Just Puppies Inc

Reviews 3

JE

Jennifer Belsinger

I purchased a female King Charles Cavalier spaniel, Jewel, from Just Puppies in Towson in 2009. She started limping when she was still a young puppy. I took her to my vet and they diagnosed her with a luxating patella ,or "floating kneecap" where her knee cap does not stay in place.It is common in Cavaliers that are not purchased from reputable breeders. Interestingly, Just Puppies vet supposedly checks over all of the puppies and should have noticed and disclosed that Jewel had a luxating patella in both legs. My vet prescribed steroids and other medications to manage it. However, over time, it got worse and worse to the point where it really impacted Jewels quality of life. The constant grinding of the knee cap against the joint caused arthritis to build up. Jewel would yelp and not want to walk very far. Her legs became very stiff and she had this sad look in her eyes because she wanted so badly to run, play and keep up with my other Cavalier (that I bought from a reputable breeder). Jewel is 5 now and had to have surgery on both knees this year. The total cost just this year alone in vet bills for her has exceeded $6,000. The surgery was not optional. There was no way that I could stand to see her quality of life continue to worsen. The orthopedic vet that performed the surgery said that she had a Grade IV luxated patella and it would eventually have gotten to the point where it would be excrutiatingly painful and she wouldnt have much use of her legs. Thank you Dr. Goldstein at Beltway Surgery in Glenn Dale Maryland for the outstanding care that you provided and for your ongoing support to CavalierRescueUSA. I tried contacting Just Puppies several times recently to share my experience and let them know that Cavaliers are at risk for certain health problems including mitral valve disease, syringomyelia, hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, eye problems and much more. It is extremely important to check the health of the parent dogs to ensure that dogs with these issues are not being bred. I explained my experience to the manager. She took my name and number and said that the owner, Mitch, would call me back. Its been over a month and I am still waiting. Ive come to realize that they just dont care about the health of the puppies they are selling. I highly suspect that they purchase their puppies from puppy mills. PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE A PUPPY FROM A PET STORE. You may think that you are helping the puppy but in reality, you are supporting the puppy mill industry. Research puppy mills and the you will learn about the awful conditions of the dogs. They are STARVED, COVERED WITH FECES, NEVER LET OUT OF CAGES, AND SO SEVERELY ABUSED AND NEGLECTED THAT MANY OF THEM DONT MAKE IT OUT ALIVE. There are plenty of other places to get a dog. Many are turned over to rescues or are in animal shelters waiting to be adopted. There are plenty of reputable breeders out there if you are set on a puppy of a particular breed. Read the book "Saving Gracie: How One Dog Escaped the Shadowy World of American Puppy Mills". You wont ever want to walk into a pet store that sells dogs after reading this book.

A

A Private User

I dont care what ANYONE says JUST PUPPIES GETS THEIR DOGS FROM PUPPY MILLS!! By supporting them, you are supporting the entire puppy mill industry. I bought my dog from here 4 years ago (she is the love of my life and I wouldnt trade her for anything in the world) and regardless of her health problems ( she came with giardia, a bacteria that took over 3 months to get rid of because it is also spread through feces....which is contracted from dirty water and she has hip dysplasia which she was diagnosed with before she was even 1.) I googled the "breeder" she came from and found as public record all the USDA reports and VIOLATIONS he had against him. The conditions were deplorable and when I called just puppies about it, they said they were aware and that he had "cleaned up his act". Regardless, they were still buying puppies from him when his act wasnt so clean. 99% of dogs sold at pet stores come from puppy mills. Look it up! RESPONSIBLE BREEDERS DO NOT SELL THEIR DOGS TO PET STORES! They want to make sure their dogs are going to good homes. Puppy mills and commercial breeders dont care...all they care about is making money! If you simply google puppy mills you will see exactly where just puppies gets their dogs from. I am in the veterinary industry and was NOT when I bought here. I simply didnt know better. There are 1000s of rescue groups in the area for specific breeds, shelters, and adoptions. BOTTOM LINE IS.....IF YOU ARE BUYING A DOG FROM JUST PUPPIES REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY SAY, YOU ARE SUPPORTING AN INDUSTRY THAT MASS BREEDS DOGS, ENGAGES IN ANIMAL CRUELTY BY KEEPING DOGS OUTSIDE IN CRAMPED CAGES WITH MANY OTHER DOGS THROUGH THE HEAT OF SUMMER AND THE SNOW IN WINTER, DOESNT PROVIDE ADEQUATE PUPPY CARE, WATER, OR FOOD, AND WHEN THE OLDER FEMALES CANT HAVE PUPPIES ANYMORE, THE MIL OWNERS SIMPLY SHOOT THEM OR DISPOSE OF THEM. MANY OF THE OLDER MILL DOGS HAVE NEVER EVEN BEEN OUT OF THEIR CAGES. PLEASE, do not buy from these people. My girlfriend also bought her dog from just puppies around the same time I did and wouldnt you know it, her "breeder" turned out to be a puppy mill with massive violations from the USDA as well......

A

A Private User

The Maryland Leg. is considering a bill (S.B. 505) right now, which would prohibit the sale of puppies at pet stores. I urge to contact your local rep. and heres why: I purchased my Shiba Inu from Just Puppies on Feb. 16, 2005. I wasnt as informed about puppy mills at the time and how these pet stores are supplied. If I ever decide to get another dog, I will adopt. My puppy almost certainly came from a puppy mill. When I took him to THEIR vet (Dr. Ernest Slovon), the one that had signed off on my dogs bill of health for sale, he diagnosed my puppy with Grade II Patellar Luxation and apologized for missing the diagnosis twice before. I then took my puppy to MY vet for a second opinion. They confirmed the Patellar Luxation and also found via x-rays that he had sustained extreme trauma over the first 8 weeks of his life. He had had broken bones at some point, which no one at the breeder (puppy mill) or pet store had noticed or bothered to treat so they had healed improperly. It had been obvious to me the second I saw him in the store that something wasnt right because he was so bow-legged. But no one else had noticed or cared to that point. I presented my case to Just Puppies, who could not have been ruder and more unwilling to accept any sort of responsibility, and they refunded me the purchase price of my dog, although not the hundreds of dollars in vet bills. Their reply letter stated, "...any claims made involving this store, or the breeders care of the dog will be ignored, and have no bearing upon you refund. Thank you for your patience, and I hope Charles is doing well." I almost threw up from the hypocrisy of the last line. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE WELFARE OF THE ANIMALS THEY SELL. Charles turned 5 in December and is doing well, although he is still very bow-legged and will probably experience arthritis and pain more and more as he gets older. Im thankful that he has given me a story to tell in order to warn others of the dangers of pet stores and puppy mills. Adopt!