Puppy Fan or Puppy Ban?

By Sarah Dahnke in Miscellaneous on Dec 14, 2006 6:44PM

Warrenville resident Therese Davis and her husband Gary are set to protest the recently opened Happiness Is Pets puppy store in their suburban town on Dec. 23 and 24. When asked by the Sun-Times about their beef with the animal boutique, Therese replied, "I'm not against the store, but I'd rather see the adoption of dogs."

Chicagoist has voiced similar opinions toward specialty pet stores in the past, but after reading the horribly uninforming Sun-Times article, which stated that the protesters opposed the store's "practice of selling dogs," we were left wondering what Happiness Is Pets does to their puppies that is so wrong.

Further digging turned up the Warrenville City Council's minutes from a meeting on Nov. 6, where one resident stated the dogs at this store come from puppy mills and are usually in poor health. An employee from the DuPage County Animal Control said that animal control offices are already feeling the fallout from the Warrenville business. They proposed requiring pet stores to provide full disclosure on the source of the animals, and if they came from a puppy mill, the store should be banned from selling any animals whatsoever.

It's hard to not get caught up in the cutsey puppy pictures on Happiess Is Pets' Web site. Chicagoist swooned for a good five minutes over the English Bulldog puppy. But then we clicked on the store's health warranty section. There are some good points, such as the guarantee that the puppies are up to date on their shots and that they have been checked properly by a vet. And if your dog is defective, you can just exchange it for a new one! What a deal!

So our question is, what happens to the sick puppies that people don't want anymore? Are they sent back to the manufacturer and examined for quality control purposes? Are they repaired and put back on the factory line? Does the puppy company have to issue a recall statement?

Image via backporchphotography.