The Humane Society of the United States is claiming dead puppies were found at a Petland store located in Georgia.
A December 2018 report done by the animal advocacy group said they placed undercover investigators with hidden cameras in two different Petland stores during the fall of 2018: one was at a Petland located in Kennesaw and the other in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Kennesaw undercover investigator worked at the location between September and October, the report said. The Humane Society undercover investigator claimed she found a dead puppy in a black plastic bag in the freezer. The woman documents what she found on a hidden camera. 11Alive has chosen to blur the photo, as some may find it disturbing.
The report also alleges another employee told the Humane Society's undercover investigator that she sometimes came into work and found puppies who had "passed away."
The Las Vegas allegations include a story about a pet who was confined in a cage for about a month. An employee at that location allegedly told a Humane Society undercover investigator "they were waiting for him to die," the report said. The puppy was sent back to a distributor instead.
The reason the Humane Society said they placed undercover investigators at the two locations was because they've received more than 1,200 complaints related to sick puppies since 2006 at Petland stores across the country.
One example in the report alleges that in 2017, Dr. Michael Good, a veterinarian who the Humane Society worked at a Petland in Kennesaw for a nearly a decade, wrote a witness affidavit about a myriad of diseases he saw in puppies.
The Humane Society claims Petland stores prioritize profit over animal welfare, but representatives for Petland said that is not the case.
11Alive reached out to Petland for a comment about the allegations. A spokesperson for the company released the following statement:
For over 50 years, Petland’s number one priority has been the health and welfare of its pets. Each Petland store has a licensed consulting veterinarian and that veterinarian establishes the care of the pets and protocols in the store. HSUS’s annual “undercover investigation” of Petland inaccurately portrays information in an effort to boost end of year fundraising efforts and to spread their anti-pet agenda.
Much of the information in their report is a regurgitation of information that has been dismissed legally and answered appropriately. For example, the allegations made in 2009 were dismissed legally; Dr. Good’s testimony has been refuted numerous times in court; the CDC never stated Petland over-medicated its puppies; Campylobacter is commonly found in puppies, regardless of source; Consumer Affairs is a site where companies have to PAY to answer, respond or have reviews deleted. An independent analysis of claims of illnesses with Petland puppies showed that less than 1.2% of all puppies that went home incurred any sort of severe medical issue requiring medical hospitalization. We are very disappointed that HSUS did not reach out to us with any concerns as we have always urged them to contact us directly as it relates to the health and care of our pets.