Next Time You Want A Puppy Consider This…
[ posted 09.01.2009 | category: Puppy Mills; rescue ]
Right now, millions of dogs are suffering on the “production line” in puppy mills. They live in tiny cramped wire-bottomed cages, often covered in their own waste, with little human contact and often no veterinary care. Their sole purpose is to breed and make money for their owners.
There are an estimated 4,000 puppy mills in the U.S. that produce more than half a million puppies a year. Meanwhile, roughly 11,000 homeless dogs are euthanized in shelters every day.
Life of a Puppy Mill Mother
The mothers spend their entire miserable lives in tiny cages, standing on wire flooring that rips the skin off their feet. They are starved of proper nutrition or freedom from suffering, often sick with infections and untreated open sores. Many develop behavioral obsessions like turning constantly in circles.
They and forced to breed every time they are in heat until they are "used up" and considered “throw-aways”. Once a mother is considered a “throw-away”, they are either killed in brutal fashions, sold to research labs or to rescues for little to nothing. The same is true for many puppies born with overt physical problems that make them undesirable to pet stores.
Life of the Puppies
The puppies are often weaned from their mothers well before the recommended eight to ten weeks and sold to brokers. These brokers are the middlemen between the puppy mill and the pet store. The pet stores, who usually do not know where the puppies are from and or what conditions they were bred in, purchase the puppies at wholesale and then transport them over long distances in poor conditions, sometimes resulting in the deaths of many puppies.
The pet stores then sell the puppies as purebreds in an attempt to attract a higher price. However, due to the indiscriminate breeding practices of puppy mills, the puppy may or may not actually be a purebred. The customer who eventually purchases a puppy discovers that their pet is more prone to developing respiratory ailments and pneumonia, as well as hereditary defects such as hip dysphasia, resulting in costly veterinary expenses.
e-Puppy Mills
Now with the ease and anonymity of the Internet, many puppy mill owners are selling their puppy’s directly online cutting out the broker and the pet store resulting in higher profits. They mask their evil intentions behind clever names and dressing puppies in cute outfits to attract buyers. Don’t be fooled by their tricks. One of the safest and cheapest ways to get a puppy is through shelters and rescues. Many times you can adopt for a fraction of the price. Below are some great websites to adopt from:
- www.adoptapet.com
- www.petfinder.com
- http://adoptions.bestfriends.org/
- http://www.petco.com
- www.aspca.org
The goal of Best Friends’ Puppies Aren’t Products campaign is to create a world of No More Homeless Pets by fighting against puppy mills and irresponsible breeding. Our campaign team saves lives by holding peaceful demonstrations at pet stores that sell puppies from mills, educating consumers about the inhumane conditions in puppy mills, encouraging people to adopt rather than buy pets, and advocating for better laws to combat puppy mills. 
