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West Hollywood Pet Store “Elite Animals” Caught on Video
Selling Puppy Mill Dogs
Companion Animal Protection Society’s Investigation Reveals the Sale of Puppy Mill Dogs to Innocent Victims Including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
(Los Angeles, CA) – An undercover investigation by the Companion Animal Protection Society (www.caps-web.org) has revealed that Elite Animals of West Hollywood sells dogs from puppy mills in the Midwest and is defrauding customers, lying about the conditions where the dogs are from. The city of West Hollywood, California passed a resolution against the sale of puppy mill dogs last year. Elite Animals has ignored efforts by the City of West Hollywood to come in for a meeting to discuss the evidence in an open forum with representatives from several national animal welfare organizations.
The evidence from the undercover investigation of the mill that supplies Elite Animals revealed dogs living in deplorable conditions. The dog enclosures were overcrowded and filthy. The dogs were sick, injured and crammed into rusty cages that are full of feces and urine. In the undercover investigation of Elite animals, a clerk lied to CAPS investigators posing as customers that the dogs were "raised in a house." The same clerk admitted selling a Pomeranian from the same breeder to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Governor Schwarzenegger was a victim of fraud if he believed his dog was from a reputable breeder. Elite Animals also told undercover investigators they could buy puppies imported from Russia. The clerk claimed his wife owned the shop and that he could import "whatever you want." It is illegal and dangerous to import dogs under the age of six months. Elite Animals was in violation of the law by not posting the breeder information in clear view outside the animal enclosures in the store. Please click here to view the video of the undecover investigation.
"Elite Animals is using our Governor’s good name to sell puppy mill puppies. Governor Schwarzenegger was a victim, like so many consumers who buy pets in pet stores thinking the pet is from a reputable breeder. No reputable breeder ships dogs to pet shops or sells on the Internet. The evidence from the breeder who supplies Elite Animals is some of the worst I've seen. There is only one way to describe the evidence: Silence of the Lambs. The dogs are in anguish, living out their wretched lives crammed into cages without any mercy. If our own Governor can be lied to this way, any innocent consumer can be lied to and this has to stop. During this historic economic crisis, we ask that people relieve our overburdened municipal shelters instead of buying animals in pet shops. Elite Animals is not unique in this regard. Pet shops are all puppy mill fronts and the pets sold in them are from pet factories. The progressive City of West Hollywood has been extremely supportive of animal welfare issues and will be putting an ordinance banning the sale of puppy mill dogs on the agenda." - Carole Raphaelle Davis, West Coast Director of The Companion Animal Protection Society, author of "The Diary of Jinky, Dog of a Hollywood Wife” and investigative reporter for American Dog Magazine.
"Living with a puppy mill survivor, I'm well aware that these pet stores support an industry that is nothing short of legalized torture. 'Baby' was used like a breeding machine at one of these houses of horror, never allowed out of a small cage for 8 years, and had her vocal cords cut so the puppy mill owner wouldn't have to hear her cries. She's just one of countless dogs living in torture at this very moment. Elite Animals, like all puppy mill fronts, is to blame for these atrocities against man's best friend." - Dr. Jana Kohl, guardian of Baby, a puppy mill survivor and author of “A Rare Breed of Love.”
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