Pet Store Shut Down by Activists to Reopen As Adoption Center
Within a matter of months, activists have succeeded in changing a store from a puppy mill vendor to an animal rescue venture.
A pet store in the small town of Elyria, Ohio was the target of intense protests by animal rights activists for months before deciding to close down. Now, a new owner is opening a pet store in the same location that will only have rescued cats and dogs available for adoption.
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The previous store, Animal Zone, came under fire after many customers reported animals falling ill just days after purchase, with many reported deaths. The new store, Animal House, will not only feature rescued animals up for adoption, but will donate a portion of sales to Ohio Pet Placement, an independent nonprofit group.
All animals will be spayed or neutered and receive vaccinations. Dog training and grooming services will also be available.
“They are going to adopt out animals, not sell them,” said Becky Ayers, an activist who had protested Animal Zone. “And all are going to be spayed or neutered. That will be a big plus in our community. If only all pet stores could do this.”
Via Chonicle-Telegram Photo Credit: doortoriver on Flickr under Creative Commons license.
Animal lovers beware! We purchased a puppy from Ohio Pet Placement (a $250 adoption fee) and it died in a matter of days from Parvo. We spent over $1000 to try to save the puppy and Ohio Pet Placement has done nothing to help us recover that cost. They offered us another puppy who also came home with Parvo. While I support organizations that save animals, there are more reputable, professional adoption agencies out there.
We bought a puggle puppy there this past December. She was 9 weeks old and healthy. She is friendly (jumped into our arms at the store) and VERY smart. A young man (who admitted to being a new employee) did misquote me on the price 2 times, but my husband and I fell in love with this pup. She was in a cage with her sister. Although I thought the cage was too small, my vet assured me that small dog breeds feel secure in small spaces…hence crate training your dog. One yellow lab puppy who was pudgy (well fed looking) did seem to be infested with flees, but that is VERY common when you have a group of animals. Flees are easily contagious AND can come from unhealthy on-lookers with poor hygiene. I don’t think it was Animal Zone when we got our puppy and if it was, then I believe it was in transition mode. We got a wonderful dog, and the animals (minus flees) looked fine.
ALL animals need homes. Why snub the ones in stores? What happens to them? Will they get thrown in the streets and end up in pounds? Then will you adopt them? OR will they get euthanasia because no one cared to give them a Forever Home? SAVE ALL DOGS!!!
In reference to SadFamily’s comments. While it is sad to loose a puppy it is really not fair to blame the rescue. It is admirable that the family was willing to spend $1000 towards trying to save their puppy they could have saved money by using the veterinarian used by the rescue. Also, the rescue did reimburse the family what it would have cost if the puppy had been taken to the recommended veterinarian. The second puppy most likely contracted parvo form the new home since it was the only puppy from the litter to contract the virus. Also, the director personally spent her own money to pay for the veterinary care of this animal. We will concede that this issue may not have been handled in the most timely manor which is regrettable. However, being a small rescue with limited resources and trying to negotiate the opening of the facility mentioned in this article at the time of this incident stretched our financial and personal to the limit. We assure anyone who may be reading this that of the 400+ animals adopted out since opening our facility you will find an extremely high level of satisfaction.
This statement is lacking in many facts. We at Ohio Pet Placement are unable to provide any guarantees, especially against parvo. The full truth is that we were not notified about this puppy until these bills were well underway. When, in fact, had they contacted us, we would have sent them directly to our vet to be treated. Two of the 8 puppies from that litter did go down with parvo, the others never showed symptoms. Further, a monetary contrubution was made to this family. Yes, a replacement puppy was given. This puppy did in fact test positive from parvo, but remember, this puppy went into a home that previously had parvo, which very well could have been the source of infection. Also, this family once again did not notify us until they were at the same vet they racked up the last $1000 in vet bills, even after being told the last time we would have had them at our vet. Further, this family was going to euthenize the puppy rather than pay for treatment. My husband and I PERSONALY paid for this puppies treatment of nearly $1000 without even as much as a thank you. Perhaps before slandering a non-profit pet rescue, you should make sure all of the facts are out there. You could have purchased another pure bred dog and experienced the same outcome. This organization has saved over 1,000 lives with minimal unfortunate events such as this.
My husband and I adopted a Staffordshire Terrier/Mix that had been confiscated and placed in a kill shelter. She was a victim of abuse and neglect not to mention a breeding machine. Ohio Pet Placement took her, not because she was highly marketable, in fact she was quite emaciated, but because they truly cared about her when no one else did. They spayed her, kept her for many months and because of her extreme shyness no one was interested in her. My husband and I adopted her at age three and have now had her for a year and a half. She has truly been a blessing to us Thank you Ohio Pet Placement for taking a dog that no one obviously wanted, a dog whose destiny lied solely in your hands and providing us with such a wonderful family member! Keep up the Great Work!