Petland Partners With CDC

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio, Sept. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Each year nearly 1.3 million Americans are infected with Campylobacter.  The most likely form of infection comes from consuming chicken.  Campylobacter also lives in the digestive tract of most dogs regardless of where the dog was obtained.  According to the CDC, "regardless of where they are from, any puppy and dog may carry Campylobacter germs."

Until recently, no studies have focused on the threat of a transfer of campylobacter from dogs to humans. According to the CDC, the only way a human can contract campylobacter from a dog is by dog fecal matter (poop) being placed in the human's mouth. 

12 million Americans visit Petland stores each year. Petland is America's family pet store where the human-animal bond is on display every day. Petland is the place where future veterinarians, zookeepers, and other animal care professionals start their life-long love of the animal world.  

Today the CDC posted an update of 39 cases of humans with campylobacter. These 39 people completed several different questionnaires and one commonality was that they had visited a Petland store in the past week or worked there. The questionnaires were not consistent and didn't ask the same questions related to type of food the dogs ate or other contact with dogs. Petland immediately provided the CDC with complete access to our stores, our staff, our consulting veterinarians, our operating procedures and our pets.  

The CDC has not identified any failures of Petland's operating system that would lead to any campylobacter infection. Petland reinforces proper hand sanitization before and after playing with any of our puppies with the many sanitation stations in each store and has strict kennel sanitation procedures and protocols put in place by consulting veterinarians.

The CDC stated that 'regardless of where they came from, any puppy and dog' can carry the germ. However, Petland is the only national source of puppies that can trace a puppy from its new owner back to its original kennel.  Petland is proud of our commitment to quality controls and record keeping and we are happy to help the CDC in this new endeavor.   

Last week the CDC advised Petland to "continue to do what we are already doing" and to continue to educate customers and staff to sanitize their hands after handling our puppies.

Petland takes the health and welfare of our pets, our customers and staff very seriously.  In a 2016 study, less than 1.2% of puppies purchased from Petland incurred any sort of medical issue requiring medical hospitalization. In addition, our extensive health warranty protects both our pets and our customers from bacterial, viral and congenital issues. 

According to the CDC, symptoms typically appear within 2-5 days of being exposed to the bacteria. It is transmitted from feces to mouth. Symptoms typically include diarrhea, nausea, intestinal cramping and vomiting.

As with the risk of salmonella with reptiles, we again stress the importance of proper hand sanitizing when handling pets and when handling their food or waste. It is also important not to let any dog lick your mouth.

If you have a specific personal concern relating to the possibility of contracting the bacteria, please call our help line at 877-658-5155.

We look forward to our continued work with the CDC and will provide any further updates as they become available.

Petland, Inc. is a franchise operation with quality, full service retail pet centers across the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil and El Salvador.

For 50 years, Petland Pet Counselors have been dedicated to matching the right pet with the right customer and meeting the needs of both. To its customers who already have pets, Petland is dedicated to enhancing their knowledge and enjoyment of the human-animal bond.

Petland was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in south central Ohio. For more information on Petland, visit www.petland.com.

Contact: 
Elizabeth Kunzelman
Director of Public Affairs
Petland, Inc.
740-775-2464

SOURCE Petland