By Jim Baker
For Lisa and Jeff Hicks, a pet store visit in 2006 was more than just a routine shopping excursion. It was a chance to gain a new family member following the devastating loss of their 16-year-old Lab mix, Bear, to cancer.
“Even though we still had three dogs, there was something missing in our family without Bear, and I had this overpowering ‘need’ to find a Cavalier,” says Lisa Hicks.
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| Petland employees assured Lisa Hicks her 8-week-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel puppy was healthy and from a local breeder.© The HSUS |
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Most of her previous pets had been strays or adopted animals, but the Maryville, Tenn., woman had long wanted a Cavalier King Charles spaniel. She spotted her seemingly perfect pooch at a local Petland, where employees assured her the 8-week-old puppy was healthy and from a local breeder. “Finding her was, to us, like adopting a child,” says Hicks, who had also recently learned that she and her husband could not have children. “It was a lifetime commitment.”
But what should have been the expansion of a happy family turned into a journey of pain and suffering when the couple discovered their beloved Maggie had severe joint problems in both hips and one knee. Though Petland eventually issued a refund of the purchase price, the Hickses have spent nearly $10,000 on orthopedic surgeries and associated medical bills.
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| Maggie had severe joint problems in both hips and one knee.© The HSUS |
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The Hickses are among hundreds of people who have come forth since March 17, when The HSUS filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of several of its members and other aggrieved Petland customers. The suit alleges that Petland, Inc., and The Hunte Corporation—one of the largest distributors of dogs to pet stores in the U.S.—are violating a federal anti-racketeering law and numerous state consumer protection laws. It also alleges that the two companies have conspired to misrepresent to consumers that their puppies are healthy and from high-quality breeders, when many of them really come from squalid mass breeding facilities known as puppy mills.
The suit follows an eight-month HSUS investigation, released last November, that traced the origins of dogs in many of Petland’s retail outlets to puppy mills throughout the Midwest.
Among the flood of responses The HSUS has received after asking Petland customers to share their stories are reports of puppies who’ve died or developed infections or hereditary health problems following purchase, says Kathleen Summers, director of the Stop Puppy Mills campaign. “In many cases, this has caused thousands of dollars in veterinary costs, not to mention the pain and suffering of the animal,” Summers says.
“I keep telling my vet every time I see her, I’m scared to death I’m not going to be able to keep Maggie healthy,” says Hicks. “We’re real concerned about that, and we just have to take it one step at a time.”
