It was forwarded to us by AKC Judge Barbara Baxter Nielsen (2004 cancer victim) Think, as did we, how this simple idea can be expanded upon in your community. Call upon your local veterinary association to join you in preparing a statement for the newspapers, radio, and television stations. They will run it free as a Public Service Announcement. And it is! Do not disregard it just because YOU would never buy from a pet shop.

Until you win a political seat, this is as strong a weapon against puppy mills and puppy/kitten shops as we are likely to find and just as importantly, it will also insure better care for the unfortunate animals in such facilities. We don’t know who drafted it so we can’t give credit where it is most certainly due. It may have come from the Eskie community.

As a warning to potential buyers and as a remedy IF they get a sick puppy .from a pet shop, here’s what to do (after you’ve gotten treatment for the puppy) to resolve the situation, then and in the future.

1. Immediately find out who the vet are who signed off on the dogs health. Not only the vet who signed off on them to be shipped ...BUT ALSO THE VET who Health Checked it AT THE STORE level. This is all documented on the paperwork ...Most of the time the pet stores will refer any illness back to the vet who did the initial glance over....so now you have his/her name, number and address. (Editor: If the name of the vet from the state of origin is missing from the paperwork, or the pet shop refuses your verbal and if necessary, certified mail written request to provide the names of both vets, call the State Veterinary Board.) Or call the "private breeder" since they must provide all that documentation so "willingly".

2. You must then make a formal and written complaint to BOTH the vet boards from which they came AND YOUR STATE Vet Board.

My vets tell me that one little innocent person writing a half ass letter to the State Board is enough to create a ton of problems for that vet. The board will launch an investigation...apparently they come into the clinic and inspect everything from top to bottom...they want to see paperwork, protocols, procedures, guidelines and medicines. By a vet signing off on the health of a pet - they are ULTIMATELY responsible for that pet if it dies. So now, the person who bought the puppy can basically turn around and sue BOTH the petstore AND the store’s vet.

A couple of these reports, investigations and problems for the clinic/vet...is enough to make a vet RUN from these stores and never work with them again!

Since each puppy MUST by FEDERAL LAW come with a health certificate....and have a health certificate from the store....by canceling out the underhanded, sleazy vets who are making a quick buck off the suffering of the petstore puppies....these petstores won't have any vets to work with them. Because those vets who DO care and would never work with a petstore STILL won't work with them.. it’s not much money and its not worth their time or effort...they already have established practices and THEY already know they'd be responsible for these puppies some where down the line!

I called a local vet here in our area and told him point blank... "I know you work with the petstores and mills and sign off on their health certificates...you will never get MY business, and I will never refer ANY of the 4000+ adopters from MY shelter to YOU. Furthermore, I will make sure that every other shelter and rescue within 100 miles is aware of this…" I continued on about how these sleazy stores are continually selling the sick ones that he DIDN'T sign off on and the dogs that are even checked off on their papers as NOT SALEABLE. Incredibly, people are STILL paying top dollar for them! HELLO!!!!

Anyway, it may be a small start but there usually is only a couple vets in a WIDE area that covers DOZENS if not HUNDREDS of petstores so - you start making complaints to the Vet Board that they are signing off on sick dogs and YOU want to know what’s going on! How could the board POSSIBLY ALLOW these vets to do this???? These state boards are nasty troublesome headaches to the vet on the receiving end.

So if we can't get them head-on....lets go around to the backdoor and take down their supporters!

Please post this far and wide...and make sure that anyone involved in rescue, shelters, and closing petstores/puppymills are aware of this. 99.9% of the time NO ONE knows where to complain to when they get a sick puppy...this might start turning things upside down.

Now something like this would NEVER affect ANY vet who is properly doing his/her job. It will target only those vets who are into it for the money and don't care about the health and welfare of the pets they are carrying for. This is not designed to be a lynch mob...but simply to stop sick puppies and petstores from selling them...and to hold those accountable who allow it.

Handy links:_____________________

August 2006 - Hunte Truck Fire Kills 60 Puppies locked in their cages.

Hunte & Hunt Do Your Own Research and draw your conclusions, here's some background.

The Meeting that Wasn't! between Andrew Hunte, Pres. of Hunte Corp. and Al Cheaure, Pres. of AKC