After months of protests led by Last Chance for Animals and Best Friends, the notorious Los Angeles pet store Posh Puppy has stopped selling animals at one of its two locations.
An employee at the boutique’s Beverly Hills store – where the protests have been centered – said May 14 they no longer sell puppies there, but that its sister store in the Tarzana area of Los Angeles still does.
Meanwhile, there are rumors that Posh Puppy’s owners were in discussions that could lead to them no longer selling dogs at either location. Those rumors could not be confirmed at this time.
Activists have said they didn’t necessarily want the store to close, but to simply stop selling animals. The shop also features pet apparel and accessories.
Posh Puppy sells miniature dogs commonly called "teacup" breeds. These tiny pups are supplied in large part by puppy mills -- factory farms to the pet trade industry that churn out litter after litter of dogs in order to maximize profits. Because they're often inbred from already-small breeds like poodles and Chihuahuas, these ultra-tiny offspring are plagued with health problems.
Seen on TV shows and magazine covers with public figures like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, "teacups" are sometimes -- and sadly -- treated as fashion accessories, and sell for thousands of dollars.
Activists held their first protest outside the Beverly Hills store on December 22 and have returned each Saturday – often joined by celebrities and local supporters – to stage peaceful “pro-adoption/anti-puppy mill rally” at the busy intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Roxbury Drive.
“We chose Posh Puppy for its location and visibility... we chose December 22 because it was the Saturday before Christmas, which is the biggest puppy-buying day of the year,” said Carole Raphaelle Davis, an actress, writer and long-time member of LCA.
The protests were successful in bringing the plight of puppy mills to the attention of Angelinos, and appeared to dampen business at the store.
But the knockout punch came from an LCA investigation into World Kennel USA, a California breeder that supplied dogs to Posh Puppy.
Los Angeles television station KCBS picked up on the investigation and exposed over-crowding at the facility.
Conditions were so bad, the station reported World Kennel to government officials. County inspectors last October had given it an “A” rating after the owners corrected violations such as contaminated water and having more than 24 hours of feces accumulation in cages.
Prompted by the LCA investigation and the news report, the county reinspected the breeder and citied it for having 402 dogs at its facility, more than 100 over its permitted limit.
World Kennel then began dumping dogs at the county shelter – about 60 in the first two days.
With the shelter at its limit, LCA founder and director Chris DeRose told the breeder that the rescue community would take additional dogs. World Kennel agreed, turning over about 40 more dogs and offering to donate money and food for them
DeRose turned to Best Friends to help find medical care, get the dogs spayed or neutered, and place them with rescue groups and foster homes in the Los Angeles area and across the Best Friends network of animal welfare organizations.
“Best Friends is absolutely the perfect organization to help us get these dogs to safety in the shortest period of time,” DeRose said. “Best Friends will utilize its vast network to contact foster care and rescue groups who can take the dogs into their immediate care.”
In-depth coverage of the Posh Puppy story and the latest news about the rescue can be found on the Best Friends Network community The Truth About the Pet Trade.
Written by Michael Rinker
Photos by Clay Myers
The work of Best Friends is possible only because of your generous support. Click here to help us reach our goal of No More Homeless Pets.
Check out more Best Friends news.
