AKC Endorsing Petland and Supporting Notorious Puppy Mill Hunte Corporation
Please cross-post!
Talk about the foxes BUYING the henhouse! Tha’s exactly what it looks like the largest seller of puppy mill puppies and the largest breeder of puppy mill puppies in the US have done! Under the guise of “saving” the AKC, the “professional” management staff and the upper management have climbed into a very sleazy bed with Petland Stores and the Hunte Corporation.
Supposedly the AKC staff and management (let’s make sure to keep those separate from the AKC breeders who obviously had nothing to do with this walk on the slimy side) have decided they need more money. So instead of doing something intelligent like maybe moving out of their expensive New York offices to another, less expensive area or city, they sell licensing rights to the very people MOST of the dog world is trying to SHUT DOWN!
Can you say, “fire the professional staff and recall every elected official or director who supported this misbegotten mistake?”
I can! If this is true (and if it isn’t I’ll be very happy to apologize to the AKC) then this is NOT a simple case of disagreement between people of goodwill who just don’t agree. This is an out and out betrayal of everything reputable and honest dog people, breeders and dog guardians believe in and have worked towards for decades!
The obvious first step for all of us is to contact the AKC and let them know we are paying attention and are not happy with this decision. Next, DO NOT SHOP at Petland OR BUY items with the AKC logo on them until they get out of bed with Petland and Hunte. If anybody has any other suggestions, bark in!
Here’s what President Isabel and Attorney General Rosie Moondog had to say about the possible AKC sell-out.
Isabel and Rosie: The Dynamic Duo wrote:
Hey Joy! It has come to our attention that the American Kennel Club is teaming up with Petland (a pet store chain that sells puppies). Apparently Petland will be allowed to use the AKC logo and Petland will be getting consumers to register their new pups with the AKC (a money making proposition for them). You have one guess as to who supplies Petland with its puppies.Give up? It’s none other than the Hunte Corporation- the country’s largest distributor of puppy mill pups. This new arrangement will put the AKC’s stamp of approval on the puppy mill industry and will be a major set back in our fight against ending puppy milling. To their credit, many of the AKC’s membership have contested this deal, but the executives and Board of Directors are planning ongoing ahead with this insane plan anyway.
We are urging all Dogsters to contact the AKC and tell them this partnership is wrong and that they should be using their influence to help shut down the Hunte Corporation, and the puppy mill industry, not encouraging and legitimizing it!
Here’s the URL to the AKC contact page.
Let your barks be heard!!!
Roxie’s mom, Karen, sent in this information about the situation from a delgate who was at the recent AKC meeting.
Karen Vigil wrote:
HI Joy,
This is kind of long but I got it off another site. AKC endorsing Petland?????
This must be a mistake. Or is it?*****PERMISSION TO CROSS POST GRANTED*****
September 13, 2006
From: Sally Nist, AKC Delegate, RCKC
To: Rapid City Kennel Club membersThis will be somewhat short as it is late and I will write a more complete report tomorrow. I am just back from the fall Delegate meeting. It began with the normal committee elections and a vote on the first proposed amendment. That was an amendment limiting outside activities by delegates. AKC said it was to assist us if we had to remove a delegate for conflict of interest but it was really setting a stage of sorts. The existing restrictions were enlarged to keep people out of the delegate body whodidn’t support “AKC objects”.
Dennis Sprung and Board members explained that we could then keep “animal rights” people from “taking over the AKC”.
After lunch came the regular reports from the Treasurer, the new archive program, etc. Buried in the Treasurer’s report was a very quick mention of a “new contractual relationship” between AKC and the Petland chain of stores (120 in the US, with 20 more planned for 2007). The difference between Petland and PetSmart or PetCo is that they sell puppies at Petland.
During the final portion of the meeting, several delegates–who were completely caught off guard by thie news of the contract — brought up their concern and asked for more information. We were told that “we would never see the contract (which I heard from another delegate was just signed last Friday)”, it is necessary for AKC to meet the bottom line, and that it was the wave of the future and we should get on board. At one point David Merriim, the attorney for AKC actually said he had not seen the contract (great boos and laughter ensued) and that if we don’t work with Petland to get more dogs
registered we will be looking at $75 entry fees and become an “elitist organization”.NOTE: you will be able to read the full details in a couple of days on the AKC website so excuse me if my quotes are not completely accurate. They may not be 100% correct but very, very close.
From what we could gather from the very sketchy info parsed out by the AKC staff to the delegates, the Board of Directors and the “Management Team” have signed a contract with Petland endorsing the sale of puppies under the AKC banner, with the Petland sales people encouraging people to register the puppies with AKC. Needless to say, all will be sold with no conditional breeding paperwork, as is done by breeders who sell directly to new owners.
You will see when you read the minutes on the website that the discussion went on for a couple of hours. I was in line to speak but everyone had covered my thoughts and I stepped out. Main concerns were the breeding of these puppies, the fact that we have always put AKC above “puppy mills and puppy sales at stores”, the fact that these puppies will be the rescue
dogs of the future, etc. A motion was made by the Golden Retriever club delegate that the delegates vote to let the board know we want them to rescend the contract. The AKC staff kept saying that it was a “non-binding, sense of the delegation vote”. It carried nearly unanimously.The delegate body is stunned. Of course, by the vote earlier in the day, we are not “supporting the AKC object” but I, for one, think it is critical that if members of RCKC do not agree with this sudden and secret action taken by the AKC without any notification of the general population it supposedly supports, we must make our voices heard.
I suggest letters be sent to Dennis Sprung, to every member of the Board of Directors, and every single higher-level management person. Alternative ways to obtain additiional funds (which does have an $8M reserve) we might consider release of the expensive NYC property, a pay cut by AKC staff (often done in private industry to save a business), cutting
Board expenses, reviewing every expense line by line, etc.If you so direct, and if I am elected your delegate to the AKC (a position I would like to hold in the upcoming year), I will vote against every single member of the Board of Directors on this issue alone, no matter how fabulously they may have served the fancy in the past. I will carry any message to the next meeting on this matter.
If this is not a concern, we can move on to other issues. If the anger expressed by delegates is representative of the anger of concerned breeders and members of RCKC, I urge everyone to act. The contract has been signed and none of the delegates is sure if any action can change anything but we can express our outrage and the new direction AKC has taken. It began with our new embrace and acceptance of “large volume breeders”–some might say puppy mills– and this seems to be the final nail in the coffin to separate legitimate, concerned breeders from pet shop suppliers.
Here’s an update! There is now a petition at The Petition Site if you want to show your displeasure with the AKC decision.
Follow this link to sign the petition.
It’s things like this that have made me switch over to UKC shows.
I think that the AKC is so behind the times, it’s not funny. This organization doesn’t understand pet owners. It doesn’t really promote good breeding of dogs! It is a political organization that’s old-fashioned and out of touch.
I started showing my standard poodle about three years ago, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I ran into some of the worst breeders you can image. I ran into some great breeders, as well, but as a consumer, I wouldn’t put any value in saying that an AKC puppy is a smart move. Just because you buy a puppy from an AKC breeder doesn’t mean:
1. The dog is healthy
2. The dog has been socialized correctly
3. The parents have good temperment.
It just means the dog is purebred, which could be a negative. It could mean in-breeding, or the passing on of unwanted characteristics.
If your dog came from a champion, it doesn’t mean it has any of the above attributes, either. It just means it has good structure, and that’s debatable considering the lack of knowledgeable judges and the power of handlers at shows.
I strongly object to large puppy mills, or companies such as Petland. They went out of business, in my town of Toledo, OH, and it was a good thing. Everyone I know who got a puppy from there ended up with a dog with bad personality traits, due probably to poor socialization.
There is a huge opportunity for some company, some organization to start from scratch and develop a consumer awareness and standard for breeders that makes sense!
I’m not saying that every AKC breeder is bad. I know some tremendous, caring, committed breeders. And there are breed clubs that spend money and time to better the health of their breed. I’m just saying that having an AKC registered dog doesn’t mean anything!
Consumers deserve better guidance.
Although we are never sure how effective these electronic petitions are, here is where you can sign in opposition:
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/AKCPETLAND
greedy monsters.
I must say this most recent action of the AKC is disgusting, although not shocking. As someone who has in the past functioned as a responsible breeder of show dogs, I can tell you that the AKC has always been about money. It has no explicit mission to further the mission of breed improvement or dog welfare in general. The good things that have been accomplished through the AKC have been pushed through by the breed clubs, for example the issuance of non-breeding AKC papers as specified by the breeder. The AKC has two basic functions: 1) keep registration records, and 2) put on dog shows. The breed clubs determine the standards and have been the source of actions intended to improve breeds and control irresponsible breeding. The greatest power to control the AKC resides within the breed clubs. If they would all withdraw their association with the AKC and form another agency to keep national records (or threaten to), they could put the AKC out of business over night. Pet lovers and animal rights people should understand that there are many wonderful conscientious breeders out there who love their breeds and strive to do the best for each puppy. How do you know these people? They are the ones working their bottoms off for their dogs and going into debt doing it. The AKC has been going in the wrong direction for a very long time. Now it looks as though they have gone right over the edge.
We won’t give up.
http://www.unitedagainstpuppymills.org
We won’t give up.
I totally agree with the other comments. The AKC knows that it’s doing something bad, but in the end all they are showing us they only care about the money. Blech.
There is a “Boycott Petland” picture that a member of the PPP originally put on our group page a few months ago. Time to put ‘em to use!!
I just came back from the Hunte website. I think you will find a visit there very instructive. Apparently a relatively new website with little information and most of that is hype. You will find that the link to help you “Pick a Pet” takes you straight to the AKC webpage. The testimonials are even more interesting; there are only three and all three are by pet store people. Not much on this site to inspire confidence.
Thank you Ardith at Newsvine for sharing this story with your readers! Ardith barked this in:
Ardith wrote:
I’ve picked this up, and am reporting on this at NewsVine.
http://ardith.newsvine.com/_news/2006/09/18/366726-akc-sells-out-to-notorious-puppymillers
If that link is too long, just go to:
http://www.newsvine.com and then do a search for Ardith.
I also featured the Park Police officer who shot the homeless man’s dog. That issue created a lot of controversy.
Website:
http://ardith.newsvine.com/_news/2006/09/18/366726-akc-sells-out-to-notorious-puppymillers
I also visited Hunte’s website and found it very disturbing. It looked to me like a very sophisticated puppy mill. I clicked on “Take a Tour” – it didn’t take me ANYWHERE inside! I was expecting to see a tour of this “wonderful” 100,000 sq. ft. facility. Personally, I don’t want anything to do with 100,00 sq. ft. of puppies. Something about this disgusts me.
this is soooo very wrong, my human mother has been working with places for over 13 years trying to shut down puppy mills, now this is gonna make it worst…PLEASE do not buy any puppies from pet stores..PLEASE..only get them thru good breeders and rescues and shelters…
we still can try to stop puppy mills.
casper and his mom Denise
Apparently Hunte doesn’t actually produce any puppies on site. They appear to be a broker who encourages other people to puppy mill and then runs the puppies through their establishment to Petland. On the homepage of their website you will see that they are holding a “breeders educational conference” in October…read that promote the development of more puppy mills. I doubt that responsible show breeders are going to be delighted to be associated with puppy mills via the AKC association. Most I know would never sell a puppy to a pet store, much less the broker for a pet store. Petland customers need to know that because the AKC imprimateur will mislead them to think they are buying quality puppies.
Maybe it’s just me….
…but I’d rather pay $75.00 for AKC Registration and keep the lines pure
Rather than having them sell out to Puppy Mills!!!
AKC is supposed to be an “Exclusive” Club
Exclusively good lines and good breeding tactics…
(Maybe I’m just being too naive….)
I’m not sure that any of you are accurately relaying the actual facts of the contract. Before everyone gets up in arms, let’s look at the facts.
http://www.akc.org/news/blocks/print_article.cfm?article_id=3004
It quite clearly says on the AKC site that the contract ONLY allows “Petland to facilitate the individual AKC registration process for eligible dogs sold in their stores.”
“AKC and Petland are not engaged in an endorsement, partnership, affiliation or joint venture. A written agreement between AKC and Petland exists, in large part, to protect the AKC and ensure that all applicable AKC Registration Rules and Procedures are followed.”
It’s inaccurate to say that the AKC is selling AKC “licensing rights” to Petland or anyone else and irresponsible to make such broad-based assumptions in the spirit of rallying support for false claims.
Another fact: “The AKC has always registered dogs sold through pet retailers as long as the pet store and breeder are in compliance with AKC standards for accurate record keeping and meet the AKC’s care and conditions requirements.”
In my mind, this makes the AKC inspections team’s ability to continue evaluating and inspecting breeders in the commercial sector even easier, as they have direct reason to evaluate and inspect the breeders supplying Petland.
Our continued fight here should be to pass laws making the sale of animals through stores illegal. And to convince AKC breeders who have “registerable” pets NOT to sell them to stores. Since this is not likely to happen anytime soon, encouraging the morons who actually buy from stores to register and get involved in the AKC seems like a pretty good interim policy.
Good to Know
AKC owner, you are naive if you believe the AKC’s line of bull! You really need to go to the AKC’s website and read the Board of Director’s minutes and Delegate meeting minutes from the past couple of months to get the real picture.
“AKC and Petland are not engaged in an endorsement, partnership, affiliation or joint venture. A written agreement between AKC and Petland exists, in large part, to protect the AKC and ensure that all applicable AKC Registration Rules and Procedures are followed.�
There is a legal contract, which means there is a partnership. Petland will register all AKC registerable dogs before they leave the store. They won’t leave it up to the customer to do it later. AKC will benefit by getting more registrations, thereby taking market share from the 23 competing registries. The question everyone has asked, which the AKC has not answered, is what does Petland get? You can be sure that if Petland is putting resources towards training their staff to educate the consumer about the AKC, and to sign the dogs up in the store (when they could be off selling the next puppy) that Petland will get something out of this deal.
“In my mind, this makes the AKC inspections team’s ability to continue evaluating and inspecting breeders in the commercial sector even easier, as they have direct reason to evaluate and inspect the breeders supplying Petland. ”
The AKC has already put a call out to non-AKC puppymillers encouraging them to sign up, and offering them special deals. If more millers join the AKC, how will the AKC resource the additional inspections when they can’t even afford to put on a single dog show!
And since the whole goal of this partnership with Petland is to increase registrations and take market share from competing registries, do you really believe that the AKC will alienate millers by inspecting them? They give a bad inspection to a miller, that miller will simply go to another registry.
“I’m not sure that any of you are accurately relaying the actual facts of the contract.”
That is because the AKC will not make known the facts of the contract! The delegates have demanded to see it, the AKC has refused. The delegates asked whats in the contract. The AKC says its confidential. The delegates have asked what is Petland getting out of it. The AKC won’t answer.
“Before everyone gets up in arms, let’s look at the facts.”
Again, the facts you need to look at are the minutes, not some piece of propaganda from the AKC. The minutes are on their website for all to read.
Hah, I have to say I’m not especially surprised. AKC registration has not been a guarantee of quality for years, if it ever was, not when all you need to register a litter is the papers of the dam and sire–no proof of birth even needed! I’m just glad that my breed of choice has the JRTCA to promote quality dogs. I only wish there was an all-breed kennel club out there that insisted on proof of genetic tests before registration.
While I don’t think it’s possible to convince those hard working members of the fancy who have earned their moment in the spotlight of the AKC Eukanuba Invitational/Tournament of Champions, to stay home in protest )—I can and did pen a letter of protest of my own to the Discovery Channel Viewer Relations Department, which operates Animal Planet, and broadcasts this event.
Contracts, endorsements, ratings and of course $$$, are all meant to support the AKC and make money for all the sponsors, etc. So what if no one watched?…or went….or entered…. wouldn’t that send a big and very public $$$ message to the AKC???
Sent to:
Program/Show Eukanuba Tournament of Champions…
“I regret that for the first time, I will not be watching the AKC Eukanuba Tournament of Champions this year unless the AKC rescinds its’ contract with Petland pet stores. As a 20 year veteran breeder and competitor in AKC events, this move by the AKC has betrayed all that it once stood for. You may or may not be aware that a massive nationwide grass roots effort is underway by breeders, AKC sanctioned clubs, delegates (and even judges) to demand that the AKC break this contract reagrdless of cost in order restore any integrity to the AKC name. Unfortunately since this contract was forged (admittedly by the AKC Board without knowledge or consent of its’ delegates) based on money, then the method of protest will be in terms they understand. I expect that will impact your ratings, the Iams corporation sales and the entries for this show in particular as it is the only AKC sponsored conformation show. I ask that you consider what is at stake for purebred dogs everywhere when a giant like the AKC endorses the purchase of a puppy from a pet store chain documented as doing business with the Hunte Co. (the notorious puppy mill brokerage). This may not be the kind of publicity your station needs either…as they say, “when you lie down with dogs…”
Maybe the AKC should hear what your company thinks about this contract? ”
___________________
What about the AKC showing up at my small kennel ,where breed stewardship comes first and simply having a chequebook doesn’t get you a puppy?…can I get a flashy banner and a kickback for registering my puppies right there on the spot too? When they send their emissaries to Petland to “educate the employees”, will they tell them that the puppies they sell are just as good as the ones I raise?…that temperament, early socialisation, OFA and CERF aren’t important any more?…that it’s OK that I, and breeders like me, will be held to an ethic and standards the Hunte Co. wipes their shoes on? In the end, without the support of MY AKC, I won’t be able to compete with their flashy banners and high volume business–NO… I will have puppies I can’t place, and I will have to stop being a breed steward, and the future of my breed, like others will be lost to the mills…the AKC Board save one should resign or be impeached for violating the foundational principles of the oragnisation entrusted to them ,and deliberately and covertly betraying the constituency that elected them.
Nice blog and great posts.
For a bit more on all this, see the Sept. 21 and 24 posts at:
>> http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com
The AKC’s own Board member — Steve Gladstone — endorsed the Petland idea, saying:
“With all respect … we have been taking their money [puppy mills] for 75 years and cashing their checks….we have got to accept the fact, we are taking their money; and, yes, … we are endorsing them with our papers. We are telling the world these people meet AKC standards. Now, you may not like that, but the fact is that we have lived off of that for the last 60 years.”
So there you go.
PBurns
http://www.terrierman.com
Interesting blogs.
Although I agree that the AKC is not necessarily the good housekeeping seal of approval for puppies – many “show” breeders use the AKC endorsement to promote their stock as well. I, for one, support this collaboration. It could be the start of something good.
I think the term “puppy mill” is so overused, and often by ignorant people. I mean exactly how do you define a “puppy mill” and how many of you have seen one? I wonder how many of you have actually visited the breeders of that Hunte Corporation? Just because someone is making money selling dogs doesn’t make them bad. Just think about how much you sell your litters for? Do you honestly think any one, or company can make money regularly selling unhealthy animals? Petland’s website says they’ve been in business for 40 years. How long do you think a restaurant would be in business if it sold nothing but tainted meat? I suspect the government sets the standards for dog breeding just as they do for most other animals in the agriculture world. If the USDA inspects and certifies Hunte, and the AKC endorses them as well…but all of you do not – then why don’t you stop complaining and get together and set up an organization to establish proper breeding standards and then visit these people to ensure compliance. Then I would respect your claims that these companies are doing wrong. Stop bashing the AKC. Some of you have complained you don’t respect the AKC in the first place. If that’s the case, then why be concerned about who they endorse? From what I can tell from the Petland stores I’ve visited – they strongly promote spaying and neutering to prevent uneducated or ill-prepared people from breeding their pup. They also support our local humane society. Do you encourage buyers of your show dog’s litter to spay or neuter? If so, good for you – pet overpopulation is a serious problem in this country.
Nothing is perfect when it comes to living creatures, despite your best efforts to prevent it. I have personally known friends who have purchased from “show quality” breeders and their animal has hereditary problems and personality issues like separation anxiety. As a business person who sells a defective product, what you do to remedy that situation is more of a testament to your ethics. To this day, my friend has not been reimbursed from the exhaustive vet bills associated with the heart murmur and hip problems of their “champion pedigree” dog. And this is a UKC registered breeder.
[...] Jotenkin suomalaisesta näkökulmasta koko tilanne jenkeissä AKC:n ja paikallisen lemmikkieneläinketjun yhteistyösopimuksen tiimoilta tuntuu varsin vastenmieliseltä. Asiaa on raportoitu jo monessa eri paikassa. AKC:n edustajiston kokouksen pöytäkirjaakin on Christie kahlannut. AKC:lta löytyy myös oma vastineensa kohuun. [...]
What i dont inderstand is why the AKC dosent like cesar millan. we hav 2 write a paper and i wnated to figure that out
[...] For more information on the Hunte Corporation, check out this previous blog post. [...]
AKC doesn’t like Cesar Milan because his methods are harsh. Sometimes harsh methods are called for. Like when somebody buys an aggressive, non-socialized puppy from Petland that went through Hunte Corporation. Visit our website for more information.
[...] http://dogblog.dogster.com/2006/09/18/akc-endorsing-petland-and-supporting-notorious-puppy-mill-hunte-corporation/ [...]
You really have no clue what you’re talking about do you? Contact the Hunte Co. and they will give you a tour where you pick where you want to go. You will not be barred from any part of their facility. They are not a puppy mill and there is no “sleazy bed” with the AKC and Petland. The Petlands in MO take excellent care of ALL the animals as does Hunte. Get all your facts straight before you go bad mouthing companies you no nothing about.
Gypsy, Hunte Corporation is a broker. They BUY the puppy mill dogs from the puppy mill breeders.
A tour of Hunte tells you NOTHING. You never get to see the puppy mills that the parent dogs are still prisoners in.
And in Missouri, humane laws are few and far between, and never enforced. It is Puppy Mill Central.
But you know that, don’t you?
However Hunte DOES have their ugly secrets of death and abuse http://www.petstorecruelty.org/Hunte%20Corp.htm
Scroll down to read about the trenches of dead dogs on Hunte property.
And Hunte himself owns many Petlands. AKC sets up at Hunte conventions.
But here’s even more of the story http://www.caninechronicle.com/Features/Bernardi_08/bernardi_108.html and http://www.geocities.com/jcrowe22/akcmisconduct.html
No one should breeding or selling dogs with all the homeless pets we have throughout our country and in other countries. Shame on Petland and all the other people out there making money off the backs of the poor breeding dogs.
Shame on puppy millers especially. Locking away innocent dogs and using them as breeding machines in the most inhumane conditions. I wish I could lock every single puppy miller up in the same conditions they lock these poor dogs away in and leave them there. It’s the only way they’ll every understand the sheer magnitude of cruelty. Shame on AKC for promoting puppy mills, supporting them and making money off them! Shame shame shame…..
I am angry anyway at Petland. A relative of mine bought a very expensive (yes VERY expensive) French Bulldog at a Petland. They told them he was registered. NOT. He was registered, but not with the AKC but with some petfinders. By the time they found out, they were too devoted to him to return him. What a bunch of scammers. You pay up in the thousands you would think they could register them with the AKC. Please…they need to be hung out to dry….
So boycott them and tell them why! Actions speak louder than words. I’m not supporting the AKC or Petland or Iams. Iams (Eukanuba one of the Akc’s Dog show Supporters) Boycott everyone who supports them. Do something! Be it educate the public, Write the senators, congressmen and women in your state for tighter legislation.Talking and not taking action does nothing to help these poor animals who are suffering. We have to get mad and we have to stand up and do something to help otherwise these sicko win. I’m not going down without a wicked fight!
I got my puppy from Debby’s Petland in Nashua,NH, a month ago. I got a Welsh Terrier for $1,500! I had NO CLUE he was from THE HUNTE CO, untill I did research over the next few days. I was PISSED!!! He had Kennel cough, and I had to pay for his medications at the vet. Which wasn’t bad, but Iwas stupid. I feel I kinda saved him, but my $$ went to such a horrible cause! I am so for shutting ALL PUPPY MILLS DOWN, especially THE HUNTE CO. and ALL PET LAND’S!!! Ithink people should get their doggies from either a shelter or a reputible breeder, that has Mommy on premisis. ALL People should be aware of this subject, before paying top dollar for a sick dog.