Beverly Hills Pet Supply Store Makes Humane Society's ‘Puppy-Friendly’ List

The Humane Society of the United States on Wednesday released a list of 80 Los Angeles-area pet stores, including Beverly Hills' Doggie Styles, that have pledged to promote local animal adoption programs and discourage the sale of puppies.

"The HSUS applauds these retailers because their actions prove it is not necessary to support the cruel puppy mill trade to operate a successful pet-related business," the group said in a statement. 

Doggie Styles is located at 9467 Charleville Blvd.

Store owners and managers who sign the Humane Society's “Puppy-Friendly Pledge” receive a placard that says, "We love puppies; that's why we don't sell them," to display in the store, as well as materials about adopting a dog or finding a responsible breeder.

According to the HSUS:

• Approximately one-third of the nation's 9,000 independent pet stores sell puppies.
• The HSUS estimates that 2 million to 4 million puppy mill puppies are sold each year in the United States.
• Documented puppy mill conditions include over-breeding, inbreeding, minimal veterinary care, poor food and shelter, crowded cages and lack of socialization.
• Dogs kept for breeding in puppy mills suffer for years in continual confinement. They are bred as often as possible and then destroyed or discarded once they can no longer produce puppies.
• Pet stores and online sellers often use attractive web sites to hide the truth and to dupe consumers into thinking that they are dealing with a small, reputable breeder.
• Reputable breeders never sell puppies over the Internet or through a pet store and will insist on meeting the family who will be purchasing the dog.
• Puppy mills contribute to the pet overpopulation problem, which results in millions of unwanted dogs euthanized at shelters every year.

The HSUS reports 2,000 stores nationwide have joined its Puppy Friendly Pet Stores program.

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