PV Pets
233 S Broadway
Pennsville, NJ 08070
(856) 678-8600
Date and time of CAPS investigation: 8/7/19; 0911
Approximate number of puppies observed at time of investigation: 13
Two puppies were an open-topped, glass-walled enclosure with a solid flooring covered in shredded paper at the back of the store. Other puppies were kept in a bank of cages nearby. There were 10 cages, each made with three solid walls, one being clear for customers to see through, wire doors at their backs, and wire floorings over trays covered in newspaper. Two other enclosures were on an adjacent wall, being pens with solid walls and floorings, and one wall having large windows for customers to see in. The enclosures were rooms with separate doorways customers could look into. One held a standard poodle puppy, and another held two kittens. Puppy cages and enclosures held one to two puppies each, and not all were occupied. Puppies had no toys, and two puppies chewed continuously on one of two rubber mats that covered about 25% of their wire flooring. The kittens had no source information, and instead had cards that read “domestic kitten” and had the kittens’ dates of birth, arrival dates, and genders. However, their DOBs were listed as 5/28/19, and their arrival dates were listed as 6/4/19, meaning they were brought to the store at six days of age. The kittens appeared to be about 10 weeks old.
The store owner, Vicki (Caucasian female, about 50 years old, 5’6″, 130 lbs, with long blonde hair and glasses), told me about her breeders, saying her broker is a man named Ralph Cook who’s a friend of hers, that she’s worked with him for 20 years, and that Cook “investigates” breeders for her to know they are okay for her to buy from. Cook’s name and information appeared nowhere on the puppies’ cage cards (56:8-95 Deceptive practice; minimum standards c. (6)). The owner told me “we’ve had no sickness, we’ve had no issues” when discussing how she buys puppies from breeders through Cook.
She told me she “on hundred percent guarantees” her breeders aren’t puppy mills, that NJ laws prevent her from selling puppy mill dogs, and then offered to show me where her puppies come from but said “they don’t like me giving their name out.” The picture was a video from Premier Puppies, the company’s name mentioned numerous times in the video, and narrated by someone who stated the Premier Puppies is in Jonestown, Ohio. The video showed puppies playing in a grassy yard, and no pens or cages, or any adult dogs at all. She explained Premier Puppies by telling me, “This is who my guy works through,” indicating Premier Puppies is a broker also no mentioned on the cage cards (56:8-95 Deceptive practice; minimum standards c. (6)).
The owner told me her breeders don’t keep dogs in cages because “they can’t” to sell puppies to her, her breeders are required to have indoor/outdoor runs and play time, they skip breeding cycles which she claimed is a USDA guideline, and claimed “maybe” breeders retire dogs at five years of age. She originally told me breeders “definitely” do not have hundreds of dogs, and claimed NJ law required her breeders to have only five adults. However, she then called Ralph Cook on her phone and told him a customer needed clarification on some questions. She asked Cook if breeders can have hundreds of dogs, listened to him speak, and then told me that some breeders do have that many but they will have staff if they do.
Vicki looked at USDA inspection reports with me, and said that USDA inspectors will write up breeders if their grass is too long, and a single violation on an inspection report will prevent the store from buying from a breeder. She told me the appearance and size of her puppies reveal they are “quality dogs.” She mentioned that if the store doesn’t have a certain breed of puppy in the store that I want, she’ll get it for me.
Vicki told me the kittens come from local NJ breeders.
Breeder info:
The following were obtained from cages cards in the store:
- Joe Yoder, 1549 Township Rd 106, OH 44654, 31-A-0681
- Myron Miller, 4527 SR 557, Millersburg, OH 44654, 31-A-0527
- Aden Burkholder, 2609 Township Rd 406, Sugar Creek, OH 44681, 31-A-0722
- Marlin Troyer, 3843 TR 374, Millersburg, OH 44654, 31-A-0185
- David Yoder, 1751 TS Rd 416, Dundee, OH 44624, 31-A-0591
- Ivan Ray Raber, 8218 Township Rd 568, Fredericksburg, OH 44627, 31-A-0563
- Allen Miller, 1916 TR 122, Millersburg, OH 44654, 31-A-0534
- Junior D Miller, 5880 County Road 19, Millersburg, OH 44654, 31-A-0483
- Abe L Yoder, 2461 TR 176, Baltic, OH 43804, 31-A-0420
- Erwin A Yoder, Millersburg, OH (additional info illegible in photo)
- Reuben Yutzy, 371 Bailey Rd, Peebles, OH 45660, 31-A-0695
- Wayne Troyer, 5504 TR 118, Baltic, OH 43804, 31-A-0136
The following were obtained from USDA inspection reports in the store:
- Angie Mcduffee, 24302 US Highway 10, Cushing, MN 56443, 41-A-0484
Evidence of false claims about breeders made by the store owner:
- USDA inspection reports in the store revealed the store purchases puppies from Angie Mcduffee. On 7/10/19 I documented hundreds of dogs in elevated wire cages with no visible play or exercise area on the property. Many dogs were pacing and circling incessantly, stereotypies that indicate the dogs are stimulation-deprived and never let out of their cages. This evidence contradicts the owner’s claim that her breeders don’t keep dogs in cages, and have “play time” for dogs.
- The owner’s claim the USDA requires breeders to skip breeding cycles is false. No such regulation exists in the AWA.
