Most of you were around last year when my precious puppy Charlie died. Charlie was only on Earth a short time, but he brought a lot of joy into my life and into the lives of others. Tragically, Charlie was ill with parvo when I got him (I didn’t know that) and he died just a week and a half later. At the time, I didn’t know anything about the horrible puppy mills that puppy stores buy from, and I’ve since become very informed. I sued the store that sold me Charlie in small claims, and they ended up refunding me the full price I paid for Charlie, but that didn’t even begin to touch the $3500 I spent in vet bills for him while he was in the hospital. They were bitchy and difficult about it, even though all the vets agreed that Charlie was infected before I even got him.
A friend texted me the other day to inform me that she drove by their store in Scottsdale and saw that they were closed. I just saw this, confirming it:
I was told today, Monday, someone had heard that Pets Landing had closed. To verify, I drove to Pets Landing this evening and sure enough, there was a note on their door stating they had closed permanently as of today, July 20, 2008. The note explained that they closed due to the economic downturn which is probably true. But I can’t help believe that our efforts gave them a little “push”.
We have protested in front of their store every Saturday since mid-December 2008. Over the months, many people stopped to talk to us and inquire about puppy mills. We educated them about the immoral and inhumane mass dog breeding business and handed them information on where they could adopt. Many people had not even heard of the term “puppy mill”. I know for a fact that our efforts changed the minds of quite a few people who would have otherwise purchased puppies from Pets Landing but instead decided to adopt. Whatever the reason, this is a “red-letter”day for the movement, but we are just beginning our efforts and will continue our protests at other stores until no more puppies are sold in pet stores here in the Valley. This event today should give us a much needed boost to keep going.
Part of me wishes I’d gone to buy Charlie on a Saturday after December 2008 (I bought him on a Saturday in March 2008), so I would have seen these people and known about puppy mills and about what awful things this store was doing. I just had no idea back then — I learned the hard way. But then part of me realizes that Charlie would have died no matter what, and at least this way he got to spend a short period of his life in a loving home with a family. I know he was meant to live with me for that short time, and I’m glad he was in my life. But I’m also very grateful to this group, BestFriends.org, for protesting these horrid stores and helping to shut down Pets Landing, and I encourage you all to donate to them and support them.
Leo, as most of you know, was adopted from a rescue shelter, which I drove five hours to go to in-person to see and to meet the people running it and to make sure my new puppy came from humane and loving conditions. But I would never have met Leo — who is clearly meant to be my little puppy prince at this point in my life — if I hadn’t come to Seattle because of darling Charlie. I think of him as a little puppy life guide. He took me to where I needed to be. He will always be in my heart and I will always love and miss him.
