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Petland: Caught Selling Sick Puppies…Again

March 17, 2008, 1:57AM MT

By Jennifer Krause

Couple’s puppy dies of Parvo, Petland’s suppliers exposed as puppy mills

Couple’s puppy dies of Parvo, Petland’s suppliers exposed as puppy mills

In late January, a young Iowa couple walked into the West Des Moines Petland and walked out with a Siberian Husky puppy. Like many people, the Halbrooks fell for an adorable puppy, and must have felt confident that they were getting a wonderful family pet. They paid $1368.69 for the puppy (financed with a 21% interest rate); they received a health guarantee; free vet exam and registration papers. They named their puppy Giada.

Two days later when Giada fell ill with diarrhea, they took her to the veterinarian recommended by Petland: Starch Pet Hospital. Giada was sent home, and the Halbrooks were told to feed her plain yogurt to help the diarrhea. But the puppy’s condition only worsened. Vets diagnosed Giada with Parvo, one of the deadliest diseases a dog can get.

(Puppy at Petland, courtesy WHO-TV news in Des Moines)

Contrary to what pet store owner, manager or employee will tell you, a good breeder does not sell their dogs to a pet store. The puppies at pet stores are strictly there for someone (breeder - registry - broker - store) to churn out a profit, and since there are several parties involved that need to make a "cut" there are many shortcuts, and oversights, which, for the animal can translate into psychological and physical damage. And for the puppies’ buyer, an extraordinarily high price tag, at the store, and more often than not, an even higher price to pay later at the vet’s office.

Unfortunately, the heartbreak the Halbrook’s endured is not uncommon. 90-97% of the puppies sold at pet shops come from mass commercial breeding facilities (a.k.a puppy mills) where female dogs are forced to continually produce liter after litter with little or no medical care or attention. Conditions are generally unsanitary because of the high volume of dogs living in small-wired cages 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Since dogs receive proper nutrients needed to fight off illness from their mother’s milk, a healthy nursing mother is very important in the beginning stages of life and for their growth and development. Given that, the puppies are most likely nursed by a mother who is stressed and weak from being bred to capacity, the puppies are less likely to be strong enough to fight off illness. Another shortcut in this process is that the puppies are not tested for genetic disease and are not vaccinated properly.

From birth to the arrival at the pet shop, the puppy comes into contact with numerous animals at one or all of the following: the commercial breeding facility, consignment auction, brokers’ holding facilities, and during transportation, which is typically a semi truck traveling across many states, which may or may not be climate controlled.

Since parvovirus symptoms are not immediately detectable, a puppy with parvo may share a cage with a healthy puppy. Symptoms may not appear for several weeks, and by then the puppy might be in a new home.

To the Halbrook’s dismay, their new puppy began to seizure, and after a night of hospitalization at the vet where she endured multiple seizures, Giada was too far gone to save.

When the Halbrooks called Petland to tell the store what had happened to Giada, they offered the Halbrooks another Husky puppy. The couple declined, instead asking for their money back. Petland returned their money. Then, the Halbrooks decided to tell their story in hopes of warning others from the same devastating experience they had.

The couple came forward to WHO-TV news in Des Moines. The news station did better than just reporting the sad story; they investigated the Petland store’s puppy suppliers and questioned its owner, Tim Mohrfeld.

Click here to watch part one

Click here to watch part two

(Petland store owner, Tim Mohrfeld, courtesy WHO-TV news in Des Moines)

When the news station asked Mohrfeld if Petland’s puppies come from puppy mills, he answered: “These puppies do not come from puppy mills. We do our best to try to make sure that all the puppies, clear from the breeders, are the healthiest and of highest quality we can find.”

It’s a family affair in the commercial breeding industry. As it turns out, Petland store owner, Tim Mohrfeld’s method of seeking out high quality puppies is ordering them from his brother, Brian Mohrfeld who holds a USDA class B broker license and owns Perfect Puppies, which is called a “distributor” in Southeast Iowa. We looked up Brain Mohrfeld on PetShopPuppies.org, a website where puppy buyers can get a free report on the history of their dog, and it listed a superfluous amount of health issues associated with dogs supplied by Brian Mohrdeld.

Click here to see the Brian Mohrfeld / Perfect Puppies’ “puppy report.”

As if being a broker isn’t enough, Brian also owns Mohrfeld Farms, a commercial breeding facility in West Point, Iowa. Companion Animal Protection Society Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) investigated the premises on February 24th, 2007 and found hundreds of breeding dogs and puppies in overcrowded indoor and outdoor pens, most of them in serious need of medical attention.

Sadly, the CAPS investigation’s video shows various breeds ranging from Cocker Spaniels, to Mastiffs in cages entirely too small for the dog’s size. The report states, “One cage, housing four dogs of various breeds, had a white Poodle with thick mats covering its fur. Another cage housed four white Poodles with thick mats throughout their fur. One Pekingese, in a cage of four, had blue and red ulcer veins visible on both of its eyes.”

click here to view the CAPS investigation video of Brian Mohrfeld’s commercial breeding facility.

Channel 13 has also learned at least two dogs purchased at Petland in the past two months contracted Parvo. When they asked Tim Mohrfeld where they were bred, he denied they came from a breeder in southeast Iowa named Steve Kruse. Yet Kruse's name was found on several certificates of pedigree on dogs purchased at Petland, including one that had parvo.

(Puppy at Petland, courtesy WHO-TV news in Des Moines)

Click here to see Kruse’s “puppy report,” where he listed as the breeder of countless dogs who wound up having health problems, proving that Steve Kruse has a long history of selling sick dogs.

According to past reports, Kruse breeds hundreds, if not thousands of dogs on his farm in southern Iowa. When Channel 13 called Kruse and asked if he supplies Petland with puppies, he hung up on them.

So, why is Iowa Petland Owner Tim Mohrfeld denying ties to Steve Kruse? That’s easy – “Google” breeder “Steve Kruse" (Stonehenge Kennels) and plan to stay up for days reading his name linked to complaints, bad breeder lists, warnings, “rip off reports” and negative feedback by folks who have purchased sick puppies where Steve Kruse was listed as the breeder.

Big, burning questions – Why is it possible that Steve Kruse still holds a breeding license? And what about the Petland Manager’s brother, Brian Mohrfeld, who owns Perfect Puppies and Mohrfeld Farms? And worst of all, how does Petland, who keeps these breeders in business in the first place, manage stay open, not to mention, continue to open new stores across the country?Click here to read about Inaugural Austin Petland protest.

(Jennifer Hayes, courtesy of Julia Hilder)

Here’s the real bottom line: DO NOT ENTER a Petland. DO NOT BE TEMPTED. You are NOT “rescuing” an animal when you buy it from a pet store, but paying dishonest people like Tim Morhrfeld’s salary, and enabling people like Steve Kruse, and Brian Mohrfeld, to continue the cruel practice of commercial breeding where many animals end up sick, or dead, not to mention what happens to the puppies’ breeding relatives back on the “farm.”

Check out Consumer Reports on Petland , where a long list of people leave complaints about dogs they have purchased that have ended spending more time at vet’s offices than their new homes. There are even former employees from Petland disclosing horrible things that they saw while employed there.

Things you can do

1) Boycott Petland (even for supplies)

2) Organize a peaceful protest at your local Petland, or find out if there is already a protest in action, and join in on educating others on Petland's horrible practices.

3) Never buy a dog from a pet store, in an ad, or online. Always rescue or adopt from a rescue group or shelter.

4) Contact Petland's CEO and tell him that you will not support their business until they stop doing business with puppy mills

Greg Hudson, CEO
Petland Corporate Offices
250 Riverside St.
Chillicothe, OH 45601
(740) 775-2464
Toll Free 1-800-221-5935

Other ways to get Active

1) Have you or someone you know purchased a puppy from a pet store? Get a free puppy report at: http://www.petshoppuppies.org/psppuppyreport.htm

2) Join the Truth Community's Petland Forum and connect with others who have had experiences with Petland. Keep the conversation going!

Posted by The Best Friends Network

Dog Photo (main photo): Gorgeous male Husky (not associated with story but available for adoption at nearby shelter)
Adopt Balto at PAWS & More Animal Shelter

Comments

Posted March 19, 2008, 5:50PM by jkrause

Good news! The "Sweet female Spaniel, Aussie Shep Mix" photographed above was adopted!

Posted February 01, 2009, 12:41AM by crusader

janesville wisconsin petland also sells sick puppies they are disgusting. the petland employees work on comission and are drilled to sell, sell, sell and overcome all objections.They deny what they know is true.

Posted November 18, 2008, 11:9AM by Eliseinia

Petland in West Des Moines Iowa is again selling sick puppies with parvo. I have a friend that unknowingly bought a sick puppy. After an intensive care vet stay ($1,500) the puppy had to be put to sleep. How can they stay in business? The should be shut down.

Posted March 17, 2008, 6:20PM by qmd333

It's time to give Petland an ultimatum:

STOP SELLING ANIMALS, or be put out of business.

Posted June 02, 2008, 1:43PM by EmergencyOps

Excellent information. People need to know the truth about the pet trade. Petland has a long history of selling "stock" from puppy mills and other unreputable mass-breeders, selling them at exorbitant prices under false statements.

Thanks in part to the information age, the truth is spreading: some just don't want to hear it and some don't want you to hear it. Keep up the excellent work.

Posted April 09, 2008, 11:20PM by ruthy92

Good work! You are cutting through the lies that keep the breeding industry going.

Keep digging!

Posted March 19, 2008, 4:27PM by vita

The PETLAND, or as we call it, GREEDLAND in Appleton, Wisconsin DENIES puppymill purchases (Hunte Corp). Today I rec'd an e/m that an Appleton couple purchased a Pug from this store on March 7th. On March 14th, the pup was euthanized d/t Parvo.
A local TV station will follow up.
I'd love to see this local franchise fail--the sooner the better. The owner is a minister. "seek the truth" he told me once. I replied with "GOOGLE Petland and you will know the truth".

Posted March 17, 2008, 2:48PM by atuttle32

Thank goodness this is being brought to the general public's eyes. Des Moines is not a small city, and the more people who know about this the better. It's about time!

Posted March 19, 2008, 5:57PM by cattees

Whee! Hope she lives a long healthy and happy life!

Posted March 17, 2008, 12:35PM by cattees

What cracks me up is that people fall for a "health guarantee"... how the heck do you guarantee the good health of any living creature?!? That only means that if that animal dies, they'll give you another one... what a bargain.... ARG! And DON'T even get me started on the "financing."