Mark and Eglaeh Blasko, former Petland franchisees, are suing the corporation, stating that Petland forced them to sell sick dogs from the Hunte Corporation’s puppy mills. An excerpt from the story, which was issued in the Animal Law Coalition site:
According to the Complaint, more than one half of the first 60-65 puppies delivered to Blasko were ill with such conditions as parvo, pneumonia, upper respiratory infection and ringworm. Blasko spent thousands in veterinary care to treat the poor dogs.
Blasko says Hunte continued to send sick dogs to for sale in Blasko’s store. He said that, at first, neither Petland nor Hunte responded to his complaints. Then, according to the Complaint, Hunte agreed to retrieve the sick puppies but said the veterinary bills were too high and would only reimburse a fraction of these costs. This after Blasko’s veterinarian had given him a 50-75% discount.
Blasko also found himself paying the veterinary bills of customers who had to provide treatment for sick dogs purchased at his store.
We wonder how many of these suits will start to appear. With all of the media attention currently on Petland and its alleged association with puppy mills, it’s possible that more consumers will start to file complaints about their local Petland stores; subsequently leading to franchisees suing the corporation for their business practices.
