Document Type

Report

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

The Humane Society of the United States receives complaints about sick puppies on a daily basis. Over a five-year period (2007-2011), our puppy mills campaign received 2,479 puppy buyer complaints. The complaint came to The HSUS via our website complaint form (www.humanesociety.org/puppycomplaint), by email, and through our puppy mills tip line. Buyers complained about sick puppies sold by a variety of sources, including pet stores, breeders (both in person and online), or middleman dealers (sometimes known as brokers). Unsatisfied buyers contact The HSUS for many reasons; some are seeking information about how to pursue their consumer complaint, others seek information about where their pet store supply really came from, many want the seller investigated or potentially shut down, and others simply want to share their stories as a warning to others. But the complaints received by The HSUS represent only a fraction of all sick puppy complaints nationwide. Some buyers of sick puppies report their complaints directly to the seller, to local animal control, or to a consumer agency such as their local Better Business Bureau, instead of contacting a national group. Many others do not contact anyone at all. Therefore the 2,479 complaints received by The HSUS represent just a very small sample of all consumer problems with sick puppies.

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