urine stained, underweight and under aged puppies
from puppy broker – vet quits
The Family Puppy pet store is located in the Genesee
Valley Mall at 3341 S
Linden Rd, Flint, Michigan.
Dr. Pinkston, of Swartz Creek
Veterinary Hospital, who has been servicing The Family Puppy since the store opened in 2009 put in his official
notice to end the relationship on February 29, 2012. The Michigan Department of
Agriculture workorder included an interview with Dr. Pinston stating “the
puppies were coming in with urine stainings, unkept fur and underweight body
conditions.” Pinkston was uncomfortable with the store working with brokers
rather than breeders and the store owed him a large amount of money.
The relationship upbruptly ended
after a pet store employee brought in a female Bichone Frise/Yorkshire Terrier
mix with diarrhea, lethargy, vomitting
and anorexia. The puppy tested positive for parvovirus.
“Parvovirus is a very
contagious and deadly disease that could cost $1,000 per night in veterinary
costs to treat”, said Pam Sordyl, founder of Puppy Mill Awareness of Southeast
Michigan. “Families who visit the store could bring this virus home to their
own pets if the store is not quarrantined and disinfected properly”.
According to Dr. Pinkston’s report, John Stottele, the pet store owner refused to accept the diagnosis of parvious and ordered the puppy to be euthanized. Dr. Pinkston stated he felt Stottele was trying to dictate how to practice veterinary medicine.
The Michigan Department of
Agriculture is currently investigating the store’s puppy shipments from out of
state commercial breeders and brokers to ensure puppies are at least eight
weeks of age.
History of Complaints
Puppy Mill Awareness of Southeat Michigan has been collecting complaints related to ill animals purchased at The Family Puppy. Over 70 complaints have been logged and 29 different type problems have been noted.
Puppy Mill Awareness of Southeat Michigan has been collecting complaints related to ill animals purchased at The Family Puppy. Over 70 complaints have been logged and 29 different type problems have been noted.
“The
Michigan Pet Lemon Law SB 574, pending a hearing on the Senate Floor would
protect consumers from purchasing ill dogs and cats from pet stores, breeders
and dealers.” said Sordyl
Connection to
Puppy Mills
Sordyl’s breeder investigation revealed that the Family
Puppy has worked with breeders from Minnesota, Indiana and Ohio over the last
three years. The store claims they pick-up and transport all of their puppies to the five
store locations, yet over 170 puppies have been shipped from a broker/distributor, Patrick Fulton, in
Minnesota with violations to the Animal Welfare Act, including selling puppies
under age and insufficient floor space requirements.
“The
female Bichon/Yorkie was brought into Pinkston’s office just under 6 weeks of
age. It is illegal to sell puppies under eight weeks.” said Sordyl. “These dogs
are coming off the truck sick because they are too young to be shipped from the
Midwest . Their immune systems have not yet
been developed”.
Pet stores, including The Family Puppy, will tell
customers that they do not get dogs from puppy mills, but only mass-breeding
facilities can fulfill the demand for retail pet store orders.
The Puppy Mill Awareness Meetup is working to build
awareness toward ending mass production of dogs in "puppy mills." The
group’s public education campaign teaches the public about the origins of pet
store puppies and lobbies for stronger laws for animal breeding.
