I live about five minutes away from 'HAPPINESS IS PETS' in Orland Park, IL and periodically was stopping by and checking out their cute 'shih tzu puppies'. I would ask upon stopping in one of the employees to tell me where the particular litter was from and the breeders name. She was very nice and told me they were from 'Iowa'. Within a year I was given the same information by various employees working there. We purchased a 'shih tzu puppy' in July of 2002. We waited to recieve our papers on the puppy about 4-6 weeks later. Within those six weeks the male we had was very cute, and silly as puppies act but acted very weird. He didn't have the personality of a 'true shih tzu'. I've owned two prior to this.

In the meantime I went onto a website and found the breeder in Jasper County, IL so 'Happiness is Pets' deliberately lied to us! When I finally received the papers from them, sure enough these litters were from a 'puppy mill' in Jasper County, IL......not from IOWA!! How disturbing!!Just for your information the breeders are Estelle & Kathy Jo Keyes. Check out - and you will find them there. My daughter and I have seen alot of pitiful things at this pet store, and believe me, I would never in a heartbeat buy another shih tzu from them. They do buy their litters from puppy mills. They should have 'undercover people' visit this store and they would be shocked at some of the horror stories.

ps. Last but not least, when I have taken my dog to the vet from the time he was eight weeks old, she even agreed by interacting with him that he seems to be 'inbred' and 'not' a true shih tzu.

Lori
Orland Park, Illinois
U.S.A.

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