Furry Babies store; woman claims she bought from an Amish puppy mill

Mary Talgott was wandering Stratford Square Mall in suburban Bloomingdale last week on an evening shopping trip with her daughter.

"I haven't been to Stratford in years," said Talgott, now a resident of Rockford.

"I was visiting my brother in Carol Stream and decided to stop at the mall, get something to eat and just walk around with my daughter. We were walking around and she asked me if she could look at the puppies. I had never heard of Furry Babies before and we went in to look around."

Enticed by the puppy breath and a Chug, (Chihuahua and Pug mix) Mary purchased a puppy.

"When I got her home, everything was fine. I had just spent a whopping amount of money and took advantage of a payment plan. We were very excited to get her. It wasn't but two days later that she got sick. She’s a puppy mill dog."

Talgott found out that she is not alone in her experience with Furry Babies.

"I was so concerned for Cheeky (the puppy) that I went back to the store and informed them that my puppy had gotten sick. They really just blamed it on me."

Puppies at Furry Babies are displayed in baby cribs with glass applied on all four sides.

“The cribs are open and everyone was leaning over petting the dogs. While they had hand sanitizer, they weren't watching people to make sure they used it so any illness is sure to spread from dog to dog.”

When I approached the employee to discuss where the puppies came from, she became angry, loud and rude. She seems to think an AKC registration and licensing by the USDA is the sign of a good breeder. In fact, one of her coworkers kept badgering me, saying that the USDA approves the meat we eat so they must know what they are doing. I was very angry and asked for the manager who wasn’t present at the store. So they gave me a business card with her number on it.”

Talgott explained that she had a long phone conversation with the manager of the store. The manager insisted the puppies didn't come from puppy mills and that she knows first hand that every puppy is “hand-picked” by Furry Babies from a reputable breeder.

Now on a self- described, “mission” to “expose the truth about Furry Babies” Talgott is knee deep in research.

“What I have been finding is really disturbing. These puppies are coming from Amish puppy mills and they are the worst. I posted a thread in a complaints forum online. I intend to dive right into the practices of businesses like Furry Babies and expose them. I am not afraid to do so. I am doing what is right for the animals.”

In Talgott’s thread, many customers of Furry Babies posed similar concerns.

One man expressed his frustrations using the forum as a sound off of blatant free speech against Furry Babies:

“My friend bought his Scottie, Bonnie at Furry Babies in Stratford Square Mall. The poor little thing has severe skin issues and is on numerous meds. Upon investigating, the dog was registered with the ACA and the breeder is Andy E. Yoder of Ohio who is being investigated by animal’s angels. You can go to websites and see what they found at the dog auction. Furry Babies is buying from puppy mill conditions.”

“I am happy to be providing a loving home for Cheeky and we have really bonded with the pup. What I am not so happy about is finding out about Amish Puppy Mills and where Furry Babies gets their dogs. I’ll be working closely with an organization to stop this. It is simply not humane.” said Talgott.

OTHER BREAKING NEWS ARTICLES NEEDING ATTENTION/ URGENT ACTION

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