BY MEGHAN V. MALLOY

Staff Writer

The Humane Society of the United States said Thursday that its eight-month investigation revealed extensive brokering between puppy mills and Petland, an international chain pet store.

Michael Markarian, executive vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, said officials discovered more than 100 inspection reports linking 21 Petland stores in the U.S. to 35 puppy mills with multiple violations and citations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"What we have found, over and over again, is Petland assured customers they buy from the best breeders, but they're buying from mills where dogs are treated like cash crops," Markarian said.

Humane Society officials did not visit all 140 stores in the U.S., but "every store we went to, we found problems," Markarian said. "Lightning doesn't strike twice and it shouldn't strike 21 times."

Markarian said every store was at least contacted.

There are 200 Petland stores in the world and 140 in the U.S., Markarian said. The majority of the stores were in the Midwest and southern states, including Ohio, which is where Petland has its headquarters. "We are a nation of dog lovers," Markarian said. "People will not stand for cruelty against dogs."

In a statement on their corporate Web site, Petland called the report "sensationalism at its best," adding the Humane Society of the United States often releases such investigation results around the holidays to coincide with their fundraising efforts.

"Unfortunately, we were not interviewed or consulted, nor were we a part of any of the editing process," the statement said. "HSUS has a history of publicizing false information in an effort to raise money."

Markarian countered Petland's statement, saying it was unfounded.

There is one Petland store in Maine, located in Topsham.

Ron Littlefield, the owner, said he has heard of puppy mill troubles in certain Petland stores across the country and does everything in his power to make sure his own store uses safe practices when it comes to buying canines.

"I'm not aware of any breeder I've associated with as being a puppy mill, and if I found out one was, I'd be very upset," Littlefield, who has owned the Topsham pet store for six years.

Littlefield works with a distributor, Kansas-based Lambriar Inc., which in turn works with the breeders producing the puppies to be sold.

Lambriar associates with USDA-certified breeders. If a breeder or broker is found to be running a mill or has a complaint filed against it, Lambriar places the name on a "no-buy" list and will not conduct business with them, Littlefield said. Lambriar also does annual, unannounced inspections of associated breeders. "They go to an extreme," Littlefield said of Lambriar's standards. "Breeders who work with them are held accountable to a higher degree than most."

Which Littlefield welcomes.

"I completely agree, there are mills out there," he said. "And when you have a policy in place and use a distributor that requires the breeders to go above and beyond, it cuts down on the likelihood of getting dogs from puppy mills."

Once the pups reach Littlefield's Petland, he brings in a local veterinarian to inspect each dog for health problems or abnormalities that Lambriar's inspectors may have missed.

"I'm happy to say I have never had a problem with puppy-mill puppies," Littlefield said, though he has had a few dogs with hereditary problems. Littlefield said less than two percent of the dogs in his stores over the past six years had hereditary problems.

Littlefield owns the franchise rights to Petland in the state of Maine. As such, he is allowed to do business with any distributor he chooses, and any other Petlands opened in the state have to be run according to his specifications.

Other pet stores in the Augusta area, including PetSmart, have a policy to not sell canines on their premises. Instead, they often work with area humane shelters -- in this case, the Kennebec Valley Humane Shelter -- to foster dog adoptions.

The Humane Society defines a "puppy mill" by the physical conditions of the facility. Red flags that lead officials to believe a breeding facility is a mill include dogs kept in cages, unsanitary conditions and the physical appearance of the dog.

Markarian said the U.S. Department of Agriculture also needs to be more aggressive in going after illegal breeders.

"They need more resources, more funding for enforcement," Markarian said. "But they also need to take aggressive action, certainly. And not just a slap on the wrist."

Littlefield said he was not surprised to hear about the investigation conducted by the Humane Society, though it still caused disappointment.

"It's not fair," he said. "There are some bad stores out there, and it makes people say all Petlands are bad."

Littlefield said all pet store owners, whether they are a franchise or corporate-owned, are responsible for how they choose to conduct business in their own stores. "This is a tough business," he said. "You have to pay attention."

Meghan V. Malloy -- 623-3811 Ext. 431

mmalloy@centralmaine.com