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Mia Roberts helped spread the word about mother dogs in puppy mills in Fairfax, Va. ©Summers/The HSUS |
Behind that cute puppy in the pet store window lives an ugly reality: a mother dog forced to spend her entire life in a small cage without ever enjoying a home of her own.
That was the message this Mother's Day weekend as demonstrators gathered at 35 different Petland stores across the country to highlight the chain's ongoing connection to puppy mills.
For The Moms
It was the third nationwide Petland demonstration this year coordinated by The HSUS puppy mills campaign and the first one since a nationwide consumer lawsuit was announced in March. The lawsuit, filed by HSUS members and others, alleges that Petland has duped hundreds of unsuspecting customers into buying unhealthy puppies from puppy mills.
This demonstration had a different flavor, with families and small children playing a larger role to highlight the Mother's Day theme.
Mothers who often demonstrated alone were joined this time by spouses, sons, and daughters. Some of the children carried signs saying "Kids Against Puppy Mills," "Shelter Pets Need You," and "Remember the Mother Dogs."
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| The Haisley family joined others at the Petland in Fairfax, Va .©Summers/The HSUS |
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Spreading Comfort
Several demonstration sites encouraged drop-offs of food and supplies for local shelters. HSUS staff at the Fairfax, Va., location collected blankets for local animal shelters as well as towels to stock the HSUS's Emergency Services vehicles, which respond to puppy mill rescues and other disasters.
"These towels will help comfort dogs as soon as they have been rescued from a mill," said Beau Archer, HSUS puppy mill campaign's outreach coordinator and organizer of the nationwide rallies.
"During rescues, I have held many of the mother dogs who have never stood on anything but a wire cage floor. These towels will be the first soft bed that some of them will ever feel."
Local groups participating included AHeinz57 Pet Rescue & Transport of West Des Moines, Iowa; RescueNCYorkies of Charlotte, North Carolina; Suncoast Animal League of Largo, Florida; Animal Rights Foundation of Florida in Orlando; Mercy for Animals of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and many others.
