A group of people who bought sickly puppies from Petland Inc. have filed a federal lawsuit against the chain, accusing it of selling dogs bred in puppy mills to unsuspecting customers.

The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, was filed Monday in Arizona by six plaintiffs who bought puppies from Petland at various locations between 2005 and 2008.

They are seeking monetary damages, as well as a court order to declare the company's practices "unfair, deceptive or unconscionable," as well as attorney fees and costs. The complaint was based in part on an investigation done by the Humane Society of the United States.

Petland, headquartered in Chillicothe, Ohio, has approximately 140 stores in 31 states, including four in the Pittsburgh area.

Yesterday, in a statement posted on Petland's Web site, the company said it was "outraged and disappointed," at what it called false accusations made by the Humane Society. It called the organization "a radical animal rights group," that was conducting a smear campaign against the company to increase donations.

"The health and welfare of the pets in our care is our upmost concern. At Petland, we offer healthy, happy and well socialized pets to our customers. This is our business," said Vice President Joe Watson in a news release.

The lawsuit also names as a defendant the Hunte Corp., which it calls the nation's largest puppy broker.

Several of the dog owners who are listed as plaintiffs bought puppies that will need continuing medical care throughout their lives. They include a Boston terrier purchased in Michigan with a congenital spinal condition and a miniature pinscher bought in Georgia who had progressive retinal atrophy that will ultimately lead to blindness.

The lawsuit also details other complaints for a number of puppies who were purchased and died a short time later.

"This scheme to conceal the origin of these puppy mill puppies from consumers has left thousands of families in its wake suffering from emotional turmoil and significant monetary losses as they grapple with diseased and dying puppies purchased at Petland stores throughout the United States," the lawsuit said.