Who: Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) Deborah Howard, Founder and President of CAPS Howard founded CAPS in 1992 and is devoted to the protection of companion animals. She is a frequent guest speaker on the topic and has been featured on Animal Planet, CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX. CAPS is the only national non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to protecting companion animals from cruelty in pet shops and puppy mills. www.caps-web.org
What: CAPS will kick-off the first in a series of protests against Puppy Town in Sarasota to draw awareness to the connection between pet shops and puppy mills. Almost all pet shops obtain dogs from puppy mills.
When: Sunday, April 15, 2012 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm ET
Where: Puppy Town 4045 S Tamiami Trail Sarasota, FL 34231
Why: Puppy Town sells dogs from puppy mills – commercial breeding facilities that mass-produce puppies for resale through pet shops and brokers. USDA licensed facilities are puppy mills. Puppy Town is linked to several breeders with multiple violations and one unlicensed online seller – which by law cannot sell to pets shops without a USDA license. The pet shop frequently buys from puppy mills from states like Iowa, Missouri and Georgia.
Some of the complaints describe in detail instances of gross neglect, inadequate veterinary care, lack of basic cleanliness, and in some instances animal abuse. A long list of customers complain of sickly dogs who had chronic illnesses that were contracted before purchase. It is important for the public to know the risk of buying a puppy mill dog and the cruel system they’ll be sponsoring if they buy a puppy in Puppy Town.
How: CAPS wants to alert consumers to the problems associated with purchasing puppies from pet shops. At these peaceful protests, CAPS will distribute fact sheets on pet shops and where to adopt in the Sarasota area and CAPS brochures. CAPS protestors along with concerned, local residents want Puppy Town to convert to a humane business model that dogs from local shelters, especially kill facilities, rather than from puppy mills.
