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.

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 a Creative Commons license.

8 thoughts on “Pet Store Shut Down by Activists to Reopen As Adoption Center”

  1. We recently paid 400.00 for a bull mastiff/boxer puppy from Animal House and let me just say…we have spent over 1000.00 on this puppy and she is now seriously ill with pneumonia. Which is a direct result of kennel cough that she contracted in the Animal House store. How I know this is when I called to notify them of her condition they admitted that the puppys mother and brothers and sisters also had it. We have tried calling Crystal the director over 15 times and still have no resolution. This place is a disgrace. I went to the store to hopefully get some sort of resolution to see a new litter of puppies laying on newspaper scattered about like garbage in an enclosure with just a measily sign that said to not tap on glass due to it possibly stressing them. Then I see a yound Shephard mix in a cage so small his legs were sticking out between the wires. This place is disgusting and I would NEVER recommend adopting an animal from here. I would go to the local pound and adopted the sickest looking animal there first. Oh and their vet who we have tried to contact is now out of business. I smell something fishy here. This is a poorly ran adoption facility. 400.00 for a puppy who may or may not had a few shots, emaciated and very sick…and now is on the verge of dying?? Pathetic! There is no excuse for this nonsense!!!

  2. I have been reading over all the comments and like all rescues you cannot guarantee the background on anyone.Some illnesses show no symptoms, just like some situations with people…..Anyhow; I love the New animal house. I had been kicked out of Animal Zone on several occasions for pointing out the neglect…in a not so quiet way!! The staff is great, Keep it up. I usually talk with a girl named Marissa when I come in, you can tell she loves all the animals and they love her back. SO GLAD FOR THE CHANGE…ps people remember what the word RESCUE MEANS

  3. 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!

  4. 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.

  5. Ohio Pet Placement

    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.

  6. 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!!!

  7. 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.

    1. To the unlucky families with the parvo puppies, this virus is the most common one puppies come in contact with , exspecially when they are in a sshelter. It can stayy dormant for up to 7yrs. I worked at a petstore and we did some major spring cleaning and the messed up thing all that cleaning just stered it up and a lot of puppies did get the parvo virus that had all their shots and had been at the store for at least 2 to 3mon. So if you do infact bring home anymore puppies, bleach your home . And to the petstore who sent home another pup after the first parvo pup shame on you. I’m sure you knew that pup would get it too

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