SD Animal Defense Team: February 2012

February 29, 2012

March Protests Added to Calendar!

We continue to push ahead for a ban on the sale of puppies in pet stores! The inhumane and unethical business of farming dogs as livestock must be stopped. In order for the commercial kennels to meet their objective of maximizing profits, the dogs need to suffer. Breeding facilities are often shockingly substandard and even when they meet legal USDA guidelines, the dogs only need to be given enough food and water to keep them alive.

The owners of Puppy Star's have seized the retail puppy store market in San Diego. Since they opened in August, 2011, the San Diego Animal Defense Team has been there, alerting the public to the cruelty of this business. They have tried many ploys to stop us -- yet we are still here! Strong and determined!

The case against Puppy Star's and their employee has not yet been set by the court. As soon as we have the date, you all will be the first to know!!! Justice moves slowly but IT WILL COME!

We urge anyone reading this who has purchased a sick puppy from Puppy Star's, Pet Place or Naedeen's Pups in Oceanside to contact us immediately. We have a good-sized list of innocent consumers who purchased either sick and/or dying puppies from these stores. We do understand that you may love these puppies very much in spite of the problems. Contacting us certainly doesn't say otherwise. Any information can be sent to keafs2@yahoo.com.

Dates and times for March protests have been set. See the calendar on this page.

And check back for the upcoming Animal Defense Team video, in progress now. Many of you who shared your wonderful rescue dogs at our February protests will be featured!

February 26, 2012

Rescued Dogs Are the REAL Stars!

On Sunday February 19 and Sunday, February 26, members of the Animal Defense Team showed up in force -- most accompanied by their wonderful rescue dogs. They lined Balboa Ave. in front of the Puppy Star's store to show San Diego that the real puppy stars are the beautiful rescued dogs in the shelters and rescue groups.
We had all breeds, all ages, and plenty of great mixes too. Thanks for the outpouring of support, everyone! It was a heartwarming show of
ADOPT DON'T SHOP!

Starring Rescued Dogs At Puppy Star's Protests Feb. 19 and 26!

February 23, 2012

HSUS Investigates Midwest Breeders

February 15, 2012

PROTEST WITH US SUNDAY FEB. 26, 12 - 2 PM

Well-behaved rescue dogs and dogs available for adoption

are especially invited to join us for this protest!

Yes! Bring a sign to accompany the dog that says

Rescues!

~~~ RESCUED! or ADOPT ME!~~~

If you have an adoption dog with you, do bring contact

information for adopting...

Let's show the public what great dogs they can get by adopting NOT shopping!

Puppy Star's

Sunday February 26

6167 Balboa Ave. in Clairemont

NOON to 2 PM

We will be completing the video
featuring rescued dogs at the
protest so be sure to bring yours and let it become a STAR!

February 12, 2012

RESCUED DOGS PUPPY MILL PROTEST EVENT!

This dachshund was formerly known only as "Tag 19." See the notch in her ear in the upper right hand corner of the photo? That's where a heavy metal cattle tag was punched through; she had one in each ear, as well as a rusty metal chain around her neck with another tag with her number on it. With all of this ID "jewelry," it's anybody's guess why her "breeder" also felt the need to brand the top of her head with a searing hot metal iron (those pink V-shaped lines). Tag 19 lived in the mill for 10 years until she was "worn out" and discarded.

BUT THAT'S OK, the breeder tells us. His "breeding facility" was licensed by the USDA.

IS THAT OK WITH YOU?

IT'S NOT OK WITH US!

"Why does San Diego need any new legislation? We already have humane laws, and the USDA regulates breeding facilities."

While it is true that the USDA does regulate some pet breeding facilities through the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act, USDA officials are also frustrated in enforcement because:

The Animal Welfare Act again provides only the barest of minimum of protection for the animals. There are only around 100 USDA inspectors to cover thousands of licensed facilities throughout the nation.

Existing laws, as they stand, just are NOT doing the job. We need to stop the sale of puppies in pet stores in order to protect the breeding dogs and the puppies as well as consumers.

JOIN US! SUNDAY FEB. 19 and SUNDAY FEB.26

Noon - 2 PM

at Puppy Star's

6167 Balboa Ave.

THESE DATES ARE SPECIAL!

WE ARE CALLING ALL RESCUE DOGS TO

JOIN US AND LINE BALBOA AVE.

IF YOU HAVE A DOG AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION

BRING IT TOO!

SIGNS SHOULD SAY ADOPT ME OR RESCUED

We will have protesters directly in front of the store with photos of shelter dogs who could not be saved because they were not adopted.

Wall of Shame: These San Diego Stores Sell Puppies

The Animal Defense Team has targeted the stores listed in red with protests.

San Diego Puppy

5825 Mission Gorge Rd.

David Salinas is selling puppy mill puppies in this storefront and online.
His Horton Plaza kiosk was cancelled the day before our big protest there. Surprise! We are continuing to monitor Horton Plaza to be sure no other puppy stores open there. We have been protesting and doing educational outreach at this store since May, 2012. Please join us at our events.

Puppy Star's CLOSED MARCH 2012!!!

6167 Balboa Ave.

Clairemont

+ Naedeen's Puppies -- owned by Puppy Star's CLOSED MARCH 2012!!!

1021 S. Coast Highway

Oceanside

+ Pet Place -- owned by Puppy Star's CLOSED 2012!!!

6512 El Cajon Blvd.

San Diego

Lemon Grove Pets

7034 Broadway

Lemon Grove, CA 91945

619-460-1965

My Puppy Closed! This store has shut down. If you hear of it reopening in a different location, please let us know. 7770 Vickers St. Ste. 101, San Diego 92111

California Pets at North County Fair, Escondido

California Pets 2525 El Camino Real, Carlsbad (Plaza Camino Real)

Pet Works CLOSED DECEMBER 2010! Grossmont Center Shopping Mall, La Mesa

Fiesta Pet Shop 1145 Highland Ave., National City

Noy's Pet Shop 2550 Imperial Ave.

Pet Market 1536 Sweetwater Rd., National City

Puparazzi -- CLOSED SEPTEMBER, 2011!!! Woo Hoo! Mission Valley Shopping Center

Pups & Pets 50 Town Center Parkway Santee, CA

Please help us keep up-to-date on current stores selling puppies on San Diego County! Thanks

From Sourcewatch.com: USDA

USDA certified puppy mills There are only about a hundred USDA inspectors to monitor 10,000 facilities across the country, ranging from research labs to zoos. Furthermore, "standards" are abysmal. Federal guidelines allow a medium sized terrier to be kept in a cage the size of a clothes drier for its entire life. The federal Animal Welfare Act is hardly the gold standard for compassion. For example, the act does not say you cannot have 300 dogs confined to cages for their entire lives; never to be taken for a walk or receive any personal attention, let alone be a part of a family. A breeder passes USDA muster as long as the dog has food, water and enough space to turn around. USDA standards are very minimal. Adhering to them does not prove that a breeder is not a puppy mill. Even more so, since even these standards are often not enforced. Many licensed breeders for large chains like Petland, have significant violations. [12]

Prisoners of Greed Compassionate Vet Pledge

We are researching which San Diego County veterinarians partner with local puppy stores and will be posting them to this website soon. We will also present provide those vets with puppy mill information, ask them to reconsider their alignment with pet stores selling puppies, and give them the opportunity to sign the Compassionate Vet Pledge.

Compassionate Vet Pledge
Most dogs in puppy mills live their entire lives in wire bottom cages, they are bred when they are six months old, bred every time they come into season, never allowed out of the cage to exercise, not provided quality food or medical care, left outside in the winter and summer without heat or air-conditioning and killed when they do not produce. Certainly veterinarians who are dedicated to the care of animals would object to these practices.

The Federal Animal Welfare Act requires that a veterinarian prepare a vet plan. Without a plan, the kennel can not obtain a license from the United States Department of Agriculture. If every vet in this country, stood for compassion and refused to be the vet of record for a commercial kennel or a pet store that sells dogs/puppies, no commercial kennels could operate.

Download the USDA Policy on Vet Requirements

We are asking all vets to sign the Pledge of Compassion. Every vet who signs the Pledge will receive a framed Certificate of Compassion to hang in their office. The vets will also be featured on this website and recommended as Compassionate Vets. Clients can then determine whether their vet is a Compassionate Vet who will stand up against the misery created in commercial kennels.

Print the pledge and take it to your vet. Have them sign it. Send us a copy and also send it to the Coalition Against Misery Box 343 Pocopson, PA 19366. They will send them the framed certificate and some Prisoners of Greed brochures to display in their office.

Will your vet stand up for the dogs?

Download the Pledge

What is a Puppy Mill?

The term is used by Humane Societies, the ASPCA and the community to indicate USDA kennels that commercially raise wholesale dogs with profit instead of the welfare of the animals as their primary objective. The dogs are farmed as a cash crop.

Animal Planet says it's now a one billion dollar industry with brokers, breeders and pet stores getting rich off of the unbelievable suffering of the dogs in the breeding mills. Under the USDA standard of care, the breeding dogs -- the mothers of the puppies -- NEVER get out of their cages, are housed in wire crates, often stacked so that the dogs on the bottom tier live in terrible stench and filth with no human contact, and receive only enough food and water to be kept alive. YES THIS IS LEGAL, BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT HUMANE.

The HSUS: "The kennel conditions in which puppies are bred and raised are deliberately kept from consumers."

Missouri Puppy Mill Bust/Support Prop B!

71 Dogs Removed from Missouri Puppy Mill; Help Support Prop. B!

On September 21, the ASPCA Field Investigations and Response Team in conjunction with the Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO) removed 71 dogs from an overrun puppy mill in Camden County, MO. The dogs—who include Dachshunds, Maltese, Shih Tzus, Lhasa Apsos, Huskies and Boxers—were transferred to the Humane Society of Southwest Missouri in Springfield and HSMO in St. Louis, where they received medical treatment and will be cared for until they’re ready for adoption.
“This case was unique in that the dogs were voluntarily relinquished by the kennel owner who could no longer afford to feed them,” explains Tim Rickey, ASPCA Senior Director of Field Investigations and Response. Last week the mill owner contacted a local rescue group, Half-way Home Pet Rescue in Cedar County, for help, and Half-way Home then reached out to the ASPCA.
“When breeders are no longer able to care for their animals, the problem lands squarely on the shoulders of local shelters,” says Half-way Home’s Latisha Duffy, who works closely with breeders in Missouri to find homes for retired breeding dogs.
Known as the “Puppy Mill Capital of America,” Missouri is home to more than 3,000 commercial dog breeding facilities and supplies more than 40 percent of all dogs sold in pet stores nationwide. “We see some of the worst conditions in Missouri puppy mills,” explains Rickey. “The dogs, often very ill, are forced to live in overcrowded, filthy conditions.”
In an effort to end the many cruelties associated with puppy mills, the ASPCA, a founding member of Missourians for the Protection of Dogs/YES! on Prop. B, is supporting Proposition B, also known as the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act. This landmark measure, which will appear on the state’s November ballot, promotes the humane treatment of dogs in Missouri’s large-scale commercial breeding kennels. If passed, Prop B would limit the number of breeding dogs to 50 per facility, and would require large-scale breeders to sufficient food, water and space for the animals under their care.
To learn how to extend your support for Proposition B, please visit our Puppy Mill section on ASPCA.org.

The Truth About Horse Racing

Last year's shameful death list of horses who died racing at Del Mar:

Mr. Napper Tandy
Pocosin's Game Boy
I Want My Money
Mi Rey
Sovine
Peanut Ridge
Maggie and Hopie
Insider
Mad for Plaid
Pauper's Prize
Zetta's Corridor
Endless Moon
Madame Kiawah

Last year (2009) 230 horses died at California race tracks, including the 13 at Del Mar. The evidence is clear: the industry is breeding speed over soundness. Horse's bones, tendons and ligaments cannot hold up to the extreme punishment of racing and horses are paying for it with their lives.

The Animal Defense Team doesn't think this qualifies as either "sport" or entertainment. Do you?

Horses are being trained and raced as two-year-olds, before they are fully mature. Drugs mask problems like pain and bleeding into the lungs, pushing them beyond their physical limits. Lasix, phenylbutazme and corticosteroids are legally used across the country. Drugs keep horses on the racetrack even when they shouldn't be racing.

Losers or injured horses are quickly discarded and sent to the slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada. Since 1980, the Equine Protection Network states more than 4 million horses have been barbarically slaughtered. The Humane Society of the US estimates at least 11,000 a year.

Racehorses are the victims of an industry based on greed, drugging, deception and death.
Del Mar. CRUEL AS EVER.

PET STORE DOUBLESPEAK

They say: "Our puppies come from breeders, not puppy mills." The word "breeder" isn't an exclusive term. Anyone who produces puppies is technically a breeder. A responsible breeder would never sell her puppies to a pet store.
They say: "All our puppies come from USDA facilities, so we know they are not from puppy mills." Being USDA licensed doesn't mean that the business is not a puppy mill. There are hundreds of USDA-licensed puppy mills in operation that have long lists of violations and problems. A USDA license is required for anyone who is a commercial breeder producing dogs for wholesale.
They say: "We only deal with breeders we know." The store's definition of "knowing" a breeder often just means that they have been receiving shipments of puppies from the same place repeatedly, not that anyone from the store has ever visited the breeder's facility or inspected their records.
They say: "Our puppies come with a health certificate from a licensed veterinarian." A health certificate only means that the puppy has had a brief "wellness" exam by a vet. This exam doesn't include testing for genetic disorders, or testing for diseases such as Giardia and Brucellosis, both of which are contagious to humans and are frequently seen in puppy mill pups.

Congratulations! These Stores Have Signed A Puppy Friendly Pet Store Pledge

Pet Stop, 7490 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla
Noah's Natural Pet Market,4431CassSt.,PB
San Diego Pet Supply, 1490 Island Ave., SD