Emergency Protest at Horton Plaza!

San Diego Puppy has been selling puppies online for over a year. We have been tracking them since November 12, 2010 and have a file with over 90 actions to date! They are now going public with a kiosk at Horton Plaza. Come if you can. This is the day they are advertizing as their "Grand Opening!"

WHEN

Tuesday, November 1

TIME

1 - 5 PM

WHERE

Horton Plaza downtown

lower level near Forever 21
Go past the clock on level 1. The kiosk is in the middle of the
Clark's store  and the Guess store.

INFORMATION

We will meet just before 1:00 and go in as a group

Bring signs, friends, etc. You know what to do...

We will provide signs also

RSVP if you are coming so we know who to expect!
keafs2@yahoo.com

Details of where we are meeting will be sent to all who RSVP to be there at 1 PM

This event is on FB if you want to RSVP there or you can email us.

Breaking News from the Animal Defense Team

One of our Animal Defense Team protesters was falsely arrested with a citizen's arrest by an employee of Puppy Star's at the October 7 protest. He has now filed a lawsuit against the store and the employee as a First Amendment Complaint for Battery, False Arrest and Imprisonment, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress and Violation of the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act.

The summons for the lawsuit was served by our attorney, Bryan Pease, during the protest last Friday, October 21.

Summons is being served 10-21-11

Thanks Bryan!

The defendants now have 30 days to respond.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Protesters Friday October 21 --  
Over 20 animal advocates stood against greed and for compassion!

INVESTIGATIONS

Naedeen's Puppies

ADT members are investigating Naedeen's Puppies, 1021 S. Coast Hywy in Oceanside  and Pet Place, 6512 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. Both are owned by the same owners as Puppy Star's.  Naedeeen's is an empty storefront but when we heard puppies inside and knocked on the door, an employee let us in. He told us they are opening as a puppy store and groomer's in two weeks. They are currently selling puppies online, including the following breeds: Boxers, Pugs, Dachshunds, Yorkiepoo, Pomeranian, Labrador, German Shepherd, Boston terrier, Toy Maltese, Golden Retrievers, Lilac Beagles, Siberian Huskies, Jack-Russell-Dachshunds, American Eskimo Miniature, Puggle, Toy Yorkie, French Bulldog, Italian Greyhound Mini, Parti Yorkie, Silky Terrier, Mini Pincher Teacups. He said they could get us any breed we wanted.

In the meantime, the facility is being used to hold puppies. Seven Yorkie mix puppies were being housed in plastic children's swimming pools.

Front window sign: Puppies and Kittens (Naedeen's Puppies)

Back doors of Naedeen's Puppies

Space as seen through the other window -- crates being assembled

Inside of storefront unit

Yorkie mixes housed in plastic swimming pools

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The one employee at the site told us the owners of Puppy Star's and Naedeen's Puppies also own a third puppy store: Pet Place, 6512 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. When asked if all locations sell local puppies (as indicated on the cage labels) he said "No! Breeders, breeders, breeders!" and that all the puppies are being purchased through Lambriar, Inc. (Lambriar is a notorious broker for the midwestern puppy mills. Located in Kansas, it is the second largest puppy mill broker in the country, behind #1 Hunte Corp. Lambriar processes thousands of puppies through its Kansas facilities every year.)

Pet Place, San Diego

The Pet Place store had a total of 22 puppies. The odor was very strong and cages weren't clean. The glass fronts were smeared and dirty to the point views of the puppies were obscured.

We could see puppies were also caged in the back of the store. The teenage boy who was the only employee present, told us we couldn't see the puppies in the back because they either "hadn't had their shots or were too young to sell."

COMING SOON!

NO BUSINESS AS USUAL!

We will be at Puppy Star's from

opening to closing on

Saturday, November 12.

Please sign up for at least one  

two-hour section as follows:

11 AM - 1PM

1 PM - 3 PM

3 PM - 5 PM

5 PM - 7 pm

Just email us with your choice:

keafs2@yahoo.com

NO BUSINESS AS USUAL!

Great news from the ASPCA!

Supporters across the nation have taken a stand against puppy mills, and pet stores are taking notice. Recently, Jack’s Pets, one of the largest pet store chains in the Midwest, has decided to no longer sell puppies in any of its stores. Instead, Jack’s will work with the ASPCA to expand its work with local animal shelters and rescue groups to offer in-store pet adoptions.

PROTEST! THIS FRIDAY OCT. 21 5-7 PM

TO PUPPY STARS:

Stop Selling Puppies!

Next protest

Friday October 21

5 - 7 PM

Join the Animal Defense Team at

6167 Balboa Ave.

Clairemont

mother of those cute pet store puppies

Puppy Stars Protests October 7 and 14

                      Momentum continues to grow! Our protest at Puppy Stars on Friday evening, October 14 drew 50 people! We were able to completely cover the front of the store and have people lined up on Balboa Ave. as well. Thanks to everyone for coming -- some of you after work, some from distances. We had protesters from Escondido and Tijuana!  Each one of you makes a difference and is an important voice insisting on the ban of selling puppies in pet stores and breeding dogs in factory farms. 

We are working hard on organizing the protests in what we hope will be the most effective way for us to have an impact. We appreciate your flexibility as we continue.

If you purchased a puppy from Puppy Stars or Naedeen Puppies or from their online sales -- and if you had any problems with the puppy, please email us. We can help. We also are receiving reports that the store employees/owners  are being confrontive with the public, to the point that in one case there was an incident of physical assault. Please contact us if you have similiar experiences.  We will keep you updated on our own lawsuit as we progress.                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Pet Sales Banned in Shopping Mall Chain!

Great news!

Shopping center developer Macerich has announced a major policy breakthrough to take effect within 30 days: No more sales of live animals in its 70 shopping centers across the United States! Leases of existing pet stores that sell animals will not be renewed and will be replaced with humane stores offering rescue adoptions.
Included are the Los Angeles Westside Pavillion, Fashion Square in Scottsdale and Santa Monica Place.

Animal activist and film producer Jennifer Peterson researched puppy mills and pet stores and initiated the Facebook page, "Boycott Barkworks." She then contacted all 74 Macerich shopping center regarding their pet store policies and after a year of negotiations with shopping center management, the new ban is becoming official policy.

Breaking News from the ASPCA

ASPCA Assists Rescue of 100+ Dogs from KY Puppy Mill



The ASPCA Field Investigations and Response (FIR) Team is in Rowan County, Kentucky, helping care for 118 small-breed dogs including Chihuahuas, Dachshunds, Papillons, Min Pins and Poodles—several pregnant and some just a few weeks old—who were removed from horrifyingly filthy, cramped cages on October 6.

The dogs are now receiving care they desperately need; many of them were found covered in mold and matted fur, suffering from infection, dental disease and various other ailments.

An ASPCA emergency sheltering team and other veterinary experts are helping care for and assess the dogs at the Rowan County Animal Shelter. At the same time, the team is working to place the roughly 30 animals who were already in the shelter. ASPCA responders are also completing thorough evaluations of the rescued animals and helping local authorities collect evidence to support criminal charges, which the Rowan county attorney told media he hoped would be filed this week.

The dogs were discovered after the Rowan County Attorney’s Office received complaints about the facility.

This case is the latest to highlight the urgent need to bring an end to puppy mills. The ASPCA has rescued hundreds of puppy mill dogs and aided in the prosecution of their owners. We’ve also been active in drafting and promoting legislation that would improve the lives of puppy mill dogs, most recently in Texas and Pennsylvania.

“Most people don’t realize that the cute puppies they see in their local pet store window and on websites come from deplorable conditions like this facility,” says FIR Senior Director Tim Rickey. “We appreciate the efforts of the Rowan County Attorney’s Office in pursuing this investigation, and we’re pleased to be able to assist the local authorities in the fight against puppy mills.”

For more information about puppy mills and to find out how you can help us fight them, visit http://www.nopetstorepuppies.com/.

Update on Protests

One of our Animal Defense Team protesters was falsely arrested with a citizen's arrest by an owner/employee of Puppy Stars at last Friday's protest. (October 7) He was held and released at the site by the San Diego Police Department. We are in the process of filing a lawsuit for false arrest.



Puppy Stars has a history of trying to violate our civil rights and intimidate Animal Defense Team protesters at this store. They have used racial and sexual taunts and slurs in an attempt to stop our protests and to limit our freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

Are we intimidated? NO!

Are we going back? YES!

JOIN US TO SUPPORT FREE SPEECH RIGHTS AND

THE CRUEL FARMING OF DOGS AT PUPPY MILLS!

WHEN: This Friday, October 14

5 - 7 PM

WHERE: Puppy Stars

6167 Balboa Ave.

Clairemont

The Animal Defense Team has been protesting at Puppy Stars since the week they opened, August 20, 2011. This store sells puppies from factory farms in Missiouri, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio. These are some of the worst puppy mill states in the U.S., filled with breeding kennels with up to 1,000 dogs. Business records show in addition to Puppy Stars, Le Kim and Nguyen Huong own Naedeen Puppies in Oceanside and sell masses of puppies online.

See you Friday!

Bring signs, friends and outrage!

Coming this Friday evening

October 14

Protest at Puppy Stars

6167 Balboa Ave.

Clairemont area of San Diego

5 PM - 7 PM

Please join us

We will not be intimidated

We will stand for compassion and truth

Our voices will not be silenced



Puppy Stars Protest Tomorrow!

Puppy Stars Petstore Protest

Friday, October 7

5 - 7 PM

6167 Balboa Ave.

Clairemont

Best Friends & Animal Legal Defense Fund File Barkworks Class Action Suit

Best Friends volunteers gain ground against puppy mills


October 05, 2011 - By Julie Castle -
When Best Friends began our peaceful protests of the Barkworks chain of puppy stores in Southern California in 2008, I knew that something had to give — and knowing the passion and commitment of our team, I knew it wasn’t going to be our side.

It was one thing for me to be confident in the inevitability of change, but quite another for the volunteers on the front line who went out week after week for 150 weeks straight with nothing to go on but their profound resolve to help bring an end to the horror of puppy mills.

After three years of patiently handing out literature about puppy mills and hearing and documenting countless stories of sick puppies purchased by unsuspecting shoppers from Barkworks, our amazing volunteers finally have something to cheer about. Last week, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, armed with the reports gathered by Best Friends volunteer teams, filed a class action lawsuit against Barkworks, claiming the stores repeatedly engage in fraud and false advertising in an effort to conceal from customers that they acquire their puppies from abusive puppy mills.

The puppy stores in Los Angeles and elsewhere around the country are the rosebuds on the dung heap that is the world of commercial breeding that begins with marginally regulated puppy mills.

Puppies are cute by definition, but if customers were able to see where over 98 percent of them come from, most would run in the other direction. No one wants to support the cruelty of the mills and no one wants to risk the unknown possible illnesses, congenital defects and behavior problems that are a fact of life when pets are force-bred in factory farm–like operations.

Puppy mills and their pet store accomplices push a stream of animals to market with no regard to their ultimate well-being. About 25 percent of shelter dogs are purebred and many of those began life in a puppy mill.

Additionally, when someone who wants to get a pet goes to a pet store and buys one rather than adopting one from a shelter or rescue organization, he or she is not only supporting a cruel industry, the person is allowing a shelter pet to remain and possibly die in a local shelter.

So, hats off to the tenacious Best Friends volunteers who have given up their weekends for years and will continue to do so as long as animals are dying needlessly in shelters and puppy mills are allowed to operate with impunity.

When it comes to a test of wills, I know which side I’m betting on.

If you want to read more about the class action lawsuit against Barkworks, and other work that’s being done to end the abuses of puppy mills, visit the Best Friends Network News pages on puppy mills.