My Letter to The Mayor of Summerville- Revisited

EDITORIAL BY: ALICIA ROSE WILLIAMS Founder, Eunoia Rescue

Back in 2018, I wrote a letter to the Mayor of Summerville about my concern and devastation of our local Petland beginning to sell puppies. Well, we have reported on several occasions about what has happened since. There have been numerous cases of sick puppies sold, many of whom have died from their illness.

In July of 2020, the law office of Kidd Corvey & Simpson filed a lawsuit on behalf of several consumers against Petland for knowingly and willingly selling sick puppies to consumers. This type of lawsuit is nothing new to the pet store that has been the subject of numerous lawsuits as well as investigations from the Humane Society to the United States. The lawsuit has been pushed from court to court in the past months, while even more puppies have died from the store in the meantime.

After several citizens approached Dorchester County, the county council passed a law forbidding the sale of puppies and kittens in a retail store. These types of laws are thankfully being enacted all across the country. Unfortunately, Petland is located in the Town of Summerville and the new ordinance has no jurisdiction there. The same group has spoken to the mayor as well as city council. Their concerns fall on deaf ears as the town has expressed no interest in becoming involved in this matter. Because of this, I would like reshare my letter from 2018 as it stands more important now than ever before. If you are concerned about this as I am, and especially if you live in the Town of Summerville, contact your mayor and town council to express your disgust.

Below is my original letter to Mayor Johnson in December of 2018.

I am devastated. Petland Summerville is now selling purebred and “designer” mutts to the public. We all know that I am personally against any type of breeding. I strongly believe that there is no such thing as “responsible breeding” as long as there are animals dying due to lack of space in shelters. However, this is so much more than just adding to the overpopulation of dogs. It is setting us back decades in the animal welfare world.

It is incredibly frustrating that Petland Summerville has opened in Berkeley County of all places. Berkeley County Animal Shelter has to euthanize simply because there isn’t enough room to board all of the unwanted animals. That’s right, perfectly healthy animals are being killed while a few minutes away, animals are being “sold.” The shelter itself is not to blame. The shelter has a staff that genuinely cares for the animals. The staff of the shelter has to make the heartbreaking decision of who stays and who goes.

I am very disappointed that Mayor Wiley Johnson of Summerville reportedly gave Brad and Kristin Parker (owners of Petland Summerville) his blessing to start SELLING puppies at their Summerville location. Honestly, how could you (Mayor Wiley Johnson) do such a thing? You must be out of touch with the animal overpopulation crisis within South Carolina – within your own neighborhood. While local animal rescue nonprofits are financially struggling to stay alive, PetLand Summerville is regressing our work and turning a profit at the same time.

Mayor Wiley Johnson, did you research Mr. and Mrs. Parker? Did you research PetLand? My hope is that you gave them your blessing without doing so – because had you done some research and still willingly gave them your blessing – I would be concerned about your motive. With one click of a search engine, you would find what the Parkers and PetLand are associated with pure negligence. The Humane Society reports that PetLand Kennesaw (a store also owned by Brad and Kristin Parker), received puppies from a breeder who had “more than 840 adult dogs on site.” The same breeder has many other violations including: “failure to provide veterinary care to dogs with open wounds and other serious veterinary conditions, inadequate floor space and ‘fecal material mixed in with the feed’ for several dogs.” I could go on with the other horror stories connected to PetLand Kennesaw, but I think my point has been made – this is a shady business out to make money at any cost. Yes, Petland Summerville is booming with business – but it’s booming for all the wrong reasons. Even if we made a new ordinance that banned PetLand Summerville from selling animals, homes would still have to be found for those currently for sale at PetLand. See how vicious the cycle can be? So again I ask, Mayor Wiley Johnson, why would you give Petland Summerville your blessing? The animals are literally dying to know.■