THE REAL
COST OF THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW
Puppy Mill
Action Week - November 25 to December 01, 2007
BY SUSAN WOLF
Thousands of
puppies are going to be purchased from pet stores
this holiday season. Many will have begun a long
and stressful journey from commercial breeding
facilities known as “puppy mills”. “Puppy mills”,
mostly located in the Midwest, mass produce dogs
for sale to pet stores. Frequently, the mother dogs
spend their entire lives in cramped, filthy cages
producing litter after litter with no rest. The
puppies are shipped to pet stores all over the
country at an age when they are most susceptible to
disease. They change hands numerous times through
middlemen called “dog brokers” before their final
destination – the pet store. They frequently have
many health problems that are not always obvious
initially. People who buy “puppy mill” puppies from
pet stores are, unknowingly, perpetuating the
vicious cycle of cruelty.
AKC PAPERS
DO NOT GUARANTEE HEALTH
When a puppy
is purchased at a pet store, it almost always comes
with American Kennel Club papers that falsely
reassure customers. The papers do not guarantee pet
health or quality, and the AKC relies on breeders to
be honest about a dog’s parents.
LAWS
INADEQUATE TO PROTECT DOGS
Pet store
clerks frequently tell customers that puppy breeders
are licensed by the US Department of Agriculture,
the Federal government agency responsible for
overseeing “puppy mills”. They do not tell the
public that the US Department of Agriculture is
not adequately funded or staffed to carry out proper
inspections. Not every facility is inspected every
year and licenses of many facilities have been
renewed even though they had outstanding
violations.
During
investigations, The Humane Society of the United
States has seen dogs with open wounds, suffering
from starvation, and forced to eat and sleep in
their own excrement. Dead animals have been found
as well. Too frequently, profit making is more
important than the health of the dogs.
BACK YARD
BREEDERS
Back yard
breeders who may own one or two “purebred dogs”
frequently contribute to animal overpopulation and
sell their dogs to pet stores. Don’t you think that
a responsible breeder would prefer to screen
potential buyers and want to know where their
puppies are going?
BUYERS OF “PUPPY MILL” DOGS ALLOW THE MISERY TO
CONTINUE
PLEASE ADOPT A HOMELESS ANIMAL FROM YOUR LOCAL
SHELTER
If you want a
pet, please choose from the many homeless animals
waiting to be adopted at your local animal shelter.
The animal shelters screen for disposition and
behavioral problems as well as health. Because of
indiscriminate breeding, thousands of animals have
been destroyed at shelters all over the country when
the shelters become filled to capacity. The
shelters have many wonderful puppies, purebreds, and
mixed breeds as well as cats and kittens. Won’t you
consider one for your home? Try to choose a time
that is filled with less excitement and is more
peaceful than the holidays to bring an animal into
your home. Please realize that taking an animal
into your home involves a long term committment - as
many as 16 years, sometimes longer.
If animal
shelters do not have what you are looking for,
please consider the many purebred dogs on All Breed
Rescue Network. There are so many animals in need
of homes that have been put up for adoption because
families are moving, or their elderly caretaker has
passed away. If you still would like to find
reputable breeders, please make sure that they have
the mother dogs and are taking good care of their
breeding animals. Make sure these animals are part
of the family and are not being left outside in a
pen 24 hours a day and used just as breeding
machines. Reputable breeders do not keep breeding
the same mother every year and do not sell to pet
stores.
People allow
“puppy mills” to be profitable. The next time you
are in a pet store, please refrain from purchasing
that cute doggie in the window. It comes at a
higher price than one can imagine. People can
ultimately end the vicious cycle of cruelty.
