GILROY
– It was love at first sight when Debbie Pelliccione found Jack,
a silky little terrier not quite 2 months old.
”
There was something about that dog’s face that I just fell in
love with,
”
she said.
”
I couldn’t leave him there.
”
”
There
”
was The Pet Stop, 1280 First St. Jack was the first dog that
Pelliccione and her teen-age son ever purchased, and he immediately
became part of the family, she said.
GILROY – It was love at first sight when Debbie Pelliccione found Jack, a silky little terrier not quite 2 months old.
“There was something about that dog’s face that I just fell in love with,” she said. “I couldn’t leave him there.”
“There” was The Pet Stop, 1280 First St. Jack was the first dog that Pelliccione and her teen-age son ever purchased, and he immediately became part of the family, she said.
During Jack’s first visit to the veterinarian, he received a standard vaccine and treatment for ear mites. That night, he trembled and his breathing was labored, so Pelliccione took him back to the vet the next day. She and Jack soon became regulars at the vet’s office as pneumonia and other medical conditions kept their puppy in poor health.
“He was on antibiotics for 12 of the 13 months that I had him,” Pelliccione said, producing a stack of medical bills nearly half an inch thick.
She invested $3,000 in Jack’s medical treatments, along with sleepless nights spent at an all-night veterinary clinic in San Jose. She and her son were devastated throughout the ordeal.
“For the few good days we had that he was a happy, healthy dog, we thought we were over the hump, but then we would turn around and he would be sick again.”
On Dec. 18, 2002, Jack died. The loss still hurts, Pelliccione said with tears in her eyes.
Jack’s veterinarian blamed congenital defects that existed before his purchase.
In fact, back during Jack’s first visit, the vet had told Pelliccione her dog looked like he came from Missouri. What’s in Missouri? A hot spot for organizations that breed and sell purebred puppies in large quantities and often in questionable conditions. They’re known as puppy mills.
Harsh conditions
Puppy mills may sell directly to the public or at the mill itself, but often supply pet shops directly or through a broker who acts as a middleman. According to the Humane Society, documented puppy mill problems include overbreeding, inbreeding, minimal veterinary care, poor quality of food and shelter, lack of socialization with humans, overcrowding and the killing of unwanted animals.
Many pet store puppies are in such bad shape, veterinarians can tell right away that they’ve come from a store that purchases from puppy mills.
“In some cases we can because some of these puppies are very poor physical specimens of the breed they’re supposed to be,” said Pete Keesling, a veterinarian at San Martin Veterinary Hospital. “Yes, they’re papered, but some of the American Kennel Club papers that come with them are not guaranteed that that’s what those puppies are.”
So although someone like Pelliccione may receive purebred registration papers from the American Kennel Club, the accuracy of the puppy’s lineage is not guaranteed.
“I was naive,” Pelliccione said. “I didn’t know that that’s where they came from. I guess I learned the hard way.”
Jack’s papers say he came from a commercial breeder named Honey Dew, through Hunte Corporation, which claims to be the world’s leading distributor of purebred puppies to pet stores. Numerous breeders, veterinarians and even Gilroy pet store owners confirmed that Hunte provides puppy mill puppies. The corporation is the target of numerous animal rights Web sites.
The owners of The Pet Stop did not return phone calls for comment. A clerk at the store provided papers for one of the puppies for sale, which listed Hunte and a breeder in Missouri.
Our Pet Shop, at 705 First St., was the subject of a letter to the editor in The Dispatch Wednesday that suggested the store gets its puppies from puppy mills.
But shop owner Andrea Bertero denied the claim.
“We’re trying to do the right thing,” said Bertero, adding that the store began selling puppies at the request of customers.
“They come from all over,” Bertero said. “I pretty much research everything on-line, just like anybody would do.”
Bertero said she speaks with breeders over the phone and often views pictures of the puppies she’s purchasing.
“I try to establish a relationship with breeders and then build off those,” she said. “It’s not the Hunte Corporation, and it’s not a puppy mill breeder. They’re all individuals.”
Bertero said she does use an organization called Transpet to bring puppies from other areas, including as far away as New Jersey.
“Transpet is a transportation service for pets, not a breeder,” she said.
She uses the service because local breeders won’t sell to the store.
“Pet store people don’t know the breed,” said Laura Franchi, who breeds golden retrievers. She said pet store employees are often unaware of a dog’s temperament, full-grown size and life expectancy. “Breeders are very familiar with these breeds, we know the parents, grandparents …”
Dog owner Crystal Dudoit, who was at Our Pet Shop Thursday and used to work there, said the two puppies she purchased from Bertero are in good health. She bought one in December and another last month.
“I’ve seen Transpet. It’s clean,” Dudoit said. “I’ve seen all the information that you need on-line. I’ve talked to my breeder.”
Breeder Wilma Westhoff, contacted in Chanute, Kansas, said she began selling puppies to pet stores, including Our Pet Shop, when they began contacting her.
“I’m not a big corporation, I’m just a small person who enjoys what I do,” Westhoff said.
She is particular about the stores she sells to, she said, and follows up with the new owners by sending cards and receiving photos of the dogs in return. She and her husband produce several breeds.
“These are my babies,” said Westhoff, who doesn’t keep track of the number of dogs she sells each year, but estimates the number is between 300 and 500.
Bette Reese, who has bred pugs locally since 1985, said she never sells to pet stores because she wants to know the owners personally.
“The reason is that I want these dogs placed into permanent homes,” she said.
Lack of accountability
Another issue with pet store puppies, Keesling said, is the lack of accountability for the health of the pet and little record of its medical history.
Both Gilroy pet stores require an examination within three days of a puppy purchase.
Gilroy Veterinarian Greg Martinez has performed examinations of Hunte Corporation puppies for The Pet Stop before they go to the store as a service to the public. He defended Hunte, saying it does not sell puppy mill animals. Hunte representatives could not be reached for comment.
“Anytime (the owners) call me and they have a puppy they’re not sure of, I will go in and try to screen them so the public does not get sick puppies,” Martinez said. “I feel like the public will demand these puppies and will get them from wherever.”
Today, when customers buy a puppy from the stores, they immediately receive papers detailing the animal’s lineage, registration and the store’s policy for returning the animal for genetic health defects. If medical issues arise within the animal’s first year, customers may contact the store for assistance with medical bills, or for an exchange, the stores’ policies say.
Pelliccione said The Pet Stop’s policy was implemented too late to save Jack, but said it might not have made a difference.
“The money part of it … is not as important to me as, I want them to stop selling the dogs,” she said.
Many of the problems that can arise from pet store purchases have less to do with puppy mills and more to do with a lack of qualifications of the seller, some breeders and veterinarians said.
“A responsible breeder looks at a pedigree and makes the best possible match they can,” said Pam Rubio, a member of the Gavilan Kennel Club who breeds Newfoundlands.
Pet store patrons, on the other hand, most often buy puppies on impulse.
“We see this all too often, and so what we tell people is, if they really want to get a pedigree – if they really want to get a purebred dog – they should not buy from the first place they go to,” Keesling said.
If a dog can’t be found at a shelter, Keesling recommends talking to people who know the breed, researching breeders and visiting dog shows.
Pelliccione said she was looking for a dog the day she bought Jack, but now regrets not knowing that a reputable breeder was just half an hour away. After researching the breeder for months, Pelliccione purchased another silky terrier. But she can’t replace Jack.
“The new dog helped to ease that pain, but it didn’t take it away,” Pelliccione said. “I just miss him.”
