Editor: I’m sickened by the heart-wrenching photo of the emaciated bull mastiff puppy that accompanied your story on the parvo virus outbreak at Doggie World (The Times, Jan. 8). When will people realize that these pet stores are an extension of puppy mills? Reputable breeders don’t deal with pet stores.

Has an employee of Doggie World personally visited their suppliers in Alberta to see the conditions? I understand pet stores tug at consumer heartstrings, and so they should. It is reprehensible for a dog to exist within the confines of a pen until the day it’s adopted.

Owner Alicia Mills’ concerns ring hollow. If they were indeed doing “everything we can,” they wouldn’t have overloaded their store with pups to begin with. One hundred and thirty dogs in the store at one time? Inexcusable.

To offer a refund for a dead dog should be a given — but what about the family who adopts a dog with lifelong repercussions of ill health and ongoing veterinary bills? What about the family that was refused compensation for vet costs related to kennel cough and a parasite which obviously infected the dog while in her store? How easy to claim “a customer carried the parvo into her store.”

Employees have vouched about dogs confined 24/7 in kennels. Some are sick, some are foaming at the mouth. This sickens me. At the very least there should be mandatory morning and afternoon 30-minute exercise breaks for the dogs. It’s inconceivable to me how anyone could be around defenceless puppies starved for affection and play time.

Everyone knows pups have an abundance of playful energy and it’s wrong that these animals aren’t being socialized and exercised.

In my opinion, the SPCA has dropped the ball on this one. Regulations regarding pet stores need to be revisited immediately by our politicians. I hope the re-opening date of the store is advertised, because I’d be happy to join the protest.

Michele Lavery,

Langley