Petland Waterford Lakes (AKA Petland Orlando East)
453 N Alafaya Trail
Orlando, FL 32828
(407) 288-8864
Date and time of CAPS investigation: 02/10/18; 1558
Approximate number of dogs observed at time of investigation: 20
I saw no signs offering breeder information upon request, and no breeder information was available on puppy enclosures. There were about 14 puppy enclosures, with about one to two puppies per enclosure. Puppies had treated wire floorings with towels and/or rubber mats partially covering the floorings.
I saw a Golden Retriever puppy of about 9 weeks of age that was sitting on a rubber mat, in an enclosure with a Pomeranian puppy. The Retriever’s eyelids were drooping, the puppy appeared emaciated with a skinny stomach, slight mucus discharge was evident around the puppy’s nostrils, and the puppy was taking short, forceful breaths that looked like constant coughs.
I spoke to a Caucasian male employee, who appeared to be in his young twenties, about breeders for the store. The employee showed me a book containing pictures of what he said were all of the store’s breeders. The photographs showed the store’s owner visiting various dog breeders, who were standing around puppies in open yards, or near kennel runs. The employee said, pointing to a photograph of the owner, “This is actually our owner. One of them. But he goes to each one of our breeders to make sure it meets his standards, as well as USDA standards. All of them are AKC certified as well.”
I asked the employee if the breeders have USDA violations, and he responded, ‘No no no. The way it works, like they have to actually apply to us to get puppies from them. And if there’s a negative comment two-years prior to the date that they applied to us, it just goes right to the “no” pile. The breeders we’ve been specifically going for, we’ve been in business I think like twenty years. We’ve been going to the same breeders for at least ten years, at this point.”
I asked to see the Retriever puppy, and the employee brought him to me, saying the puppy had a URI (upper respiratory infection), caused by a change in temperature with the weather. When I put the puppy on the floor of play room in the store, the puppy made hacking coughs before sitting down with audibly raspy breathing. I asked the employee where the puppy was from, and he responded, “We can’t give out breeder information until you actually like purchase the puppy.” I then stated I wanted to do an internet search on the breeder to verify if the breeder is reputable, and the employee said “Okay. I can ask my manager. We’re really not supposed to give out breeder information. It’s just because it’s a policy we sign with them. Yeah, they just don’t want us willy-nilly giving out everyone’s information.”
I then asked for the employee to verify if the breeder book he showed me contained all of the store’s breeders, and he confirmed it did. He left to check for breeder information on the Retriever but returned without it several minutes later and instead showed me a health certificate with no breeder information on it.
Evidence of false statements and misrepresentations of breeders by store:
The employee claimed that the breeders noted in the book were all of the store’s breeders (noted below), but CAPS has obtained breeder information from certificates of veterinary inspections showing dozens of more breeders for the store than the book showed.
The breeder book showed puppies in yards and dogs in runs but did not show conditions such as that of Starmye Halpain, whom CAPS investigated 5/23/15 and found stacked wire cages for dogs and puppies, with so many dogs barking it was painful to hear. Also, while the dogs cages had indoor/outdoor parts, the puppy cages were entirely indoors, and in total darkness before Starmye turned a light on to show the room to the investigator. Leaving puppies in complete darkness is a USDA violation (3.2 Indoor Housing Facilities (c) Lighting).
https://caps-web.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1239&Itemid=269
CAPS undercover investigation of Starmye Halpain, 2015
Breeder info:
1. The Buening Family
2. Marvin Mullet (Cloveridge Kennels), 42-A-1515
3. Becky Flanders
4. Hillview Kennel
5. The Bundy Family
6. Sheila Balmer,
7. Levi Yoder (Oak Ridge Kennels), 42-A-1528
8. Deborah Mace
9. Karen Buffalohead
10. Terry Schneiders
11. Ivan Troyer (Stoney Creek Kennels), 42-A-1534
12. Eli Schrock (Hillview Kennels)
13. The Miller Family
