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(Continued from here. The previous Paws R Us post was getting too long. November 24 court decision against Paws R Us posted here.)

Latest update, October 12.

If you want to help the Paws R Us dogs, Humane Society International has set up a website here.

September 21, 12:00 p.m.

Google translated from TVA Nouvelles:

"The family meant well," said the lawyer.

"Barf", said I.


September 21, 8:51 p.m.


Meanwhile, CTV reports that it's costing $6000/day to look after the rescued dogs and that one hundred fifty of the dogs require round the clock care. CTV also reports that the maximum penalty for animal abuse of this nature in Quebec is a fine of $1200 for a first violation and $3600 for a repeat violation. Jail time is not a possibility.

$1200. That's the penalty they face after all this. The Labombards should be able to recover this cost of doing business in about ten minutes once all the hubbub has died down and they restock. Let's hope the new animal welfare laws coming down the pipe in Quebec kick in soon otherwise we might as well be placing bets in an online pool about when these puppy pushers will be putting up for sale ads in Kijiji again.

September 22, 9:00 p.m.

Some photos of dogs with ailments from the HSI Facebook page:

Eye infection

Filthy

Unsocialized and frightened

Mange

Mange

Skin inflammation

Severe matting

Today Jamieson and Pet Valu both announced they made significant donations to the rescue effort, Jamieson with dog beds and treats and Pet Valu with a $20,000 donation. Giving is the best way to advertise.

September 22, 9:00 p.m.

(Thanks to a heads up from a commenter) Ninety puppies have been born so far from the rescued Paws R Us dogs.

"We have a lot of puppies here and a lot more puppies coming," said Rebecca Aldworth, the executive director of Humane Society International Canada.

So that's 90 added to the 527 makes 617 dogs so far from Paws R Us.

October 12, 8:00 p.m.

From Canadian Veterinary Medical Association:

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) is aware of media reports of the alleged unethical and abusive activities of a commercial dog breeding operation near Shawville, Quebec. The CVMA encourages the animal protection authorities in Quebec to conduct a thorough investigation into this facility and the alleged incidents.

The CVMA has concerns with commercial breeding facilities that meet the National Companion Animal Coalition (NCAC) definition of a ‘puppy mill’. A puppy mill is defined as a high-volume, substandard dog breeding operation, which sells purebred or mixed-breed dogs to unsuspecting buyers. Some of the characteristics common to puppy mills are:

· Sub-standard health and/or environmental issues;
· Sub-standard animal care, treatment and/or socialization;
· Sub-standard breeding practices which lead to genetic defects or hereditary disorders;
· Erroneous or falsified certificates of registration, pedigrees and/or genetic background.


More here.



14 Comments to “Paws R Us updates continued”

  1. deva says:

    Not the best translation of that article. What the family seems to be saying is that the "business" grew so fast they lost control. Kind of like ordering too large an inventory of lamps... only dogs aren't lamps. I sincerely hope they will not be able to plead incompetence, when clearly the key elements here are greed and indifference.

    Based on the fact that dogs aren't lamps, I would like to add that as an owner I make sure I have adequate funds in the bank for veterinary emergencies. And that regardless of where you get your dog, job number one is to get a vet check to ensure the good health of your pet.

  2. Biscuit says:

    You know, another thing I think I'll do is contact Toys'R'Us's (that's a lot of apostrophes) corporate legal group. TRU are pretty aggressive about protecting their brand, and have a whole team dedicated to finding companies using "'r'us" in their name and issuing C&Ds against them. I'm sure they'd love to know their name is associated with a puppy mill.

  3. Patricia says:

    Greed...This is simply about greed. It is no different than the bank robber, the hit man or any other person that feels they can get money while others suffer/die . The dogs suffered and so did most families that ended up with one of these poor animals(I did) . Do we let all of those people off the hook because they meant well--- they just got carried away thinking about all the money and they weren't all that knowledgeable about what they were doing .
    Make the Lombombards pay every cent you can find of theirs toward the rehab of these dogs and for gosh sakes never let them own an animal again---- as they say leopards do not change their spots.

  4. Flossy says:

    That is just so much bulls... by their lawyer...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. They are grown adults and they didn't know animals were suffering. I am not a vindictive person but I hope they now suffer with no more $$$$$$$$$$$$'s being made off the backs of these poor animals.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Finally, their out of business,thats all these fur babies are to them,a money making business. I've seen dogs from this place and the owners told me they spent lots of money at vets to get them healthy. I hope the laws are changed drastictly busting more puppy mills in Quebec, disallowing the sale of dogs and cats in pet shops and a law stating that if you own cat/dog they must be spayed/neutured to prevent the over population of unwanted pets and animals that are discarded in garbage bins and on side of roads to fend for themselves. There are lots of dogs in rescue groups, spca's who are looking for loving homes. Don't shop, please adopt and save an life. Rescue works if u give the pup a 2nd chance. God bless the rescuers and their resolve to help these voiceless victims of greed.

  6. Anonymous says:

    How can anyone "care" for 525 dogs?
    How, in this day and age, can we allow "commercial breeding facilities" to exist? I blame the Province in this case as this place was visited 5 different times in a 2 year period by the SPCA (2006 I think) and nothing was done then...WHY NOT. They have been doing this for 16 years? SICKENING, just sickening

  7. Anonymous says:

    Where was government? .... the vets must have been paid handsomely.... A lot of people closed their eyes.
    I think there must have been a little hand-greasing here. It is just too unbelievable that smart people didn't know that ...something was very wrong here.

  8. Anonymous says:

    My husband and I, in late August, got a lovely female yellow lab puppy(4 months old) from this breeder- She is lively, healthy and has a beautiful temperment. Just wanted to say that our impression was that the lady was very caring and seemed as she had concern for the welfare of our puppy. She gave us her vaccination records, food to transition with and deworming medicine for us to dispense. All in all she appeared to be a caring woman interested in the welfare of her animals.

  9. Anonymous says:

    well you guys don't have the courage to post my comment- one sided I would say. Sorry if I had a good experience with this kennel- you guys only want bashing done-

  10. Fred says:

    Anon at 6:52 and 7:21 a.m. this is a moderated blog which means that all the comments have to get approved before they are posted up. That means sometimes you have to wait before your comment appears especially if you're posting at 6:52 a.m. when I'm still asleep.

    Also, I'm glad you had a good experience with Paws R Us. I'm sure your dog is lovely but that is not the point of shutting down puppy factories. Of course they are able to sometimes produce decent quality dogs, maybe even the majority of their dogs are okay but the cost of producing those dogs is that a multitude of others have to suffer their whole lives. So sure, you've got a great pup but that pup's mother, father and the remaining siblings which aren't sold live their lives in cages deprived of mostly everything which makes a life worth living. If they were lucky, they just recently got rescued in the seizure but more likely your pup's parents lived and died in their cages where they got the bare minimum in water and food and occasionally had their filth shoveled out - which was likely the extent of the human contact they got (five full time employees and another handful of part timers with over five hundred dogs to look after and a business to run - you do the math). You wouldn't do that to your own dog so I hope you would agree it's not okay for someone else to do that hundreds of times over with their dogs.

  11. Anonymous says:

    I can see how a person could be fooled... I bet you didn't go in the barn. We also got a dog (total disaster)
    but Nicole did seem like she was knowledgeable about dogs and what I should and shouldn't do when I got him home. Of course we met her somewhere to pick this dog up ( at the time she was posing as someone just fostering for a breeder) We call her the WOLF in sheep's clothing.
    It really tells you something when they start ...sneaking around passing themselves off as foster parents.. when they are the owner or the puppy mill.

  12. Anonymous says:

    Sorry a bit long winded & I have put my money where my mouth is by collecting money, supplies, buying tons of supplies myself & volunteering, but this is my rant.... I bought my Boxer from a girl who had originally purchased him from Paws R Us. The Vet report on their first visit states his back legs were chewed, he was under weight & under developed. When I bought him he had a watery stool, funky back legs, misaligned jaw (poor breeding)& a big growth in his mouth. He's also a big fan of eating his own poop, I know a lot of dogs do this but kennel dogs are more likely to develop this habit from always having poop where they live, eat & sleep.
    After a little over a year & 1/2 I still have to supervise the bathroom breaks & he does still poop on the patio stones he seems to be well adjusted & is finally totally house broken. I know dogs live in the moment but he did carry his issues into his new life. I hope everyone who adopts the dogs that were rescued have the patience, love & most of all the knowledge that it takes to bring one of these little souls into their family. Kylie is the sweetest dog I've ever had...it's been a long road but I'm happy I've never given up.
    As for the Danielle Labombard I hope she gets what she deserves for what she did to all these innocent animals in the name of greed. When I see her crying about her lively hood I want to literally throw up not to mention put her into the same physical situation she put her dogs in. People who prey on the helpless like animals & children are all cut from the same cloth & I truly loathe them. How could someone be so horribly cruel? The lawyer sounds like he has the same level of education as the Labombard crew.

  13. patricia says:

    reading all of these comments... I really am betting on the fact that there is more kindness in this world than cruelty. Maybe there should be a compulsarary kindness class taught from JK through university... it is apparent that a lot of children are not learning this at home.

  14. Pamela says:

    Danielle Labombard/Paws R Us is posting ads again for dogs and pigs for sale. There was one on kijiji earlier but it has been removed. Here's one: http://www.ads007.com/detail/219488.html

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A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.
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