Pet Fair
1201 Lake Woodlands Dr #2008
Spring, TX 77380
(281) 298-6763
Dates and time of CAPS investigation: 7/27/24, 1423
Approximate number of puppies and kittens observed at time of investigation: 30 puppies and six kittens
The store was so packed on a Saturday at the mall that it was difficult for me to walk through the store and see all of the puppy enclosures. There appeared to be over 20 enclosures, each about two to 2.5 feet long, and about 18” tall and deep. They had solid floorings, water bottles, and one to two puppies in each. Two larger enclosures were by the store’s entrance, with about three kittens in each. An employee told me that the kittens are bred by a woman named Angela Baldwin.
No puppy mill promise
I spoke to an employee about the store’s sources of puppies and kittens. He said cats are kept in free-roaming homes, and the store is “totally against” puppy mills and has been for the twenty-eight years it’s been in business. He claimed that working with puppy mills would mean puppies would have genetic defects. To avoid puppy mills, the workers said the owner “goes to each individual breeder and just vets them out.
Dogs run around grassy yard
I asked him if he knew what breeding facilities are like, and if dogs are in cages or homes. He said, “It’s going to be dogs in big fenced grass areas. If that makes any sense. Yeah. So it’s a big fenced grass area, and then they have a house with AC, cooling floors. It’s top of the line. Oh, yeah. It’s the best of the best.” I asked what happens with dogs that are no longer breeding, and he said, “They end up rehoming their pets.” He then claimed that the store would help some breeders “rehome” pets, and that breeding females would only have three litters before they are no longer used.
Evidence contradicting the store’s claims
The employee’s claim that breeding dogs run around grassy yards is a lie. CAPS obtained Certificates of Veterinary Inspection that reveal that the store obtained puppies from USDA-licensed brokers: Select Puppies, West Point IA, 42-B- 0314, J.A.K.’s Puppies, Britt, IA, 42-B-0271 (going to The Woodlands Pet Fair location), Curt and Lori Conrad, Frankford, MO, 43-B-3659, Market Smart, Neosho, MO, 43-B-3810. These brokers had only puppies listed on their USDA inspection reports because most of them don’t breed but buy puppies to resell to pet shops. Using brokers helps Pet Fair hide the source of their puppies. I have investigated a number of puppy mills that sell to Select Puppies and J.A.K.’s Puppies (see below).
I’ve documented about a thousand USDA-licensed breeders who sell puppies to pet store and never once have I seen a facility in which dogs roam free in grassy yards. Dogs are kept in cages and runs, often confined in such a small area that I observe them pacing or circling for minutes at a time with no outside stimulation of any kind that would create such behavior.
The employee’s claim that breeders rehome their dogs is a lie. Some breeders will give spent breeding dogs to rescues, putting the burden of rehabilitating and caring for the dogs on the rescue community. Others will auction the dogs off for profit or kill them. The preferred method of killing dogs, as explained to me by breeders and as I’ve seen done at a USDA-licensed facility, is shooting dogs in the head.
Breeder information obtained from 2022 and 2023 Certificates of Veterinary Inspection
David Miller, Orongo, MO. 43-A-5221, 71 adults, 53 puppies at 12/16/24 USDA inspection
Elaine K. Wilson, Everton, MO. 43-A-4205, 269 adults, 173 puppies at 5/28/24 USDA inspection
Stiehl Wilson, Everton, MO. 43-A-6495, 29 adults, 24 puppies at 1/2/25 USDA inspection
Broker information obtained from 2022 and 2023 Certificates of Veterinary Inspection
J.A.K.’s Puppies, Britt, IA, 42-B-0271, 76 puppies at 12/16/24 USDA inspection
https://caps-web.org/caps-investigators-journal-the-truth-behind-j-a-k-s-puppies/
https://caps-web.org/caps-investigators-journal-the-truth-behind-puppy-mill-brokers/
Select Puppies, West Point IA, 42-B- 0314, 156 puppies at 12/18/24 USDA inspection
https://caps-web.org/caps-investigators-journal-the-truth-behind-puppy-mill-brokers/
AJ’s Angels (Angie McDuffee), Cushing, MN, 41-A-0484, which was selling puppies to J.A.K’s Puppies, sold puppies to Select Puppies in 2024 (per CVIs). AJ’s Angels is an enormous facility, which had 1368 dogs and puppies at its 6/13/18 USDA inspection. USDA inspected AJ’s Angels on 12/7/22 (865 dogs and puppies) and didn’t do another inspection until 2/12/2 (803 dogs and puppies). This means that a facility with this many animals went without an inspection for 26 months.
Curt and Lori Conrad, Frankford, MO, 43-B-3659, 20 puppies at 8/23/24 USDA inspection
Market Smart, Neosho, MO, 43-B-3810, 42 puppies at 10/27/22 USDA inspection (no 2023 inspection report available)
