Puppy Lovers Inc

I would be interested in knowing what can be done to close down this pet store. I ended up buying a puppy from there because I refused to leave her in the store after holding her. She ended up being very sick and for over a month went back and forth to the vet, twice a day, for breathing treatments from an infection that should have been treated while she was still at the store.
The conditions of the store were horrible and the older ladies that worked there were not very good with people or animals. The lack of people skills didn't bother me as much as the lack of care for the animals. I hope this store closes down soon and does not reopen. No animal deserves to start their life in these conditions.

I had done much research on Yorkies but was unaware about puppy mills supplying most puppies at pet stores.

I got my beloved yorkie from Puppy Lovers and was visiting him everyday for a week before deciding to take him home. They said they would groom him before I pick him up - once I got him I noticed he was coughing. the owner said it was probably just a cold. Weeks later after various treatments it was determined that he had a collapsed trachea - likely from them being too rough on him when they groomed him.

I agree that the staff there were kind and gentle and are not pure evil and probably do care for dogs, but I also agree that they are there to make money and may not take care of the puppies as much as they should. Also, I asked for a puppy report on this store and saw that at least 60% of the puppies that were bought from that store had preventable health problems at the time of purchase. I believe some people have gotten puppies from here that were healthy throughout their lives, but 1) 60% is way too high of a risk and 2) after much research I do think that 99% of puppies in ANY pet store do come from puppy mills. These puppies are being shipped from breeders who are out of state (my yorkie came from Minnesota) and I do not understand how this store can gaurantee that the puppy mill has safe and healthy practices.

Please do your research and take the time to buy puppies from reputable breeders - visit the litter see if the breeders keep them in their homes, if they making sure you would be a good match for the puppy and not seemingly eager to get rid of the puppies to anybody. I don't regret having my baby, but I do regret initially supporting this store.

2 Dogs purchased from this place on the same day (we think different breeders, can't say 4 sure because Puppy Lovers promised us paperwork that never came) both ended up with very bad genetic bone defects. One had pes varus and the other had a spine that left him crippled. Went there recently, couldn't believe they were still in business - they had many sick dogs, lethargic, yellow discharge from eyes and nose, and was given 2 different prices for the same dog!!

Do yourself a favor and ask for the broker information and breeder information (name, address and USDA#) BEFORE you buy! Go home and do the research on the breeder - if you would board your dog at that breeder then go ahead and buy....but if you wouldn't save yourself the heartache. We found that the last count at one of the breeders that they had been using for years was at over 2,300 adult dogs - YES, that is 2,300 adult dogs.

Request USDA reports for any breeder before you buy from them.

IL. Dept. of Ag Animal Welfare Act Law says: (225 ILCS 605/3.1) (from Ch. 8, par. 303.1)
Sec. 3.1. Information on dogs and cats for sale. Every pet shop operator, dog dealer, and cattery operator shall provide the following information for every dog or cat available for sale:
(a) The age, sex, and weight of the animal.
(b) The breed of the animal.
(c) A record of vaccinations and veterinary care and treatment.
(d) A record of surgical sterilization or lack of surgical sterilization.
(e) The name and address of the breeder of the animal.
(f) The name and address of any other person who owned or harbored the animal between its birth and the point of sale. (Source: P.A. 87819.)

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BUY A PUPPY FROM THIS PET STORE?

From: www.prisonersofgreed.org

WHERE DOES THIS PET STORES PUPPIES COME FROM?

Hundreds of thousands of puppies are raised each year in commercial kennels.

Puppy mills are distinguished by their inhumane conditions and the constant breeding of unhealthy and genetically defective dogs solely for profit.

Very often the dogs in puppymills are covered with matted, filthy hair, their teeth are rotting and their eyes have ulcers. We have seen many dogs whose jaws have rotted because of tooth decay.

The dogs are kept in small wire cages for their entire lives. They are almost never allowed out. They never touch solid ground or grass to run and play.

Many of the dogs are injured in fights that occur in the cramped cages from which there is no escape.

Many dogs lose feet and legs when they are caught in the wire floors of the cages and cut off as the dog struggles to free themselves.

Very often there is no heat or air-conditioning in a puppymill. The dogs freeze in the winter and die of heat stroke in the summer. Puppies "cook" on the wires of the cages in the summer.

Female dogs are usually bred the first time they come into heat and are bred every heat cycle. They are bred until their poor worn out bodies can't reproduce any longer and then they are killed. Often they are killed by being bashed in the head with a rock or shot. Sometimes they are sold to laboratories or dumped. This is often by the time they reach five years old.

Puppy mills maximize their profits by not spending adequate money on proper food, housing or veterinary care.

The food that is fed in puppy mills is often purchased from
dog food companies by the truck load. It is sometimes made of the sweepings from the floor. It is so devoid of nutritional value that the dogs' teeth rot at early ages.

Dogs in puppymills are debarked often by ramming a steel rod down their throats to reputure their vocal cords.

Puppies are often taken from their mother when they are 5 to 8 weeks old and sold to brokers who pack them in crates for resale to pet stores all over the country.

The puppies are shipped by truck or plane and often without adequate food, water, ventilation or shelter.

Innocent families buy the puppies only to find that the puppy is very ill or has genetic or emotional problems. Often the puppies die of disease. Many others have medical problems that cost thousands of dollars. And many have emotional problems because they have not been properly socialized in the mills. Don't bring this misery into your home.

There are over 4000 federally licensed breeding kennels.

Approximately 3,500 petstores in the United States sell puppies. They sell approximately 500,000 thousand puppies a year. It is estimated that the puppy industry in Missouri is valued at 40 million dollars a year. The puppy industry in one county in Pennsylvania - Lancaster - is valued at 4 million dollars a year.

There are seven states that are known as puppy mill states because they have the majority of the puppymills in the country. They are: Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.
There is federal law, the Animal Welfare Act, and many states have laws that purport to regulate puppymills, but the fact is that those laws are rarely enforced.

. Pet stores often tell customers that their puppies come from local breeders or quality breeders. Don't believe them, ask to see the paperwork and find out where the puppies really come from.

If the people of the United States refused to buy a puppy in a pet store, the misery of puppy mills would end. Please tell everyone you know about the puppymill and petstore connection.

Buying a puppy in a pet store has significant risks for the purchaser and their family. A state funded survey in California found that nearly half of the puppies sold in pet stores were sick or incubating diseases. This doesn't count the ones suffering from genetic diseases. Imagine bringing a puppy home from a pet store only to have it die from parvo and cost thousands of dollars in vet expenses because of genetic problems like hip dysplasia.

Some dogs are so psychologically scarred from the mind numbing boredom of being imprisoned in a small cage for year and years that they have developed repetitive habits like going round and round in circles for hours and hours or barking at the wall for hours.

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BUY A PUPPY FROM THIS PET STORE? THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF PUREBRED PUPPIES AT SHELTERS AND RESCUE GROUPS

Don't believe a word that any of these mean reviews say. I got my maltese shitzu from Puppy Lovers seven years ago. He was not sick a day in his life and he is as healthy as can be. Also, whenever we go on vacations we board him there and he is well taken care of. The ladies that work there are nice as can be too.

Ok, I see all the horrible comments from other people and there is nothing wrong with Puppy lovers. The Cages were being cleaned When I Got there, The puppies were take out and played with and there were two women taking the dogs to the Retirement home to be with the tendents. I Bought a Bousion and She is gorgeous and healthy and i an assure you she isnt sick. The Lady,I think Cecillia Was so nice but I did have a problem With how she picked my baby( the dog)up, she grabed the skin on the back of her neck and picked her up, other than that the people on this review sheet are over reacting. If anything E-mail me at cubsoholic18@yahoo.com
P.S. DONT GO TO JULES PETS!
Pros- The adorable Puppys
Cons-The little Old lady

Before learning about the horrors of puppy mills, I worked at Puppy Lovers for over a year serving Jill and Cecilia. They are horrible! They treat their puppies, employees, and customers so poorly. Customers are treated very rudely, as anyone who has visited can tell, Jill is insanely mean; while Cecilia will tell you anything to get you to sign that check. I didn't leave right away because I was the only person who would actually bother to take the puppies out of their cages to love them and let them play in the pen area. This was very difficult for me to do because Jill and Cecilia would always be staring me down, ready to jump on me for not doing what I get paid to do. Jill is a cruel groomer, I've had to watch her yank large chunks of fur out of puppies' ears to make them look good. Cecilia avoids touching the puppies as much as possible. And as for the puppies themselves? They come every week all the way from Missouri in a truck, they are traumatized when they arrive. These puppies come from money-hoarding puppy mills who don't give a damn for their puppies. DON'T BUY FROM HERE! ALL PET STORES SELL PUPPY MILL DOGS!

I just read the previous comments and the funny thing is that one of the situations that someone commented on exactly happened to me. I bought what I thought was a full bred Shih tzu is really a Lhasa Apso. The vet also told me that the weight, hair, face is not of the Shih tzu. Everyone would tell me what a cute Lhasa Apso he is and I would say no he's a Shih tzu only because the puppy lovers employee gave me papers that said it was in fact a Shih tzu. I am in love with my puppy and couldn't be happier but the most problematic thing was the temperment factor since both types of breeds have different personalities. I struggled with why my "Shih tzu" didn't act like one and now I know why. Because it's not one. I have no regrets with my 7 month old puppy but what she did is unacceptable and unlawful. The only way to fully prove her wrong is to do a DNA test recommended by my vet which is costly and not worth it at this point. But just be aware that puppy lovers will do anything to make money.

The dogs are treated a lot better than the workers...they look better than the puppies at Petland....(I've heard some bad stories from Petland)...The best employees by far were Kristin and Shannon...They were beautiful and talented...However, they did get David in trouble a lot...good thing Josh was there...To correct the person below me the puppies are brought in from breeders and most breeders are puppy mills...People go to Puppy Lovers because they want pure bread dogs or a specific designer do and it's not fair to criticize where people get their puppies from...Holding the puppies by the scruff is how their mothers would do it and is not harmful to the dog...any true dog lover would know that...Puppy Lovers is the place to go if you're looking for a dog...if you're looking for a job...may i suggest Starbucks?

Being the concerned animal lover I am, I had chosen to purchase three puppies from this store, knowing that they probably came from puppy mills. I'm sure many of you think I am stupid, but I couldn't stand to think that they would be bought by someone who couldn't care for them, and end up in a shelter somewhere.

But for those who are unaware of the health of these puppies-- IF YOU BUY ONE FROM HERE THEY WILL BE SICK! All three of the puppies had kennel cough, 2 had giardia, and 1 had giardia and toxidia.

They may be cute, but having to give your puppy three medications twice a day is not easy, and for the illnesses they won't cover, not cheap.

It took one of my puppies over 4 months to get rid of her giardia -- so please be careful!!!

Let me tell you something about this place. The good reviews here are either fake or are very unfortunately misinformed. Im a veterinarian who has had the pleasure of dealing with the people of puppy lovers and the dogs that they sell. The puppies you are buying from this place are left overs, sick, deformed (inside or out), from puppy mill plantations that breed bitches to death in order to make as much money as possible. Not only are dogs from these plantations unhealthy and full of diseases (mental and physical), that often manifest only after puppy-hood, but the dogs at Puppy Lovers are at the bottom of the already unclean barrel.

If you buy a dog from this place, I can tell you what you can expect in 90%+ of cases as Ive experienced and people who have bought puppies from them can tell you:

*The dog will be sold rather cheaply compared to a well established and reputable breeder
*Your dog will seem fine at first and be sold as happy and healthy.
*A visit to your veterinarian will confirm that your puppy is sick or the potential and most probable manifestation of some life-threatening disease in the enar future.
*Your options are to A.) stick with the dog and pay large medical expenses that the owner of Puppy Lovers will not guarantee nor cover; B.) euthanize the dog; or C.) bring the dog back and exchange it for another sickly one (no refunds are given at this place as it is after all a money making business run by a person who cares not for the dogs or owners, but for a quick greedy, spineless, and slimy dollar). The dog you bring back will be killed.

Save yourself the grief of getting a sick puppy that will die, save yourself the money and the trip, and be happy that by not buying from them youll eventually shut them out of business and their puppy mill slimebags.

The only people who buy dogs from this place are the ones that are as careless about the life of a dog as the owners of Puppy Lovers

this place is horrible when i first bought my dog back in april of 2003 my dog three days after gettin him we had to take him to the hospital he was sick i thought he was gonna die i made them take care of him and then give him back, he smelled like vomit when i got him i had to take him and clean him up. then after a few months he kept getting sick we had to take him to the vet several times they didnt care and had nothing to say only that if he died within a time period i can exchange him!, they keep the dogs in very poor enviorments they employees are freaky i get bad vibes from them now my dog is always biting people he just out of no where freaks out and bites a lot i really feel like the way he was born has a lot to do with this they are terrible people and money hungry a**holes who will do anything for a dollar! please dont support this terrible organization. im sure cruela deville would be all for puppy killers

Don't buy dogs from there. We bought a Maltese from here 7 years ago which died within 3 months after having a collapse trachea surgery which was very expensive and died in my hands. Then I went and saw her and gave me another dog for half off and bought a silky terrier as soon as I took her to the vet they told me she had a heart murmur. This dog should live for up so 15 years and lived for 6 my dog died right before Christmas with heart complications she turned blue and could not breathe and had to put her to sleep. Ever since I had her she had been taking medication.

I was recently in Puppy Lovers for the first time, and it really broke my heart... those puppies do not deserve to live in rancid conditions with creepy people "caring" for them who look like they're on some sort of work-release program.

Come on, there has to be a way to shut these people down if they really are guilty of animal neglect and cruelty.

Does anyone have hardcore proof or know what we can do?

I bought my puppy a syberian Huskie from Puppy lovers 16 years ago,He was not sick a day in his life ,he lived well beyond a huskeys life span ,and was very easy to train ,which i have heard these types of dogs are hard to train.It was great for us ,its all luck,ive heard of familys buying dogs from very popular breeders and they ended up with alot of doctors bills as well.

I purchased a puppy from Puppy Lover back in July 2007. The puppy was 2 1/2 months old. He was healthy looking and playful. Had him checked out by my vet. The vet stated he was healthy and found no health problems. However the owner of the store told me he was a Maltese an gave be papers that stated that he was a Maltese. The breeder was Bonnie Schindler. I paid for a purebred. However when my vet recently seen him, he said that he was not a full breed maltese beacause of his weight. He weighs 15 1/2 pounds now. Maltses do not weigh that much. The vet said he is part Bichon. He is now 8 1/2 months old and is still a healthy, playful little guy.We are very happy with this little guy.He was just neutered. Thinking he would not feel good for a couple days after his surgery, we where prepared to see a sad puppy just laying around. Not the case, this little guy was playful as soon as the vet brought him out. Got him home and he act like he never had the surgery. This is one tough puppy.

Jill was very helpful and informative. Jill's suggestion and knowledge led us to our beautiful Molly! Molly is a very healthy and happy puppy. My daughter and I cannot go anywhere without being stopped.
Most of the puppies at the Puppy Lovers Inc. seem very happy. When we go to Petsmart in Skokie it seems like everyone got there puppy from there.
I'm thinking of another puppy, but oddly enough my daughter is not too hot about that idea!?
Maybe it's because puppies are as much work as they are cute.

PROS: Informative staff (especially Jill)
CONS: A little expensive, but you get what you pay for

We have friends that have purchased puppies at puppy love, inc and the puppies are healthy and thriving.
We just purchased two puppies and they are such a happy pair. other than housebreaking in the frigid cold weather, they are a pleasure and lots of fun.
The pet shop is very particular about their pups and i feel they take very good care of the animals. they are a bit expensivebut you get what you pay for.
ml

PROS: well taken care of puppies
CONS: Must use the vet recommended for reimbursement of fee.

We bought our puppy about a year ago. Within the first 2 weeks she already needed surgery for her cherry eye, which Puppy Lovers did pay for. HOWEVER, they would not pay anything associated with the surgery that was not the surgery itself. Blood tests, antibiotics, etc costs money. Aside from the surgery, she had a viral infection, which also needed meds. After talking to the vet, he indicated that our puppy had the virus for sometime.

A couple weeks passed by so we thought we were in the clear, but we were wrong. She needed surgery AGAIN, for her other eye! We love our dog and wouldn't trade her in, but if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't buy there again.

Today, we went to Puppy Lovers just to take a look. When my husband asked about the prices of a Pug, Jill, yelled at him. She referred to him as rude for asking the price while there were other customers in the store. I didn't realize that we had to wait to be the only customers just to find out about a dog. I think I would be more understanding if there were many customers, but it was only the 2 of us and a mother and daughter. Jill got even more upset when we decided on not getting the pug. By the way, the mother and daughter seemed turned off by Jilll's actions so they left. All in all, I don't think I would ever stop in there again. Not even just to take a look.

I have actually purchased 3 pups from this place. The first pup I purchased was a sheltie, he only lived to around 8 years old. He didn't have any illnesses that I knew of, and was a great dog, although his life span is i'm sure 10-15? he was from a breeder in Missouri (which I have found is very possible it was a puppy mill). our second pup that was bought from this place was a bichon and she is 10 now, very healthy and doesn't have health problems. My newest pup that I bought from this place is a pom and was checked out at the vet, I didn't use the vet that she recommended I used my own but the pup was in good health and is still thriving! I do agree with the rough treatment of puppies the owner does carry the pups by the skin on the neck, which I know is not harmful, it just looks bad! the owner is also pushy, she tried selling me an older male dog when I made it clear I wanted a female. She actually put the pup I wanted back! (I ended up buying her though!) the other employees are not friendly at all!!!! before reading other reviews on this place I thought it was great! the pups are relatively cheap compared to other stores, I liked that I knew the owner, and the pups seemed healthy (no runny noses!) compared to puppy palace this store is definatly better! Although after reading the other reviews, especially the one from the vet, I'm weary just because of the whole puppy mill ordeal! If I knew for a fact this place was guilty of purchasing from mills I would definatly look into a breader the next time!

When i walked into the store it was dark and the staff not friendly. The dogs were in cages on top of each other and looked sad. The puppy i purchased was so sick from not being treated for her kennel cough that i was worried that she might not make it. The lady seemed rough how she handled the puppies. I love my puppy but next time i would go to either a breeder or shelter. I actually asked the woman showing me the dogs why she so rough with them as she was carrying the puupies to me by the skin on the back of their neck.

When i walked into Puppy lovers inc I noticed it was the exact oppositeof what its name was. I have worked here before and have seen the horrible treatment the puppies get. They lie about getting their puppies from a breeder. The puppies actually come from a truck which came from a puppy mill. Anyone who ever bought a puppy from there obviously isnt a puppy lover and doesn't know a thing about dogs. Dont just go out and buy a puppy from some random petstore where you dont even know where the dogs came from. Go to petfinder.com and adopt a homeless puppy in need.

This is a small puppy store, but they have a great assortment of all sorts of puppies. They are extremely cute and have a wider variety than the other pet stores. The downside about this store is that the pets seem sort of unhappy and the cages slightly dirty. The owner seems to not be that welcoming as well.