Lawsuit Sends Message to Puppy Mills

By Admin - Deanna, on June 20th, 2007 |


		Help us put an end to the cruelty of puppy mills. This puppy, purchased from the deceptive Wizard of Claws, was plagued with health problems.

Each day, thousands of animal lovers are misled into buying sick and mistreated puppies from an industry hidden from public view, one that forces dogs to produce litter after litter of puppies for profit.

That’s why I’m writing today to tell you about a groundbreaking class action lawsuit filed yesterday on behalf of members of The Humane Society of the United States against a notorious Florida puppy mill dog dealer.

This lawsuit is the latest step in a multi-year legal battle by The HSUS against a company called Wizard of Claws and its owners in response to widespread reports that this store routinely sells sick and dying puppy mill puppies to unsuspecting customers.

The suit underscores Rule #1 when looking for a new pet: Don’t buy unless you see first-hand where the pet came from.

The suit — filed in Broward County Circuit Court on behalf of more than 100 Wizard of Claws’ former customers — is based on numerous consumer complaints about Wizard of Claws misleading customers and selling unhealthy puppy mill puppies in blatant violation of Florida law. The suit claims that puppies purchased in their stores had serious genetic defects or fell sick or died within days of purchase, and that the retailer refused to either reimburse customers or pay expensive veterinary bills.

The purpose of this class action suit is to prevent Wizard of Claws from selling puppy mill puppies to unsuspecting customers. And we want to send a powerful signal to other pet stores and Internet retailers that business as usual cannot continue.

With your help, we can advance our fight to stop puppy mills. As The HSUS prepares to battle in court, you can do your part by signing our pledge to not buy a pet or any pet supplies from retail stores or Internet sites that sell dogs or cats.

The puppy mill industry will continue to thrive as long as consumers are kept in the dark about the tactics and conditions employed to mass produce purebred puppies and designer dogs. With your help, we’ll shed light on the cruelty of puppy mills and put this brutal industry out of business.

Thank you for your commitment to stopping puppy mills and for all that you do for animals.

Sincerely,

Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States