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Florida pet store slapped with class-action lawsuit
By Gina Spadafori
June 20, 2007
Dr. Patty Khuly on Dolittler rants wonderfully about puppy mills. The “news hook” for Dr. Khuly’s writing: A lawsuit against Wizard of Claws by the HSUS (which calls the business a ”puppy mill front group”). The South Florida pet-seller is among the most notorious in the nation (can you imagine a puppy pusher so widely loathed that Web sites — the main one now defunct, perhaps by threat of legal action — have been launched to protest?).
Let’s be honest, the average Latin-American experience with pets is far different from our own (I’m a Spanish-speaking Cuban-American so I think I get more of a pass on that statement). Consequently, Miami is replete with people who see pets more as commodities and showpieces than as family-members. It’s a challenge for vets here, as you might imagine.
Still, there’s a seemingly endless stream of vets willing to support this industry. Health certificates are a dime a dozen and the lifeblood of many a vet’s practice. Even “fancy” vets with high-end clients partake in this behavior. One well-know chain of high-priced practices supplies an overwhelming percentage of the health certificates granted to places like the Wizard of Claws, the HSUS’s target of a class-action lawsuit against a puppy mill-supplied retailer.
The first of its kind in the HSUS’s 53 years (for its class-action status) but by no means the first lawsuit leveled against a puppy mill-maintained producer, this legal action seeks to effectively close down the establishment in question. And it’s not even Miami-area owners that are most affected. This outlet boasts online sales in the thousands every year. In fact, that’s now their primary source of income, to the tune of fancy digs festooned with hardwood appointments and leather furnishings. They know how to turn a buck with a prospective purchaser’s search for quality in mind.
High-priced accoutrements notwithstanding, this retailer understands the economics of this pet-sale game. Buy low, sell high, is the mantra. Source your breeders for the price they’ll accept and base your decisions on the obviously bright-eyed pups that come into your field of vision. Send back the rest.
[...]
It’s a travesty—and a de rigeur occurrence by design. It seems obvious that lawsuits of this variety might be the wave of the future for ending such practices and killing the business of raising pets for these kinds of profits.
Related: The Sun-Sentinel in South Florida writes about the Florida “pet lemon law” and offers advice for people looking to get a pet. Also related: Operations like the one targeted here would be graciously welcomed under California’s ridiculously misnamed”Healthy Pets Act,” by the way — although reputable breeders would be hit and hit hard.
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I know rescue groups make a significant effort—to the extent they can—to let the public know they exist. I wonder what mechanisms could be put in place to increase their awareness so people could adopt the breed they are looking for and also save a life (can we pull on their heartstrings??)
I adopted my beautiful Maine Coon as a kitten from our local shelter (this was by chance as I wasn’t looking specifically for a Maine Coon but his personality even at 2 months old just drew me in!). Not too long ago a friend was looking to adopt a Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest cat and was looking for breeders when I pointed her to a couple of local rescue organizations that specialize in Maine Coons and/or long hairs. It took a little while to get them connected but she now has a gorgeous and fantastic Norwegian. A ‘tail’ with a happy ending (yuk yuk).
Comment by sandy — June 20, 2007 @ 12:19 pm