THE owners of Pet Lover’s Cafe in Maylands have seen business plummet drastically following an online campaign accusing them of supporting puppy mills—all because they bought a dog from an eastern states breeder.
The family-owned business collects money for pet charities and says it supports abolishing puppy mills. It has rescued and fostered many animals and hosts adoption nights where rescue animals can meet potential new owners in the shop’s backyard, away from the stressful shelter environment.
But buying a schnauser from an eastern states breeder—who they say they thoroughly vetted—was enough to earn the ire of online animal activists who say they should’ve rescued a dog instead.
Cafe owner Natalie Goodall says her six-year-old daughter was dead-set on a schnauser, a rare breed with hypoallergenic fur. They kept an eye on rescue lists for a more than a year but there are long waiting lists for the bearded cuties and they get snapped up quickly.
They eventually turned to an eastern states breeder to find a pooch, satisfied it was a legitimate operation.
After a hardcore group of activists found out, the shop’s online presence was flooded with negative reviews (there was previously only a single one-star rating with text attached, from 180-odd reviews). “If you say you support rescue, then you should put your money where your mouth is. Disgusting!” Fremantle’s Kerryn Wood wrote alongside a one-star review.
“There is a reason why rescue’s exist,” (sic), Samatha Pekaar said. “Puppy mills/backyard breeding. Finding out that you support such a things is utterly disgusting” (sic).
Tia Mia Angelus, Debbie Stafford, Steffy Forrester, Tracey Elizabeth Hall and Laura Nash posted similar allegations.
A “puppy mill” is a breeder who keeps dogs in cruddy conditions, churning out puppies for profit with no regard for the dogs’ welfare. This week Labor proposed legislation to outlaw them in WA.
Ms Goodall says she’s dead against those kind of operations, and she was satisfied the breeder was humane after doing research and talking to a client who’d adopted from the same place.
The Voice contacted the negative reviewers, asking them why they believed the business supported puppy mills.
Ms Pekaar replied, saying the breeder wasn’t registered to breed schnoodles: “They did purchase a cross breed… registered breeders do not breed crossbreeds, they breed pure breeds. Registered breeders are those who have to adhere to various guidelines enforced by Dogz Online,” a pure breed dog community.
But in fact, the family had originally been offered a cross-breedy schnoodle but ended up going with a schnauser (which the breeder is registered for).
We asked Ms Pekaar if she had evidence the breeder was inhumane, but did not hear back.
None of the other posters responded to our enquiries.
Business at Pet Lover’s Cafe has plunged by half since the campaign started about three weeks back, and when the Voice visited on a Tuesday morning in prime latte hour the place was empty. Baked treats sat untouched and the coffee machine, which usually pumps out special lactose-free lattes, sat silent.
Ms Goodall says she’s not sure what to do.
“We can’t stay in the business with it being this low for much longer,” she says. “We just really need the community support, for people to shop local and support small business. We need people to turn up, have that coffee and book that training session.
“We’re transparent about what we do. We’re a family business who have nothing to hide.”
by DAVID BELL
Perth Voice Interactive 
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