Earlier this year, I told you about lawsuits filed in Ohio against Petland that revealed heartbreaking stories of sick puppies. Now, two new lawsuits seek to hold Petland accountable for business practices that mislead customers and prop up the cruel puppy mill industry.
Attorneys with our Animal Protection Law department are assisting counsel at the Ohio law firm Holland & Muirden representing two more families who have suffered much heartache after buying dogs at Petland.
According to one of the lawsuits, when Danielle and Henry Segura saw a picture of Sky, a tiny Yorkiepoo puppy, on Petland Chillicothe’s store website in late 2021, they knew they had to meet her. When they visited Sky in the store, Petland staff assured Danielle that Sky was healthy and ready to go home, despite the fact she had allegedly been treated for kennel cough some days before. The eight Segura children and Danielle’s mother were excited to welcome their new puppy home.
Within days of purchase, Sky was incredibly ill. She was coughing and having trouble breathing. She refused to eat, drink or move around the house. Her veterinarian was not sure if she would survive. Mr. and Mrs. Segura and their children were terrified they might lose their new companion. In the end, multiple trips to the vet, antibiotics, oxygen cage therapy, subcutaneous fluids and a week of observation got Sky past the pneumonia and she was cleared to go back home.
Little did the Seguras know, this was only the beginning of Sky’s troubles. As alleged in their legal complaint, Sky subsequently began suffering from frequent seizures and defecating blood. After more visits to the veterinarian in fall 2023, Sky was diagnosed with a liver shunt, a congenital condition which can be tested for in breeding parent dogs by breeders. Because of Sky’s small size, her veterinarians are currently treating Sky’s symptoms with medication. At the veterinarian’s recommendation, Sky can only engage in limited activity and cannot be left alone for long periods of time for fear that she might suffer a life-threatening episode. They fear she might not survive surgery. Sky’s health problems puts serious limitations on Sky and the family who loves her.
In the other lawsuit being filed, the plaintiffs allege that their dog, River, an ultimate mastiff, was so poorly bred that she has had to undergo six surgeries for a variety of ailments in her short three years of life. This includes multiple failed eye surgeries and an attempt to resolve a debilitating knee condition. While Petland has assisted with some costs, the plaintiffs are still out thousands of dollars in veterinary bills for medical conditions that remain unresolved. Meanwhile, River is still in pain, and his family sees no end in sight to his suffering, nor to the financial and emotional devastation that comes with it.
Unfortunately, Ohioans will continue to fall victim to the puppy-mill-to-pet-store pipeline as long as Petland and other puppy-selling pet stores can hide behind a state preemption law. This law bans localities from putting strictures and regulations on puppy sales at retailers. While nearly 500 localities across the U.S. and eight states have stopped the sale of puppy mill puppies in pet stores, Ohio stands squarely on the wrong side of this issue. HB 443 was introduced to reverse this terrible preemption law, but it remains stalled in the state legislature.
On the bright side, Ohio has one of the strongest commercial breeder laws in the nation, which, if properly enforced, would go a long way to stop puppy mill cruelty. Puppies being sold in pet stores most often come from commercial breeders; Sky’s paperwork showed she came from a high-volume breeder in Lancaster, Ohio. We helped enact significant upgrades to Ohio’s high volume breeder law in 2018 and are now joining Ohio’s animal welfare community in calling on Gov. Mike DeWine and his administration to ensure that this valuable law is properly enforced and that meaningful penalties are applied to those who violate it.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture has all the tools it needs to crack down on puppy mills, especially those with serious animal welfare violations. Ohio is home to a number of known puppy mills, many of which have appeared in our Horrible Hundred report, an annual analysis that puts the spotlight on 100 problem puppy mills across the U.S.
Despite the ODA having the authority it needs to hold puppy mills accountable, the state has not in our view sufficiently used its enforcement power to protect dogs in puppy mills, despite our repeated urging to do so. The lack of enforcement is harming animals: For example, in 2020, state inspectors discovered a Yorkshire terrier died after a breeder, Joseph A. Miller, performed a DIY dental procedure on the dog. The ODA continues to license Miller to this day.
In the 2024 Horrible Hundred report alone, Ohio-licensed breeders were cited for sick or injured dogs not receiving the veterinary care they need; dogs and puppies living in wire cages dirty with feces and other sanitation problems; and breeders using tools like toenail clippers, hoof trimmers and box cutters for DIY surgical procedures. It is somewhat astounding that we have to say that such treatment of animals is unacceptable.
Until Petland and the puppy mills that supply the chain are exposed and made to pay for their heinous and insulting indifference toward the wellbeing of animals, stories like this will keep unfolding. And until the puppy-mill-to-pet-store pipeline is closed for good, at the very least, humane standards for dogs in puppy mills absolutely must be upheld.
If you’re an Ohio resident, join us in urging Governor DeWine to protect dogs and the people who care about them by ensuring his administration requires humane treatment of animals in breeding facilities.
Follow Kitty Block @HSUSKittyBlock.
