FLINT TOWNSHIP -- Saturday is Puppy Mill Awareness Day.
And protesters gathered in front Genesee Valley Center, asking people to boycott the puppy retailer, The Family Puppy.
NBC25 talked to a new puppy owner who claims her dog is a victim of cruelty.
The ironic part of the protest Saturday is The Family Puppy Store is also bringing awareness to the cruelty of puppy mills.
The owner says he's worked with his breeders to ensure happy, healthy dogs.
But one of his customers claims her new puppy almost died three times.
This spring Davison Resident Linda Dahl bought Tegan, a Shiatsu Toy Poodle from The Family Puppy Store at the Genesee Valley Mall.
"So then the next day she got really sick, she kept going into these seizures and couldn't walk," said new puppy owner, Linda Dahl.
After six doctor’s visits and more than $1,000 in medical bills, Tegan is finally on the road to recovery
Dahl says she complained to the store manager.
"I called them out on it, and I said one, you sold me a sick dog, if she has an infection, there has to be other dogs in there with an infection, where did she get it from? And they couldn't give me an answer," said Dahl.
“Selling the dogs that we do, dogs get sick, that's why there are veterinarians, and that's why we partner with a veterinarian,” said the Owner of The Family Puppy, John Stottele.
Dahl is confident Tegan was bred at a puppy mill, but the owner of The Family Puppy says they don't do business with them.
“Anybody that treats their dogs inhumanely, that just covers it, I don't think it’s size, I don't think that just because you have 50 dogs you are a puppy mill,” said Stottele.
But protestors outside the Genesee Valley Mall Saturday Disagree, activist Pam Sordyl says she visited Lavern Whetstone in Indiana, a breeder The Family Puppy store does business with.
"We saw wire floored cages with dogs circling, excessive dog feces, and they were stacked on top of each other with no shade," said dog advocate Pam Sordyl.
Stottele says he has nothing to hide, if people were to come into his puppy store, he keeps a portfolio of all 22 of his breeders, including Lavern Whetstone, he did have a citation by the USDA, but since then, there has been none.
"Just because they get something on their inspection report doesn't mean they were horrible," said Stottele.
The owner says he asks his breeders to go above and beyond the USDA's standards of dog care.
"We require larger cages, we require exercise pens and playgrounds, and require socialization," said Stottele.
But Sordyl wants The Family Puppy pet store to stop selling puppies and to switch to adoptions only.
The owner says people looking for a puppy should have a choice.
Dahl says she's already made hers.
"I wouldn't buy a dog from them," said Dahl.
The owner of The Family Puppy pet store says he will get in contact with Linda Dahl about her sick puppy.
He also says out of every 50 puppies his store sells; only two percent have health issues.
The Family Puppy pet store has started an in house adoption program and has maintained an "A+" rating from the Better Business Bureau.
