PV Pets
\n<\/b>233 S Broadway
\n<\/b>Pennsville, NJ 08070
\n<\/b>(856) 678-8600<\/b><\/p>\n
Date and time of CAPS investigation: <\/b>8\/7\/19; 0911<\/span><\/p>\n Approximate number of puppies observed at time of investigation: <\/b>13<\/span><\/p>\n Two puppies were an open-topped, glass-walled enclosure with a solid flooring covered in shredded paper at the back of the store. Other puppies were kept in a bank of cages nearby. There were 10 cages, each made with three solid walls, one being clear for customers to see through, wire doors at their backs, and wire floorings over trays covered in newspaper. Two other enclosures were on an adjacent wall, being pens with solid walls and floorings, and one wall having large windows for customers to see in. The enclosures were rooms with separate doorways customers could look into. One held a standard poodle puppy, and another held two kittens. Puppy cages and enclosures held one to two puppies each, and not all were occupied. Puppies had no toys, and two puppies chewed continuously on one of two rubber mats that covered about 25% of their wire flooring. The kittens had no source information, and instead had cards that read \u201cdomestic kitten\u201d and had the kittens\u2019 dates of birth, arrival dates, and genders. However, their DOBs were listed as 5\/28\/19, and their arrival dates were listed as 6\/4\/19, meaning they were brought to the store at six days of age. The kittens appeared to be about 10 weeks old.<\/span><\/p>\n The store owner, Vicki (Caucasian female, about 50 years old, 5’6″, 130 lbs, with long blonde hair and glasses), told me about her breeders, saying her broker is a man named Ralph Cook who’s a friend of hers, that she\u2019s worked with him for 20 years, and that Cook \u201cinvestigates\u201d breeders for her to know they are okay for her to buy from. Cook\u2019s name and information appeared nowhere on the puppies\u2019 cage cards (56:8-95 Deceptive practice; minimum standards c. (6)). The owner told me \u201cwe\u2019ve had no sickness, we\u2019ve had no issues\u201d when discussing how she buys puppies from breeders through Cook.<\/span><\/p>\n She told me she \u201con hundred percent guarantees\u201d her breeders aren’t puppy mills, that NJ laws prevent her from selling puppy mill dogs, and then offered to show me where her puppies come from but said “they don’t like me giving their name out.\u201d The picture was a video from Premier Puppies, the company\u2019s name mentioned numerous times in the video, and narrated by someone who stated the Premier Puppies is in Jonestown, Ohio. The video showed puppies playing in a grassy yard, and no pens or cages, or any adult dogs at all. She explained Premier Puppies by telling me, \u201cThis is who my guy works through,\u201d indicating Premier Puppies is a broker also no mentioned on the cage cards (56:8-95 Deceptive practice; minimum standards c. (6)).<\/span><\/p>\n The owner told me her breeders don\u2019t keep dogs in cages because \u201cthey can\u2019t\u201d to sell puppies to her, her breeders are required to have indoor\/outdoor runs and play time, they skip breeding cycles which she claimed is a USDA guideline, and claimed \u201cmaybe\u201d breeders retire dogs at five years of age. She originally told me breeders \u201cdefinitely\u201d do not have hundreds of dogs, and claimed NJ law required her breeders to have only five adults. However, she then called Ralph Cook on her phone and told him a customer needed clarification on some questions. She asked Cook if breeders can have hundreds of dogs, listened to him speak, and then told me that some breeders do have that many but they will have staff if they do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vicki looked at USDA inspection reports with me, and said that USDA inspectors will write up breeders if their grass is too long, and a single violation on an inspection report will prevent the store from buying from a breeder. She told me the appearance and size of her puppies reveal they are “quality dogs.\u201d She mentioned that if the store doesn\u2019t have a certain breed of puppy in the store that I want, she\u2019ll get it for me.<\/span><\/p>\n Vicki told me the kittens come from local NJ breeders.<\/span><\/p>\n Breeder info:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The following were obtained from cages cards in the store:<\/span><\/p>\n The following were obtained from USDA inspection reports in the store:<\/span><\/p>\n Evidence of false claims about breeders made by the store owner:<\/b><\/p>\n\n
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