CAPS IS AWESOME ........

CAPS Files Law Suit Against Barkworks. Pet Store Closes Under Pressure From Anti-Puppy Mill Group 

Following a protracted anti-puppy mill campaign by The Companion Animal Protection Society, the Barkworks pet store, situated in Los Angeles’ Westside Pavilion, will be closing. Despite the closing of the flagship store, CAPS filed a law suit against the California pet store chain for selling sick and dying dogs and for defrauding consumers.

CAPS conducted undercover investigations of Barkworks’ suppliers and found dogs suffering in substandard breeding operations called puppy mills. The commercial breeders selling puppies to Barkworks were found to be violating state animal protection laws as well as the federal Animal Welfare Act. Barkworks breeding dogs were found living in cages exposed to harsh weather conditions, were sick, injured, covered in excrement and acutely distressed. In addition, Barkworks’ breeders had multiple and repeat violations on their USDA inspection reports. The Barkworks chain of stores was also found to be defrauding consumers, telling them that the puppies were raised by “home breeders” or “small private breeders in the home.”

CAPS also obtained and analyzed several years of veterinary records that gleaned evidence that the puppies being sold at Barkworks were often sick and in some cases, died from congenital and infectious diseases.

Making animal rights history, CAPS conducted dozens of protests, some with over 150 activists, inside the malls where Barkworks’ stores are located, upholding a California Supreme Court decision stipulating it unconstitutional to bar the boycotting of a store on private property.

CAPS’ undercover investigations of Barkworks’ suppliers were included in its report to the Los Angeles City Council, leading the L.A. to be the 28th city in the U.S. to pass a ban on the sale of factory-bred dogs and cats in pet stores.

“Pop the champagne corks! The cries of dogs in puppy mills and in our shelters have been heard by the community. L.A. consumers want a cruelty-free pet and Barkworks ignored them. We are that much closer to a time when puppy mills fade into history and when every homeless shelter pet is adopted by a loving family.” ~Carole Raphaelle Davis, West coast Director, Companion Animal Protection Society

Media inquiries: Carole Raphaelle Davis 310-990-5758 hollywoodjinky@gmail.com