Dirty Dogs: Is Your Best Friend From A Puppy Mill?

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

David Goldstein
Reporting

(CBS) LOS ANGELES "What do you think of Kate?”

“I think she's the best dog ever."

Nine-year-old Janelle Dinsmore loves her golden retriever Kate.

"Your mom said you wanted a dog for a long time. Why?"

“Because they're so fun and entertaining and I get so lonely sometimes," Janelle said.

The Dinsmores shopped around for the right dog -- and were told Kate came from a reputable breeder in California.

Until the police told them the real story -- the dog was from Mexico.

"At that point I was really enraged, angry and sickened that I had basically been duped."

And she's not alone.

"He used to be our dog. He used to be your dog?"

Four-year-old Ava Bogart and her 7-year-old sister Adalia fell in love with their golden retriever puppy Goldie who came from the same litter.

"They loved the golden retriever. They wanted to get it and we finally decided to get it."

But Goldie -- who was also from Mexico -- got sick as soon as they got her home. They ended up returning the dog to the pet store after she was diagnosed with parasites and dehydrated.

"The vet told my wife that if we wouldn't have taken the dog to the vet it would have been dead in 24 hours."

These dogs weren't purchased from backyard breeders or fly by night puppy peddlers. Each was for sale for $2,000. One was purchased here at trendy Fashion Island in Newport Beach, the other at the Irvine Spectrum.

Both were bought at branches of Russo’s Pet Store, where salespeople said the dogs were from California -- and even provided documentation. But the owners later discovered they were smuggled from Mexico.

"When you go to Fashion Island you don't expect to buy a $5 dollar dog off a truck that just came back from Mexico."

Becky Dinsmore is noticeably upset. That's because her puppy is facing two hip surgeries to fix genetic problems she believes stems from the dogs’ breeding in Mexico.

At the San Diego border -- federal agents see puppies being imported illegally from Mexico all the time.

In a task force in December -- vehicle searches turned up hundreds of puppies under 3 months old. They were found hidden in a make-up bag and under blankets. And they have hidden dangers.

"Most of these puppies are too young, they have underlying diseases that we can't detect during a five-minute inspection."

But at Russo’s pet store -- the owner, Dan DiGiacomo claims the dogs came from a reputable breeder. And DiGiacomo says the breeder told him the dogs came from California. They didn't and now he says he won't buy from him again.

"I took him at his word. I'm sorry I didn't check up on it. Obviously that was my mistake. But his dogs are quality. It's not like they aren't quality dogs," DiGiacomo said.

But tell that to the Bogart family who had to buy another dog to replace Goldie.

And to the Dinsmore’s. Their dog Kate is facing two serious surgeries -- and many months of recovery they never expected.

"Our last dog we had for 18 years and we waited on purpose to get the right dog. But we certainly should not be going through this.”

[Novel]

If you think about it.. it only makes sense. As we rail against puppy mills in this country, stiffen penalties and crack down on these horrid breeders, people that are out after the almighty buck will just ship them in from over the border....

Sickening!

[Ritz459]

I agree, Novel. And what is worse is that all of this could have been avoided if people were just smart and did their research, because then they would have known not to buy from a petstore for this very reason. But nope, they saw a dog and they bought it without a second thought.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

That seems to be one of the biggest problems and what makes pet stores so popular....impulse buyers.

[bigdoglover]

Pet Stores....enough said.

[Novel]

Exactly BDL!
I've said it before, but why do people seem to undergo lobotomies when they see a cute puppy. They walk in knowing they're just looking, not wanting to buy a puppy, and 15 minutes later they walk out with an animal that will need every need met by you for the next 15+ years!!! They forget all the questions, all the research, all the matching the breed to the owner! UGH!
And it's only going to get worse as each suceeding generation is filled with the idea that on demand is their right. On demand TV viewing, Drive thru restaurants, taxes done in 5 minutes, photos developed in an hour...and on and on. When did hard work and dedication go by the wayside??

[chocolatecoffee]

And what is worse is that all of this could have been avoided if people were just smart and did their research

I completely agree!

"Our last dog we had for 18 years and we waited on purpose to get the right dog.”

If they had done a little bit of research while they waited, this wouldn't be happening. If they had spent five minutes and googled, "Buying a puppy", they would have had a ton of information. All of the links that come up are very educational on how to responsibly acquire a pet.

But we certainly should not be going through this.

Oh, they must be heartbroken, I can't imagine the pain. It's too bad that the poor dogs who spend their entire lives in puppy mills can't talk to a reporter and talk about how they shouldn't be living a life of abuse and neglect. It's too bad that they're going to spend their entire life producing puppies for people who can't do their research.

The thing that drives me crazy is when people refer to the dog they bought at a pet store as a "rescue dog." "Yep, she's a puppy mill dog, I RESCUED her." They don't seem to understand that by purchasing that puppy, they're putting money in the hands of the the puppy millers and just making room for another sick puppy to come in. Even people who know about puppy mills buy dogs from pet stores, and, as was mentioned, it's just impulse buying. Then they go around talking about how they rescued their dog from a horrible life.

I guess I'm being a bit insensitive, but I think it's obvious enough that you do research before making any purchase or commitment. With so many scams going around now, what can you expect? It's people who think that just because the dog was expensive, it's good quality. It's people like that who contribute to all those dogs living in cages, being bred until they're not "useful" enough and they're dumped.

At least there's some media coverage...

[Jenny]

I wouldn't be outraged, I would be embarassed that I didn't bother doing any research.

[bigdoglover]

That's true Jenny....I'm glad this type of thing is getting coverage, but I sure would be embarrassed.

Novel, hard work went away when technology became so advanced. We think we "need" all of this stuff. I always ask people who say "I NEED an iPod," or "I NEED [insert thingy here]" if you need it so bad, explain to me how the Pioneers got along without it? How on earth do the Amish survive? I get plenty of dirty looks. Granted, I have the cell phone, the computer, the car, etc.....but if forced to make do without, I think I could do it. I keep telling Greg I'm gonna put in to be on Survivor....LOL

[Novel]

Survivor... going to the dogs... we can have all dog affecianados!

I'm glad this is getting coverage too, and I hope its changing a few minds. It seems like, if the media says it, it's probably true (which is what kills me about them popularizing the designer dogs) but... if Great Uncle Joe said it, you can't hammer anything else into their minds. Joe said to get a dog off the side of the road, Joe said to hit it when it peed on the floor... etc, etc. The world is changing, dogs are changing. What my mom had as practices twenty years ago are not as acceptable in todays dog fanciers world. More and more there is a push that dogs are not a product. In the 60's it was considered humane and acceptable to "cull" any puppies that were not what you wanted. Can you imagine that today?

I think the shift is to more and more BYB's and less puppy millers with the same number of reputable breeders. It's taken this long to convince the public of the danger of millers... but now the public can't seem to identify reputable vs. unethical. UGH