by ONLYforPETLOVERS.com

It’s strange what can fall on your desk.  Folded into a red envelope, hand addressed to ONLYforPETLOVERS, was two flyers, printed on festive paper, advertising a big summer sale.  It looked something like this:

!!!!!BIG SUMMER PUPPY SALE!!!!!
THIS WEEK ONLY!!! – PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY!!!

Apparently, Puppy Palace in Hollywood, Fla., is liquidating some of the most popular dog breeds at discounted prices and solicited us by mail thinking ONLYforPETLOVERS is a pet store.

It’s not just discounts that Puppy Palace is offering though.  Buy 10 or more puppies and you get a price break.  Yes, it’s exactly how it sounds.  Buy a 10 pack and save, sort of like toilet paper or dish soap at a wholesale store.

Buy just one Italian greyhound at $400 but if you purchase 10 or more you get a $50-$75 price break per puppy.  Puppy Palace will even throw in free delivery on orders of six puppies or more.

Their flyer maintains that all of their puppies are vet checked, health certified, wormed, and vaccinated.  They also state that the puppies are from breeders that are inspected by Puppy Palace staff on a regular basis.  Furthermore, they claim the dogs will be transported by qualified staff.

Puppy Palace owner, Judith Norford, does not seem to have a great track record when it comes to puppy sales in South Florida though.  The Better Business Bureau currently has an F rating for the Puppy Palace, which means that the BBB strongly questions the company’s reliability.  In the past 36 months 10 complaints have been brought against Puppy Palace through the BBB.  Six of those complaints remain answered while only 3 have been dealt with by the business.  The BBB states in the report that Puppy Palace has “a pattern of complaints from consumers who report the puppies purchased were ill and in bad health.”

It goes on to state that “the company has responded to these complaints by offering another puppy in exchange or reimbursement for veterinary costs,” and that “the company has failed to respond to some complaints presented to them by the BBB.”

Click here to view Puppy Palace’s BBB Report

Local 10 News in South Florida reported in April of 2005 that dozens of dog owners were banding together to take action against Puppy Palace after dogs purchased there became ill just after purchase or even died.

Besides this lawsuit, Norford and Puppy Palace has had a slew of cases brought against them over the past several years.  According to a WPTV Channel 5 report, Florida's Attorney General opened an investigation into Puppy Palace back in 2006.   The report stated that “without admitting wrongdoing, Puppy Palace paid $10,000 in legal fees and entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance.  Among other things, the agreement requires Puppy Palace to check on their breeders to make sure they are in good standing with U.S. Department of Agriculture.”

Whether Puppy Palace has cleaned up their act or not, something does not feel right about selling puppies in bulk where the more you purchase at once the better the deal you get.  Animal adoption organizations are overrun with animals, both dogs and cats.  Countless new homeless animals enter these shelters every day.  Please consider adoption when looking for a pet.