Complaint Review: Happiness Is Pets

There is a lawsuit filed against the Happiness Is Pets group of puppy outlets for fraud and misrepresentation to the public about the puppies sold there. Pups are bred in puppy mills in the thousands that flourish in mid-west states with lax or weak animal rights laws. Females are bred repeatedly as soon as they can produce puppies. They're not socialized, handled, trained, or given any of the loving responsible treatment we would give to our own companion animals. They are discarded when their reproductive organs are too badly damaged. They do not receive adequate or regular veterinary care. Their lives are a living hell, yet they still wag a tail, try to lick a hand, hope to be petted.

Litters are often born in wire cages, getting little feet caught, twisted or broken. Poor physical condition of mothers contributes to future problems in the babies once they're taken (often too soon) away to restock pet shops. Breed quality is not a goal, eliminating genetic or psychological problems is not a goal. The goal is to acquire as much money as possible with as little financial output as possible.

Of course, a buyer could purchase a perfectly healthy puppy from a pet store, however, I'm totally confused at the illogical assumption that paying up to $1000 or more for a little bundle of fur is a wise decision. If even 1 out of 10 puppies is ill, has distemper, parvo, epilepsy, rickets, if the buyer can not reach the breeder, see the mother and father, the living conditions under which the pup was born and 'cared' for, paying that amount of money is not quite intelligent. 

Perhaps when we were reading about "d**k, Jane and Sally" in the 1950's, this form of collective animal abuse did not exist. It's a different world now and we must find out more facts before going into what could be a 15 year commitment. Shelters have both purebreds and mixes, puppies, adults and older dogs to choose from. Breed Rescues have specific purebreds who have been given up by owners, found as strays, saved from shelters, or seized from abusive owners and rehabilitated. People connected to these places love the animals and want to see them all have the best life possible. They are NOT doing this work to get rich!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am not an owner of Happiness is Pets....I am just a consumer who bought a Cavalier from there approx 4 yrs ago.  I originally had that I was an owner of the company.  Apparently I wasnt paying attention when I wrote the rebuttal as I too am just an owner of one of Steve Kruse's Cavaliers who ended up not in perfect health.  Mine has had kidney stones and will have to be on prescription diet food for the rest of his life and he also has colitis so he must have white rice with each portion of food he is given and occasionally put on Flagyl when he has a flare up.

My cavalier is an adult that I got as a puppy from Happiness and he contacted the the upper respiratory infection or as the vet called it the canine flu. He hasnt been in contact with any other dogs or anything.  It is something that is going around and can be very nasty and turn into pneumonia.  I have been giving him the same medication you gave your pups and it is taking awhile but he is getting over it.  The vet said 2 to 3 weeks and the coughing and hacking up of flem and foam is very gross but thank God he is getting better.  I have had to take him out into the fresh air many times a night, put him in the steam, and literally hand feed him but it all has worked out.  Please dont get discouraged although my dog probably had alot more meat on his bones to work with as he was pretty chubby to begin with unlike your babies.  Good luck.

My Cavalier just turned 4yrs old in October and I purchased him from Happiness in Naperville.  He was perfectly healthy until he turned two and then he got kidney stones which required a $1700 surgery not including all the visits before hand to the vet to determine that is what he had.  Now he has to be on special food the rest of his life which is very expensive and he just got that canine flu virus that I am trying to get rid of.  It is very scary as it can turn into pneumonia quickly.  Although I am unhappy with this breeder I feel as if I did my dog a favor because if I did not buy him what would have happened to him.  So to all of you unhappy customers of his and Happiness please just think of it that way.  Think that you rescued your loving dog from this cruel man because I hate to think what happens to all the puppies that dont get sold.  Besides he is my baby and I after the first ten minutes of buying him I wouldnt have given him back for anything and I will do anything for him for the rest of his life. 

Brocs puppies in south lake tahoe has had alot of problems in the past under puppie patch and lil pups in carson city, Nevada, and now moved to South Lake Tahoe California under many protest of residence. Now, they are buying and selling puppies from Steve Kruse! Im appoled and please someone tell us what to do !
Our town needs to be educated and please do not buy sick dogs from them!

well i must have been very very lucky when i purchased issac in 2005 i knew i wanted a lab. and based on friends and coworkers recomendations and their anti views against pet stores.. i tried to contact various breeders in different states and i just couldn't believe the amount of money they wanted me to pay. so for kicks i went into happiness and met isaac. ..what a great dog.. 7 weeks old white lab male. they said he'd have to go thru the vet test also but what an enjoyable experience and the amount i paid for him covered his puppie shots... and 1years visit. and judging from my research i don't think theres a breeder out there that will sign off against hip displaysia because they can't tell right away if they got it. and i know there are some breeds that are prone to runny eyes...seizures... i know labs are prone to seizures and fatty tumors....sometimes its the nature of the breed. and i know that my friend is a rescue home for doberman bitches that were used for nothing but breeding purposes by reputable breeders. Isaac is awesome and he received excellent care at naperville animal hospial . he still goes there to this day and it's one of happiness hospitals. Isaac is healthy, intelliegent his communication skills are incredible and i get so many compliments on how beautiful he is. i look at him and i ask myself how could a breeder let such a magnificent animal go to a pet shop when he could have proably have gotten so much more for him... but i'm glad he did because i wouldn't have the great dog that i have today. i don't know if he's gotten sloppy or what but the dog i got is awesome. oh and he's still white. i'm sorry for everyones misfortunes and losses but i had to reveal the other side of a good experience with HIP and steve kruse.

Please get your information correct before printing. Response to "Answer for Yourself, Ron" Melvin Moeller(shorty) is not related to Steve Kruse, has no brother named Dean, and has not been barred from AKC. He does sell healthy puppies and are registed with AKC, ACA and APRI. He did not start raising puppes until 2001 and is respected in the community and USDA.

Please get your information correct before printing. Response to "Answer for Yourself, Ron" Melvin Moeller(shorty) is not related to Steve Kruse, has no brother named Dean, and has not been barred from AKC. He does sell healthy puppies and are registed with AKC, ACA and APRI. He did not start raising puppes until 2001 and is respected in the community and USDA.

It's quite obvious that Ron knows exactly who these people are that he does business with in Iowa. I also was looking at a dog with JOHN at the Naperville store whose breeder is Melvin Moeller. Thanks to Companion Animal Protection Society (www.caps-web.org) I found out that Melvin and Steve Kruse are COUSINS. (JOHN referred to Melvin as "Shorty" and said he was a "sweet old man from Iowa") Moeller, Kruse (and about four more family members) are big-time Iowa puppy-millers plain and simple. They all have farms with hundreds of dogs, all of which have had numerous reports against them. Moeller's brother, Dean, was even suspended from the AKC in '99 for animal cruelty.

Happiness is Pets HAS TO KNOW THIS because they've been traveling down to po-dunk West Point, IA to pick these sick puppies up for tens of YEARS to profit HEAVILY on these sadly bred animals. Are they blind not to see the health infractions incurred at Kruse's farm when they are there??

http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/puppy/chroninvestigations/42b0119.html- Steve Kruse Violations

Answer up, Ron! I would LOVE to hear that you were ignorant to all of this. Plain and simple, you buy all of your puppies from MILLS. There is no other explanation. And it's sickening. I feel bad for your son, John, who was "grandfathered in" to this nasty business of yours.

I purchased a Beagle in December 03. I asked to see him and instantly fell in love with him and took him home. It was the holiday weekend and he was sick. Vomitting, not eating, diarehha etc. I called my vet because there was no time to bring him to one of "their" vets. The drive was way too long for him and it was the Christmas holiday weekend.

My vet said that Spencer was very sick with an upper resp. infection, along with dehydration and a fever. She said he would of died if we did not act this quickly. I went to happiness is pets and of course since I did not go to "their" vet, he was not covered under their plan.

They spoke of an exchange! EXCHANGE? I fell in love with him, paid a huge vet bill and was nursing him back to health! I could never exchange him. Currently Spencer has a severe case of epilespy and so far our vet bills have exceeded $7,000. He is on 2 types of meds to control his seizures. Specialists say this is idopathic epilepsy, no known case but most likley genetic. I am only too assume his mother was bred too much.

I will never step in the doors of happiness is pets again. I feel so badly for the pets there. Please if you consider buying a puppy go to your local animal shelter. There are plenty pets in need of good homes.

I purchased a Beagle in December 03. I asked to see him and instantly fell in love with him and took him home. It was the holiday weekend and he was sick. Vomitting, not eating, diarehha etc. I called my vet because there was no time to bring him to one of "their" vets. The drive was way too long for him and it was the Christmas holiday weekend.

My vet said that Spencer was very sick with an upper resp. infection, along with dehydration and a fever. She said he would of died if we did not act this quickly. I went to happiness is pets and of course since I did not go to "their" vet, he was not covered under their plan.

They spoke of an exchange! EXCHANGE? I fell in love with him, paid a huge vet bill and was nursing him back to health! I could never exchange him. Currently Spencer has a severe case of epilespy and so far our vet bills have exceeded $7,000. He is on 2 types of meds to control his seizures. Specialists say this is idopathic epilepsy, no known case but most likley genetic. I am only too assume his mother was bred too much.

I will never step in the doors of happiness is pets again. I feel so badly for the pets there. Please if you consider buying a puppy go to your local animal shelter. There are plenty pets in need of good homes.

I purchased a Beagle in December 03. I asked to see him and instantly fell in love with him and took him home. It was the holiday weekend and he was sick. Vomitting, not eating, diarehha etc. I called my vet because there was no time to bring him to one of "their" vets. The drive was way too long for him and it was the Christmas holiday weekend.

My vet said that Spencer was very sick with an upper resp. infection, along with dehydration and a fever. She said he would of died if we did not act this quickly. I went to happiness is pets and of course since I did not go to "their" vet, he was not covered under their plan.

They spoke of an exchange! EXCHANGE? I fell in love with him, paid a huge vet bill and was nursing him back to health! I could never exchange him. Currently Spencer has a severe case of epilespy and so far our vet bills have exceeded $7,000. He is on 2 types of meds to control his seizures. Specialists say this is idopathic epilepsy, no known case but most likley genetic. I am only too assume his mother was bred too much.

I will never step in the doors of happiness is pets again. I feel so badly for the pets there. Please if you consider buying a puppy go to your local animal shelter. There are plenty pets in need of good homes.

I purchased a Beagle in December 03. I asked to see him and instantly fell in love with him and took him home. It was the holiday weekend and he was sick. Vomitting, not eating, diarehha etc. I called my vet because there was no time to bring him to one of "their" vets. The drive was way too long for him and it was the Christmas holiday weekend.

My vet said that Spencer was very sick with an upper resp. infection, along with dehydration and a fever. She said he would of died if we did not act this quickly. I went to happiness is pets and of course since I did not go to "their" vet, he was not covered under their plan.

They spoke of an exchange! EXCHANGE? I fell in love with him, paid a huge vet bill and was nursing him back to health! I could never exchange him. Currently Spencer has a severe case of epilespy and so far our vet bills have exceeded $7,000. He is on 2 types of meds to control his seizures. Specialists say this is idopathic epilepsy, no known case but most likley genetic. I am only too assume his mother was bred too much.

I will never step in the doors of happiness is pets again. I feel so badly for the pets there. Please if you consider buying a puppy go to your local animal shelter. There are plenty pets in need of good homes.

OWNER'S REPLIED:
All of our puppies come with a complete free veterinarian checkup, within 7 days of purchase, at our veterinary clinic. Patrcia never took either of her puppies in for this checkup

PATRICIA'S REPLY:
I purchase the first puppy (female) on 2/14 @ Happiness is Pets in Orland Park, IL. My female puppy had a runny nose and cough. One week later on 2/21/06, I purchase the male puppy from HIP. I would never have purchased the second puppy, if I had a sick puppy at home. Initially, my female puppy had runny nose and a cough, but that only lasted two days and she was the most loveable, playful, and energetic little sweet puppy and so affectionate with lots of licks. I purchase the male puppy with the same conditions, runny nose, but no cough. Two days later, they both came down with sad eyes, coughing, and sick looking within hours of each other. I took both puppies to their Hospital. The male puppy was taken to the hospital three days after purchase.

OWNER REPLIED:
If Patricia noticed that the puppy had a cold she should have brought it in and they would have treated the puppy at no charge to her.
By the time she got the puppies to our vet the female was practically dead and unfortunately could not be saved. We did cover the vet bill for her other puppy and were able to save that one.

PATRICIA'S REPLY:
My female puppy was not sick, when I purchase my second puppy. The purchase of the second puppy must have had some kind of virus, because they both had the same diagnose by the doctor: Pneumonia. I took both puppies to the hospital immediately after the first sign of trouble. My female puppy probably was not strong enough to fight this virus and from first sign of symptoms to the time she died was only 9 hours. The hospital was treated her from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. when she died. My male puppy was in the hospital for 17 days. I picked him up he only weighed 4 pounds and he was 2.5 month old (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel). Today 4/5, I have to hand-fed him, because he only eats prepared food and he has joint deficiency. I have to take great care in holding him and picking him up. Also, he has extreme amount of discharge from his eyes completely covering his little face.

OWNER REPLIED:
she should have brought it in & able to save that one

PATRICIA'S REPLY:
Please take notice, this is the owners of 5 pets stores (HIP) and uses the pronoun it & that one to describe my beautiful, lovable puppy.

OWNER REPLIED:
Had Patricia taken the pups to our vet at the first signs of a cold her puppy should not have died. however, we also expect our customers to assume their responsibility of taking proper care of their puppy.

PATRICIA'S REPLY:
What about the responsibility of the owners of Happiness is Pets? The owner should take more responsibility in the breeder he chose to do business Steve Kruse from Iowa. Take a minute in the internet and search Steve Kruse breeder in Google search engine. There is vast amount of unhappy stories from this breeder.

OWNER REPLIED:
we thought the pups may have gotten into a toxic substance in the home due to their sudden downturn.

PATRICIA REPLY:
Key word: SUDDEN DOWNTURN. The entire staff of Happiness is Pets was aware on what actually happen on 3/3/06. I was totally Shocked! on how fast my precious puppy turn from a delightful, playful and energetic puppy to foaming at the mouth, difficult breathing, white gums, bloated eyes, with thick mucus coming from her nose. My daughter and I were grieving and I never want to experience this pain again.

OWNER REPLIED:
All of this could have simply been avoided had Patricia taken the pups in for the free vet exam

PATRICIA REPLY:
This could have been avoided, by the owner investigating the breeder Steve Kruse. Both of my puppies were from this breeder. This was not a just a cold, a puppy is not healthy and playful one minute and died with 9 hours.

Conclusion: I spoke with several doctors and this was there conclusion:
Distemper -About half of infected dogs those with strong immune systems show little or no symptoms of the disease. In other dogs, the illness is mild. In those dogs with compromised immune symptoms, the disease and its secondary infections can be serious or even fatal. Among puppies, the death rate from distemper often reaches 80 percent. Distemper may be misdiagnosed in its early stages because it begins as an upper respiratory infection resembling a cold, including, loss of appetite, listlessness, and a watery discharge from eyes and nose. Within a few days, the discharge turns yellow and becomes thick and sticky and the pup has a dry cough, and may have diarrhea and vomiting. Within the first two weeks of the disease, the symptoms fluctuate.
Some dogs shake off the disease after this stage, but others progress into pneumonia and neurological involvement.

We would never knowingly sell a puppy that was not healthy. We take very seriously our repsonsibility to provide our customers with healthy puppies, however we cannot guarantee that a puppy may not come down with something such as a cold.

All of our puppies come with a complete FREE CHECKUP, within 7 days of purchase, at any of our 6 veterinary clinics. Patricia NEVER took either of her puppies in for this checkup EVEN THOUGH she says they had runny noses.

All of our puppies come with complete FREE VETERINARY CARE at any of our veterinary clinics during the the frist 14 days after purchase. Once again, Patricia NEVER took either of her puppies in to our vet during this period even though she says they had runny noses.

Patricia states that when the puppies were really sick she took them to her vet. This was the FIRST TIME that vet had see her or her puppies.

By the time she got the puppies to our vet the female was practically dead and unfortunately could not be saved. We covered the vet bill for her other puppy and were able to save that one.

Also, let it be added that Patricia came and purchased another puppy (Pekingese) from us after losing the Cavalier. If we are so bad why would she come back?

Had Patricia taken the pups to our vet at the first signs of a cold her puppy should not have died. We directly say in our warranty that if your puppy does come down with a cold you should immediately take it to our vet for proper treatment. Patricia has blamed us and the breeder, who by the way, had nothing to do whatsoever with this situation.

We take responsibility for the puppies we sell by providing all of this veterinary care if needed, however, we also expect our customers to assume their responsibility of taking proper care of their puppy.

Had Patricia been getting the proper veterinary care and the puppy had died I would have replaced this puppy without hesitation. At no time was Patricia promised a replacement because we thought the pups may have gotten into a toxic substance in the home due to their sudden downturn.

All of this could have been avoided had Patricia simply given the puppy proper care.