Imagine you are walking by a new store in the mall that is about to open. The tarp in front of the store has not been taken down yet, and you wonder what the name of the store is referring to. You return a few days later and discover a puppy store. You walk in initially excited, but inside see cramped cages and lethargic dogs who look strangely depressed. Seeing this immediately shifts your mood as well as your opinion on the store.
A few days later, you hear what locals are saying. You start to question what the motives behind this store really are, and where the puppies are being sourced from. This store is Puppygram.
Puppygram is a store that sells puppies and is located in the Green Tree Mall. They also have locations in Indianapolis, IN; Berkley, MI; and previously one in Louisville, KY that was recently shut down due to a judge’s ruling.
Many people are concerned about how the dogs are being treated, and where they are being sourced from. According to locals, dogs that are being purchased are sick and have been diagnosed with conditions like canine herpes, respiratory illnesses, and the parasite giardia.
“Nine days after the adoption Chelsea took him to an emergency vet, who diagnosed him with a parasite called giardia,” states WDRB.
Reviewers online, including interviews from WDRB, accounts on Facebook, and comments on Reddit recount their own experiences with the store.
“I notice he’s not eating that food,” said Chelsea, who chose not to give her last name, to WDRB, “I started to get really worried, because he wasn’t even drinking water.”
Reports have said that the dogs are sick upon arrival at their new home, despite the store claiming they strive for their dogs to be healthy.
“Puppygram was established with the core mission of providing a seamless and stress-free experience for individuals looking to bring a healthy puppy into their lives,” states the Puppygram website.
Due to the illnesses the dogs are contracting, many suspect the dogs are being sourced from puppy mills or backyard breeders.
“We don’t generally see giardia from puppies that come from clean, reputable environments,” said veterinarian Dr. Lorna Grande to WDRB.
On their website, the business claims their store is clean and that you will know when a dog is healthy or not.
“Dogs don’t lie, they’re happy and healthy or not, you can tell by their behavior how the kennel operates (social/happy), kennels graded by the behavior of the dog, quality food and vets protocols provided by Puppygram,” said the Puppygram website.
The website also claims that all dogs are up to date on their vaccinations, and reviewers do report having been given vaccination papers and that the dogs were claimed to be healthy.
“On Monday, November 18, my family and I went to Puppygram to pick up Edgar, a Havanese puppy. He was pretty expensive, but we didn’t mind because his papers indicated that he had all of his vaccines up to date and was in good health. That was not the case. Edgar vomited once on the second day home and developed bloody diarrhea, which was unusual given that he had only been eaten the food provided by Puppy Gram,” said reviewer Lea Rodriguez in a post on Facebook. She also claims that she discovered he was covered in fleas during a bath, and eventually his diarrhea only consisted of blood.
One user on Reddit claimed they knew what puppy mills the dogs were being sourced from, and that their son used to work at the store in Louisville.
“I know of two puppy mills in Odon Indiana that Puppygram buys from,” said Reddit user CautiousCook814. “My son worked for Puppygram in Louisville. He told me that they get puppies that will dies in a week. He stated that most all of the paperwork is falsified due to the fact they buy puppies from known puppy mills.”
Grande also made comments on vaccinations. She claims that the sheets of vaccinations are “unusual” and claims it “isn’ t what they recommend.” She also said this is common for large-scale commercial dog breeders.
“‘So, if they’re really crowded facilities with lots and lots of animals, they have a tendency to—what we would consider—sort of over-vaccinate,’” said Grande in an interview with WDRB.
WDRB also interviewed a woman named April Gilmore, who claimed that vaccination records she received from the Louisville store were forged.
“‘There was a list of all the vaccines, and some of the dates were in the future,” said Gilmore. “She couldn’t have gotten those shots yet.”
Todd Blevins, the Kentucky state director of the Humane World for Animals, formerly known as the Humane Society, also spoke on vaccinations.
“A lot of these puppies have been over-medicated, over-vaccinated, and so it may take a couple of days for them to show the symptoms,” said Blevins. “So, you may see a pet puppy in a pet store window that looks healthy at the time of purchase. And two days later, when you get it home, it’s completely sick.”
In an interview with WHAS 11, the owner of the store, Miles Handy, defends the store.
“There’s a misconception of our business model, and there’s a lot of fabrication about our breeders and us in general,” said Handy.
Handy also claims that the business is regulated by the Indiana Board of Animal Health, and said on the website they are USDA certified. They also claim they are a part of the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare.
“At Puppygram, we take pride in being active members of the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare (ICAW), a distinguished organization committed to promoting the well-being and protection of animals. Our association with ICAW underscores our dedication to upholding the highest standards of animal welfare in everything we do. By being part of this esteemed council, we have access to a vast network of resources and expertise that allows us to ensure the health, happiness, and ethical treatment of our puppies,” states the Puppygram website.
A manager of the Louisville Puppygram, Karen Jenkins, also spoke to WDRB. She claims she had a good experience with the store and was inspired to work with them. She also defends the business, and explains that customers sign a contract with Puppygram before taking the puppy home.
“They’re signing when they take the puppy from here that they took a healthy puppy, to the best of our knowledge,” said Jenkins. “We’re signing that with them. We do everything while they’re in our care to make sure that they’re in a very sterile environment.”
In another interview with WDRB, Handy claims that they do not believe in puppy mills.
“We are appealing – it’s in the court of appeals,” said Handy. “We had no puppy mills. We don’t believe in puppy mills.”
Handy also shared his belief that the government should not decide where you get your puppy from in an interview with WHAS 11.
“I think everybody should have the right to choose their puppy, not let government dictate their puppy,’” said Handy.
Reviewers continue to condemn the store, while the owner and others defend the store. While Puppygram claims the dogs are healthy, reviews show that that is not the case. It is up to people in our community to make the final decision: whether to support Puppygram, or to listen to the reviews and refrain from supporting the store.
If you want to make a difference, you can sign the petition to shut down the store in Green Tree Mall. It already has 7,000 signatures, and this petition was created in hopes that Puppygram will be shut down in Green Tree for good. In this situation, it is up to you to choose what action to take depending on what you want changed.
