Bored, lonely puppy in cage at Petland store

The HSUS 2018

Petland Cruelty

Urge Petland to stop selling puppies and support a future without puppy mills!

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About Petland and puppy mills

Petland is the only national pet store chain in the United States that still sells puppies. Petland is also the largest retailer of puppy mill dogs. While the company claims their puppies come only from reputable breeders and are in good health, our latest investigation at the Novi, Michigan Petland store is the latest of a series that has proven otherwise.

Humane World for Animals/Humane World for Animals

Demand Petland stop selling puppies!

There are thousands of puppy mills—inhumane high-volume dog breeding facilities—supported by pet stores like Petland across the country.

Petland employee and victim of drug-resistant Campylobacter infection on her way to the hospital.

N/A/The HSUS

Petland employee on their way to the hospital, a victim of drug-resistant Campylobacter infection. Photo shared with permission.

Pet stores sell puppies to make a profit, so puppies with expensive medical needs often don’t get professional veterinary care that would cut into the store’s revenue. Instead, they receive ad-hoc treatment from staff members in back rooms that are not open to the public.

Petland stores across the nation routinely deceive consumers into believing the dogs they sell are raised humanely, vet-checked and guaranteed healthy by multiple warranties. But in reality, Petland stores regularly sell sick puppies. In many cases, families spend thousands of dollars trying to save the life of their new puppy. 

In addition to the animal welfare concerns, pet store puppies have also been linked to human disease outbreaks. The CDC warned that the over-use of antibiotics in pet stores increases public risk for drug-resistant strains of disease. Approximately 95% of pet store puppies have been medicated with strong drugs, sometimes as a preventive measure, which leads to drug-resistant strains. 

Lovie's Story: Lovie Langston purchased her beloved dog, Ziva, from a Petland store in Bellaire, Texas. Ziva died one year later, leaving Lovie and her family devastated and over $8,000 in debt.

Petland: Exposed

In addition to linking Petland to large-scale inhumane breeders known as puppy mills, our investigators went undercover to see what conditions were like inside eight different Petland stores—this is what we found.

A dead puppy inside a plastic bag

N/A/The HSUS

A dead puppy found inside a plastic bag in a freezer at the Kennesaw, Georgia Petland during our undercover investigation

While many pet stores around the nation have transitioned to a more humane model by no longer selling puppies from commercial breeders, instead focusing on pet products and services, Petland doubles down on its outdated model by lobbying against laws that would stop the sale of puppy mill dogs in pet stores.

Petland is joined in this effort by the American Kennel Club (AKC), which places signs throughout Petland stores and offers “registrations” even for the mixed-breed dogs Petland sells, creating a false impression that all of Petland’s breeders have been quality-checked by AKC.

Due to strong consumer concerns about the welfare of puppies in pet stores, more than 450 cities and towns, as well as six states, have moved to prohibit the sales of puppy mill dogs in stores. Petland is the last large national chain of stores in the United States that clings to this outdated model.

Petland mistreats animals in its care

Our investigators went undercover at randomly selected Petland stores (Frisco, TX; Tyler, TX; Sarasota, FL; Novi, MI; Kennesaw, GA; Las Vegas, NV; Fairfax, VA; Florence, KY; and Wichita, KS) between fall of 2018 and July 2022.

We discovered shocking mistreatment of animals, including:

  • Very sick, suffering puppies, including animals with seizures, respiratory infections, diarrhea, vomiting and dogs too sick to eat.
  • Dead animals (mostly puppies and/or bunnies) were found in freezers at all five stores where investigators were able to inspect freezers, indicating Petland sometimes lets sick and injured animals die in its stores rather than seeking veterinary care.
  • Staff admitting that sick puppies were common and rarely taken to veterinarians, including one distressed staff member who said, “Most of the dogs that go to the vet end up dying because we take them so last minute.”

As a result of these Petland investigations, the Fairfax, VA store was shut down and its former manager was convicted of animal cruelty after one dead puppy and 31 dead rabbits were found in the freezer. The Frisco, TX store received citations from animal control for violations of the local animal welfare ordinance.

Maltese dog in cage at Petland store

N/A/The HSUS

During our undercover investigation, an employee at the Petland in Las Vegas, Nevada said they were waiting for this sick Maltese puppy to die.

Investigation reports

View Investigation Photos ➜

Related

A French bulldog at Novi, Michigan, Petland, with cherry eye.
Mother dog huddles along side puppies in puppy mill

Additional resources

Stop puppy mills!

You can stop this cycle of cruelty by adopting your next pet. You can also donate to help shut down puppy mills and continue our lifesaving work for all animals.

Chuck Cook/For the HSUS