You walk in, and the first thing you see is a small puppy confined to a glass box, asleep and surrounded by its own feces with a single ratty toy in the corner.

Welcome to Petland.

Petland is a chain of stores located all over the U.S., most well known for their availability of different breeds of puppies and kittens. For around 38 years, Petland’s mission has claimed to supply buyers with the perfect pet for their family while decreasing the number of abandoned and kenneled dogs throughout the country.

In the past, Petland has been connected with the sale of puppies that are bred in puppy mills. Puppy mills are commercial farming operations in which purebred dogs are raised in large numbers.

When a phone call was made to Petland headquarters, there was no answer and  an email of contact is not supplied on the Petland website.

Often, these puppy mills consist of massive amounts of small metal cages in warehouse like settings, filled with between ten to fifteen female dogs who are raised to live in these cages and provide breeders with puppies at a rate that is not natural for these mother dogs’ bodies.

According to Brian Winslow, the Director of Animal Welfare Education for Petland, “Petland has a policy that limits Petland stores to the sale of puppies that come from one of the following sources: breeders that are licensed with the United States Department of Agriculture and that have not had any direct violations on their most recent inspection report; small hobby breeders; and local rescue and adoption puppies.”

Despite promises, studies such as those conducted by the United States Humane Society link more than 95 percent of puppies sold in Petland stores to puppy mills.

Two Petland stores were documented buying puppies from the facility of a convicted puppy mill operator, Kathy Bauck who was convicted of three counts of animal torture and one count of animal cruelty.

Even after the USHS revealed a list of named puppy mills, Petland was still associated with these mills and the young dogs were shipped over 700 miles to Petland locations all over the nation.

Once these puppies arrive at Petland, their lives only get worse. Recently, we visited the Petland location in Fairfax with a few friends and we were greeted by a saddening sight. The store had just received a new “shipment” of puppies.

These small creatures are treated like handbags, put behind glass to be judged by onlookers and purchased for ridiculous prices. As we were observing the young puppies so full of life trapped in small containers, we began to cry and thought of what the poor animals have gone through. We looked at each other and asked, “How can people support this?”

The cashier heard us and quickly came over. He looked around the crowded store and came close to our faces. “You can leave now,” he said sternly. We looked around in confusion as to why we were being kicked out of the pet store.

We asked him to be reasonable because we were only observing the animals with our friends. He told us he would call the cops if we did not leave. “Take your friends with you.”

Why was this man so defensive over a small side comment we made to each other? Obviously Petland has a lot of secrets to hide.

They wouldn’t want anyone in the store to hear the truth. Petland does not see animals as potential family members or even growing animals who need love and nurture. They see them as a paycheck. The animals are overpriced, and Petland robs the animals of happy lives and people out of thousands of dollars.

As we were voluntarily leaving the store, we turned back and saw the back room door was open. We saw a young pit bull puppy in a small carrying crate like the ones used for airport travel, but it was much too small for the growing dog. The puppy was scared and frantic. To be so young and innocent and neglected in such severe ways is inhumane.

According to Forbes, puppies can range from $900 to $2,000. Oftentimes, these dogs are not neutered or spayed, nor have they received shots vital to a young dog’s health, such as basic antibiotics that protect the dogs from the many dangers of living so closely to other dogs as they do in the Petland facilities.

Many of the puppies sold from Petland and other pet stores like it tend to have an increased chance of lifelong illness and disability.

One of the biggest illnesses associated with pet store puppies is known as Kennel Cough. Kennel Cough is a highly contagious canine illness characterized by inflammation of the upper respiratory system and is a frequent contributor to puppy deaths in stores such as Petland.

Many Petland puppies are also afflicted with abnormal bone structure and must receive frequent surgeries throughout their lives due to cramped spaces that do not increase in size as the puppy grows, as well as a lack of exercise in the dog’s formative years.

Despite Petland’s so-called mission of  keeping animals out of shelters, they abuse the dogs in their own facilities. It is wrong to support a heartless program that holds no concern for animals’ lives.