Hey chris - Does your mother know she raised such a douche bag? I dont know if i should feel bad for her or be angry at her.

Um. That is the saddest picture ever.
Also, I'm really liking the high school vibe of this whole exchange.

Petland will certainly be "taking this seriously" I'm sure.

Wow. Petland being blown up by animal rights psychos in 3...2...1...

someday when puppy mills are completely banned for their inhumane treatment of dogs this "regional operations director" will likely have a different tone. the fact the this person can harbor such blatent disregard for life is disturbing, to say the least.

I can totally see Chris' point. Having protesters outside his store to tell people that they get their dogs from puppy mills allows the consumer to make an informed decision. I'll bet that westie and beagle found stellar homes that day.

Saddest.Consumerist.Picture.Ever.

That is great! I think the email from Chris Beth is fantastic, and funny.

If there are specific problems, sure, bring them to light. Show documentation that the animals are kept in squalor at the store, etc.

I've gotten dogs from breeders and from shelters, and would have bought them from a brick and mortar store if the time and funds had been right any number of times.

It sounds to me like Chris Beth is handling this just fine...

@unobservant:

I bought our Boxer puppy from a Petland back around May. I never heard that they (supposedly)get their puppies from puppy mills until I saw some protesters.

Needless to say, I have a pretty sweet dog now.

Is this particular franchisee in the tenth grade or what?

@MrFalcon: Agreed! Chris is awesome. What, you people think it's OK for protesters to make these allegations against his store, but he's not allowed to respond at all? And when he taunts them, like they've been taunting him, it's somehow wrong? I'm all in favor of what he did.

+1 petland

@bobloblawsblog:

Sounds like a great response to me. It's always a good idea to ridicule these spastic protesters. If you don't, they actually start to take themselves seriously.

Oh ben, I love it when you include a wikipedia reference. It's always nice to learn something new

@CubeRat88: Actually it's not "needless to say". You actually got lucky if your dog is happy and healthy now if it did actually come from a mill.

@serreca: Annnd, how many times can I say "actually" in one post? Sheesh.

@serreca: Yeah I didn't really follow that conclusion jump.

this wasn't from the franchisee, but the Director of Regional Operations.

My wife is friends with many of these protesters, this is great. They have many stories from people that purchased puppies from this Petland that had massive health problems and things found from shut down puppie mills that indicate Petland's use of them.

It's really sad. But it's a simple fix that could do correct this, but it will eat into their profits...

Thanks for posting this.

@jimconsumer:

Add me to the pro-Chris list. You can protest something all you want, but I'll be damned if someone is going to tell me where to purchase something from. There's a line between wanting to educate people about bad corporate practices and actually wanting to put a company out of business.

@TinkishDelight officially OVER the dc tourist infestation: What? I'm just saying that he's lucky that his dog is healthy now if it came from a puppy mill, which is likely if he bought it at a Petland. I've heard horror stories about dogs bought from pet shops, getting very sick and dying soon after purchase.

The protestors are obviously negatively effecting their business or Christopher Beth would not have taken the time to contact them. Those that are high-fiving Petland are missing the point. This exchange is embarassingly ridiculous. There is a reason why corporations hire lawyers and/or pr firms to speak for them.

@unobservant: "I'll bet that westie and beagle found stellar homes that day." - Because the individuals who bought them ignored picketers? I don't understand your reasoning. I'm sure the dogs picked up at shelters that day got good homes, because shelters often have some sort of a screening process, which Petland doesn't.

@serreca: TinkishDelight was agreeing with you in that CubeRat88's conclusion didn't follow what came before it.

I wonder how credible is the humane society now days. We have a local shelter here run by the county the conditions were very bad. My daughter called the local news and humane society a few years back and they were of no help and did not even try to do anything. Her complaints to the county feel on deaf ears. Eventually enough citizens complained they cleaned it up some. I guess if their claims are valid its good to see people take some action and get involved. It seems that the real culprit is the main corporation and not the franchises.

@serreca:

hmm.. (after looking up actual definition) you're right. I wonder how many times I have been using that term incorrectly?

It's hard to say about this Petland I got him from. The owner, who I have spoken to a few times, seems genuinely concerned about the animials. I could be wrong though.

That was outstandingly unprofessional. Either deny the allegations of puppy mill connections, or ignore the protestors (if you are evil.)

By the way, our 1 y.o. Catahoula hound mix we got at the local animal control last week is doing great. She likes to chase sticks and helped keep me and my wife warm in our tent when we went camping this weekend.

@henwy: Yeah we should all just bend over and take it. Educating the public on harmful business practices? What do you think this is, Consumerist?

If you are going to protest, do it right...

[www.tennessean.com]

@serreca: @Rectilinear Propagation: Yeah I was in agreement with you. I read his/her comment twice and still had a puzzled expression.

@MonkeyButt: All this sarcasm is breaking my brain. Are you responding to my post like I was being serious?

@tbax929: so, you equate the use of inhumane treatment of life, for profit no less, to a bad corporate practice? i bet you also buy your child's formula from china because you'll be damned if some bleeding heart liberal is going tell you where you can and cannot purchase things, right? perhaps if you educated yourself, even slightly, on this issue you might have a different attitude. unless you derive some sort of satisfaction in unnecessary suffering.

The equivalent of the Kimberly Process for breeders of AKC certification of blood lines and the fairly tight knit community of reputable purebred dog breeders.

If you want a purebred dog, find a breeder and work with them. If you think that's too expensive, or somehow it offends your sensibilities, get a mutt from the pound.

Pet Stores offer dog buyers two forms of value (neither of which are worth the middle-man mark-up):

a) the offer the ease of one-stop shopping -- which if you're dropping $500-$1500 on a decidedly high maintenance puppy, probably shouldn't be high on your list of criteria; and

b) they buffer you from dog breeders, which appear (in the aggregate) to be full-on crazy people. I can only speak from personal experience, but the better the blood lines in the dogs, the more likely the breeder is going to act straight out of "Best in Show'. As long as you understand that going into the deal, you'll be fine.

@vw195: its only semi-nude. many others have done it "right" by doing a full-nude protest. ;-)

What does Petland do with dogs that don't sell? I'm genuinely curious. Are they euthanized?

That email exchange was on the mild side of mild. Why is this even news? Who cares if an employee of a store people are picketing isn't 100% professional in his dealings with the protestors? Why should he be?

@TinkishDelight officially OVER the dc tourist infestation: Oops!

I think we can all agree that we care for the animals. Such as.

@TinkishDelight officially OVER the dc tourist infestation:

I'll try again <=O

I did not know, until after I bought my dog, that Petland was known for getting their puppies from puppy mills. Knowing that now, I am pretty lucky that he is a healthy dog (no kennel cough or any other weird things that most puppy mill dogs might get).

@unobservant: ohh....sorry! I was so wound up on the DRO's arrogance that I didn't recognize the sarcasm.

I hate puppy mills, and I think the most effective kinds of protests are always peaceful and rational ones. I'm not going to listen to you if you're screaming in my face, and if I happen to walk into a Petland (I don't have any near me, and I wouldn't anyway) I don't want people shouting after me that I'm killing innocent puppies. But I wouldn't be upset if protesters were to hand out fliers with some kind of evidence (not just claims, but a report from any agency, or the Humane Society, or even a newspaper article) to suggest that their uproar isn't just hot air.

@opsomath: Yay about your new dog. :)

We got our Corgi mix from the shelter almost two years ago and she is nearly perfect. A bit whiny, but only because she loves us, right? Right? Anyway, I talk up adopting from shelters whenever anyone mentions getting a pet. Our two cats also came from a shelter and we are a happy little family.

@tbax929: And from what in any of this has led you to believe that the protesters want to put Petland out of business? People seem to jump to all kinds of conclusions just because they have a weird knee-jerk antipathy towards people who want animals to be treated humanely.

@ilves: He's not an employee of the store, he's the Regional Director of Operations. His attitude speaks to the larger attitude of the company, in that they don't really care about animals, just turning a profit any way possible. Blech.

I went to a petland when i was shopping for dogs a year ago. The one I went to had to talk to a breeder and get back to me with a price. They quoted me $1200 for one Siberian Husky puppy. Granted it had its shots and everything but still. They're absurdly over priced. I ended up going to a local breeder and got two wonderful huskies, the first for $400 and the second for $350 (return discount). The breeder said that she and her family barely break even with the puppies they sell and just do it because they like having puppies around.

Don't buy dogs from pet stores. Go to the SPCA or a breeder who cares about the dogs. (I just got out of college and have always wanted huskies. This is the only reason we didn't adopt.)

@tbax929:

Solution A) Prove to protesters and the world that you have reputable sources for your puppies. (note: documentation and certification for each puppy is proof, not a binder with guidelines)

Solution B) Send off snarky email to head of protesters.

The protesters aren't looking to put them out of business, they're looking to put immoral inhumane puppy mills out of business.

Your approach is like me proving to you that soylent green is people and then you yelling "F U!" and chowing down in front of me.

@ilves: Take a look at his title. He's not an employee of a store. He is the Director of Regional Operations of Petland, Inc. He should be professional because he IS a professional -- moreover he is representing not just that particular store but the company that owns those stores.

Have to agree with Petland here. There are few things lower on the totem pole than bottom feeding sucking eating protesters. The bums lost, your revolution is over, do what your parents did and get a job.

@tbax929: Seriously. If I want a sick, overpriced dog from a puppy mill, that's my god-given right, and I'll thank those hippies for not throwing it back in my face.

To be honest, if the vast majority of dogs from pet stores had problems, people wouldn't buy dogs from pet stores.

I'm sure the protesters have lots and lots of stories of dogs with behavioral problems, genetic problems, physical problems, etc that were from puppy mills. How many puppies from breeders have those issues?

An honest breeder would say "a few."

If they're protesting about puppy mills, they should get the health inspectors in Texas to go inspect the mills, or try proposing some legislation. But store protests are really a waste of time.

@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected: Very clever Mr. Lebowski.

I'm not exactly sure how you could classify protesters as bottom feeders since I'm pretty sure all the get out of it is self-satisfaction.

Also, while most of the time protesting something is probably one of the worst ways of getting something changed, depending on the way the message is being delivered and the circumstances of the protest, a lot can be accomplished.

@henwy:there are plenty of reasonable and legitimate grievances against puppy mills. Plenty of meat-eating, leather-wearing people oppose puppy mills. There are so many legal issues involved in their operation anyway that strictly from a business perspective, it's unwise to use them as suppliers. Most other mainstream, large pet store chains quit selling puppy mill puppies a while ago. So, you know, way to keep up.