"Puppies and Babies" Pet Store Besieged by Animal Welfare Activists

News Type: Event — Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:14 AM EDT

Jinky, Dog of a Hollywood Wife

The Posh Puppy Team protesting at Puppies and Babies in Los Angeles

July 12, 2008
Los Angeles

By Carole Raphaelle Davis

The Los Angeles animal welfare activists who are responsible for the closing of Posh Puppy in Beverly Hills have now set their focus on Puppies and Babies, the sister store to Pets of Bel Air in an effort to force the store to go humane and stop selling puppy mill dogs and other pet factory pets, such as cats and rabbits.

Pets of Bel Air, which was investigated last year by the Humane Society of the United States, was found to have been selling dogs from inhumane puppy mills. Since the closing of Posh Puppy in Beverly Hills and Tarzana, this group of activists had previously been assembling at Pets of Bel Air but decided this weekend to fan out and stage an educational outreach post on West 3rd street, near the Beverly Center. "This will be an opportunity for us to educate a larger number of shoppers here about the horrors of puppy mills, cat factories and the more ethical choice to adopt, rather than buy," said Carol Winston, a regular protester from the Posh Puppy movement.

With animal rights groups targeting pet stores all over the city, including Pet stores in the Beverly Center and in Malibu, the added pressure on Puppies and Babies has driven the owners of Pets of Bel Air to hire security guards to cover both stores.

Karen Snook, executive director of In Defense of Animals, was staked out in front of the store in Bel Air. "We are definitely making a difference. They are running scared and angry," she said. "They hired two off-duty cops to stand and guard the door of Pets of Bel Air to hand out 'rules and regulations' that stated that we could not carry our signs or hand out leaflets. They stood there with their best tough guy cop stance wearing their super dark sunglasses, but we persisted. The store owner even had his friends coming out and pleading with us to 'give the store a break.' We responded that as soon as he can prove that he is not selling puppy mill puppies, we will let off the pressure."

Employees of the store have become edgy with all of the bad publicity and in some instances, they have been accused of using bully tactics. Several weeks ago, a Pets of Bel Air employee attempted to knock a camera out of protester Chris Nye's hand, pushing him backwards. In another instance, a friend of the store owner came out and accused protesters of being "prostitutes," yelling, "why don't you get a life?" But the animal welfare activists insist on standing firm on behalf of the animals suffering in pet factories despite the intimidation as well as the soaring
summer temperatures.

The store has attempted to force the protesters to leave by calling the police but to no avail--this group of experienced activists has had consultations with attorneys about their legal rights to assemble for the purposes of boycotting a store. And they've seen it before, when the owners of Posh Puppy would routinely call the police to try to force them to stop protesting their stores in Beverly Hills and Tarzana. But they didn't leave until the store closed five and a half months after they started protesting on December 22, 2007. The Los Angeles Police Department is aware that their responsibility is to uphold the law and that includes making sure the protesters do not block the entrance as well as enforcing the first amendment right to free speech.

Posh Puppy was unable to refute to the facts that they sold sick dogs and that their dogs were supplied by cruel and inhumane puppy mills, once it hit the Los Angeles Times, KTLA, NBC and CBS News. Pets of Bel Air is also being sued by distraught buyers of sick dogs.

The investigative and protest movement that was started by a few women in Beverly Hills has spread throughout the city, with large animal rights organizations jumping on board in an effort to educate shoppers that 20% of the dogs in the shelter system are purebred dogs who need homes. Close to five million companion animals are killed in our nation's shelters every year and it costs tax payers two billion dollars a year to house and euthanize these animals. The activists are preparing to go nation-wide with their campaign to link inhumane pet factories to pet stores in the minds of shoppers, hoping to popularize a more ethical mode of bringing a companion animal into one's home---adoption.

This reporter investigated Puppies and Babies in April. Several puppies were ill with diarrhea and showed symptoms of ear mites and kennel cough. Also, sickly dogs had been placed in the same pens with healthy looking puppies, exposing the healthy ones to potential infection. There was no water in the pens on one afternoon and when this reporter asked why, the manager responded, "Because they dance in it and I don't feel like cleaning it up."

During our investigation of Los Angeles pet stores, we found that there is a calculated effort to distract buyers and an unwritten policy to obfuscate reality. No one who works in these stores is willing to discuss what is really going on behind the scenes. It's obvious that most employees have been trained to avoid scrutiny. Pet retailers evade probing questions with misinformation like, "we only get our dogs from small, local breeders."

This description is misleading because the words "small" and "local" make it sound as if the dogs are being well treated. They're not. Or, they claim that the breeding facilities are "privately owned" or "family owned." Again, telling you nothing about the conditions and suggesting that the facility is swank, exclusive or that the dogs are members of the family.

These adjectives, "local" and "small" or "private" are euphemisms being used to falsely describe a business that abuses hundreds of animals nearby. So they are kind of telling the truth about size and proximity, but they are omitting the truth about maltreatment of the breeding dogs inside.

We found that some employees genuinely don't know the answers to our questions, which is unacceptable, and others who do know, which is reprehensible.

Another typical misinformation ploy used by pet retailers is to say, "We only sell puppies from USDA licensed breeders." They use the USDA license as an unimpeachable source, and because the United States Department of Agriculture is a government agency, it serves as an unquestionable reference to erase any doubt that the breeding operation is humane. But it's not.

The USDA lists over five thousand dealers and brokers. Some are small operations of dilapidated outdoor hutches and some are large facilities that look like high-tech canine supermax prisons. According to Deborah Howard, president of the Companion Animal Protection Society, the USDA, which is supposed to govern livestock enterprises, "has been extremely negligent over the years in its enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA)." Deborah finds that the USDA's implementation of AWA has been "grievously insufficient."

If you want to believe that our government is actually making sure dogs aren't being abused in facilities bearing their stamp of approval, go to the USDA web site and read the minimum standard of care. Mill dogs are allowed six inches in front of them in their cages---for life. Don't gloss over that just yet. Take the puppy mill test. Go stand six inches in front of a wall. Now stay there for the rest of your life. Puppy millers aren't required to give their dogs more than an artificial light and a fan. There is nothing on the books that requires millers to exercise or socialize the dogs.

Until Puppies and Babies and their sister store, Pets of Bel Air stop selling live animals, the activists claim they will continue their siege in the hopes that this chain will succumb to public pressure to go humane and only adopt out animals from shelters with the help of local rescue organizations.

To watch the HSUS investigation of Pets of Bel Air:

http://video.hsus.org/?fr_story=2bc9d9de75ca50adf6d8cdfb00d852a003cb7d77&rf=sitemap

Website: http://www.hollywoodjinky.com

10 Votes
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Public Discussion (13)

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{"commentId":2178965,"authorDomain":"wharry3"}

harry-374944

Carole, thankyou so much for starting something that should have been done a very long time ago before all the celebritards started buying purse puppies. Now the public will know where those cute little puppies and kittens come from, and they will hopefully stop and think about supporting animal cruelty. When you adopt/rescue a dog or cat you are saving a life not putting big money into greedy petshop and internet puppy brokers pockets, they could care less about animals. Nobody should be buying or breeding dogs or cats until those shelter cages are empty. Lets take this movement nationwide and shut these mills down.

{"commentId":2178965,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"wharry3"}

3 votes

#1 - Sun Jul 13, 2008 12:32 PM EDT

{"commentId":2179868,"authorDomain":"iarnuocon"}

iarnuocon

I'm all for closing down puppy mills. And it's no doubt true that the majority of pet stores purchase their dogs from puppy mills. But I'm curious as to whether there is actual evidence that this store bought its puppies from puppy mills, or if that's simply an assumption being made. The article states that the protesters expected the store to "prove" that it isn't getting puppies from puppy mills. What exactly would that proof have to look like in order to convince protesters? How do you tell the difference between "code words" designed to "obfuscate" and actual words that tell the truth? It is highly doubtful that "employees have been trained to avoid scrutiny." It's much more likely that employees don't want to talk to people that automatically assume their guilt, and provide no avenue for the allowance of innocence.

Additionally, where's the back end to these efforts? Where's the campaign to get local officials to go after the puppy millers directly? Where's the protesting of the puppy mills themselves? Where's the educational outreach?

Finally, I have to take a large grain of salt with any article referencing the Humane Society of the United States. It is guilty of its own obfuscation, having nothing whatsoever to do with local Humane Societies, but rather fully penetrated by members of radical animal rights movements such as ALF and SHAC. It operates no shelters, provides no educational outreach program, and in fact promotes misinformation of its own. A prime example would be the rehabilitation of Michael Vick's pit bulls. HSUS representative John Goodwin, claiming to be an "expert" on fighting dogs, states that fighting dogs can't be rehabilitated, despite other experts' claims to the contrary. How reliable is Goodwin? Not very. Goodwin is a self-admitted arsonist and terrorist for the animal rights cause, a high-school dropout with no training or education with regard to dogs, fighting or otherwise.

So while I applaud the effort to shut down puppy mills, I think this current effort may not be an example to be emulated as much as a cautionary tale for those who would get involved in such an effort. There's a line between protest and terrorism, and some of the very people involved in these protests don't seem to know where it is.

Just a thought.

{"commentId":2179868,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"iarnuocon"}

4 votes

#2 - Sun Jul 13, 2008 3:40 PM EDT

{"commentId":2180561,"authorDomain":"hollywoodjinky"}

Jinky, Dog of a Hollywood Wife

http://video.hsus.org/?fr_story=2bc9d9de75ca50adf6d8cdfb00d852a003cb7d77&rf=sitemap

There is the proof from HSUS that Pets of Bel Air was supplied by puppy mills. Now they claim to sell pets from "local breeders" which doesn't mean much. Local can be just as lousy. There are really awful things going on "locally."

{"commentId":2180561,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"hollywoodjinky"}

3 votes

#2.1 - Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:03 PM EDT

{"commentId":2180693,"authorDomain":"iarnuocon"}

iarnuocon

I agree (and thanks for the video). Most of these puppy mills are breaking one or more laws. I think there's quite a bit of leverage to be had in going after the mills, directly. And since most states don't have the manpower that they need to adequately police puppy mills, it would be a great opportunity for non-official investigators to build the cases for law enforcement to go after these places.

My advice has always been for people who want to purchase a dog to either go through the local shelter or to purchase their animal from an AKC registered breeder, and to take the time to educate themselves about the breeder and breed before making a purchase. Buying a dog should never be a "spontaneous" decision.

{"commentId":2180693,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"iarnuocon"}

3 votes

#2.2 - Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:30 PM EDT

{"commentId":2180940,"authorDomain":"hollywoodjinky"}

Jinky, Dog of a Hollywood Wife

Hi Iarnucon,
Thanks for your comments. Unfortnately, we've found that AKC is involved with inhumane breeders as well. In fact, the AKC has what is called "the high volume breeding committee." They do business with large breeding operations that have violations, according to www.petshoppuppies.org and the California Healthy Pets Act committee.

The AKC makes its money primarily from registering dogs from the kind of breeding operations that we find to be inhumane, meaning that the dogs are not treated like pets, but like factory animals used for profit, stuck in cages for their entire lives. Not all AKC breeders fall under this category, of course. But too many do and so much so, in fact, that their reputation is tarnished in the animal welfare community. We think dogs deserve better and we feel the AKC should stop doing business with those kinds of breeders. Even within that organization, there is much dissent on this issue.

Thank you again for your comments. Open forums such as these are excellent for getting to the truth.

{"commentId":2180940,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"hollywoodjinky"}

3 votes

#2.3 - Sun Jul 13, 2008 7:28 PM EDT

{"commentId":2181144,"authorDomain":"iarnuocon"}

iarnuocon

The AKC makes its money primarily from registering dogs from the kind of breeding operations that we find to be inhumane, meaning that the dogs are not treated like pets, but like factory animals used for profit, stuck in cages for their entire lives. I'd have to disagree, from what I've seen firsthand. Perhaps California is a bit different from Ohio, but to my knowledge there are few, if any, large volume breeders, here. The organization as a whole is dedicated to improving the health and quality of dogs, hence the standards and shows. The particular breeds are fairly intimate, as well, with each breeder generally operating on a small scale, and everyone knowing everyone else's business pretty well. I'd be interested in seeing the split in moneys earned by the AKC from high volume breeders and from individual sport/hobbyist breeders, if you have it available.

That said, there's no guarantee that disreputable people will be kept out of the AKC. But the AKC does police its own, and does have standards for care which seem quite a bit more stringent than the USDA's. They also have absolutely no qualms whatsoever about rescinding registration if a breeder is found to violate those standards. I've seen it happen.

The good thing about the AKC is that its members can vote on issues like that. I'm sure a concerted effort to educate the AKC body about violations by high volume AKC breeders would result in steps being taken. Of course, that's merely my opinion, but it comes from having had friends and family involved in the AKC for many, many years.

I do agree that dogs (and other pets, as well) deserve better.

My point in recommending AKC breeders is that, quite often, one can visit the breeder and see the conditions in which the dogs are kept. One can also research the line the dog comes from, and make a determination as to whether there are health issues that might crop up at a later date. Reputable AKC breeders are often glad to provide this information, and I've known more than one breeder refuse to sell a dog to someone because in the breeder's opinion the match between the home and the temperament of the breed was not a good one. That's a level of interaction that you are unlikely to find in any pet store or shelter. Of course, if you're less inclined to worry about long term health problems, or are prepared to deal with them if they crop up, shelter animals are often excellent pets, as well. But it should be noted that they have their issues, and owners looking to adopt a stray should be prepared for the possibility of behaviors that result from an animal having previously been abused, or for unpredictable health issues that might crop up, given that the origin of the animal is often only dimly known.

Again, I cannot reiterate this enough, bringing an animal home should not be a spontaneous decision. Ever.

{"commentId":2181144,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"iarnuocon"}

2 votes

#2.4 - Sun Jul 13, 2008 8:13 PM EDT

{"commentId":2181179,"authorDomain":"MissDev"}

Miss Dev

No reputable breeder would ever allow a pet store of any kind to sell their puppies. Any pet store that "sells" cats or dogs rather than adopts them is dealing with disreputable sources.

{"commentId":2181179,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"MissDev"}

1 vote

#2.5 - Sun Jul 13, 2008 8:20 PM EDT

{"commentId":2180026,"authorDomain":"Wheel"}

Wheel

unless you wrote this article you should really make it a seed. If you did write it, well done. I like the pictures. The girl in the back with the dark glasses in the top picture looks like my little sister. Or like she looked 40 years ago anyway. :)

I'm a dog and cat owner myself. Never bought one from a pet store, mine are all from the pound or strays that I found. I disapprove of puppy mills not only from the point of view of pet store sales, but also breeding fighting dogs. Maybe that kind of thing isn't a problem where you live but it's a big problem here.

{"commentId":2180026,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"Wheel"}

2 votes

#3 - Sun Jul 13, 2008 4:11 PM EDT

{"commentId":2180518,"authorDomain":"lgm"}

LGM

What a great article!!! Thank you so much for educating us about where these puppies actually come from. THe more people understand about the horrific conditions these animals endure, the less likely they will be to support these sleazy pet stores. Thank god for people like you who do your homework and get to the truth. I hope everyone in the market for a new dog will read this article and go to the pound instead and save a life. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

{"commentId":2180518,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"lgm"}

3 votes

#4 - Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:55 PM EDT

{"commentId":2181017,"authorDomain":"kkrpsyd"}

kkrpsyd

Hi Carole - I joined just so I could vote you up.

Once again a fair and well written article on how peaceful legal protesters can and eventually will win this fight but one store at a time. And as stores fall, mills shall fall as well. Shelters will have less animals they have to euthanize and more people will begin to realize the joy that comes from adopting a shelter/rescue pet.

Just one store at a time. That is all that is needed. Peaceful, lawful protests that educate others as to the true beginnings of the pet they want to buy and the abominable conditions that the parents of this precious pet are living in while they are going into the store to supposedly purchase their new pet.

And as you well know, education is like a virus. It spreads from person to person to person to person... One person at a time, one store at a time. Hopefully people who read this will organize to protest, legally and peacefully, a store on their main street, in their mall, around the corner. Just one store at a time.

I hope the newly re-weds *giggle* are enjoying a blissful extended honeymoon in Nice. Next week Col. Potter has another CRAP in upstate NY. It will be our biggest ever with over 100 people and over 100 dogs. Sorry you and the crew can not make it but we do understand that Nice is, well, Nice is Nice. Hope to see you at another Col. Potter party. (We have many!)

I know that Findley, the blushing bride, says "Support Col. Potter".
Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network ~ CPCRN ~ www.CairnRescue.com
*** REPORT A CAIRN IN NEED: CairnTerrierRescue@yahoogroups.com ***

{"commentId":2181017,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"kkrpsyd"}

2 votes

#5 - Sun Jul 13, 2008 7:47 PM EDT

{"commentId":2183880,"authorDomain":"mshaver-0462"}

Mary O'Connor-Shaver

KUDOS to Carole and her dedicated team of animal activists! Consumer demand for purebred and 'designer' puppies, more than any other factor, perpetuates the misery of puppy mills. Unfortunately, a dog's lifespan is often longer than a consumer's desire to maintain their "product." As a result, millions of dogs are sent to animal shelters every year, where roughly half will be euthanized. As a member of the Central Ohio companion animal rescue community, I've been working very diligently with animal advocates throughout the U.S. in addressing this very critical issue for Ohio citizens. For more information on our efforts, I invite you to visit our website www.BanOhioDogAuctions.com. It is my firm belief that until the public truly understands and appreciates the cruel aspect - not to mention the corruption and consumer fraud - connected with "dealing dogs", puppy mills will continue to generate millions of dollars for their breeders and distributors.

{"commentId":2183880,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"mshaver-0462"}

1 vote

#6 - Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:33 AM EDT

{"commentId":2192595,"authorDomain":"thepissedkitty"}

rariskind

Very well said, Carole. Thank you for bringing to light an issue many people never think about or question.

{"commentId":2192595,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"thepissedkitty"}

1 vote

#7 - Mon Jul 14, 2008 8:16 PM EDT

{"commentId":2199525,"authorDomain":"gilamo1"}

gilamo1

Excellent article Carole. Thank you for all the work you and your group are doing to bring this out in the open. Education is the key to change!
Lynda
www.cairnrescue.blogspot.com

{"commentId":2199525,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"gilamo1"}

#8 - Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:33 PM EDT

{"commentId":2609817,"authorDomain":"greenfarm"}

skippy-456056

If you never want to own another dog, if you want to shut down ALL dog breeders (including Westminister show breeders), if you want to be told what you can and can't eat then follow the animal rights movement. With animal rights groups bringing in 100's of thousands of dogs from other countries then telling dog breeders not to breed it's only a fool that would buy into the AR movement. The goal of the animal rights movement is total animal extinction. I say goodbye to the Darwins. They are allready saying" theres no GOD". If they get there way kiss human rights out the door.

{"commentId":2609817,"threadId":"312111","contentId":"1661460","authorDomain":"greenfarm"}

#9 - Wed Aug 27, 2008 2:23 PM EDT

{"canLink":false,"threadId":"312111","isPrivate":false}

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