Puppies Treated Like Products, Not Family, at The Family Puppy Stores

A group of Michigan citizens are fighting puppy mill cruelty in their own backyard by protesting at local puppy retailers and educating the public about the suffering behind pet store puppies. Led by Pam Sordyl, the group's founder, Puppy Mill Awareness Meetup has helped shut down several puppy-peddling pet stores in southeast Michigan.

Now they're taking on The Family Puppy (a.k.a. Family of Pets), Michigan's largest puppy retailer, urging the company to stop selling puppies and start supporting adoption. So far, owner John Stottele has failed to address the growing list of animal welfare and consumer protection concerns raised by the group. Instead, Sordyl says, his responses sound like advertisements for the store. "Since we believe puppies are not products, the fact that he markets them like a product is very disturbing."

In addition to staging weekly protests outside The Family Puppy stores every weekend, Puppy Mill Awareness Meetup recently released an investigation revealing that the breeders who supply puppies to the store aren't exactly the Mom-n-Pop shops the company wants you to believe they are.

During 2009-2010, 13 of the 16 primary puppy suppliers used by The Family Puppy were cited by the USDA for non-compliance with the Animal Welfare Act, ranging from sanitation problems to inadequate veterinary care; some are even under investigation for repeat violations. Six of those breeders also work with Petland, the national company famous for its close ties to puppy mills.

“While purchasing from puppy mills is not illegal, it is highly unethical," notes Sordyl. "We value our companion animals and find it hard to see the difference between a family member and 'breeding stock' ... The pet store may not be breaking laws but they are working with breeders that are." So much for family values at The Family Puppy.

Stottele told a local newspaper that he doesn't believe ending puppy sales in favor of adoption is fair to his customers.

What's not fair is treating dogs like commodities, forcing them to spend their lives in dirty, wire-floored cages caked with their own feces, with little to no protection from the elements. Or breeding them until their bodies break down and then, in many cases, auctioning them off to another puppy mill to try and squeeze one last litter out of the dog.

These are Sordyl's clients. "I am standing out by the road for my clients, the victims living their lives in kennels for the pet trade. It is not about the public's choice, it is about the dog's not having a choice."

Speaking of the public, what's also not fair is telling your customers that they're getting hand-picked puppies that are not from "breeders that have issues or red flags," when the majority of your breeders are out-of-state with USDA rap sheets.

Stottele also claimed, "I don't know of a customer who is not happy." He might want to check with the Michigan Department of Agriculture, where 33 complaints have been filed, covering 29 different types of problems with puppies purchased from The Family Puppy.

“We are asking the public to learn the facts about this store’s breeders and avoid contributing to the cruel pet trade,” says Sordyl. Puppy Mill Awareness Meetup has released The Family Puppy Breeder Fact Sheet (pdf) to help inform potential customers about the cruel reality behind the store's statements.

The group is also asking everyone to sign their petition calling on The Family Puppy to stop supporting out-of-state puppy mills and start helping animals in their own community.

Photo credit: Puppy Mill Awareness Meetup