Say no to Puppy Mills.
1. They are inhumane and show little regard to the well-being of the animals they are breeding.
Not only are the puppies born into overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, but are crammed inside a tiny cage with wire flooring that injures their paws and legs. In order to maximize profits, female dogs are bred at every opportunity with no recovery time between litters. When the female dogs are physically incapable of producing more litters, they are killed.
According to ASPCA.org, illness and diseases are common in dogs from puppy mills. Due to the fact that puppy mill operators do not remove sick dogs from their breeding pools, the puppies are more prone to health conditions. Some of these health conditions include blindness, deafness, and heart disease.
Puppy mills are regulated by the US department of agriculture, under the Animal Welfare Act.
It is estimated that there are more than 5000 licensed puppy mills currently breeding and selling animals commercially in the US. These licensed puppy mills currently provide local pet stores with an estimated 500,000 puppies each year. However, there are thousands of unlicensed and unregulated breeding facilities with horrific and inhume conditions that sell their animals to petstores, the public, and online.
According to the APHIS AWA Factsheet, Individuals who operate facilities in these categories must provide their animals with adequate care and treatment in the areas of housing, handling, sanitation, nutrition, water, veterinary care, and protection from extreme weather and temperatures.
2. There are plenty of other adoptable dogs.
According to the ASPCA, approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year, and of those animals, 1.5 million are euthanized.
Adopting dogs is much more cost effective. The price of buying a dog from a puppy mill can range from $900-$2000. Versus adopting a dog from a animal shelter, which would cost around $0-$350. When you adopt a dog, you know you are receiving a healthy dog because the shelter would not allow a family to take home an ill dog, and puppy mills dogs are often inbred which produces a higher chance of receiving serious health problems.
A common misunderstanding that some people believe is that you can not get a pure bred dog from humane society. You can still adopt pure bred dogs without going through a puppy mill. There are multiple different organizations across the US that specialize in saving a specific dog breed from rough conditions.
3. Dogs are innocent.
Dogs are completely and utterly innocent. In puppy mills, dogs are not given a name. They’re given a number. They aren’t even given a chance to be able to catch a ball, go on a walk, or even go on a fun car ride.
One story that speaks for most…Maxx’s story.
An example of how puppy mills are not fair to dogs, and how they don’t do anything to deserve to live in a puppy mill is Maxx’s story. Maxx was a beautiful golden retriever who had a huge heart and a great capacity to love. Unfortunately, he had the hard luck go being born a puppy mill dog. One evening, a rescue group and law enforcement authorities raided the facility, which was in Vancouver, British Columbia. The animals were sick, diseased, malnourished, and filthy…The rescue agency took Maxx and found him to be mess. His long, golden fur was matted and soiled with feces. It took 8 hour to clean him. A women named Monika later adopted him. Monika describes the overwhelming affection she had for Maxx. He seemed so happy to be free. The first few days when Maxx came home, were fun and filled with love. But as time went on, Monika noticed that Maxx had trouble walking. So Monika ended up taking Maxx to the vet and they found that Maxx had 2 severe ear infections, hip dysplasia, and multiple broken bones. A couple months passed, and Monika realized that Maxx was in so much pain all the time and couldn’t live his best life. Maxx was eventually put down, and Monika was left heartbroken. There are thousands of dogs just like Maxx. Dogs that are just born unlucky and don’t have a chance to live a quality life because they are just used for puppy mills.
Helpful Links
https://www.thepuppymillproject.org (Maxx’s story)
https://www.aspca.org/barred-from-love
https://www.grrow.org Golden Retriever Rescue of Wisconsin
www.lab-rescure.org a nonprofit organization that rescues, foster, and place homeless, abused, and/or abandoned Labrador Retrievers