November 24, 2008

An 8-month investigation by the Humane Society of the United States has found that Petland Inc., stores are obtaining dogs from puppy mills, as HSUS officials announced on Thursday. (Pet Pulse Illustration by Tim Mattson)

NEW YORK -- An ongoing 8-month investigation by the Humane Society of the United States has revealed that many branches of the Petland Inc. pet store franchise are tied to puppy mills.

The Ohio-based company, which has stores across the country, has been acquiring dogs from puppy mills, while telling customers the pets come from reputable breeders.

The HSUS announced the findings on Thursday at a Washington, D.C., news conference.

"They are buying from puppy mills where these dogs are not treated like pets," Michael Markarian, an executive vice president with the Humane Society, told reporters at the conference.

"They're treated like a cash crop, where mother dogs live in wire cages, sometimes stacked on top of each other in filthy, dirty, cramped conditions, where they receive little socialization or human interaction or exercise."

The charges come after investigators visited 21 Petland stores and spoke with 35 breeders and brokers who sold puppies to Petland stores. Puppies were found living in unsanitary conditions with minimal amounts of care at facilities linked to Petland.

The charges also allege that some of the dogs come from large-scale pet distributors and brokers, not individual breeders, like Petland has maintained.

Following the press conference, Petland responded to the HSUS' charges on its Web site, Petland.com.

"Unfortunately, we were not interviewed or consulted [in the investigation process]," the statement reads. "This is sensationalism at its best. HSUS has a history of publicizing false information in an effort to raise money."

Petland also states that it "does not support substandard breeding facilities."

However, HSUS officials have maintained that Petland has been supporting the establishment of places that display "a very classic puppy mill condition," said Stephanie Shain, director of HSUS' campaign against puppy mills.

"They know that our consumers won't stand for the cruelty inherent in mass-breeding facilities, so they make outrageous claims to hide the reality that the dogs came from puppy mills," Shain said.

HSUS officials have also appealed to the public, asking prospective pet owners to complete in-depth research on private breeders and commercial breeding facilities if they choose to purchase, and not adopt, a dog.

They have also advised against purchasing a dog from a pet store, with the implication that the pets' origin cannot be fully ascertained.

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The Associated Press, CBS News and MSNBC contributed to this article.