In November, a pet store opened up down the street from me. The store has 30-45 puppies on site, at each of its 3 Ohio locations, and probably 15 or so breeds. It is a commercial breeder, from its own breeding facility in Northern Ohio (I live in Southern Ohio) and from breeders around the state. Keep in mind, Ohio has the distinction of being one of the worst puppy mill states. We are joined by Pennsylvania and Missouri. Great group to be a part of, Amish Country, thanks so much!
Anyhow, we protested this puppy store from November through the end of the year, trying to educate the public during one of its prime selling season. I think we did some good.
Last night, I got an email that someone shopped at our local grocery (big chain), and saw an ad for this puppy store on the grocery cart, where you sit the child. It is a typical space, here, for advertising. These two stores are less than a half mile from each other. A group of us said, "No way...". We FB'd it, we emailed far and wide, we called the corporate office, we called the store, we stopped in and spoke to the manager. We heard some excuses at first from corporate about the advertising contract, honoring its terms, "we don't endorse the store", etc. It was quite a tiring day, really, with all the activity behind the scenes.
About an hour ago, I got a call from the manager of the store- all ads will be removed tonight. 24 hours after our first effort to bring attention to this. 24 hours! The manager said that the level of teamwork and persistence, against a fortune 500 company, was impressive, and it was proof positive that we can make a difference when we join together.
AWESOME! And thank you super market store.
We are still working on the store itself.
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