# Please read and act on this



## MissMelanie (Feb 13, 2006)

Hello,

I got this in an email from a friend. As some of you TRUST, I feel very strong about this issue. So much so, I am jobless now.

I have been working with Charlie Crist for a few years on this case and am so happy it's finally in court!
Please take the time to click on this url and take action in anyway you are able. *Puppymills must be stopped!*

[url]https://community.hsus.org/humane/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=10728297[/url] 

Thank you all!
Melanie


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

Melanie, someone else posted this same site today regarding Wizard of Claws. I've posted it to another board also. We can never say it enough.



Hopefully, that class action suit will shut them down eventually.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Melanie, can you ask Joe to pin this in our Breeders section?

This is a message that seems to still not be getting out there to the general public. We get new members here on a regular basis who have bought their puppies from a pet store or an internet breeder and are completely unaware of the genetic health problems that can come with these puppies. Most still don't know that pet store puppies come from puppy mills. Others see a pretty website and don't know that those pictures of cute puppies can be stolen from other websites and they are often just brokers for the mills.

Don't let these people get rich off the suffering of these poor animals! Don't put a penny in their pocket because by doing so, you are part of the problem.

I've posted this before, but it's worth posting again.

Thanks from Your Local Pet Store Owner

Thank you so much for buying a puppy from my pet store. Your business is important to me. After all, selling puppies is how I make my living. Every person deserves to make a living, don't they? I've gotta tell you, the pet store business is a tough one. With live merchandise you have all these extra rules and regulations the do gooders forced on us. Well they didn't make me do anything different, except now I gotta fill out a lot more paperwork. But is worth it. Puppies and kittens are important to my business and there are plenty of buyers out there.

Some people are trying to make out like pet stores are evil or something. I always get a big snicker from the sanctimonious twits who talk bad about pet shops but are always coming into my store to see the "poor puppies." They just can't seem to stop themselves. And they almost never leave without buying something. Having puppies in the store is an important part of selling the other merchandise. I try to put the puppies where people can see them as they walk by the store. That draws them in. I can make money without even selling the puppies.

I don't see why selling puppies in my pet store is any worse than raising any other kind of livestock. At least most of my puppies live longer than eight weeks! I've heard that most pet store puppies live one or two years and some much longer, eight or ten years! Much longer than chickens. I treat my puppies very well while they are here. And I use approved methods for disposing of the unsalable ones. I care about these puppies and don't want them to suffer, you know.

Do I support "puppy lemon laws"? Well they are a bit of nuisance but they don't really affect my business. It's not like a guarantee on a toaster you know. People get attached. They don't want to return the puppy. Anyway contagious disease isn't a big problem.

If I get something really contagious like Parvo I take quick action. All the puppies in the store are put down right away. Everything is disinfected and a new supply of puppies brought in. Often I have to fill the empty space with puppies from another breeder but quick action limits my costs and means I won't end up on the hook for a lot of vet bills.

As for other kinds of disease like hip dysplasia and such well frankly it just isn't a big concern. Most of this stuff doesn't show up for a long time. And the legislation doesn't cover it because it can happen even to the hobby breeder. Someone once asked me why I didn't check for genetic disease. It was all I could do not to call the person an idiot! Why should I check for genetic disease? It's expensive and almost no one ever asks so obviously they don't care. And anyway I give a six month guarantee. Pretty generous!

Not that I've ever had to pay off or anything. I have had a couple people complain but I always make sure to carefully explain that the best thing to do for their poor suffering puppy is to "put it to sleep." Most people will take the puppy away and not bother me any more about it.

Any one who walks into my store and wants to know about the health of my puppies I just tell them that they are very healthy! Of course if they want to know about genetic diseases I have to use a different strategy. First I try to explain that its always the fault of the owner if a dog gets something like patellar luxation or hip dysplasia. If they get nasty or something I ask them if they really want to buy a dog from a hobby breeder? I'm a professional, I make my living off of dogs. I breed lots and lots of puppies. I sell most of them. After all its very hard to resist that cute little puppy in the cage.

It's very simple. Every time someone buys a puppy I make at least $100, quite a bit more if they buy the puppy when its little. Yeah, puppies are cute, but you can't afford to get too sentimental. Puppy selling is a business and if you don't treat it as such then you can't stay in the game. It's all about cost/risk/benefit. If you lose sight of that you better get out of the business, just sell supplies or something.

Despite what everyone says there is a large market out there for pet store puppies. There is absolutely no need to waste good money of hip tests and other such crap. The truth is simple. Even when people know better the puppies are so cute that they just can't help themselves so they buy them. Heee hee Pretty cool. It doesn't look good to have lots of empty cages so I make sure I always have puppies on the way. Sometimes I get a bit of a scare, though. Like last year.

There was a lot a bad press about pet stores and all of the sudden no one was buying. Well of course if I'm not selling the ones in the store its pretty stupid to be breeding more, so I told my staff to hold back a bit. I was afraid for a short time that I was going to actually have to stop breeding entirely. No point in breeding if you aren't selling. Fortunately as the puppies that we had for sale got older some of those do gooder types started to get worried. I made sure my staff played off on this. They were told that if anyone asked what happened to the unsold puppies that they should just look real sad and say that they were "taken care of." I liked that. A real noncommittal answer and the absolute truth too!

I told the staff not to use a larger cage too, that would make the puppies look bigger and sadder. So of course the puppies were "rescued" from my shop. I got enough money to cover the costs of keeping them, a small profit, and the scare was over. Back to breeding. As long as there are buyers I'm going to keep raising puppies and selling them in my store. No reason not to.


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## KandiMaltese (Mar 27, 2007)

Melanie, I am sorry to hear you are jobless. But hopefully for a good cause! 

Andrea


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## coco (Sep 20, 2006)

I don't understand. Why are you unemployed? What does that have to do with the puppymill thing? Glad they are closing them down. They need to be. I know Fabulous Puppies is not in business on Federal Hwy in Boca now. I hope they didn't just move but were closed by the state. Thanks for posting the link.


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## coco (Sep 20, 2006)

Once again,Melanie, I am worried. Why are you jobless? I am confused about the puppymill stuff and you losing a job. Hope things are okay.







Did it have to do with the Governor? Help me out here. 
<thinking I may have lost it, as I thought your outside job was with kids>


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## KandiMaltese (Mar 27, 2007)

Mary Ann, she worked in a pet boutique that sold puppies, I think. I believe they started carrying puppies AFTER she was ALREADY working there. I could be wrong, but I think that is what I was told. Good for you Mel, for standing up for a good cause! That's awesome!


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## I found nemo (Feb 23, 2006)

Well she doesn't work there anymore, thank God..
Thanks Mel for your post!!!








ANDREA


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## MissMelanie (Feb 13, 2006)

> I don't understand. Why are you unemployed? What does that have to do with the puppymill thing? Glad they are closing them down. They need to be. I know Fabulous Puppies is not in business on Federal Hwy in Boca now. I hope they didn't just move but were closed by the state. Thanks for posting the link. [/B]




Dear Mary Ann,

I was working at a Pet Boutique, and then the owner started getting puppies into the store to sell. I tried at first softly to give her information and then I tried a bit more strongly to info her to the damage she was doing. I thought perhaps she was learning, but I was mistaken when she got a few more puppies in. I just can not work there.

I will go back to teaching in the Fall. Until then so far I am jobless. YEAH it's summer time.










Thank you Brit, I saw that it was posted before I did, but only AFTER I had posted it.

Yes Marj, I will ask Joe to Pin this, everyone does need to know.

Thank you Andrea and Andrea you are welcome. This is an issue that needs to be beaten into heads it seems. We all "hear" about how "awful" Puppymills are but it takes a lot to get action. 

It sure did me for a bit. I thought being at the Pet Boutique in the backroom on the computer wasn't in anyway having anything to do with the puppies. Foolish me.

I see the light!

Melanie


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## CathyB (Mar 10, 2007)

Thank you so much Miss Melanie for posting. I have spent hours reading and compiling articles that I can use in the future from the vast information posted on this site. I think we all should do what we can to help stop the exploitation of any animal domestic or otherwise, zoo's included. 








I did enjoy








Cathy B.


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## Carole (Nov 1, 2005)

When it comes to family income being on the line....that was probably a very hard decision to make. Bless your heart.










~Carole & the Fur-girls~


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## starry (Sep 4, 2006)

Mel, As Ive posted on another forum, I don't want any pats on the back just want to say I printed these pictures and articles out,(dear God it was hard to look at them







) and carry them in my purse with scotch tape (I have a big purse














) and randomly post them where I can..bathroom stalls,petsmart bulliten board and gave them to the people trying to foster dogs in front.Some of these nice dog fostering/adoption folks didn't know anything about these puppymills so hopefully the word is getting out.
Also I got the call your congress man card in my humane society beg mail, that is by my computer that I need to do.
I just wanted to say thank you for being active and Im sorry you lost your job. I would be proud to walk out with you.


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

Melanie, thank you so much for posting this and for your stance on pet store's selling puppies!!


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## pburnette (Jun 15, 2006)

Hi Melanie,

We own the Breeder/Exhibitor list for reputable breeders. I am so glad that you posted this. I get so many calls from people with sad stories from people that have bought puppies from a puppy mill or backyard breeder. One person got a deaf puppy. Another person got a brain damaged puppy. Others have gotten puppies that died. These people can sell their puppies for much less money as they put no time into it and they do not study the ancestry of the male and female that they are breeding. I have heard that some of them will breed a Bichon to a Maltese because a bichon (sp) can have more puppies. When they are puppies, you can not tell the difference. I have seen places that raise their puppies in rabbit cages or unsanitary conditions. If people do not check you out as the person to purchase their puppy, they do not care where their puppy is going to spend its life. All they want is your money. You will never hear from them again. They have your money and you may have a sick puppy. They often breed in mass production and do not even have to show you the correct parents. If people are money hungry, they will do some unethical things. You will pay more for a healthy top quality puppy as we have huge expenses and spend our time studying the breed and giving the Maltese the best of care and breeding only to improve the breed. We give up traveling and other ventures in our lives to breed the very best. You will pay for a top quality healthy Maltese now or you will pay for it later when it becomes sick. You will pay for it in vet bills, and emotional sadness if your puppy is sick or dies. If you want a Maltese that looks like the Maltese that you see pictured in the books and at the shows, please deal with a reputable breeder and please get references.

My post is long, but I get very upset when I see people that have been "taken" by people that are breeding only for the money. I have seen this problem before I got my first Maltese in 1989,

Phyllis Burnette
Ga-Li Maltese


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