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 oneClick 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 do1) 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 Active1) Have you or someone you know purchased a puppy from a pet store? Get a free puppy report at:
http://www.petshoppuppies.org/psppuppyreport.htm2) 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 NetworkDog Photo (main photo): Gorgeous male Husky (not associated with story but available for adoption at nearby shelter)
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