How To File A Compliant When Someone Sells You A Sick Dog .......

File Complaint

Post your experiences online anywhere you can. Alert the website or newspaper that you purchased from and request that they not allow them to advertise.

Law Enforcement

• The Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) ActPUPS Act requires that any breeder who sells more than 50 dogs each year to pet stores or online must meet federal standards.
• Report a breeder to your State’s Agricultural department for not being licensed (Missouri). You can look up breeder licensing information and inspections on this ASPCA website.
• You can see what legal power your state’s Human Society has here.
• File a complaint with the ASPCA, USDA, APHIS, Humane Society (Missouri), state’s Attorney General (Missouri), Animal Legal Defense Fund, Health Department (Missouri),
• The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) gives the victims of cyber crime a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of suspected criminal or civil violations.

Animal Advocacy

• File complaints or reports with Humane Society of the United States here or call 1-877-MILL-TIP.
• Share your story with the ASPCA here, report a pet shop here or call 1-866-601-SPCA.
• File a compliant with the Companion Animal Protection Society, a national nonprofit dedicated exclusively to protecting companion animals. CAPS’ foremost concern is the abuse and suffering of pet shop and puppy mill dogs.

Consumer Advocacy

• Complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau will be forwarded to the business within two business days. The business will be asked to respond within 14 days, and if a response is not received, a second request will be made. You will be notified of the business’s response when we receive it (or notified that we received no response). Complaints are usually closed within 30 business days.
• www.ripoffreport.com
• www.complaintsboard.com
• www.pissedconsumer.com

Humane Society’s Five Year Summary of Buyer Complaints, 2007 – 2011

Over a five‐year period (2007‐2011), the HSUS’s puppy mill campaign received 2,479 puppy buyer complaints. Unsatisfied buyers contact The HSUS for many reasons; some are seeking information about how to pursue their consumer complaint, others seek information about where their pet store puppy really came from, many want the seller investigated or potentially shut down, and others simply want to share their stories as a warning to others.

But the complaints received by The HSUS represent only a small fraction of all sick puppy complaints nationwide. Some buyers of sick puppies report their complaints directly to the seller, to local animal control, or to a consumer agency such as their local Better Business Bureau, instead of contacting a national group. Many others do not contact anyone at all. Therefore the 2,479 complaints received by The HSUS represent just a very small sample of all consumer problems with sick puppies.

Staff with The HSUS made an attempt to follow up with each complainant to check on each puppy’s well‐being and survival, and to offer advice on how to resolve each complaint. Some complainants, for example, were advised of their states’ puppy lemon laws or referred to local law enforcement or animal control agencies, if warranted. Some complaints were forwarded to The HSUS’s Animal Rescue Team or other departments for potential investigation.

Read the full report of common buyer complaints and stats here.