Puppy Mills

Puppy Mills.  We’ve all heard the term.  We’ve watched in horror as news reporters show different rescue groups pulling matted and diseased dogs from small wire cages, where they have spent the majority of their lives.  These dogs have never known the gentle, loving touch of a human.  All they know is loneliness and suffering at the hands of the people who see them only as a way to make money by forcing them to breed over and over again.

Puppy mills usually house dogs in very small and unsanitary conditions.  The dogs do not receive adequate veterinary care, food, water or socialization.  These dogs do not receive treats, toys or exercise.  The cages they live in have wire bottoms to minimize the amount of clean-up the puppy mill owner must do.  Because of this, the dogs’ paws are often bleeding and severely injured.  Often, these cages are stacked one on top of the other with the urine and feces of the dogs above going into the cages of the dogs in the lower cages.  

More often than not, when a breeder dog reaches the age of 4 or 5, it is considered not to be useful anymore and is killed.  Some of the luckier ones are taken by rescues groups.  However, sometimes the lack of socialization makes them aggressive and unadoptable.

Due to the horrific conditions in which these dogs are kept, puppies from these facilities are often in poor health, and because of so much inbreeding of the dogs, a lot of the medical problems are hereditary and will show up in later years, such as hip dysplasia.  They are also prone to respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia.  Puppy mill puppies travel far to the pet stores that will sell them.  Cramped quarters on these long journeys cause stress and in some cases, the puppies arrive at their destination dead.

In recent years, state legislatures have passed new laws aimed at eliminating the worst abuses at puppy mills. New laws include limits on the number of breeding females, requirements that facilities be licensed and inspected, and requirements that dogs be given proper veterinary care. Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Virginia passed puppy mill laws in 2008, and 10 states passed laws in 2009 to crack down on abusive puppy mills.

 

Puppy mills have been around for decades. They continue to thrive because they prey on unwitting people who are smitten by adorable little faces of the puppies in pet store windows and on legitimate-seeming websites. 

There are too many homeless dogs and puppies in the United States.  Puppy mills only contribute to that figure.  Instead of buying your next puppy or dog from a pet store or from an online breeder, consider visiting your local animal shelter and adopting your next furchild.  Maybe if the demand for pet store puppies disappears, puppy mills will soon be a thing of the past.

This post is dedicated to Crystal, a former Puppy Mill Breeder Dog who went to the Rainbow Bridge on February 16, 2012…….much too soon.  Thank you to Bonnie and Ray for giving her the love and care she so deserved in the last years of her life. 

Shelter Pets

Are you thinking of adding a new furbaby to your household?  Are you a cat person or a dog person…..or maybe both?  Have you considered looking into a local shelter or pet rescue to adopt your new friend? 

There are thousands of homeless dogs and cats in shelters.  Many people have lost their homes in this bad economy and cannot take their pets with them when they move.  Sometimes someone will get a pet and realize they don’t have the time or patience for the animal, and they are dropped in shelters.  Everyone loves a kitten or puppy, but the kittens turn into cats and the puppies into dogs and suddenly, they aren’t so cute anymore so off to the shelter they go.  Some become a financial burden when they get old due to health problems.  There are many reasons (or excuses) why dogs and cats end up in shelters.  Unfortunately many of these pets will be euthanized because there just isn’t room to care for them all in the shelters.

Rescue groups do a wonderful job of taking pets from high-kill shelters and then finding foster homes for them until a suitable adoptive family is found.  But again, they too run out of room eventually and have to stop pulling pets from shelters or accepting owner surrenders.

 There are many reasons why one should check into getting a rescue animal FIRST when looking for a new pet. Shelters are flooded with great pets that are just waiting for a home to love them. A rescued animal will normally cost you less than buying a puppy from a breeder.  Rescue pets seem to understand that you have taken them out of a very bad situation and are so loving and protective of their humans. I say this from personal experience.  And most important - you will be saving a life!

Before going to a shelter to find your new friend, have a good idea of what you are looking for.  There are many breed specific dog rescues in the US.  Learn all you can about the breed before you decide.  Some are prone to many health problems, some behavioral problems. If you are not willing to deal with either of those, chose another breed.  There are also shelters and rescues that rescue both dogs and cats, no matter the breed or mix.  Take time when you visit to get to know the pet you are looking at.  How awful it must be for a cat or dog to be adopted, only to be returned because he wasn’t the perfect fit for the family.  Take time to make your decision.  Puppies and kittens and dogs and cats aren’t disposable commodities, something to take lightly or to be passed from home to home to home.   They require attention, exercise, discipline, training, medical care, good nutrition and above all else, love.  

Whether you are looking for a young pet or a “senior” dog or cat, please consider adopting from your local shelter or pet rescue.  

And remember – Responsible pet owners SPAY AND NEUTER!!