Complaint Review: Craig Fedler - Petland Iowa City

Pet stores should be avoided at all costs due to dishonest crap like that. Get your local animal rights groups involved. Petland, and all other pet stores, sells sick, diseased, crippled, etc.animals due to bad breeding.

CAPS did an investigation on Mr. Fedler. I found it interesting that when they did the investigation they noticed several dogs withhttp://www.caps-web.org/view-investigation-report.php?report_id=113out their toes as well, and videotaped it and posted on their site.

The following info is the link and what their report and findings were, and also video footage of the missing toes , feces, and matted dogs. http://www.caps-web.org/view-investigation-report.php?report_id=113

It was disturbing to see that toes were missing, and Mr. Fedler had told them a gate fell on it, and another dog got his chewed off by another dog. ALso CAPS witnessed a dead dog in one kennel, notified Mr. FEdler, who took it and threw it in a bucket. The dogs are heavily matted. Many confined to a cage with feces about. I fully recommend reading the details of the report.

ALso reading how many dogs he had in his care, and the conditions they were living in. After careful reading and watching videos, I would consider this a puppy mill, not the worst by far, but still lackluster conditions at the time, and concerning.

We don't buy from puppy mills. We don't buy from brokers. Every Tuesday the owners or the Kennel Manager takes a mini-van around and visits local breeders that are state and locally certified. We get pick of the litter. If we don't like the puppies or the breeder, we don't do business with them. What sense would it make for us to knowingly sell you a puppy that is sick? We would simply have to turn around and pay for it's medical bills... meaning we lose money.... common sense...

First off Sarah and Stephanie, I have to say that I disagree with everything that you have said about Craig Fedler and Fedler Farms. My wife and I got a puppy from Craig. Being first time dog owners we had several questions. Craig has taken his time to answer any question that we have had. We have had no trouble with our puppy.

My second comment to you is apparently you have not been to any other dog farm. I have been to several and I will put Craig's layout up against any of them. To sell dogs legally you have to be inspected by a Federal Agency annually. Craig is still in business so his farm must not be as bad as you lead on.

You state that Craig is inbreeding his stock. I hope that Craig gets a lawyer and goes after you for defamation of character. I would like to see the vet report that states your puppy was deformed due to inbreeding. Dogs just as well as humans will have a certain percentage of problems. That problem may be a physical deformation, mental or health problems. I am sure that you know more than one individual that has some of these problems. Are their problems due to inbreeding?? Just because someone or a dog in this instance has these problems does not mean that it is due to inbreeding - Get Real!!!

My last comment to you is that someone that runs a "Puppy Mill" is in it strictly in for the money. They would never take time to find a home for a problem dog. It is to easy to put the dog down and forget about it. I wish that there were more people like Craig that would take the time to find homes for these dogs.

My wife has suffered a huge medical hardship in the last year. During research on recovery, we have found that dogs are often great for rehabilitation. Mr. Fedler was kind enough to provide us a dog free of charge to help with this recovery process.

Since we have gotten this puppy, her nmae is Lottie, my wife has had an increase in mobility and she has been extremely happy. And since depression had the potential to be a huge issue for us, Lottie has been a wonderful addition to our family.

Lottie is healthy and very energetic(she also has all of her feet and toes). She and my wife are inseperable.

I have been to the Fedler Farm on many occasions and have received tours of the facilities the puppies are in. I have been in law enforcement for 15 years and can attest that these conditions are much better that some homes I've been in, and these puppies are cared for better than some kid's I've seen over the years.

So, to say that Mr. Fedler's care for these dogs is sub-standard is simply not the truth.

I grew up on a farm some 60+ years ago and know the importance of raising animals in a clean, healthy, and sheltered environment. I know about raising animals on a farm from the birthing process through care and delivery of the animals to their new homes. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication from the owner.

I have raised animals through the 4-H process and won the State of Iowa Reserve Grand Championship for beef cattle in the late 50's.
As for the Fedler farm I have visited the farm on sevral occasions and have ALWAYS found the buildings to be clean and well ventilated with good lighting provided. The animals ALWAYS have plenty of food and water readily available. During the warm months the buildings are cooled and in the cold months the buildings are heated.
I have observed Craig communicating with the vet for medical advice and recommendations for medical needs of the animals.

This is NOT a puppy mill, but a place where anyone should be proud to get such a well cared for puppy where the owner takes exemplary care of his animals ALL hours of the day and night.
I am proud to say I have gotten 2 puppies from the farm and they are doing GREAT in their new homes thanks to the efforts of a GREAT BEGINNING!

When I saw that false information had been posted about Craig Fedler and his farm, I was deeply saddened. I felt the need to comment on this subject. It is a sad world that we live in when a hard working farmer who strives for the best for the animals he cares for is compared to a "puppy mill."

I have personally been on the Fedler farm numerous times in the last few years. I have observed great care of animals and lots of concern on Craig's behalf for the animals he raises. Anyone who brings puppies into thier home and gets up in the middle of the night to care for them is a warm and caring individual. Anyone who allows dogs to run around the farm for exercise and rushes them to the vet when they are sick is not an individual who is in the business of "puppy mills."

Craig cares for animals that are born and not able to be sold for various reasons until he finds a suitable home for them. He provides for these dogs until he finds a good home for them. An individual who is in the so called "puppy mill" would not care for these animals at the expense of the farm. These animals would be considered a loss to the business and otherwise disposed of.

Fedler farms is a business. However, it is a business that in my observation operates under strict professional ethics as well as strong personal morals. Craig should be commended for his care of animals and his upkeep of his farm. Animals on this farm are well provided for and very well taken care of. Individuals who report otherwise have unfounded proof and a different unfortunate agenda. It is sad event that has cause for deep concern when this agenda is happening at the expense of a hardworking and caring small town Iowa farmer.

In response to Craig's rebuttal, I would like to say that this has nothing to do with the puppy he gave us upon a visit to his "family farm." The puppy was given to me solely because he could not sell it to Petland due to a genetic deformity - 7 missing toes. Craig told us the pup, and two of its littermates got their legs stuck under a warped board in his kennel and the toes were chewed off by a dog in the cage next to them. Veterinary care was not given at the time, but a check up by my own vet after taking home the puppy indicated no scar tissue or injury, but rather unscrupulous inbreeding practices that lead to genetic deformation.

Craig gave us this puppy because he could not profit from its deformity by selling it to Iowa City Petland. The two other pups in the litter with missing toes were kept for breeding stock, while the one that happened to come out with all toes intact was sold to Petland.

By inbreeding his dogs again and again, he is only going to end up with more genetically deformed dogs. One of the puppies didn't even have an entire foot - merely a stump at the end of his leg - due to his breeding practices.

Craig also fails to mention that he keeps over 200 dogs in small cages inside barns on his farm. The puppies are born in these cages and never get to see the light of day or play on solid ground. The adult dogs are packed several to a cage and spend their entire lives breeding so he can sell puppies to Petland.

If he honestly cared about finding happy loving homes for his pups, he would not operate a mass-breeding facility, and instead only produce one or two litters a year, screen for genetic problems by having the dogs CERF'd and checked by OFA, and sell his puppies only to people he has personally made sure are proper homes. By selling to Petland, he doesn't have any idea where his dogs end up or what kind of home they go to.

Despite Craig's rebuttal - I would call missing toes and feet on 3 out of 4 dogs a genetic deformity. To remedy the problem, all he has to do is breed dogs that are not related or screen his dogs before breeding - practices that kennels who care only about profit rarely do.

The puppy is currently in a loving home where he is thriving with care from his family. We appreciate Craig giving us the puppy and hope that in the future his farm will take greater care genetic testing and screening in producing his dogs. Perhaps by downsizing his operation, he could better manage his facility that mass produces puppies to sell to Petland and other outlets.

I have been inspected by Petland Corporate offices. My family farm has been approved by many individuals belonging to the Petland Frantise. Sarah fails to mention I gave her a dog for free! I pride myself on finding a happy, loving, and good home for all of my puppies! I am concerned I may have made a mistake about Sarah's home since she is making such untrue claims about me, my animals and my family farm, not puppy mill!

An individual can not sell sick or genetically defective puppies to a pet store. All puppies have to be checked by a vet before a pet store ie. Petland, purchases them to sell in their store.