Petland Webster
19722 Gulf Fwy
Webster, TX 77598
(832) 426-2824
Date and time of CAPS investigation: 5/23/23, 1706
Approximate number of puppies observed at time of investigation: 30
This store is owned by Luis Marquez. Employees’ lies about puppies’ breeder reflect lies consistently told at his stores. Puppies were kept in enclosures set into a wall on one side of the store. The enclosures were about five feet wide and tall and 2.5 long. Each enclosure held between 1-4 puppies, and there were about eight enclosures on each wall, made with plastic walls and plastic floorings filled with long spaces for urine to fall through. Some enclosures had blankets partially covering the floorings, but most did not. All had water bottles and toys. About half of the puppies were in enclosures with stickers on them that indicated the puppies were new and not yet available to be seen by customers. I was told those puppies had just arrived today (5/23/23).
Employees immediately pressure me to buy a puppy
I spoke to two employees at the store about purchasing a puppy and breeders that the store uses. I asked one employee (Caucasian male, about 30 years old, 5’10”, 185 lbs., with short brown hair parted in the middle and a moustache) about how much puppies cost, and he told me “like forty-five hundred and up,” I asked, “Oh, forty-five hundred?” He immediately responded, “It’s a hundred percent like financeable. Some of our lenders don’t require any down payment at all, so it’d be like thirty days before you even make the first payment.”
He explained the store doesn’t buy from puppy mills, saying, “We get them from the top two percent of USDA breeders. Like USDA-certified.” He said the puppies must see three veterinarians before being in the store and pointed out that the puppies that just arrived had only seen two vets and needed to see a third vet to “clear them.” He then referred me to another employee (Hispanic female, about 28 years old, 5’4″, 150 lbs., with long black hair) to answer more specific questions on puppy purchases. When I explained I wanted to get information from the store to talk to my girlfriend about, the female employee immediately said I should buy a puppy to surprise my girlfriend with.
She then told me the store works with “independent breeders” but immediately contradicted that and said the breeders are “under a specific contract” to only sell to the store. The employee told me that spent breeder dogs are all sent to the store to be sold at a reduced price (compared to puppies).
Socialization claims and the standard “Marquez two percent lie”
She said dogs have yards to play in, and that the adult dogs are socialized. I asked how many dogs that breeders have, and she said, “less than a hundred,” because the store works with “family-based, like breed facilities” that are “independent families ….” I then asked her to explain what the “top two percent” of USDA breeders means. She gave a rambling response that in no way quantified the “top two percent of USDA breeders.” She said, “Well, where we’re getting our puppies from is just the top USDA. We don’t typically go for percentages, because there is a bunch of independent breeders all around, of course. But we’re making sure that they’re being USDA-certified. We have the inspection report as well, that we like to do. My boss man, he’s mainly concerned about taking a look at our puppies, and he’s a breeder himself. So, he’ll go frequently to these independent breeders to make sure everything is good. And he actually hand-selects every single one of these puppies. So, he’s on it when it goes to traveling back and forth to visiting these independent breeders. He’ll also make it an annual thing where he’ll take all the management from all thirteen of his locations and they’ll do a little tour as well about where they get to see where they’re coming from, what the process is, and where their place is at.”
As she spoke to me, she showed me paperwork for a Poodle puppy bred by Marvin Nisley in Seymour, IA with USDA license number 42-A-1509, and the puppy’s health record was addressed to K9 Partner’s Inc, Dayron, Portella, in Pembroke Pines, FL with USDA license number 58-B-0702.
Scared breeding dog, Laso
When I asked about breeding dogs being sold from the store, she told me the store had a dog, Laso, from one of their breeders, and explained, “We have a female over on this side. She’s a little shy, of course, just because it’s a whole different space than she’s used to. So, definitely there’s a little bit more socializing that we have to work on with her, but that’s just her getting comfortable with us, as well.” She added, “We’re trying to advocate for her and make sure that she gets a good home.” However, the employee didn’t bring Laso up until I asked about breeding dogs at the store. She then kept telling me about puppy purchases, and I had to specifically remind her I was talking about Laso and not one of the puppies. Also, Laso was set in a dog pen between two aisles of the store. She was visible to customers in those aisles, but completely blocked from sight from anyone looking at puppies.
Laso was a seven-year-old Sheltie. She was on a blanket in a plastic-walled pen, with dog toys around her, and didn’t get up or move at all other than to slightly move her head when I approached her enclosure and then entered it to pet her. She didn’t wag her tail at any point. As I petted her, she didn’t move and barely moved her head when I stopped petting her. I asked to see paperwork for the breeder of Laso, and I was shown a breeder certificate for Oak Ridge Kennel LLC with USDA license number 42-A-1528. The breeder’s “distributor” was listed at K9 Partners Inc, 58-B-0702.
Evidence of false statements and misrepresentations by store
The employees’ claims that the store uses the “top two percent” of USDA-licensed breeders is a lie consistently told by employees of Petlands owned by Luis Marquez. There is no such thing as ranking system of USDA breeders. Marquez simply claims that the breeders he purchases from are the “top two percent,” and his employees make it sound as though doing so is part of a USDA government ranking system when it is not.
The employee’s claim that breeding dogs are all sold through Marquez’s stores is false. CAPS obtained Certificates of Veterinary Inspection from 2022 revealing that the store buys from numerous breeders with dozens of breeding dogs, including Loren Reiff (43-A-6526) who had 83 dogs, and Ben Schwartz (43-A-6707) who had 125 dogs. If the store was selling all the spent breeding dogs of their breeders, they would constantly be full of older breeding dogs. The employee’s claim that the dogs are socialized is also not true. Commercial breeders do not spend time with their dogs other than what is minimally necessary for cleaning and feeding.
The employee’s claim that the store “advocates for” breeding dogs is false. The store profits off dogs being commercially bred. Most of the dogs’ commercial breeders use are sold at auctions, given or sold to rescues (putting a pressure for time and resources on the rescues to have to rehabilitate the dogs), or are killed. Putting Laso in a place where the dog isn’t even visible to customers looking at puppies is not advocating for her.
The employee’s claim that the owner hand-selects every puppy the store sells is not true. The owner is not constantly travelling the country to go to breeders supplying his numerous stores and pick each individual puppy he would like to sell.
Breeder/broker information obtained while visiting the store
Marvin Nisley, 2848 Edison Rd, Seymour, IA, 42-A-1509 (70 adults, 45 puppies on USDA 05-10-22 inspection).
K9 Partners Inc, 2020 NW 150th Ave Suite 300A, Pembroke Pines, FL 33028, 888-450-6689, 58-B-0702 (0 canines) on USDA inspection 06-08-22 Dayron Portela is another Marquez associate, whose LinkedIn profile lists him as doing marketing. The address for the license on the USDA/APHIS website is the one in Miami Lakes (see below).
Marquez associates. lawyer Basil Basi in Longboat Key, FL and Juan Fernandez Barquin, Jr.. a member of the Florida House of Representatives and clerk of the court and comptroller for Miami-Dade County, are listed as registered agents on Florida incorporation documents for K9 Partners, Inc., 8004 NW 154th St. #232, Miami Lakes, FL, which is a UPS store. K9 Partners, Inc. was set up by lawyer Andrew Rohne of Apex Business Consulting in Marion, IL in 2020.
Officer/Director Detail does not list individuals but companies: Canines and Pooches, Inc., 2020 NW 150th Ave, Suite 300A, Pembroke Pines, FL, Canine Shadows at the same address, and The Dynamic Puppy at the Miami Lakes UPS store address. Marquez also has a company called Pet Care Solutions, Inc. at 8181 NW 154Th St., Miami Lakes, FL.
USDA pre-license inspection reports have the Miami Lakes UPS store address. How can USDA inspect a facility that is run from a UPS store? Marquez has to be holding puppies at some of his pet shops, which is where USDA must be doing inspections.
Oak Ridge Kennel LLC, 2820 Edison Rd, Seymour, Iowa 52590, 42-A-1528 (53 adults, 18 puppies) on USDA 03-25-22 inspection).
Breeder information obtained from 2022 and 2023 Certificates of Veterinary Inspection
Amos Bender, 2710 560th St. SW, Kalona, IA 52247, no USDA license found.
Alvin Bontrager, 12063 Rt J 40, Milton, IA 52570, 42-A-1658 (14 adults, 4 puppies on March 2022 USDA inspection).
Cloveridge Kennel/Marvin Mullet, 2640 Garden, Corydon, IA 50060, 42-A-1515 (71 adults, 31 puppies on USDA inspection May 23, 2023).
Country Road Kennels/Ivan H. Mast, 1126 Denison, Fairbank, IA 50629, 42-A-1693 (17 adults, 13 puppies on USDA inspection January 23, 2023).
Daynes Ridge Kennel/Jeremy Rogers, 25155 450th St., Centerville, IA 52544, 42-A-1519 (22 adults, 0 puppies on January 11, 2022 USDA inspection).
Vernon Detweiler, 2170 210th St., Seymour, IA 52590, 42-A-1654 (54 adults, 35 puppies on USDA inspection December 7, 2022).
Emily DeJong, 27313 Hwy J3T, Moravia, IA 52571, 42-A-1635 (8 adults, 3 puppies on USDA inspection January 31, 2023).
Wayne and Lucy Gingerich, 2688 Hwy J46, Seymour, IA 52590, no USDA license found.
Monroe Hershberger, 16033 250th St., Bloomfield, IA 52537, 42-A-1647 (13 adults, 9 puppies on USDA re-license inspection August 23, 2021.
Steven and Velma Kurtz, 20709 300th Street, Jamesport, MO 64648, 43-A-6432 (53 adults, 49 puppies on March 2022 USDA inspection).
Pondview Kennel, 27367 Anchor Way, Greentop, MO 63546, 43-A-6063 (24 adults, 14 puppies on March 2022 USDA inspection).
Prairie View Kennel, 12025 CR 8110, West Plains, MO 65775, 43-A-6410 (97 adults, 46 puppies on September 2022 USDA inspection).
Firman Miller, 2750 225th St., Seymour, IA 52590, no USDA license found.
Melvin Miller/Windy Knoll Kennel, 28840 153rd Ave., Cincinatti, IA 52549, 42-A-1579 (30 adults, 10 puppies on USDA inspection February 24, 2022), USDA license was canceled July 11, 2023.
Marvin Nisley, 2848 Edison, Seymour, IA 52590, 42-A-1509 (70 adults, 45 puppies on USDA re-license inspection May 10, 2022).
Melvin Nisley, 3180 205th St., Seymour, IA 52590, 42-A-1470 (38 adults, 30 puppies on USDA re-license inspection May 2, 2022).
Loren Reiff, 18247 CR 358, Flemington, MO 65650, 43-A-6526 (83 adults, 57 puppies on USDA April 2022 inspection).
Eli Schrock, 15379 180th St., Drakesville, IA 52552, 42-A-1558 (27 adults, 7 puppies on USDA inspection November 1, 2022).
On November 1, 2022, USDA inspection, received violations for puppies not being vaccinated and not receiving parasite treatments per schedule documented in Program of Veterinary Care.
Ben Schwartz, 14500 Crow Road, Licking, MO 65542, 43-A-6761 (125 adults, 45 puppies on USDA July 2022 inspection).
Jake Schwartz, 18949 Kofahl Road, Licking, MO 65542, 43-A-6599 (62 adults, 19 puppies on USDA inspection February, 2023).
Simon Schwartz, 17420 Boone Creek Road, Licking, MO 65542, 43-A-6598 (49 adults, 19 puppies on March 2022 USDA inspection).
On March 2023, Missouri inspection showed examinations not up to date.
Stoney Creek Kennel/Ivan Troyer, 18195 200th St., Bloomfield, IA 52537, 42-A-1534 (44 adults, 52 puppies on USDA re-license inspection March 28, 2023).
Sunset Grove Kennels/Sarah Kauffman, 1534-2 140th, Hazelton, IA 50641, 42-A-1703 (27 adults, 14 puppies on USDA inspection April 12, 2023).
That’ll Do Kennel/Esther D. Schlabach, 2842 200th St., Seymour, IA 52590, 42-A-1553 (18 adults, 5 puppies on USDA re-license inspection October 19, 2022).
Triple Y Kennel/Larry Yoder, 20920 Ice Ave., Bloomfield, IA 52537, 42-A-1604 (29 adults, 21 puppies on USDA inspection January 26, 2023).
David Troyer, 18851 Kofhal Road, Licking, MO 65542, 43-A-6667 (17 adults, 0 puppies on September 2022 USDA inspection).
On January 9, 2023 Missouri Department of Ag inspection, received violation for dogs housed in small enclosures that did not meet space requirements. This spacing violation exposes Petland’s lies about dogs running and playing in large green fields.
Walnut Ridge Kennel/Edwin J. Stutzman, 3133 Hwy S40, Corydon, IA 50060, 42-A-1552 (49 adults, 19 puppies on USDA inspection December 7, 2022).
Daniel D. Yoder, 22475 Hwy 63, Bloomfield, IA 52537, 42-A-1638 (11 adults, 15 puppies on USDA re-license inspection January 24, 2023).
Mark Yoder, 15910 240th St., Bloomfield, IA 52537, 42-A-1577 (65 adults, 80 puppies on January 7, 2022, USDA re-license inspection).
Marvin Yoder, 24951 Dewberry Ave., Moulton, IA 52572, 42-A-1594 (23 adults, 14 puppies on USDA re-license inspection March 2, 2023).
Melvin and Mary Yoder, 3010 Edison, Seymour, IA 52590, 42-A-1605 (34 adults, 6 puppies on USDA inspection February 15, 2023).
On USDA inspection February 15, 2023, received violations for bulldog receiving penicillin with no treatment plan, 4 dogs tested for heartworm and fecals with no results documented and housing 2 puppies with an adult dog that was not their mother.
Mervin Ezra Yoder, 19869 180th Ave., Bloomfield, IA 52537, 42-A-1686 (15 adults, 0 puppies on USDA inspection November 2, 2022).
Nelson Yoder, 23229 Fir Ave., Bloomfield, IA 52537, 42-A-1679 (17 adults, 12 puppies on USDA inspection
May 4, 2022).
Broker information obtained from 2023 Certificates of Veterinary Inspection
Shepherd Hills Kennel/Regina D. Nisley, 13185 220th St., Bloomfield, IA 52537, 42-B-0332 (97 adults, 54 puppies on USDA inspection October 18, 2022).
Luis Marquez, Petland franchise owner
Luis Marquez owns four Petland franchises in Texas: Webster, Woodlands, Tyler and Bellaire (selling puppies in violation of the Houston ordinance). In Florida, he owns seven Petland franchises (two recently closed) and My Puppy Buddy. He took over the Petland franchise in Overland Park Kansas, and the Kansas Department of Agriculture ordered him to stop selling puppies because of serious violations. Truist Bank in Florida has filed a foreclosure and commercial line of credit default lawsuit against Marquez’ companies. Marquez owns three veterinary clinics called Your Pet’s Vet in Bellaire and Shenandoah (Woodlands), TX and Pembroke Pines, FL, all locations where he has Petland franchises.
Note regarding number of dogs at above breeding facilities
The number of adult breeding dogs and puppies at the above facilities is consistent with being commercial breeding establishments, also known as puppy mills, that mass produce dogs for resale to pet shops. Please refer to the following link (Summary of legal cases defining “puppy mill”) for a summary of legal cases defining the term “puppy mill.”
Lack of USDA violations
The fact that few breeders and brokers have USDA violations does not mean that none exist. During our undercover investigation of USDA-licensed facilities, we document violations. USDA has made it very easy for licenses not to have violations. In response to regulatory ordinances, USDA was using teachable moments, self-inspections and a trial announced inspection program. Their guidelines also instructed inspectors not to cite ear, eye and dental diseases as veterinary care violations. Due to pressure from animal advocates, USDA has terminated these programs. Nonetheless, the citation of violations by inspectors continues to be extremely limited.
