PETLAND - THE MYTH?

What Petland says vs. What Petland Does - are two completely different things. Let's compare the statements on their website with the actual facts.

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Isn't this appealing? Isn't this just what you want to hear? Of course it is and no shortage of marketing, advertising, psychology and other firms have been paid to come up with this verbage. Let's take this apart item by item.
"We at Petland make the health and well-being of our pets our #1 priority." Really? I think that those at Petland make the allmighty dollar their #1 priority. Certainly the health and well-being is second, third or maybe 5th on their list.

"And our puppies and kittens are the finest available -- happy and healthy family pets.". I beg to differ. Happy? Let's examine what happens to this happy, healthy puppy en his or her route to becoming your family pet. Happy, healthy puppy is born at a puppy mill to overstressed parents sometimes kept in rusty hog panelled areas surrounded by feces. Nice. Happy, healthy puppy is started on a routine of wormers and antibiotics almost immediately.


As you can see from the record provided with your puppy, your puppy has been on drugs almost since birth. Let's run down the list of what happy healthy puppy has been on. Happy, healthy puppy whelped 02/23/07 was started on drugs 11 days after birth starting with Strongid T. Strongid T is a wormer. Now I can see that maybe mom, kept in an outdoor, raised facility surrounded by feces and rusted hog panels might contract parasites that might pass to her puppy. But 11 days? Happy, healthy puppy was then given Panacur 25 days after birth. Panacur - another wormer. I have horses and on my veterinarian's recommendation, I rotate wormers every 90 days. But 14 days after the Strongid T, puppy was getting Panacur. 29 days after birth, puppy is getting Neopar and SMZ TMP for 9 days! Neopar - "DOSAGE: Aseptically inject 1ml subcutaneously or intramuscularly into healthy dogs. Administer the initial dose at or about 42 days of age. Because there is potential for maternal antibody to interfere with the immune response to the original vaccination, revaccinate every 14 to 21 days until the dog is 18 weeks of age. Dogs over 18 weeks should receive a single dose (1ml). Revaccinate annually with one dose." Adminiser initial dose at or about 42 days of age. Seems like good advice. That's from the manufacturer. So was puppy 42 days of age when first given Neopar? No, he was 29 days old. How about that SMZ TMP for 9 days? What's that? That's antibiotics. "Septra - Bactrim - Cotrim: the very many faces of sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim This page is from a collection of materials indexed at this website arising from an investigation and campaign by Brian Deer in The Sunday Times of London over serious risks and side-effects from this antibiotic, marketed under many names, including Bactrim, Bactrim DS, Septra, Septra DS, Septrin, Sulfatrim, SMZ/TMP, Septran and co-trimoxazole. Go to side-effects homepage
So happy, healthy puppy has gotten 2 types of wormers, an anti-parvovirus medication considerably earlier than recommended by the manufacturer, and a 9 day course of a highly controversial antibiotic.

Now we see Bortadella at 36 days (5 weeks). The correct time for Bortadella to be administered to a puppy is beginning 10-12 weeks. Some recommend even 8-10 weeks. 5 weeks is too early.

On to DA2PPV. Regular puppy shots. Finally, something positive.

Uh oh, there it is again. Strongid T just 30 days from the first Strongid T application. Why?

Huh? SMZ-TMP for another 9 day course? Do Happy, Healthy puppies need this controversial antibiotic when they're not sick? I couldn't find anything that recommends 2 9 day courses of this harsh antibiotic for young puppies who aren't sick. I could be wrong, but doesn't Happy, Healthy kind of imply the puppy isn't sick?

Another DA2PPV vaccine. Great! But we didn't trust this so we had the puppy revaccinated by our vet. We trust him.

Oh come on! Panacur for 3 days? THREE DAYS?? How wormy is this happy, healthy puppy anyway? And just a month after the last Panacur? No wonder this dog is skinny.

There's Neopar again. At least this time he's over 42 days of age but uh.. I read that Neopar had to be re-injected every 14 to 21 days until the dog is 18 weeks. So 03/23 and then 04/24 - that's over 21 days. Ooops.

Ooh something new! Flagyl! This coincides with the date that Petland took the puppy in. Petland's Happy, healthy puppy is getting Flagyl? Well, again, according to the manufacturer Metronidazole is an antibiotic especially effective against anaerobic infections (infections that grow without the presence of oxygen.) In addition, it has anti-inflammatory properties in the large intestine and is a very effective anti-diarrhea medication. It is an effective antibiotic against certain protozoal infections, especially GIARDIA.

A common use of this medication would be the treatment of colitis, which may or may not be caused by inflammatory bowel disease.. Remember I said I'd get to the sensitive stomach puppy food they sent home with us? Side effects of Flagyl include "Not eating, Vomiting, Staggering or difficulty walking, Involuntary and constant eye movements (nystagmus), Lethargy and Seizures". So why did Petland institute a course of Treatment of Flagyl?

But the fun doesn't stop there, on 04/25/07 Puppy gets Albon - Sulfadimethoxine (AlbonŽ)Sulfadimethoxine is an antibiotic and also used to treat coccidial infections in many species. Consult your veterinarian if your pet experiences discharge from the eye, redness of the eye, other symptoms related to the eye, pale gums, bleeding tendencies, vomiting, diarrhea, joint pain, increased thirst, or skin rashes while being treated with sulfadimethoxine. The pet should be encouraged to drink a lot of water while being treated with sulfadimethoxine to prevent crystals from forming in the urine. Use all of the medication prescribed, or the infection is likely to recur or become worse.. Wow, quite the toxic cocktail for such a young yet happy, healthy dog.

04/25/07 there's Panacur again. Just Seven(7) days from the last 3 day course. Good God!

Oh wait, here's a shocker! Happy, healthy puppy got Bronchicine - Bronchicine CAe, 10 dose vial Bronchicine CAe Biocor Bacterin Bordetella Bronchiseptica Bacterin, Cellular Antigen Extract Contents: Bronchicine CAe is a nonadjuvanted antigenic extract prepared from the cells of Bordetella bronchiseptica. This product contains thimerosal (merthiolate) as a preservative. Indications: Recommended for use as an aid in the control of Canine Infectious Tracheobronchitis (Kennel Cough) caused by the organism represented.. Hey wait a minute! I read the response PetLand sent to the knowledgeable Patrick Devastey! They said the puppy just got an upper respiratory thing from being introduced to a new environment. Are they psychic or something? They're giving my puppy Bronchicine 9 days before I even bought him! And this list only covers what the puppy got before PetLand started keeping records. According to those Petland Records, Petland kept right along with Albon/Flagyl, Panacur, Safeguard (another wormer) and some magic mushroom stuff which is probably the garbage they sent home in syringes.

So could somebody tell me why oh why a healthy dog is being given so many antibiotics, wormers and other medications? Don't you treat sick animals and not happy, healthy ones?



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