CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A lawyer for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a cease-and-desist letter Monday to Petland, demanding the Chillicothe-based puppy broker immediately stop using the terms “adopt” and “adoption” to describe commercial puppy sales, which PETA called a deceptive tactic amid a nationwide crisis of homeless animals.
The letter, part of an escalating PETA campaign against the puppy breeding industry, accuses Petland of misleading customers into believing they are rescuing dogs by framing purchases as adoptions. Petland, which sources puppies from commercial breeders nationwide, promotes an “Adoption Checklist” that PETA described as a sales tool listing reasons to buy a dog, and states that puppies are “adopted by (its) customers.”
“Peddling purposely bred puppies who swell the ranks of dogs during an overpopulation and homeless dog crisis, and misrepresenting the purchase as an adoption, is like pouring gasoline on a wildfire and calling it an extinguisher,” said PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch.
PETA also sent a similar cease-and-desist letter Monday to Premier Pups, a Johnstown, Ohio-based broker advertising hundreds of puppies from commercial breeders while making comparable references to “adoption.”
The group argues that “adoption” should refer solely to non-commercial transfers of guardianship from shelters, not purchases from breeders or stores. The slogan “Adopt, Don’t Shop” emerged as a call to address animal overpopulation by directing potential owners to shelters rather than fueling demand for bred puppies.
The Puppy Mill Industry’s Roots and Impact
Puppy mills — high-volume commercial dog breeding operations that prioritize profit over animal welfare — trace their origins to the post-World War II era in the U.S. Midwest. Crop failures in states like Missouri and Kansas prompted farmers to pivot to dog breeding as a low-overhead “cash crop,” confining breeding dogs in wire cages with minimal care and shipping puppies to pet stores and brokers. By the 1960s, the industry had ballooned, with estimates of thousands of such facilities producing millions of puppies annually, often in unsanitary hutches where dogs were denied veterinary treatment, clean water and adequate food.
Today, puppy mills operate nationwide but cluster in rural areas like Missouri, where lax regulations have earned it the nickname “Puppy Mill Capital.” Investigations by animal welfare groups have documented dogs confined 24 hours a day in cramped, filthy enclosures, leading to health issues like mange, respiratory infections and genetic defects passed to offspring. When breeding females can no longer produce litters, they are often euthanized or abandoned. The ASPCA estimates that puppy mills contribute to the euthanasia of up to 390,000 shelter dogs yearly due to space shortages exacerbated by the influx of bred puppies.
PETA and other advocates, including the Humane Society of the United States, push for breeding bans, stricter spay/neuter laws and enforcement to curb the cycle. With U.S. shelters housing millions of homeless dogs and cats — a number that surged during the COVID-19 pandemic — each pet store purchase is said to displace a shelter animal from potential adoption.
Petland’s Longstanding Allegations of Ties to Puppy Mills
Petland, founded in 1967 and operating more than 100 stores across 20 states, has faced decades of scrutiny for sourcing puppies from puppy mills. A 2005 undercover investigation by the Humane Society traced puppies sold at 76 Petland locations to 21 breeders with repeated federal violations, including overcrowding and untreated illnesses. The chain was labeled the nation’s largest retail supporter of puppy mills, with brokers shipping dogs via truck from facilities in states like Iowa and Nebraska.
PETA has repeatedly targeted Petland, including a 2019 exposé revealing neglected dogs at supplier facilities, where animals suffered from untreated wounds and extreme temperatures. In 2023, a Humane Society undercover operation at a Michigan Petland documented employees selling sick puppies with symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, while downplaying health risks to buyers. Federal records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which licenses commercial breeders, show ongoing violations at mills linked to Petland, prompting PETA calls for criminal probes as recently as May 2024.
Petland has denied direct involvement in abuse, stating it works with USDA-inspected breeders and offers health guarantees. However, consumer lawsuits and state investigations — including a 2018 Ohio probe into sick puppy sales — have led to closures of several stores and multimillion-dollar settlements.
The latest PETA action follows the group’s September 2024 lawsuit against the American Kennel Club, accusing it of propping up the breeding industry through events that glamorize purebred dogs from mills.
PETA, whose motto includes “animals are not ours to abuse in any way,” urges adoptions from overwhelmed local shelters and offers free Empathy Kits to promote kindness. More information is available at PETA.org or on the group’s social media accounts.
The letter, part of an escalating PETA campaign against the puppy breeding industry, accuses Petland of misleading customers into believing they are rescuing dogs by framing purchases as adoptions. Petland, which sources puppies from commercial breeders nationwide, promotes an “Adoption Checklist” that PETA described as a sales tool listing reasons to buy a dog, and states that puppies are “adopted by (its) customers.”
“Peddling purposely bred puppies who swell the ranks of dogs during an overpopulation and homeless dog crisis, and misrepresenting the purchase as an adoption, is like pouring gasoline on a wildfire and calling it an extinguisher,” said PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch.
PETA also sent a similar cease-and-desist letter Monday to Premier Pups, a Johnstown, Ohio-based broker advertising hundreds of puppies from commercial breeders while making comparable references to “adoption.”
The group argues that “adoption” should refer solely to non-commercial transfers of guardianship from shelters, not purchases from breeders or stores. The slogan “Adopt, Don’t Shop” emerged as a call to address animal overpopulation by directing potential owners to shelters rather than fueling demand for bred puppies.
Petland Closes in Washington Court House
In the spring of 2012, the quiet farming community of Washington Court House, Ohio, braced for an unwelcome arrival when a new Petland pet store announced its opening at 1355 Leesburg Avenue in the former Kmart plaza. The chain, notorious for sourcing puppies from high-volume commercial breeders often criticized as puppy mills, drew immediate opposition from local animal advocates. Brad Adams, the Chief Humane Agent for the Fayette Regional Humane Society—a nonprofit founded in 1979 to combat animal cruelty across Fayette and surrounding counties—emerged as a leading voice against the store. With 24 years in humane law enforcement by that time, Adams had long enforced Ohio’s cruelty statutes and promoted spay/neuter programs to address shelter overcrowding, viewing Petland’s retail model as a direct threat to those efforts. Drawing on national exposés from the Humane Society of the United States, which had documented Petland’s ties to breeders with USDA violations for overcrowding and untreated illnesses, Adams mobilized the community through flyers and petitions, warning residents that each puppy sale displaced shelter animals in need.
As Petland’s June 2012 grand opening approached, complete with balloons and promotional giveaways, Adams organized peaceful protests on the public sidewalk outside the store, emphasizing “Adopt, Don’t Shop” to highlight the Fayette Regional Humane Society’s adoption services. Joined by volunteers, local veterinarians, and affected families who shared stories of sick puppies purchased from similar outlets—echoing broader Ohio lawsuits against Petland for deceptive sales and genetic health issues—the demonstrations grew weekly. Coverage in the Record Herald captured the tension, quoting Adams on the ethical concerns: “We’re not against pets; we’re against the mills that breed heartbreak.” The protests, amplified by social media and fairground booths at the annual Fayette County Fair, swayed public opinion, leading to boycotts and one-star reviews that slashed the store’s projected sales from dozens of puppies per weekend to a fraction. Petland’s corporate headquarters in nearby Chillicothe faced mounting pressure, as the location’s low foot traffic and negative publicity mirrored closures in other small-town Ohio markets.
By October 2012, just four months after opening, Petland shuttered its Washington Court House doors, citing “strategic realignment” in a brief Record Herald notice, though local reports attributed the failure to sustained community resistance led by Adams and the humane society. The closure marked a rare local victory against the puppy mill pipeline, boosting adoptions at the Fayette Regional Humane Society by 15% the following year and inspiring similar advocacy statewide. Adams, who received the Humane Law Enforcement Award from the Humane Society of the United States in 2021 for his broader animal protection work, reflected in later interviews that the episode underscored small-town power: “Truth and compassion won out over commerce.” The Leesburg Avenue plaza remained vacant for over a year, a quiet reminder of how one agent’s persistence, backed by a united community, halted a chain’s expansion and saved countless shelter lives.
The Puppy Mill Industry’s Roots and Impact
Puppy mills — high-volume commercial dog breeding operations that prioritize profit over animal welfare — trace their origins to the post-World War II era in the U.S. Midwest. Crop failures in states like Missouri and Kansas prompted farmers to pivot to dog breeding as a low-overhead “cash crop,” confining breeding dogs in wire cages with minimal care and shipping puppies to pet stores and brokers. By the 1960s, the industry had ballooned, with estimates of thousands of such facilities producing millions of puppies annually, often in unsanitary hutches where dogs were denied veterinary treatment, clean water and adequate food.
Today, puppy mills operate nationwide but cluster in rural areas like Missouri, where lax regulations have earned it the nickname “Puppy Mill Capital.” Investigations by animal welfare groups have documented dogs confined 24 hours a day in cramped, filthy enclosures, leading to health issues like mange, respiratory infections and genetic defects passed to offspring. When breeding females can no longer produce litters, they are often euthanized or abandoned. The ASPCA estimates that puppy mills contribute to the euthanasia of up to 390,000 shelter dogs yearly due to space shortages exacerbated by the influx of bred puppies.
PETA and other advocates, including the Humane Society of the United States, push for breeding bans, stricter spay/neuter laws and enforcement to curb the cycle. With U.S. shelters housing millions of homeless dogs and cats — a number that surged during the COVID-19 pandemic — each pet store purchase is said to displace a shelter animal from potential adoption.
Petland’s Longstanding Allegations of Ties to Puppy Mills
Petland, founded in 1967 and operating more than 100 stores across 20 states, has faced decades of scrutiny for sourcing puppies from puppy mills. A 2005 undercover investigation by the Humane Society traced puppies sold at 76 Petland locations to 21 breeders with repeated federal violations, including overcrowding and untreated illnesses. The chain was labeled the nation’s largest retail supporter of puppy mills, with brokers shipping dogs via truck from facilities in states like Iowa and Nebraska.
PETA has repeatedly targeted Petland, including a 2019 exposé revealing neglected dogs at supplier facilities, where animals suffered from untreated wounds and extreme temperatures. In 2023, a Humane Society undercover operation at a Michigan Petland documented employees selling sick puppies with symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, while downplaying health risks to buyers. Federal records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which licenses commercial breeders, show ongoing violations at mills linked to Petland, prompting PETA calls for criminal probes as recently as May 2024.
Petland has denied direct involvement in abuse, stating it works with USDA-inspected breeders and offers health guarantees. However, consumer lawsuits and state investigations — including a 2018 Ohio probe into sick puppy sales — have led to closures of several stores and multimillion-dollar settlements.
The latest PETA action follows the group’s September 2024 lawsuit against the American Kennel Club, accusing it of propping up the breeding industry through events that glamorize purebred dogs from mills.
PETA, whose motto includes “animals are not ours to abuse in any way,” urges adoptions from overwhelmed local shelters and offers free Empathy Kits to promote kindness. More information is available at PETA.org or on the group’s social media accounts.