Tomorrow, Protestors to Demand Petland Hop Off the Puppy Mill Pronto

Tomorrow up in Plano, animal-rights activists are scheduled to bark at Petland, which is being accused of selling dogs bred in puppy mills. The exact location's 340 Coit Road near the Bush Turnpike, if you're in the area and wondering about the barking. (No word about plans for the Preston...

By Robert Wilonsky

January 9, 2009

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Tomorrow up in Plano, animal-rights activists are scheduled to bark at Petland, which is being accused of selling dogs bred in puppy mills. The exact location's 340 Coit Road near the Bush Turnpike, if you're in the area and wondering about the barking. (No word about plans for the Preston Forest location.) The protest, which kicks off at noon, is but one of many scheduled to take place across the country tomorrow, following an eight-month-long investigation by the Humane Society of the United States that has all but neutered the 42-year-old chain.

In November, the Humane Society reported "that many Petland stores across the country are supporting cruel puppy mills, even while telling unsuspecting customers that the dogs only come from good breeders." And the accusations, which made Oprah Winfrey's show, have led to litigation from franchisees, who claim that the Chillicothe, Ohio-based chain is a doomed enterprise -- precisely because "pets supplied to the stores through Petland's vendors were sick or dying." Which is why protestors, including local organizer Dr. John Pippin, would prefer you adopt from a shelter -- there's always Eclipse. --Robert Wilonsky

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