Written by Macklin Reid, Press Staff
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
A store selling puppies has opened in Branchville, prompting vehement opposition from dog lovers convinced — despite protestations otherwise from the owner — that it will serve as an outlet for “puppy mills” that breed dogs under inhumane conditions.
“I’m an animal lover all the way,” said Christine DiCarlo, who opened True Breeders two weeks ago at 43-47 Ethan Allen Highway, across Route 7 from the Branchville train station.
She said that she once worked in a store that sold puppy mill dogs, and insists that’s not what she will be doing.
“I’m a certified dog trainer. I’m a veterinary technician — I’m not certified any more. I’m a certified dog groomer,” she said.
“I worked for the pet store that was supplied by the puppy mills. I watched him, with the sick dogs — he let dogs die. It was awful. It made me physically ill. It was heart-wrenching,” she said.
“So, I decided, I’d open a puppy store.”
Her goal, she said, is simple.
“I’m not looking to sell show dogs. I want to sell happy, healthy pets that people can enjoy for 15 years — or 13 or 10, it depends on the breed,” she said.
Jane Stern and Leslie Davis Kohl — dog lovers who are both volunteers at the Georgetown Fire Department — have been organizing opposition to the opening of a puppy store in Branchville since December.
Their belief is that any retail store selling puppies will be an outlet for dogs bred at puppy mills, regardless of what the people operating it might say.
“The town of Ridgefield is home to many passionate dog owners, professional dog breeders, top dog show people whose dogs have won Best of Show at The Westminster Kennel Club,” Ms. Stern wrote to The Press.
“Ridgefield also boasts the rescue organization R.O.A.R. that operates a private no-kill shelter that provides dogs for adoption, and a spectacular dog park which is a favorite place to meet for both dogs and their owners. Can a town that is so ‘dog-centric’ welcome a pet shop that sells puppies? Many citizens of Ridgefield and the surrounding towns vote ‘no’...”
Ms. Kohl, a breeder of Tipperary boxers and French bulldogs, and Ms. Stern, an author who has written books about dog breeding and dog shows, organized a protest outside the True Breeders store last weekend and say more protests are planned.
They say people should get dogs directly from breeders, or from a shelter such as R.O.A.R. — not from a store.
“Only the public can stop the cruel cycle by refusing to buy these shipments. Join us to end this cruelty,” Ms. Kohl wrote this week.
In an interview in December, the two dog lovers did not offer specific evidence about dogs to be sold at the store due to open in Branchville — which wasn’t yet open — but spoke at length against the puppy-mill industry with its breeding farms in Pennsylvania’s Amish country and in the Midwest.
“The puppies are removed from the mother at about seven weeks of age, sold to brokers who pack them into crates and transport them in trucks — this transportation is often lacking in adequate food, water or ventilation,” Ms. Kohl said.
“Probably 50% of all shelter dogs are dogs that were dumped in shelters when they didn’t sell in pet stores,” Ms. Stern said. “...They can’t sell a dog over 10 or 12 weeks old — because it ain’t cute anymore.”
Reputable breeders, they said, will accept the return of puppies that don’t work out for families — they’re not breeding the dogs for profit.
“You don’t even break even,” Ms. Kohl said. “You lose money breeding dogs because you spend so much on the care of the dam and the puppies and veterinary bills that no responsible breeder makes money breeding dogs.”
Ms. DiCarlo of the True Breeders store did not disagree with the two women’s assessment of the puppy-mill business. She simply asserted that the store she has opened will not be a part of it.
“We’re just trying to make a good business with a good name,” she said. “...Our health guarantee will be the same as the breeder would give — not a pet store.”
She had a dozen puppies in the store at the start of this week, with prices upward of $1,100.
“I have two English mastiffs, two Chihuahuas — one being a teacup Chihuahua — two toy fox terriers, I have a Yorkie, a Pomeranian, a miniature schnauzer, a St. Bernard who’s totally adorable, and a Westie (West Highland white terrier), also one Rottweiler who’s a sweetheart of a dog,” she said.
“I’m actually getting them from Connecticut. All the puppies but the mastiffs are from Connecticut,” she said.
“Nothing is coming from a puppy mill, obviously, if I’m buying in Connecticut ... A lot of them are new breeders. I go down and I hand pick the puppies I want. They’re all raised in the house, including the St. Bernards.”
The dogs are in open-topped pens — not cages — she pointed out, with information on the pens about the breeders who provided the puppies.
“It says it right on the front where the dogs come from,” she said. “You have to have a certificate of origin that goes home with the dog. It tells where the dog has come from, the name of the breeder, what town they live in, the whole thing. They can talk to the breeder without any problem.”
Dr. Jordan R. Dann is the veterinarian working with the store.
“Dr. Dann’s our vet,” Ms. DiCarlo said. “With all puppies that are bought from our store you get five free obedience lessons, and you get a free exam from Dr. Dann.”
The obedience lessons will be provided in group sessions at the store.
“You get obedience lessons with the dogs. They’re all vet-checked before you get them. They’re on top quality food. They’re all sweethearts, they’re all well socialized,” Ms. DiCarlo said. “There’s not much else to say. People have to come in and see them.”
where is the evidence that the dogs are from puppy mills?
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