? I’m pretty sure that biting the head off a puppy would kill it.
She told the inspector the dog rolled over on its puppies, Not bit the heads off. If I was a sick, weak, malnurished dog forced to breed one litter after another I would think the dog would lay weak smoothering its puppies in the best case scenario. And lets not forget, its a violation of federal law “The Animal Welfare Act” PERIOD.
Barb Crick’s report in March 02,2011 states she still is in continuous non-compliance in 5 areas. The USDA only requires the minimal care of food, water and adequate shelter and she is in continuous non-compliance.
How do you know what she told the inspector? And why didn’t the inspector state that in his/her documentation? Were you there during that inspection?
The LEGAL USDA inspection report speaks for itself…Barb Crick your breeder you proudly display for all of our community to see, is a documented criminal of FEDERAL LAW, STATE LAW, AND VIOLATES USDA REGUALATION OF COMMERCIAL BREEDING REQUIREMENTS.. She still is in CONTINUOUS NON-COMPLIANCE with the USDA. No, I was not there during the inspection I am a native and citizen of NEWPORT BEACH. LEGAL USDA DOCUMENTS and the taxes I pay speak for me. “I Heart Puppies ” AND THEIR OWNERS condone CRIMINALS, and use an un-licensed broker= ANOTHER CRIME, to lie to consumers= CONSUMER FRAUD, and have a substandard ideation of animal care in regards to the PUPPY MILL PUPPIES they sell to the citizens and patrons of Newport. A total DISGRACE on every level conceievable to our reputable business distrtict and the reputation of our city. As a private citizen with the support of citizens, we are informing the community. You do not belong in our city. GO HUMANE or you will GO. As citizens we do not support businesses that condone and partake in CRIMIANL ACTIVITY. This is our Community.
Well Kelly NB, if you weren’t there during the inspection how do you know what the breeder did or didn’t say? Have you talked to the inspector? Where are you getting the information that you were neither present to hear nor is available in the inspection report?
Cheri, what makes you think that dog “bit the heads off puppies” as Crick claims? Do you actually believe her? Were you there? We were. She violated state laws, federal laws, she is being investigated not only by us but by the USDA. This is an obvious puppy mill. These pics are of her kennel cleaned up. Have you seen our pics and vids of her facility the way she doesn’t want it to be seen? The pics with the dogs encrusted in feces? The pics of sick, injured, distressed dogs in freezing temperatures with no shelter or bedding?
She claims she put her dog “to sleep.” Why do you think she used that term? She killed her dog with a shot to the head point blank. That’s illegal. There is ZERO evidence that we have seen that the dog did anything like “biting heads off puppies.” Had it been true, she would have had to document that, as every single dog must be accounted for, registered, seen by vets, etc. She is clearly trying to use Longabardi to sell more dogs from her inhumane breeding facility and he is happy to help her do that.
You, Cheri, are an apologist for cruelty to animals. Why you would defend someone who abuses animals is beyond comprehension—unless, of course, you also profit from the misery of these breeding dogs like Bradford does.
This article makes it clear that the Bradfords and Gorijian don’t care that their dogs are from pet factories like this one. These pics clearly show the dog’s enclosures cleaned up and in warm weather. A thing to note, readers, is that those breeding dogs never get out alive and they live with a heartless dog hater. Barb Crick.
If I had the misfortune of being one of her miserable dogs, I would bite her too. She deserves it. That dog could have been adopted out, not killed in cold blood. You don’t shoot dogs in the head.
At least now more people know how despicable I Heart Puppies’ business is. And now readers can get an unintentionally informative “article” about how I Heart Puppies is in biz with a really awful puppy mill owner (who sells to unlicensed brokers too!).
Really? You were there when that dog had its pups? Are you a former employee? Why should your word that the dog didn’t do as stated be any better? You would want a dog with a KNOWN record of biting to be adopted out? I am not an apologist for cruelty. I just evidently have different ideas of what cruelty is than you. I do not believe a gunshot to the head as a form of death is cruel. Had she blasted the face off or put a bunch of holes in the animal’s body, then yes, that would have been cruel.
Cheri, the states what cruel is. And the fact that the laws are weak shows how messed up your head is. I cant even believe you would make statements like “blasted the face off” and “put a bunch of holes in the animals body.” Is that what she told you happened when you called and asked her for photos for the paper?… Your idea of cruel is ACTUALLY TORTURE. If you were to PERHAPS own a business that brokered factory animals, I would protest your store how ever long it takes to make sure NO ANIMAL under your care ever had the opportunity to fall victime to your version of cruel. You should make a professioal appointment and see someone about your obvious precarious state of mind and its false interpretation of reality.
Another accusation? What unlicensed broker has she sold to? And what proof do you have of that?
You were there when the dog had its pups? Are you a former employee?
Yes, I’m going to take her word for it because I have seen some of what CAP’s “word” actually is. Like that picture of the cocker spaniel from her kennel you had on your website. You claimed the dog had no shelter or bedding. Yet in the back of the cage you could see a door. You didn’t mention that this door led inside a heated building. Yet you are so quick to accuse this kennel of distorting facts?
Cheri… you know an awful lot about the internal function of that puppymill kennel that was never explained in the article.. how do you know the building is heated, and that that old water boiler even works, or that the building is insulated.. cause I would bet that its not the way she gobbed on the caulking to seal the floors the walls and the dog cages..but she missed part of the rotted wood on the bottom….and by the the way, the Dogs were locked out in the cold and the doors were not functionable to allow them in… That entire building is a fired hazzard by any lackadaisical building inspection standards…A building inspector in her city needs to have these photos she took for you. They can demand proper standards to keep dogs from burning alive in their locked up cages when the obvious fire hazards in the photo are extremely unfortunately going to occur….how am I not suprised you find this substandard housing so acceptable..And unfortunate for you, CAPS is a highly respected truthful organization that backs up their claims with evidence and is hight regarded and respected by government…sucks for you , doesnt it…
Alright Kelly, this is gonna be a long one, so hang on! 🙂
As to my knowledge of the internal function? I’m putting your beloved CAPS video together with the photos, adding a little bit of animal husbandry knowledge, and just tossing in some business sense for spice.
First off, I have never asked any kennel for photos, nor do I work for any newspaper, magazine, or any sort of reporting institution. Hence my bad typing and grammar! 🙂 Anyhow.
As to my phrases and definition of cruelty, I say that because I have seen it happen. Not to dogs, but in hunting wild game. I have seen animals lose limbs or be “not quite dead yet” flopping around in pain while the party I was with thought it was funny. They were not torturing the animals, they didn’t purposely shoot them to watch their pain, they were shot to be put on the dinner table. But to me it’s still cruel. I grew up handling guns and was always taught to never pull the trigger unless you knew you had a kill shot. So to “shoot before he gets away” was never an option, and finding humor in an animal’s pain is sickening. Simply put I have never gone hunting again. I realize this has nothing to do with the kennel discussion but because I ask for others’ reasoning behind their comments, I feel I should give you mine.
As to knowing if the building is heated I base it on the heater I see in the indoor picture that has the circular fan. How do I know that’s a heater (and NOT a water boiler)? Because it’s a common propane heater sold at stores such as Tractor Supply Company. They’re actually very good and vent free. How do I know it works? Technically I don’t. But if you look at the CAPS video you will see a propane tank. The rent on those babies isn’t cheap, and they’re not for decoration or show, so I’m going to guess she uses it. And here’s the animal husbandry and business part: cold babies are dead babies, and dead babies don’t sell. I have no clue if the building is insulated. But it would be a waste of money to be pumping heat into a building that isn’t. As for the gobbed on caulk, that’s for sealing edges and cracks (yes I have used caulk before and know what it is and does). As stated by Kaitlyn Chaney later down the page USDA requires nonporous flooring so it would make sense she uses the caulk to maintain those USDA standards.
You think her city’s building inspector should be alerted. Based on those pictures does it look like she’s inside city limits? Because a city inspector can only operate within city limits. There may be fire hazards, but the “standards” you speak of are no different than a barn with animals in the stalls surrounded by hay.
And in reference to the dogs being locked out in the cold, this REALLY catches my interest. And makes me have even less respect for your “truthful” CAPS. Here’s why. How do YOU know the doors weren’t functional and the dogs were locked out? Did you open the dog’s kennel and reach in to find out? Did you go inside the building to check? Oh, wait, both of those actions would be TRESPASSING which is *gasp* ILLEGAL. And while I’m on the topic of that video, I’d like to address some things (since that DOES pertain to the topic at hand). How did they know those dog’s toenails were overgrown? Did they once again open the kennel and handle the dog? All I saw in the video was a lot of hair on the feet. I couldn’t discern hair from nails. Also with the no flat resting spots…was that grating stuff on the inside of the building too? Or did anybody bother to check or ask? The dogs that had doghouses: it said inadequate bedding. Yet the video was shot from BEHIND the doghouse. To me that’s not proof. If the video couldn’t show the doghouses from the front to show/prove there was no bedding, then I have a hard time believing it. My reason? If the evidence had been damaging to the breeder, CAPS would have been sure to have shown it. If the evidence was damaging to CAPS’ agenda, however, they wouldn’t show it. I also can’t help but notice the article says CAPS visited at least 3 times…yet the video admits to 4. So at some point CAPS was on this woman’s property without her escorting them, and I’m going to guess without her permission since the article also says she asked them to leave. And since “the video” doesn’t show the woman, I’m going to guess that was the unknown 4th time. Sorry if the fact they can’t/won’t take their videos and get proof by legitimate means makes me doubt their intentions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake…
This wont be a long one…but at least it’s facts and endless hot air self importance.
Dearest Kaitlyn…
This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
Nice Catch on all the “oops” in their video Cheri…most people with common sense will catch them as well
Although I foster dogs from a group who rescues from puppy mills, I think there needs to be a distinction between “commercial breeder” and “puppy mill”. Although I feel that these dogs (at Cricks) are probably not getting any socialization to speak of; the facility appears to be clean and the dogs provided for in a sanitary way. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t agree with commercial breeding of pets either, but clearly this woman can’t hold a candle to some of the conditions we have seen in a true “puppy mill” – no ventilation, dogs lying in and eating feces, no vet care, open sores, etc. I fear as supporters of the abolishment of puppy mills, we lose credibility and foster the view that we are “crazy fanatics” when we characterize a responsible (even though commercial) breeder as a puppy mill owner.
Totally agree. Thank you for being able to see both sides of the arguement, even when not in agreement with it.
Angie, please visit our web site to see pics and video of what the place looks like when she’s not editing the pics and staging them. http://www.caps-web.org And please look up the USDA reports of her killing a dog. This is HER version and the NB Indie’s, apparently.
Angie, this is Barb Cricks Kennels…this is the way she has been neglecting her animals for years..
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DGLclYVClXMs%26feature%3Dshare&h=GAQAZsJ_RAQBfYWebmyjaMgOFub2ua6wGz0uTFWwiZ274Vw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
THIS IS WHAT A PUPPY MILL LOOK LIKE. Breeders who sell their puppies to brokers and don’t know where their puppies end up are irresponsible. Breeders who keep their dogs OUTSIDE 24×7 with no socialization are irresponsible. SHE SHOT HER GOLDEN RETRIEVER IN THE HEAD!
Yes, and almost every piece of meat you’ve ever eaten was also shot in the head.
I’m sorry Cheri.. but I don’t eat companion animals: ie: cats and dogs.
So you’re only for the humane treatment of ‘companion animals’ then?
People like Cheri so depress me. They can twist any argument around to defend abuse. The facts are in. Pet stores that sell dogs are bad. Any inhumane treatment of an animal is BAD! Temple Grandin did great work on this subject. If you don’t know about her, read up. Hunting animals for pleasure is sick. Breeding dogs in substandard factories is sick! Causing any animal to feel fear or sadness is sick! I don’t eat meat by the way because I can’t guarantee that the animal didn’t feel pain before its death. That is important to me.
Nice try.. that is not the issue…I disagree with inhumane treatment of all animals.. and what I eat and why is of no concern to this issue AT ALL…a very weak attempt to create diluted argument that is NOT THE ISSUE of puppy mill dogs.
What the heck does eating meat have to do with dogs suffering in cages for profit? Are you incapable of commenting on puppy mills? Or are you pro-puppy mill? Or do you consume dog meat?
FYI: the meat you eat didn’t spend years and years in a small enclosure with very little space to move. Unless you’re talking about veal in which in that case is enclosed in a very, very small space for only a couple months before it’s slaughtered. You approve of dogs being held in small places for years and years to push puppies out for profit? That’s OK with you?
Although many animal welfare advocates are vegan or vegetarian and do not distinguish between farm animals and companion animals, many Americans DO draw a distinction between companion animal species and farm animal species. Cheri, I’m not sure if you’re trying to call animal welfare advocates hypocrites (when most of us actually do eat ethically and avoid leather, fur, etc.) or to challenge the general public’s distinction between companion/farm animals and food taboos. But just because Americans treat farm animals without compassion doesn’t justify using that same treatment for ALL animals.
Also, you seem to fundamentally misunderstand the commercial slaughter process. Captive bolt guns are typically used for cattle and hogs to attempt to stun (rather than kill) the animal before its throat is cut. Chickens are typically dragged through water charged with electricity and if they don’t die that way are boiled alive in the next phase of the process. The Humane Slaughter Act does not apply to birds.
I’m saying if you want humane treatment for animals, then apply it to animals…not just the cute fuzzy ones you prefer. And believe me I DON’T misunderstand the slaughter process. So putting a bolt through an animals brain to “stun” it while it waits to get it’s throat cut is better than a shot to the head killing it instantly?
@Robincdm: Have you ever seen a large dairy or feedlot? No, the feedlots don’t spend years there, but the dairy cattle do. They are kept pregnant and lactating. And their room for movement is minimal. At feedyards, their space is limited in a crowded pen where they walk in their own feces with no shelter. Sound familiar?
I’m not agreeing with the inhumane caging of dogs in puppymills. I just get irritated at how people feel it’s ok to shoot/kill something that benefits them (food on their table) but it’s oh-so-horrible when done humanely to an animal they feel they can relate to.
It sounds as though you’re defending poor treatment of dogs on the grounds of “Well, we do it to other animals!” Not exactly putting you in the moral high ground on the argument. Because we need to improve the lives of animals (and humans) in other ways as well is not a sound argument in favor of the status quo…
Cheri, Funny that you mention dairies. As a matter of fact I lived in Iowa for a decade and worked in a creamery and in a dairy. There are many reasons why I don’t drink milk or consume dairy products. First the exploded udders oozing blood and puss, the sore teats that are milked 2 sometimes three times a day. Then once the milk hits the creamery, I’m telling you, you take your health into your hands by drinking the stuff.
See farmers don’t like it when a load of milk is sour and they won’t get paid, but see there are ways to make the test read out ‘not sour’ before off loading. We’re talking on average a load of 46 to 48 thousand pounds of raw milk. I ran the evaporating machines for years and saw many, many things going on that were wrong and against the law and when I began to call notice to certain things my life suddenly was in danger, literally.
No I don’t approve of the way many dairy people abusively treat there cows and I am no fan of what happens to 2 and 3 day old calves that are taken away from their mothers and I certainly don’t take my health in my hands by consuming dairy products. Yuk! Cows milk is for baby cows period. So go ahead Cheri drink up. (next you’ll say something like, oh that was only one place. heh Yea, keep on thinking you know better.) BTW I know way too much about all what takes place in those those huge hog confinements too and if you are familiar those operations and you think that’s OK, then you are a true animal abuse apologist with no soul. But if you don’t know then I’ll be more than happy to fill you in on how your bacon is treated before it hits your plate. Bon Appetit!
Robincdm: If you’d reread what I wrote you’d see I don’t think that’s “just one dairy”. That’s how a good many of them are. I worked for a small dairy (by small I mean ~70 milking head). They were not stalled like the large dairies. In the winter their lot could get bad, but we kept straw or corn stalk bedding in there every other day so they weren’t laying on pure mud/manure and freezing teats and hooves. But in late spring, all summer, and early fall they got to go out to pasture in between milkings. And I don’t mean just an acre or two…thankfully milkcows have great internal clocks and start heading to the milkbarn on their own because it was a pain to walk all the way out there as I didn’t like using the owners’ 4 wheeler. How does this relate to the whole kennel discussion? I know there are good dairies out there. Just because it’s a dairy doesn’t instantly mean rotten milk and stifled cows. While there was no abuse or outright cruelty, there were some things I didn’t agree with, but I tried to do my best by “my girls” and change/help what I could and accepted what I couldn’t. The same with this kennel. I don’t believe that all commercial kennels are puppymills. Oh, and yes I do drink milk and we eat beef and pork regularly. We have our own dairy cow (although I’m the only one who will drink the unpasteurized milk), raise our own beef (all 100% hormone-implant free), and get pork from our local packing plant which doesn’t service any large-scale confinements. Milk is very nutritious and good for more than just baby cows. 🙂
To the contrary Cheri, you have been led to believe the dairy industries propaganda on the health benefits of drinking milk. I did too for many years but the facts are that cows milk acidifies the human body and therefore leaches calcium from your bones rather than supplementing calcium to your bones. And if you trust the creameries to process that milk in an honest and sanitary manner, well go ahead and believe whatever you’re told and drink away. It’s your health not mine.
Hey Eric, This is what REAL reporting in the REAL world looks like. No need to thank me just do yourself a favor and please learn something from it.
You’re Welcome.
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/pet-talk/story/2011/08/Pet-Talk-Heres-where-pet-store-pups-really-come-from/49986168/1
“Believe it or not, after all the national anti-puppy-mill campaigns, after all the headlines about puppy-mill raids, after all the legislative efforts to marginally improve the hideous conditions under which millions of breeder dogs churn out litter after litter, after Oprah — Oprah, for heaven’s sake — did her much-heralded show on mill dogs, most people still don’t get it.” (more at the link)
I’d bit you too if you were too lazy to get a REAL job and were simply using MY body over and over and over to make yourself money. You ought to be stuck in a cage and only let out when we decide to move you to another run. Goldens are very energetic, intelligent dogs that require a minimum TWO HOURS PER DAY of rigorous exercise just to maintain their sanity. Puppy mills like this don’t do that.
A good breeder doesn’t breed multiple dog breeds. They exercise their dogs daily. They don’t breed them every heat cycle. Their dogs have titles because they are quality stock. This is the definition of puppy mills. I love the electrical wires running into the cages. Yeah, that’s someone who REALLY cares about her moneymakers, I mean dogs, safety.
When I go out to play with my dogs I don’t even take a gun. Of course she is not playing with them. I’m sure they never leave these small enclosures. She is just checking on the puppies and that’s whay she carries a gun!?! Hummm
Huh? What are you even talking about?! Who says she carries a gun to check on puppies? She lives in a rural area. There are things like raccoons, skunks, coyotes, etc. in rural areas and they carry things like mange and rabies. They don’t pay attention to property lines. So most people in those areas own guns. Our family has 4. Oh, and some people DO carry guns when they go out to play with their dog…it’s called HUNTING. So again, what’s your point in this particular post?
The point is she broke FEDERAL LAW!! Laws that are unarguable and any respectable breeder follows at a minimum! They are in place for a reason!! It’s called “Animal Welfare Act” She responsibly should have called out her veterinarian even in her own fabricated lie. Which shows that violates animal welfare on a federal level thus putting her her main concerns not with animal welfare, but with profits…
TIME MAGAZINE NEWS FEED defines puppy mill..
“puppy mills — commercial breeding facilities that focus more on profits than animal welfare.”
If her point was that the woman broke a federal law she could’ve said so. But that wasn’t mentioned at all. All Melba mentioned was that the woman carried a gun. Which ISN’T against the law.
This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
I Heart Puppies is a puppy mill front, puppy mill outlet, a business that supports animal cruelty. Look at these photos, this is a USDA inspected breeding facility, no violations now, but what about next week, or next month? Please give me a break, dogs living in hell to support Ms. Bradfords twisted greedy mind. This paper is truly business driven, they don’t care about animals whatsoever, this article is proof. When is this publication going to speak up for the voiceless living in Nebraska under this hillbilly redneck woman’s control. She shot a dog! The protesters will never go away now, in fact they will step it up.
Our own Governor passed a bill for the entire state California introduced by Sentator Ted Lieu to help fight against puppy mill dogs being sold in public steets and venue. This is an issue of cruelty and inhumaneness, not an activist issue.
TIME MAGAZINE NEWS FEED defines puppy mill..
“puppy mills — commercial breeding facilities that focus more on profits than animal welfare.”
Our own state has passed legislation against puppy mills that fit the description in USDA reports that “I Heart Puppies” uses as a private supplier.
.
“California governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that will greatly increase legal protections to animals throughout the state, as well as crack down on a significant concern among animal advocates: inhumane puppy mills.”
Introduced by Senator Ted Lieu
The two-part law, which was introduced by Senator Ted Lieu, prohibits the sale of animals at any kind of public venue, such as on roadsides, street corners and in parking lots, as well as increases the penalties for animal neglect to be in line with that of animal cruelty.
Unfortuneately, this bill does not cover the private sector. Which makes it necessary for organizations like CAPS to pick up where governments leave off.
Any humane person or government finds the commercial dog breeding industry cruel and inhumane with its current practices.
Oh My Gosh. Most of these comments clearly show that the posters know little about dogs and less about raising dogs. The photos show clean roomy kennels vs the horror photos that ARs like to use which are the worse of the worse. They love to throw out the horror pictures to define ‘puppy mills’ and then use the word to prejudice people against any one that has a litter. ARs want to end ALL breeding of dogs. No Births = No Dogs. They don’t believe any one can take proper care of a dog. They believe ONE dog is pet overpopulation. All shelter dogs are spayed or neutered. When shelter dogs are gone and people stop breeding dogs because of intrusive over regulations………where will you get your next dog?
This video is the side of Barb Cricks Kennels not featured in the article. Barb Crick’s last report of March 02,2011 still shows continuous non-compliance in 5 areas altho the USDA accepts the most minimal standards of food, water and adequate housing.. She is a puppy mill by any standard.
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DGLclYVClXMs%26feature%3Dshare&h=7AQAeQUqtAQC3P1rwqHDPK-fkPuIA0n2XPr2Nh_-hQvIPuw
Irony is telling everyone else to wake up when they themselves are extremely ill-informed… ROFLMAO! OH MY GOD THE WORLD IS GONNA RUN OUT OF DOGS.
I expect the naive question about dogs becoming extinct in the classroom when I teach 5th graders. I don’t get it by the time I’m teaching high schoolers. It’s nice to see some adults can’t rationalize it out.
We’re killing 4 million a year. You think in a few years we’re magically going to have dogs be on the endangered species act?
This is Barb Cricks kennel when USDA and newspapers are not there… We make up nothing… You are uneducated on this particular matter and your hypothesis live in your own head. Purebreds existed for hundreds of years before commercial breeding factories got their start the last 50 years, and they are harmful to the breeds themselves. They are rarely purebreds, are inbreads, and full of genetic disease and malformations. My puppymill survivor has luxated patellas, entropion eyes, a heart murmur and came with 3 different parasites that the pre pet store health check does not check for at all. You are the one who knows little about the breeding industry or the shelter system that I work with everyday.
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DGLclYVClXMs%26feature%3Dshare&h=GAQAZsJ_RAQBfYWebmyjaMgOFub2ua6wGz0uTFWwiZ274Vw
Yeah… sure they visited the kennel and gave it a glowing thumbs up. Give me a break! Show me the flight stubs. Yawn. Did this so-called journalist visit the kennels? Does he not realize how smart (or better word, ‘evil’) these pet factory breeders are? Many of them have pictures of nice looking kennels they bring out every now and then, but show me that same kennel in the dead of winter. Got those pictures? No? Well, plenty of us do and Crick Kennels = Concentration Camp for dogs, period!!
This is the worst article I have EVER read. So slanted. So biased. So obvious. A true journalist (not the hack that wrote this) gets the facts straight. The part that really killed me – Crick says… “The reason I put the Golden Retriever to sleep (No, SHE SHOT IT IN THE HEAD!) is because she became very aggressive after she whelped.“She bit the heads off of her puppies and then killed two beagle puppies in a pen next to her.” Are we supposed to believe this? Bit the heads off puppies? Killed two Beagles? A Golden Retriever?? And if this dog did bite the heads off puppies, what sane person would then put it with a couple of Beagles? IF this happened (which I highly doubt it did – in all my years of working with animals I have never seen anything like that) here’s the question a GOOD journalist would ask himself, “What would push a dog to that extreme aggression?” The answer is obvious, severe neglect and abuse. Dogs are not born aggressive! SEVERE NEGLECT AND ABUSE!
The article says it killed two beagles in a pen NEXT to her. It wasn’t WITH a couple of beagles as your very next statement implies. And yes, some dogs ARE born aggressive. Just like people. Sometimes it’s in their bloodlines, and sometimes it’s a fluke of nature. They have brains, just like people, and sometimes those brains misfire. It’s just plain biology. Dogs are not some mystical all-perfect creature. They are biological creatures and have things go wrong in their bodies. Allergies, diabetes, epilepsy. The brain is an organ and can malfunction the same way a liver, pancreas, or bladder can. And yes, some animals do eat their own young. It’s not “normal” but sadly it does happen.
I’d like to agree with you but then we’d both be WRONG! Have a nice day you animal abuser apologist… I will see you at the next I Heart Puppies protest.
The dog is a lifetime prisoner of it’s cage 24/7!..how do you suppose she is able to kill dogs in another kennel. If she had access to them that is a violation of USDA which states agressive animals MUST be seperated from other animals. Perhaps we should send this article to the USDA. And your knowledge on the brain is sadly pre-school level. I was taught the capacity of the canine brain by my father who was one of the countries Top Neurosurgeons and huge dog enthusiast. I was also his medical secretary for 10 years and am trained extensively in brain functioning. Canine brain developement is a result of neuropathways established thru interaction and experience with their environment. It’s why abused animals become agressive. They are in capable of developing pathologies at the level of the human brain. If in fact this was the dog’s temperment like you suggest, Barb Crick is a puppymiller with no regard breeding and selling the offspring of viciously agressive animals to “I heart Puppies” who then sell them to the first person thru the door taking an agressive dog “by Nature” to a small child. Cognitive function is in no way related to physical malfunctions such as Allergies, diabetes, and epilepsy. It does not function in ANY WAY similar to the liver, pancreas, or bladder. Your have no idea what you are talking about. You are flawed , weak, and unintelligable just as your remarks. In brain terms, you are “DEFICIENT” on a moral, intellectual, and psychological level to be endorsing animal cruelty and “I Heart Puppies” that sell it for profit. And worst of all, they are OK with that as stated in the article.
Wake up Folks, thanks but I am awake! And you’re totally in the dark if you don’t understand the true horrors of what’s going on in the pet store/puppy mill industries. Would Missouri (puppy mill capital of the world) have passed a major animal welfare bill this year if millions of its citizens did not agree that a horrific problem existed? Have you done the research on this issue? Do you care at all about the hundreds of thousand of dogs suffering right now for commerce? God, people like you depress me. But the truth is, in our history there have always been people like you who don’t get it and never will. But thank God there are just as many if not more who CARE and are willing to do whatever it takes to speak out for those who do not have a voice! PS, I don’t believe one dog is over pet-population. What a ridiculous thing to say. And let’s worry about ‘where will you get your next dog’ when we stop euthanizing 6 million dogs a year. Do you not see how insane your question is?
Talk about insane! First off, let’s call shelter killing what it is: KILLING. They aren’t “euthanizing”. Euthanasia is reserved for aged, ill, injured and aggressive animals. It is a necessary kindness. Killing adoptable animals is an abhorrent practice that most shelters do for MONEY. Yes, that’s right, they are paid by the State of California by how many they kill. How’s THAT for “humane”? And you drone on about “puppy mills”, when you really don’t have a clue about WHY animals are killed in shelters in the first place.
Secondly, you claim that we are killing 6 million dogs a year? Where do you get your facts and figures? PAccording to the latest official shelter estimates by Maddie’s Fund, there are between 6-8 million animals (dogs and cats combined) ENTERING shelters each year. 2-3 million per year are killed, and most of those are feral cats. There are nowhere near 6 million animals in total being killed in shelters, much less that many dogs.
Yet there should not be ONE adoptable animal killed not EVER, because there are many more homes opening up each year than there are adoptable animals killed. Shelter directors who kill should be FIRED immmediately.
This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake.
Thank you, Cheri, for being a voice of sanity in this group of rabid extremists. Odd that they tried to entrap this breeder into selling them puppies privately, which is ILLEGAL for her to do, and probably the entrapment attempt was unethical (and perhaps even illegal) for these CAPS people to do in the first place. And then criticise her for selling them via a broker, which it seems is the only way the law allows her to sell puppies.
Ever watch Dateline Kaitlyn?… Dateline is Illegal entrapment?..perhaps you should let them know..or perhaps it’s a perfectly legal and one of the only ways to gain evidence on decietful caniving criminals.. You can name call all you wish.. It turns my stomache that there are people in this world like you who are so self involved they can not concieve or empathize with the pain and suffering of animals. Infact its not only incredibley self serving it’s also a personality disorder. Rabid extremists?…, because we care about something other than ourselves?!.. and I deal with rescues every day. Every week I watch hundreds of adoptable animals die because the shelters are overpopulated, purebred rescues are maxed out, there are not enough foster homes, let alone adoptable homes, infact OC shelter now has resorted to using rabbit cages for smaller breeds because there is no where else to put the “Pets” owners dump off after they are done with them at an average age of 1 to 2 years old. Anyone anywhere around the world brokering live animals in not in it for animal welfare. They are in it for profit. period. ..and “I Heart Puppies broker has no License which is illegal. People who broker and sell brokered animals have one thing in mind, keeping costs at a minimum to make greater profits, and the animals welfare suffers severly when the USDA is not making their yearly visit!.. your non-facts and self-justified attitude fools no one.
I am familiar with how the media frames rescue situations to look damning. One rescue in particular, they waited until the dogs were coming out of anesthesia from their dentals to film them, wobbling about, and claimed they were weak from being mistreated. BS!!
And what is “caniving”? Mabye you need to go back to school and learn how to spell. The only people with “personality disorders” are you kooks who spend your4 time hating and attacking other people.
Our small breed rescue here in SoCal placed 200 animals last year. Some came from Ohio. They don’t sit in rescue very long. And it’s OK for a shelter to use rabbit cages? Since when is it OK for shelters to abuse animals? What a twisted mindset.
If “I Heart Puppies” is buying from an unlicensed person then I’m sure you malicious attack dogs will make sure they pay.
You are right, those brokering animals around the world are in it for profit. The most egregious examples are “Compassion Without Borders”, “Save A Sato”, “Save A Mexican Mutt”, “Dogs Without Borders” “Pets From Paradise” “Helen Woodward Humane Society” and other groups who import dogs on an ongoing basis into the US. Why do they do it? FOR PROFIT. Don’t kid yourselves about that.
Your non-facts and sanctimonious attitude fools no one either. Get a life Toots!
So many people say they care about lots of political/social issues and do nothing other than sit on their couch. Even if I believe they are misguided, I respect the people on both sides (typically dubbed “extremists” because they are actually taking action in support of their beliefs while the average person does nothing) of the political spectrum who are willing to sacrifice their time and effort for what they believe will make the world a better place and volunteering their time in support of something other than their own economic interests.
And while you’re calling people ignorant, Save a Sato works out of Puerto Rico (which is already in America, so their overpopulation problem is already an “American” problem). And all of those organizations are NON-profit. If you have evidence they’re abusing their non-profit status, please report it to the IRS.
The tone of your post is condescending and rude, which is ironic because you seem to believe you’re a nice person who doesn’t attack other people (which is what you condemn the “malicious” “extremists” for doing while mocking other posters). Even though we have different beliefs on how best to help animals, I do thank you for your rescue work.
Virginia, you are missing the point. Allowing feral and stray dogs to enter the continental US is a health risk to both humans and our animals here. So “Save a Sato” is technically based in US territory; so are all those other groups. Helen Woodward Humane Society is in San Diego. Just because they are based in the US does not mean that they should be bringing dog from overseas or from Mexico.
In 2003, “Save A Sato” sent a dog to Massachussets that was infected with RABIES. The puppy was so young that it h adn’t had a rabies vaccine. But it was not too young to get that fatal disease, or to expose other dogs and humans in the “rescue” process.
A recent shipment of 222 dogs from Puerto Rico demonstrates the hazards of bringing in dogs from overseas. Although dogs are regularly shipped into the Northeastern states from Puerto Rico, this particular shipment, arranged by the Puerto Rico Animal Welfare Society, was motivated by the opportunity to win a $100,000 grant. The ASPCA offered the prize to the organization with the largest adoption participation in an event called Second Chance for Love adopt-a-thon. The dogs involved were headed to one of the many participating pet supply stores that use rescue dogs as a loss leader to attract shoppers. After being airlifted to Florida for a layover, though, more than 100 of the dogs became ill with parvovirus and distemper, 107 of them eventually dying. As it turned out, many of the dogs in the shipment were infested with hook worms, round worms and coccidia, and although the dogs were supposed to be 4 months old and healthy to participate in the contest, some were only 4 weeks old and shockingly, had already been altered. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that some of these dogs are intentionally bred for the US “rescue” trade.
None of these dogs ever made it out of Florida. Instead, they remained there and received veterinary treatments valued at $185,000 and were adopted out through local shelters.
Canine strain rabies in indigenous US dogs (not overseas territories, but STATES) was officially pronounced eradicated in 2006 by the Centers for Disease Control, but since then a number of rabid dogs have been imported, nearly all rescue dogs from countries with ongoing rabies epidemics. These dogs have come from a variety of locales including Puerto Rico, Thailand, and India.
Interstate relocation of “rescue” dogs is also very common and is an area in sore need of regulation. Dogs are transported between states to areas of high demand. The conditions under which these dogs are bred is oftentimes unknown, as is their background and health history. The conditions of transport are also unmonitored. But the most serious risks to the public occur when puppies who are brought into an area are too young to have had their course of vaccinations, or are infested with parasites. These puppies may be from unknown locales, having an unknown health history, with probable exposure to many diseases.
In New Hampshire in 1994, 665 people had to be treated for rabies because a pet store decided to sell feral kittens, one of which was rabid. The health risks from unregulated rescues, who can originally be stray or feral animals, need to be addressed and more laws are needed to protect the public health and safety. That’s one good reason for pet stores to only offer animals for sale from well-regulated sources. USDA regulated breeders have rigorous standards to adhere to. Those standards are what many people on this comment board seem to be objecting to, such as restriction on direct sales, prohibition of using porous flooring, requirements for ventilation systems etc.
And did you know that with the federal PUPS proposal, many more breeders, even small home breeders, will have to comply with USDA rules? Even smaller breeders with few dogs will have to maintain their dogs in kennel-type conditions. The law of unintended consequences.
Kaitlyn get orignial or an education, and quit using words like “toots”. This is the O.C. The only people that use words like that are running gyms in Utah. You are commical on a level you will never be able to comprehend or appreciate.. so pedestrian.
And animal care costs money, for Rescues or the OVER POPULATED OVER BURDENED Shelters. I’m guessing the reason you dont understand that, is related to the level of care you offer your animals. And CAPS has proof I Heart Puppies broker has no license. However, being a mere commenter on an article, you will not be privy to it.
Everyone is a victim in your world being “framed by the media”. We do not live our lives as victims, and we will not tolerate the victimizing of companion animals…COUNT ON IT.
Kelly, your personal attacks are all you have to lash out with due to your ignorance of the demographics of dogs in the US and the state of rescue operations. And your mindless spouting of the mantras of “overpopulated and overburdened shelters” demonstrates that. Get an education. Shelters are killing dogs because the state of California pays them by the head. They have no incentive to adopt out or save lives. And it is the very “rescue” groups (the ones that you want to foist on society as the only source for pets) that victimizes companion animals, with slim to no oversight by the government. If you are truly intolerant of the victimizing of companion animals, then go agitate in China where dogs are commonly bred as meat for the dinner table. But instead, you and your cronies at CAPS choose to support groups that import dogs from this culture of cruelty. You are true hypocrites.
Kaitlyn..thank you for addressing me personally in the comment below.. However, I address you indirectly….I am addressing the community and debate your false information. I use phrases and words that consumers, citizens, and tax payers relate to, to supply them with FACTS. Not conspiracy theories you generate to support your business and disregard for animal welfare. You nit pick from the media facts to create your own sellable and infactual conclusions.
However, I will take a second to educate you since you are new to the business. Health records from puppy mills are widely and commonly known to be falsified because they are supplied by the puppymiller himself. I have seen numerous legal cases personally where puppymills have supplied false rabies vacinations and shot record information to their brokers, who knowingly in turn supply them to pet stores, who disregard them for the profit they make on the unsuspecting consumer. Government officials will tell you this, the USDA will tell you this, and every legal expert who has knowledge and practices in the issues of the commercial breeding industry will tell you this. USDA regulations are admitedly weak and not adequately enforced. Our own government publically states this and records it in written government reports. The system in place for regulating commercial breeders is incapable of enforcing the minimal standard of adequate food, water, and shelter as stated in written Government USDA reports and Congressional reports.
I am certain you would love for me to go to China. But I choose as a citizen of Newport Beach to defend my city against lying consumer fraudulent businesses like “I Heart Puppies” Specifically because they are deceitful profiteers disgracy the community of myself, my friends, my chamber of commerce, and my elected officials. “I Heart Puppies” and their owners are unknowledgable about the welfare of the animals they ride the backs of, and have come to town to ride the backs of our city for the name and prestige of Newport Beach. Done with your conveniently made up facts altho I am sure you will be back. I would almost think you had some kind of PERSONAL INVESTMENT in this store, or maybe just a dilluded creative writer…Have fun..:)
I Heart Puppies and their owners publicly admit that they use commercial midwest breeders. They see nothing wrong with supplying patrons with live animals from people who commit federal crimes against animals. I Heart Puppies and its owners will tell you, their puppies come from california and not midwest puppy mills when infact they endorse media articles showing the public their best example of a breeder, Barb Krick. I Heart Puppies breeder has government documented crimes of FEDERAL LAW, NEBRASKA LAW AND USDA. THIS is the supplier they publicly brag to patrons about using while they have a “no puppy mill” sign in their front window. They have no business experience in the pet, shelter, or animal welfare industry. Their very own statement in an article to CDM Today…”They visited a friend in San Diego who owns a pet store, and thought it was a good BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY”!! They have ZERO past experience and push puppy mill dogs on unsuspecting patrons committing Consumer Fraud.. The City Council of Newport Beach was presented with legal government documents on the Puppy Mill Suppliers “I Heart Puppies” uses. They also have video footage! Ask you local City Representative for this evidence submitted in meeting and on record!!
@Kelly NB: If a breeder supplies rabies records at all for their puppies then they’re obviously false! You don’t give rabies vaccine to puppies under 3 months. And in order to be ‘official’ it has to be done by a vet anyhow, not the breeder.
Dearest Cheri…
This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
Thank you, Cheri, for being a voice of sanity in this group of rabid extremists. Odd that CAPS tried to entrap this breeder into selling them puppies privately, which is ILLEGAL for her to do, and then turn around and criticise the breeder for selling puppies via a broker, which it seems is the only way the law allows her to sell puppies. The entrapment attempt was unethical and perhaps even illegal. Maybe Mrs. Crick needs to find a lawyer who can pursue some action against CAPS under the Animal Enterprise Terrorist Act.
I don’t think “entrapment” means what you think it does.
Yes, it does.
entrapment n. in criminal law, the act of law enforcement officers or government agents to induce or encourage a person to commit a crime when the potential criminal expresses a desire not to go ahead. The key to entrapment is whether the idea for the commission or encouragement of the criminal act originated with the police or government agents instead of with the “criminal.” Entrapment, if proved, is a defense to a criminal prosecution. The accused often claims entrapment in so-called “stings” in which undercover agents buy or sell narcotics, prostitutes’ services, or arrange to purchase goods believed to be stolen.
Except for the “government officials” part, it fits the scenario perfectly. I’m sure had Little Miss Innocent been sold the dogs she repeatedly asked for she’d have reported the sale within minutes. She had an agenda there, make no mistake about it. Just like she went looking for problems in the store that she could hassle the owners over.
Kaitlyn..You are histerically simple as you google your law information… CAPS is not law enforcement nor a government agency. What they did is not against the law and you are riding on the word of a personal who is documented in government record of commiting criminal acts that they ever did what you accuse them of. They are highly respected by government for their facutal investigations that are of a private non-profit organization. “Except tor the government officials part”? That is what the law is based on.. Next time you are googling, try not to do it on an empty stomache…
Typical AR. No facts, just emotional outburst of ridicule. The writer of this article did more than read a script handed to them by AR like so many ‘journalists’. AR scripts read the same no matter the true conditions in a kennel. We grew up with Disney cartoons where animals were given human emotions and thought process. This is fantasy. A dog does not know that a gun to the head means death. In this case, the safest for all human and animals concerned was probably a quick shot to the head. Dogs are not human beings and do not act the same. Dogs don’t care if they live in a house beautiful. Dogs like to rub on dead animals, eat poop and smell each others rears for goodness sakes. Stop putting human traits on to dogs and then judge people wrongly for raising dogs as dogs. Stop this insanity before there are no more dogs.
In all my years of owning dogs, I’ve never had the pleasure of one who likes to rub on dead animals. Where do you live?? I’ve also never been graced with a poop eater. However, I have many that like to RUN. Which you can’t do in those “kennels.” They need exercise and interaction. They’re social creatures. You probably don’t believe scientists when they say that animals have all the same feelings we have, do you? That’s why they whine at the backdoor when forced to live in the yard. Because they want IN to be with their pack members. They feel lonely. You don’t have to treat your dogs like children, but they need to be treated humanely or what is the point of even having one? You’d probably say security. Wrong. My neighbors got robbed six months ago and their german shepherd in the yard didn’t help a bit. He got tossed some meat and they were in the house without a problem. Once inside, he could have cared less that they were there – they left the gate open and he was gone! Finally got to see the world outside of his yard after six years of being stuck there with little to no interaction.
Again, with the “no more dogs” that I hear out of the mouths of 5th graders before we do the math together. There are enough RESPONSIBLE breeders that breed high quality dogs ONE bitch at a time to be sure that they will never be extinct. If you want a quality dog, you’re willing to do the research and pay a good breeder for it.
People like this need to do something to earn their own money instead of relying on someone else’s uterus. What’s wrong with getting an education and making an honest living?
Dear wakeupfolks,
You say to “stop this insanity before there are no more dogs.” Exactly. Get rid of these horrible puppy millers. You seem to thnk it is fine to shoot a dog in the head. It’s illegal. Why? Because it is a crime. She is being investigated. She will most likely have her license revoked.
Keep it up, keep writing. It shows everyone what kind of nice dog-shooting , dog-abusing people you are. You speak of “A quick shot to the head” as if that is the way NORMAL people do away with a dog. What kind of hell do you live in? This is clearly a culture clash between modern people who believe in fairness and humane treatment of animals and those who abuse them for profit.
Please do this readership a favor and continue to post here so people can see what you are all about.You and the Bradfords, because this is all very revealing. I am astounded at how little empathy you have.
Carole, you might want to reread the article. If she gets her license revoked it won’t be because of the shooting. The USDA spokesman said the incident was being reviewed as part of the investigation. Not that the incident itself was being investigated because enforcement action had already been issued. If you’re not satisfied as to what that enforcement action was, take it up with USDA. If a person commits a crime and the judge hands down a sentence you don’t agree with you don’t get to say “that’s not fair!” and proceed to try and punish that person yourself in the way you see fit.
She doesn’t want to go with Actual details it doesn’t benefit her cause.
This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake..
This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
Dear Wake up Ignorance…This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
The dog killed two beagle puppies in a pen next to her??? Um, how does that happen if there isn’t easy access? And read what I wrote. I said “put it with a couple of Beagles” – which she clearly did since they died. Lord help me, people like you tire me so.
No more dogs?..we have millions of them dying every year because they have no home..Your agrument is infactual and irrational.. Dogs are sentient beings..look that up!..of course I am knowledgable about capacity of the canine brain, as I was taught by my father whom was a Neurosurgeon and dog enthusiast. I was also his medical secretary for 10 years and have extensive knowledge and training on the human brain upon which yours seems to “deficient”. The point is she broke FEDERAL LAW!! Laws that are unarguable and any respectable breeder follows at a minimum! They are in place for a reason!! It’s called “Animal Welfare Act” She responsibly should have called out her veterinarian even in her own fabricated lie. Which shows that violates animal welfare on a federal level thus putting her her main concerns not with animal welfare, but with profits…..FEDERAL AND STATE LAWS ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE.. I feel sad for you that your lack of knowledge persists to an extent that reality of facts appears as a fantasy for you. Truly sad…
Kelly, again you are wrong. you state that dogs are dying because they have no home, a typical simplisitic viewpoint. They are dying because shelters choose to kill them. Please educate yourself on the No Kill movement; read Nathan Winograd’s book “Redemption” and check the articles on his blog: http://www.nathanwinograd.com. If you can attend his seminar it is WONDERFUL!! Very inspiring man.
The state of California pays shelters for animals they kill, not for animals they adopt out or reunite with their owners. This is an unintended horrific consequence of the Hayden bill.
What has your ramblings about the human brain got to do with federal law? Your logic is sorely lacking.
Kaitlyn.. My remarks about the human brain were in reply to Cheri’s post. Read it and try to keep up! And since you mentioned federal law, why don’t we discuss this article. I Heart Puppies and their owners publicly admit that they use commercial midwest breeders. They see nothing wrong with supplying patrons with live animals from people who commit federal crimes against animals. I Heart Puppies and its owners will tell you, their puppies come from california and not midwest puppy mills when infact they endorse media articles showing the public their best example of a breeder, Barb Krick. I Heart Puppies breeder has government documented crimes of FEDERAL LAW, NEBRASKA LAW AND USDA. THIS is the supplier they publicly brag to patrons about using while they have a “no puppy mill” sign in their front window. They have no business experience in the pet, shelter, or animal welfare industry. Their very own statement in an article to CDM Today…”They visited a friend in San Diego who owns a pet store, and thought it was a good BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY”!! They have ZERO past experience and push puppy mill dogs on unsuspecting patrons committing Consumer Fraud.
Kaitlin…every institution that performs any function has costs. Shelters are reimbursed for their costs. It costs money to actually kill an animal in a shelter, and it costs money to lawfully store and dispose of its carcass… Of course they get paid. And unlike you my experience comes from working with government agencies and hands on work in the field. Go to O.C. shelter, walk around. They receive such high volume of owner animals every day!! They are beautiful purebreds and pets and they are now forced to use rabbit cages to house smaller dogs due to large influxes and overpopulation. I am fostering a beautiful purebred Chihuahua that came from O.C. shelter yesterday because he was on death row with not enough time to be adopted and more animals have come in and there is no where to put them.. You can talk all you want about Rescue on a national level. I Hear Puppies refuses to carry animals from the LOCAL NEWPORT BEACH SHELTER and only wants to ride the city for its name to make profits at the Tax payers expense. THAT IS A FACT AND THE DIRECT ISSUE AT HAND.. Your statements contain few facts and are propaganda from your “Wonderful” seminar…Take a step into Newport Beach and Orange County. And go ahead and accuse the city of Newport Beach for embezzling and killing animals to make money and do the same with the O.C. shelter. Do it right now in your fabricated reply to this post. If it is factual you have nothing to worry about. If it is not you have plenty to worry about.
*Any Person in the city of Newport Beach : If you decide of your own volition that a purebred puppy is the right choice for your family. Locate a local Hobby breeder. There are thousands in the tri-county area! The will supply your family with a healthy purebred, without disease, and bred with quality of the breed in mind. “I Heart Puppies” is a documented puppy mill front!…The city council has the Legally documented evidence and video footage!!
@Kelly NB: While you’re making comments about other people’s brains you might want to check on who you’re even writing about. It’s Barb Crick. Not Barb Krick. I noticed this in 3 different posts. Just saying. Glass house and all.
Since you your best reply is spell check.. I’ll give you another treat…
This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
Dearest Kaitlyn…
This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
Since all you have is your mindnumbing mantra of “puppy mill” spewed repeatedly, you might remember that substandard breeders are subject to discipline by the USDA. Take it up with them. And please do refresh your facts about health and welfare of those who buy dogs. Rescues import dogs with diseases, sometimes even animals with RABIES. They are not exactly putting public health first.
7 Things You Didn’t Know About Puppy Mills
1) The phrase “puppy mill” has been promoted in the media by the animal rights movement, people who want to end all animal ownership. It is applied indiscriminately by these fanatics to anyone who breeds dogs.
2) There are just two types of breeders: those who are humane and those who aren’t. Current laws prohibit inhumane, abusive and neglectful treatment of dogs. So-called “puppy mill bills” target according to number of dogs owned; however, what is important is the standard of care, not the numbers.
3) Most commercial breeders have state of the art kennels. They need to meet stringent USDA standards and the standards of their state laws.
4)”Sick” puppies do not sell. It is counterproductive for any industry to produce a defective product and expect to stay in business.
5) Passing laws to outlaw “puppy mills” will not solve anything. Inhumane breeders are already in violation of existing laws. New, stricter laws will only affect those breeders who are dedicated and caring. We need to enforce cruelty laws that are already on the books.
6) All the breeders in this country cannot produce enough puppies to meet the demands of the American market. Currently, hundreds of thousands of dogs and puppies are imported from other countries to meet the demand.
7) Breeders are not responsible for the presence of dogs in shelters. We have a problem with responsible ownership. Education is the key to improvement in this area.
If you’re going to quote Nathan Winograd, you should also note that he doesn’t believe animals should be sold in stores and is a proponent of actively protesting the practice.
“First, we must engage in community education and protest, a simple but powerful exercise of our constitutional rights to free speech and assembly. People love dogs and want to do right by them. Tell them the truth at the point of sale, in front of the pet stores, and give them alternatives. This is the underlying philosophy behind the No Kill movement and it applies here as well: make it easy for people to do the right thing, and they will.” -Nathan Winograd
Is this supposed to be an article or an editorial? It sure seems slanted in favor of the puppy mill owner. And yes, that is indeed a puppy mill. The owner can fluff it up and make it look “presentable” but it is what it is. Meanwhile, countless dogs (many many purebreds) are killed in “shelters”. This whole system is just messed up beyond belief and those of you who defend it are parties to all those killings. Repent.
Crick is a liar who staged these photos. Anyone who loves dogs does not make them spend their lives in kennels churning out babies for as long as they can. No dog lover sells the babies to brokers! These people are all flesh peddlers for money and that includes the IHP pet store. I don’t believe for one minute what Crick claims about the Golden Retriever she murdered in cold blood. Even if any part of that story were true, the poor dog would have been insane from the conditions she was forced to live in. Who ever heard of a mother dog killing all her babies? Crick does her dirty work in seclusion. Who knows how much horror this monster is responsible for and how many dogs and puppies she murdered? If she was caught killing one, she killed more. Where is the evidence to Crick’s lies? Do you see any protection from the weather in those out door cages in the heart of Nebraska? NO! Where are all the dogs? What about the long haired ones especially? In these pictures the place is empty. This concentration camp was cleaned up for Crick’s camera. The CAPS photos do not lie. As for USDA, they are worse than useless; they are impetant enablers whose slap on the wrist policies allow monsters like Crick to exist. I had plenty of experience with them when I researched and exposed the horrible health conditions of the elephants in the L. A. Zoo the and chimps whose night quarters were cold, bare concrete boxes. The monsters are not afraid of the USDA because they know all they will get is a small fine and it can be six months or more before they are checked out again. USDA needs a complete overhaul and so do the laws that are SUPPOSED to protect animals from unscrupulous, heartless animal pimps. These people are all flesh peddlers for money and that includes IHP pet shop. I sincerely hope IHP folds at this point. They refuse to go humane after all the evidence has been put in their faces. They close their eyes to the facts and their hearts to all the suffering and pain, to complete lifetimes spent in abject misery without any human kindness and companionship.IHP prefers to be part of this. Who needs them? Certainly not the dogs and their puppies and not CDR either.
PJ’s Pets, the mega chain of pet stores, announced Tuesday it will stop selling pets in its 41 stores across Canada, reports Yahoo News Canada.
Instead, the company will make the space available for pet adoption organizations, allowing them to educate prospective owners, advertise pets in need of a home and process adoption applications. Some pet stores might even offer kennel space, reports the Toronto Sun.
“More than two million pet lovers visit our stores every year. We recognized that we can provide a significantly positive effect on local pet communities by working with adoption agencies to help them find homes for their pets,” said president and CEO John Jules in a news release.
I’m with Leon. How about the reporter show up when UNEXPECTED?? THEN let’s see how that interview goes (and how the pictures would REALLY look). I remember Natalie Morales doing an interview and being given a tour with Ringling Bros. She went on and on about how beautiful things were, how cute the newborn eles were, and she saw no sign of abuse, neglect or mistreatment. John Stossel did the same thing with the same results. Yet we have an incredible amount of “undercover” footage and interviews with former Ringling workers showing and stating EXACTLY the opposite.
The fact that this woman took euthanasia into her own hands and her having compliance issues with USDA inspections since 2008, are beyond red flags. Yet businesses continue to do business with her?? And to add insult to injury, she has no idea where her dogs end up?? Reputable breeders would be appalled. So am I. And why I Heart Puppies isn’t, is reprehensible.
LOL, ARs depend on the ignorance of the public and their disbelief that they have an agenda of ending animal ownership. I am the legislative liaison for my national breed club. My volunteer job is to keep up with all animal issues in all our states and keep the membership informed. There was a pet overpopulation problem 30 years ago, but because of people like our members educating pet owners the pedulum has swung so far in the opposite direction we are facing a shortage of available animals. There are many reasons dogs die in shelters, and it is not because there are not enough homes nor because of a well planned litter. One big reason is poorly managed shelters. Meanwhile well run shelters–and shelters are a business–must keep their doors open to justify their expenses. Some say that shelters are becoming our new pet stores. Because there is a greater demand than supply, puppies are being imported from developing countries for placement through U.S. shelters. Shelters are not being held accountable so we have allowed the AR activists to continue the myth of overpopulation and blaming breeders.
As for Missouri, HSUS spent millions to get Propostion B on the ballot and to promote passage. It passed by about 52%. 112 of MO 114 counties voted against proposition B. The densely populated Kansas City and St. Louis made up of city folk that know nothing about animal husbandry were who made up the 52%. These city folks were allowed to dictate to people who have devoted their lives to the welfare of their animals. That is why Missouri is fighting back.
Just because you can’t take care of multiple dogs doesn’t mean it can’t be done and done well. Many are assuming lots about the care given in the kennel in this story, BUT you don’t know. The breeders you define as good, I agree, but they cannot and don’t supply enough for the demand. There are good commercial breeders that fill the gap with healthy well cared for puppies.
“There are good commercial breeders that fill the gap with healthy well cared for puppies….” True. But what about the health and living condition of the sires and dams??
Unhealthy unhappy dogs don’t reproduce. Bitches heat cycles range from every 6-8 months ( I have one that is on a 9 month cycle). There is a 2-3 day period within the approx 22-23 day cycle they can become pregnant. Gestation is 58-63 days. Bitches can really only have one litter a year because it is at least 6 months before they can conceive another litter and 2 more months before they whelp. The image the ARs give leads many to believe that commercial bred bitches are kept pregnant in tiny cages 24/7 and that is very misleading. Most beleive that you should skip a cycle before breeding again, but there are some studies that say consecutive breeding is healthier. What I see in the photos are good size kennels as a primary structure with a separate yard for exercising. I know dogs raised in kennels that are given lots of attention and prefer their runs to inside a house and I know house dogs that do not like being in a dog run. ARs images are troubling in many ways and their exaggeration of a problem is leading to one size fts all laws that hurt good breeders of all kinds.
Dear Mr. Wake up folks….. “I Heart Puppies” is a puppy mill front.
This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
Those pictures look dirty to me. Many of these dogs sold at these stores end up in OC Shelter when the owners get bored with them. Some got adopted from this video, but most of these dogs in the video have been killed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_tniCLkpfo
I agree, if I was thinking about buying a puppy (never) and saw this article with the photos, NEVER in a million years would I buy a puppy that came from this breeder. UGH, the place is disgusting, the welping cages, the dogs can’t look out, they live in the dark. Ms. Bradford you think this place is good, OMG, you don’t heart puppies at all, you only like the mark up of $1000. This article says she didn’t know it wasn’t O.K. to shoot a dog, OMG, this is shocking how many dogs did she shoot before she was caught? Ms. Bradford thinks this is a good breeding kennel, wise up everyone, she is a greedy non-animal person, making money off the backs of animals.
This conversation has certainly enlightened me. IF that is what you are calling a Puppy Mill, I am embarrassed that I did anything to oppose them. It is clearly a clean well run facility. I will not speculate on the motivations of those screaming against this woman and her business, but I suspect they are up to no good.
IF they attack her, is anyone safe from this kind of trouble makers?? Who can stand up to their intolerance? I have fostered many animals from these ‘so-called’ puppy mills. Now I wonder who the real victims are.
This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake…
You sound like a looped recording.
Dear Joyce… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLclYVClXMs&feature=share
Broken record. Why is the moderator allowing the same insipid postings over from Kelly over and over?
I’ve wondered that too. It’s like an on-screen echo. Does she think posting it more than 3 times will make people take her more seriously or make it more believable? While there is proof that repetition sells, too much repetition is just annoying. Kinda like songs on the radio that you like the first few times you hear it but a month later turn the channel when it comes on because it’s been so overplayed.
I hope you all will be satisfied with those lab, pit and shepherd mixes at the animal shelters as when all the commercial breeders and petstores are gone that is all that will be out there. Only the very wealthy will be able to afford a dog from one of those snooty show breeders. Euthanasia by injection is always the preferred method but when you have a dog that is attacking how are you going to get it to the vet. A bullet is the second best method or would you rather her give this dangerous dog to a rescue so it can go berserk on someone else perhaps your child.
She did the responsible thing and I am sure it was not easy for her to do. Professional dog breeders are not the problem. It is irresponsible pet owners.
Really, Cheanne? Not only will you find loads of purebreds at shelters but breed specific rescues have them in scores (due to irresponsible pet owners – that I will agree with you on; these same people who dump their dogs when they are too old, too sick, they are moving, they had a new baby, they can’t afford vet bills, it was too much work and responsibility, they don’t have time, etc.)
And those snooty show breeders can be proud of a few things; health testing done on their sires/dams, limited breeding per year, concern for the health and emotional well being of their sires, dams and pups, the conditions of their kennels and how they are raised, where their pups are placed, and the option of a return of a pup if need be. And many of your so-called snooty breeders work with breed specific rescues to place retired sires/dams into good homes, and will refer out to rescues when need be.
No one here advocates placing an aggressive dog with a family or rescue; and sometimes HUMANE euthanasia is the only choice in these types of circumstances. This breeder could have muzzled her dog and/or given it a sedative with food in order for a licensed vet to administer euthanasia properly…and not with a gunshot to the head.
And your view that only sub-standard pets will be available when pet stores are gone is quite heartbreaking on a few levels. I mean, heaven forbid someone has to resort to a “mutt.” (smirk) Are you saying it’s o.k. that these places operate (and by so doing, support puppy mills) as long as this country gets it’s cute little puppy?? Let the sires/dams suffer on a grande scale as long as we get our dog of choice?? No one is advocating the end of responsible breeding as professional, responsible, reputable breeders aren’t the problem. But you better believe puppy mills (and their abysmal conditions) are.
*Any Person in the city of Newport Beach : If you decide of your own volition that a purebred puppy is the right choice for your family. Locate a local Hobby breeder. There are thousands in the tri-county area! They will supply your family with a healthy purebred, without disease, and bred with quality of the breed in mind. “I Heart Puppies” is a documented puppy mill front!…The city council has the Legally documented evidence and video footage!!
I Heart Puppies and their owners publicly admit that they use commercial midwest breeders. They see nothing wrong with supplying patrons with live animals from people who commit federal crimes against animals. I Heart Puppies and its owners will tell you, their puppies come from california and not midwest puppy mills when infact they endorse media articles showing the public their best example of a breeder, Barb Krick. I Heart Puppies breeder has government documented crimes of FEDERAL LAW, NEBRASKA LAW AND USDA. THIS is the supplier they publicly brag to patrons about using while they have a “no puppy mill” sign in their front window. They have no business experience in the pet, shelter, or animal welfare industry. Their very own statement in an article to CDM Today…”They visited a friend in San Diego who owns a pet store, and thought it was a good BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY”!! They have ZERO past experience and push puppy mill dogs on unsuspecting patrons committing Consumer Fraud.. The City Council of Newport Beach was presented with legal government documents on the Puppy Mill Suppliers “I Heart Puppies” uses. They also have video footage! Ask you local City Representative for this evidence submitted in meeting and on record!!..
*Any Person in the city of Newport Beach : If you decide of your own volition that a purebred puppy is the right choice for your family. Locate a local Hobby breeder. There are thousands in the tri-county area! The will supply your family with a healthy purebred, without disease, and bred with quality of the breed in mind. “I Heart Puppies” is a documented puppy mill front!…The city council has the Legally documented evidence and video footage!
I was on the stores side until I saw this article. If those pictures show what a good breeder looks like, I’ll pass. Not sure why, but I was expecting to see a mother dog in a house or garage or something taking care of her puppies. I don’t know where we’ll get our next dog if we get one but it won’t be at that store. That’s just nasty.
Hi Jay, the APHIS regulations for raising dogs for resale do not allow you to keep dogs in your house. They must be kept in kennels under strictly proscribed conditions such as nonporous flooring, separate asccomodations, drains in the floor, use of toxic disinfectants for daily cleaning etc. There is actually a federal law now in the works called “PUPS” that would extend the APHIS regulations to many small home breeders who own just ONE intact female, depending on the number of pups sold per year. Once a number for dogs sold is set in the law, the goal that has been publicly admitted by the HSUS is to “ratchet down the numbers with future amendments.” Very sad for all of us what is going on right now in our country. I fear soon dog breeding will be a practical impossibility for anyone, and all that will be left are unregulated, imported dogs from countries with rabies, who are bred under conditions worse than anything we can imagine here. YIKES!
Kaitlyn, with that being said, puppy mills are a far cry from the conditions you described above, wouldn’t you agree? I would hate to think that we would continue to allow this type of operation for fear that dog breeding would be a future “impossibility” and that people would adopt the attitude of, “If we can’t beat them…join them” mentality, when it comes to large scale breeding operations done under deplorable conditions that we see with mills all over the country. Many of us here, I believe, are on the same page; the desire for responsible, reputable breeding as well as responsible rescue/adoption, and the abolition of puppy mills. If that is the case, what are your suggestions for moving forward?
I’m sorry, “Antilmills” but the term “puppy mill” is meaningless, so obviously I can’t agree with your supposition involving the use of a legally undefined term. Suggestions for moving forward with what? There are already reams of regulations that apply to pet stores and commercial breeders. There is a puppy lemon law in case a buyer gets a dog with a health problem. Kennels are shut down every day for violations of the AWA. The system is working. We need to tighten up the rules for resales of rescues, and for their transportation and importation. That would be a great move forward.
Just because “puppy mill” isn’t a legally defined term doesn’t mean it fails to exist or that we shouldn’t address it. How about “breeding operation that fails to meet USDA/AWA standards and does not provide porous surfaces, proper vet care, heating in the winter, cooling in the summer, humane euthanasia, et al.”? And we could tighten up rules for resales of rescues which would be great, but that doesn’t dismiss the large elephant in the room; too many breeding facilities operating in the abysmal conditions mentioned above, despite the involvement of the USDA and AWA.
@Antimills: I agree that just because it’s not a legal term doesn’t mean they don’t exist. But I also agree with Kaitlyn in that the concept of puppymill is so varied and opinion-based, one can’t simply “agree” to something that isn’t black or white. It’s not like being pregnant where you either are or aren’t.
As to your suggested definition for puppymill, if the fact that an operation doesn’t meet USDA standards is the definition, then to be legitimate and fair you’d need to apply that definition to ALL (not just kennels) operations that are inspected by USDA and/or USDA subsets. This would include conveinece stores, restaurants, and groceries stores as well. Do you know how many food-facilities would be deemed “unacceptable”? Very few facilities would be able to pass 100% on their inspections 100% of the time. Why? Because the rules are enforced by human beings who have emotions and can be as strict or lenient with those rules as they choose. A single dead fly on the floor could be overlooked or written down as insect infestation. And I’ve heard people say that a police officer “isn’t doing his job unless he’s giving people tickets.” Same with an inspector…if an inspector gave a glowing report to 99% of his charges everytime he went there, that would seem rather odd wouldn’t it? And many of the rules themselves are open to interpretation. Bedding, for instance, would vary depending on if it was for a Lab or a St. Bernard, a Heeler or an Alaskan Malamute.
To some people puppymill is black and white: Any person with multiple breeding dogs in kennels, no matter how clean, healthy, or happy those dogs are. But for others (and I am in this group) multiple producing animals doesn’t automatically constitute puppymill.
Hi Jay here is your very simple solution….
This store uses breeders that are violators of the USDA. They are a Puppy Mill Front and their broker has no license to do business. One of their breeders is under going criminal investigation for breaking Federal Law “The Animal Welfare Act”, Nebraska State Law (it’s a midwest Puppy Mill), and the USDA. They have admitted publicly that they use this breeder. They have never been in the Pet store business before opening in Corona Del Mar. The owners have no regard for the health hazards of their patrons by supplying puppy mill dogs and lying about it. They commit consumer fraud and tell you they do not use puppy mills from out of state… Ask the Newport Beach City Council.. they were supplied with legal USDA documents and video footage or “I Heart Puppies” Puppy Mill Suppliers. Get your purebred from a reputable hobby breeder and ask them for a veterinary reference as well as satisfied customer reference.. This store is unethical, supports, and supplies their puppy mill dogs from documented criminals who violate the law, and put the health and welfare of patrons and their children at stake.
*Any Person in the city of Newport Beach : If you decide of your own volition that a purebred puppy is the right choice for your family. Locate a local Hobby breeder. There are thousands in the tri-county area! The will supply your family with a healthy purebred, without disease, and bred with quality of the breed in mind. “I Heart Puppies” is a documented puppy mill front!…The city council has the Legally documented evidence and video footage!
It astonishes me that the women who own this store in Newport Beach find this arrangement acceptable. Are they happy that the parents of dogs they sell for whatever inflated price they charge live their lives in cages? How can anyone who cares about animals (as opposed to caring about money) see this and not want to stop dealing with this breeder immediately?
As someone posted earlier, this is not a woman who cares about her animals. If she cared, she would be concerned about where they end up instead of handing them over to a broker before moving on to the next batch.
Did anyone ask her what happens to the females once they get too old to breed? Does that gun come out again?
Look. The fact that the USDA is investigating her says a lot. The USDA lets people get away with murder–literally in some cases. If the AKC lets Crick give papers with her dogs, then contact the AKC and see if they find it acceptable that they are essentially certifying a breeder who has broken federal law.
If the AKC dumps her, the Real Housewives of Orange County and their ilk won’t buy from her.
My my my – words!! No one says that shelters sell at inflated prices – yet they do. They even AUCTION OFF puppies – something no AKC breeder would condone.
Making laws to stifle jobs is just what’s needed to take this country further down the path of ruin and into socialism or Marxism. Don’t forget – most of the shelter PAID workers are unionized – and you KNOW that Unions NEVER let go of a job slot once they get it. Look further than your nose – the USDA DOES inspect these breeders. No – I wouldn’t buy a dog from them – but I’m very particular.
Maybe educating the public might be a better solution – many of the radical views here are from the H$U$ and they are NO friend of animals. The intent is to separate humans from the rest of the animal world – no food, no clothing materials, no service animals, no PETS!!! What an ugly world that would be!
I find it ironic that NOW that there is synthetic insulin and estrogen and other drugs – these idiots want to stop any progress in health research. Funny – soy is really NOT a panacea – in fact, it’s quite dangerous to the health and well-being of humans if taken in mass quantity. Maybe this will kill off the vegans and let normalcy rule once again.
Beware of the unintended consequences. You may not think that’s the agenda – but watch out!!!!!
🙁
The radicals on this comment section try to drown out opposing views by claiming the facts are not correct. So let’s remind you of the facts once again.
Here’s what the citizens of Newport Beach will have to look forward to in the future with retail sales bans that only allow “rescues” to sell animals. Many rescue groups import dogs from other states and even other countries. Allowing feral and stray dogs to enter the continental US is a health risk to both humans and our animals here.
In 2003, “Save A Sato” sent a dog to Massachussets that was infected with RABIES. The puppy was so young that it hadn’t had a rabies vaccine. But it was not too young to get that fatal disease, or to expose other dogs and humans in the “rescue” process.
A recent shipment of 222 dogs from Puerto Rico demonstrates the hazards of bringing in dogs from overseas. Although dogs are regularly shipped into the Northeastern states from Puerto Rico, this particular shipment, arranged by the Puerto Rico Animal Welfare Society, was motivated by the opportunity to win a $100,000 grant. The ASPCA offered the prize to the organization with the largest adoption participation in an event called Second Chance for Love adopt-a-thon. The dogs involved were headed to one of the many participating pet supply stores that use rescue dogs as a loss leader to attract shoppers. After being airlifted to Florida for a layover, though, more than 100 of the dogs became ill with parvovirus and distemper, 107 of them eventually dying. As it turned out, many of the dogs in the shipment were infested with hook worms, round worms and coccidia, and although the dogs were supposed to be 4 months old and healthy to participate in the contest, some were only 4 weeks old and shockingly, had already been altered. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that some of these dogs are intentionally bred for the US “rescue” trade.
None of these dogs ever made it out of Florida. Instead, they remained there and received veterinary treatments valued at $185,000 and were adopted out through local shelters.
Canine strain rabies in indigenous US dogs was officially pronounced eradicated in 2006 by the Centers for Disease Control, but since then a number of rabid dogs have been imported, nearly all rescue dogs from countries with ongoing rabies epidemics. These dogs have come from a variety of locales including Puerto Rico, Thailand, and India.
Interstate relocation of “rescue” dogs is also very common and is an area in sore need of regulation. Dogs are transported between states to areas of high demand. The conditions under which these dogs are bred is oftentimes unknown, as is their background and health history. The conditions of transport are also unmonitored. But the most serious risks to the public occur when puppies who are brought into an area are too young to have had their course of vaccinations, or are infested with parasites. These puppies may be from unknown locales, having an unknown health history, with probable exposure to many diseases.
In New Hampshire in 1994, 665 people had to be treated for rabies because a pet store decided to sell feral kittens, one of which was rabid. The health risks from unregulated rescued animals, who can originally be stray or feral animals, need to be addressed and more laws are needed to protect the public health and safety. That’s one good reason for pet stores to only offer animals for sale from well-regulated sources. USDA regulated breeders have rigorous standards to adhere to. Those standards are what many people on this comment board seem to be objecting to, such as restriction on direct sales, prohibition of using porous flooring, requirements for ventilation systems etc.
And did you know that with the federal PUPS proposal, many more breeders, even small home breeders, will have to comply with USDA rules? Even smaller breeders with few dogs will have to maintain their dogs in kennel-type conditions. The law of unintended consequences.
Kaitlyn, I agree. I ask most of the posters, here, is it ethical for animal shelters to import thousands of dogs that can expose the public to unknown diseases while condemning breeders in this country?