PHOTO COURTESY OF https://bailingoutbenji.com

Four hundred and fifty cities, towns and townships across the US have banned the sale of commercially bred animals in pet stores.  While Pittsburgh, Allentown, Wilkinsburg, Sharpsburg, Bellevue and Philadelphia have joined the fight, Berks County still finds the practice acceptable.  Pennsylvania has yet to pass Victoria's law which would prohibit these sales statewide. The largest pet store retailers nationwide have proven they can thrive without allowing this cruelty in their stores. Sharing space with local reputable rescues saves lives and limits their culpability in the suffering from puppy mill sales. Some small, greedy pet store operators continue to operate in the Dark Ages. They have the same blood on their hands as do the puppy mill breeders.  Any breeder warehousing hundreds of dogs at a given time, whatever may be the "designer" flavor of the day, with the goal not being the well being of the dogs, but more money, is despicable, as are the pet store owners who support them.

In our area of Pennsylvania, many associate the Amish and Mennonite communities of dogs in rabbit hutches being the epicenter of the puppy mill industry, while in actuality the Midwest has the largest concentrations of puppy mills.  Puppy mills operators and their puppy mill outlets, pet stores, are masters of deception and apparently devoid of a conscience. Dogs are a commodity, a cash crop and suffer daily.  That cute puppy you just purchased most likely spent the first few weeks of his life on wire, no exercise, crammed in a small cage. The USDA regulation only requires 6 inches of space longer than the dog, crates may be stacked on top of each other. The unscrupulous pet store owner wants your money. They will tell you our breeders are USDA inspected while in actually inspections have shown the USDA facilities to at times be in the worst conditions. The USDA's standards are not in place to protect the dogs they only require minimum care. For the puppy miller the goal is the bottom line, so they will breed dogs each cycle, feed poor nutrition, limit veterinary care and basic needs, such as grooming.  The mother and father of that puppy you just purchased suffers daily being bred over and over with minimal care. Most likely to be discarded when they can no longer produce. How can this race of creatures, the millers and the pet store owners, breeding and reselling while innocent souls suffer be considered part of Human-KIND? In their deception they create marketing ploys and PR campaigns.  Flowery brochures with pictures of children and puppies frolicking. Are we that gullible as a nation?  Will you believe the nonprofits set up across the country fighting tirelessly, many volunteer run, to shut down the mills and the pet store sales?  Will you believe the kennel inspections, public record? When dealing with a pet store owner are you not capable of free thought with all the red flags being raised?  What does it take?  Dogs are needlessly suffering and dying for these people to line their pockets. They are the only winners in the game. Do your research, HSUS, Best Friends Animal Society, ASPCA, Bailing out Benji are the big names you know who have information on their websites.  Many smaller regional nonprofit organizations exist to strictly address these issues and have the facts listed.  None of them have anything to gain by trying to educate you. 

Why this petition? For us it hits closer to home. The nationwide problem, the Pennsylvania problem, the need for Victoria's Law to go into effect, but in Berks County to expose a decade of falsehoods perpetrated on an unsuspecting community. Unfortunately our laws only protect the store owners, not their victims, the dogs. Thousands of complaints, and they still operate, changed name, changed location, and still they operate. They thought forming a nonprofit rescue and bringing in out of state dogs would clean up their image. We have an overpopulation problem locally with reputable, established rescues having fought for years to save dogs and cats. Testimony of past employees of dead puppies arriving in shipments and owners telling them that is normal. Veterinarians treating puppies due to lack of care, who are shut in a store without feeding, in their own feces and urine for 12 plus hours a day while the store is closed.  Past buyers surrendering sick pets to the shelters with accompanying paperwork of the store. Buyers having huge veterinarian bills from sick puppies and many fighting illness into their older years. Puppies dying soon after purchase.  Going through 413 google reviews their response is obscene.  Rote, callous, sometimes an expression of sympathy, but all putting the blame back on the buyer, and saying we did everything by PA law.  One owner comment stating PA has the lemon law. Is this how someone who cares about animals responds? RED FLAGS indicative of character. When proof of the Berks County, PA puppy mill outlet, was asked for by the owners boyfriend on their Facebook account, the proof began being posted. He then began threatening those speaking out against. Hundreds of comments have been deleted. People speaking out blocked or reported to Facebook. You have nothing to hide? Attempts to shutdown our first amendment rights? The  Attached is PA public record. There are pictures and more state public records available, including the October, 2022 kennel inspection showing they purchased puppies from unlicensed out of state breeders. Their response as is their MO, feigning innocence. Pictures available of puppies and dogs lying in feces and urine, diarrhea, feces in their coats, some lacking bedding, feces on the cages. And this just a few weeks into their operation. The photographer was on premises for an hour, with only a few customers coming and going. The owner and 4 employees doing nothing to clean up the boxes and cages. The FACTS. Records from the state of PA, from research of Bailing out Benji. With this in front of you how can you still support this store? Laws need to change on every level and those in Berks County need to be held accountable for accepting this travesty as part of our community. Do Better Folks. More pictures and photos added daily.