Imagine this, you wake up each day in a 2′ by 3′ mesh wire cage. Your tiny feet are full of sores from walking around on the wire because there is no flooring in your “home”. You spend your day with no contact with others just hoping that someone will remember to bring you some food or water. Maybe today, you hope. You feel the need to go to the bathroom but there is no where to go except for the place where you sleep. So you go, then later you have to sleep in your own waste. You hear a voice, you get happy thinking maybe today I’ll be saved! No, not today, maybe tomorrow. You wonder, “what did I do to deserve this? Was I bad”? And this is your life. Day after day until you die.
Sounds unimaginable doesn’t it? Well it happens every single day to hundreds of thousands of innocent pets who are unfortunate enough to be born into a puppy mill. This is unacceptable and we have to stop it. We can stop it!
PUPPY MILLS
When you walk by the pet shop and see that cute little puppy or kitten looking at you with those pleading eyes, you can be sure that this animal came from a puppy mill. If you walk into that same pet shop and purchase that animal or even just purchase supplies for your animal at home, you can be sure that your money will go right back into running these very same puppy mills. So what is a puppy mill you might ask. I’m sure you have some vague idea, but let me fill you in on exactly what goes on in these inhumane facilities.
First of all, we all know that a puppy mill is where animals are bred for profit. The main concern of these places is to make money, the well being of the animals in their care is at the very bottom of the priority list.
Some of the animals in these places are not for sale. They are used solely for breeding purposes. A “breeder” will never interact with another animal unless they are being bred. These “breeders” will be bred at each and every “heat cycle” in their lives. When the “breeder” can no longer produce puppies they are killed.
The animals that are raised in puppy mills are kept in very small wire cages. They are never petted or even get to play with other animals. There is no where for these poor little pups to relieve themselves (use the bathroom) so they must go in the same small area in which they eat and sleep. They have no choice but to walk and lay down in their own waste. Grass, something we take for granted, is something that these poor little guys have never seen, let alone had the chance to walk and play in. The entire life of these furry little babies is confined to walking on wire and feces, being too cold or too hot, cruelly treated and never ever being loved. So you may think,” I have to buy this dog so I can show him love and kindness”. Of course we want to do that, even I do, but in doing so you are giving the puppy mills more money to breed more animals that will live in filth with no hope of ever being loved or wanted.
Animals in these mills see little to no veterinary care in their lifetimes. There have been dogs rescued from these mills that have such severe tooth decay that their entire jaw bone was rotted out. And that is just one example of the many, many health problems these animals have that are never treated. The pain that these mills allow the animals to endure would drive a normal human being to the brink of insanity, yet it’s okay because they are making tons of money. Well, I say it is NOT okay and all of us need to do our part to stop it.
Some of the animals in these puppy mills are lucky (if you want to call it that) enough to be rescued when the mills get shut down. However, since these animals have had no human contact or contact with other animals, they have no idea how to react to humans or other pets. These animals usually bite, fight with other animals and are just uncontrollable. The animal shelter can’t adopt out an animal like that, so they are almost always euthanized (put to sleep). It’s so sad that the poor animal is finally rescued from the “Hell” that is their life, only to be killed. Is this fair? Can we, as caring and loving people sit by and do nothing to stop this? I say “NO”! And I’m sure that if you took the time to read this, you must agree. So I will try to give you some tips that you can share with your friends and family on how to buy or adopt a pet that does not come from a puppy mill and also tips on how we can help to shut these people down!
HOW TO BUY OR ADOPT A PET THAT DOESN’T COME FROM A PUPPY MILL
You must always do your research. When you find a breeder that you think is on the up and up, be sure to visit the premises. Never take the breeders word for anything. Make sure you see where the puppy is raised and also check out the parents of your pup-to-be. Make sure they also are in a good environment and are healthy.
*Note: Most dogs that come from puppy mills have not been given a health check. You may spend hundreds of dollars on a pet only to have it either die from health problems or cost you enormous amounts of money for continued veterinary care.
Never buy from a pet store! They may assure you that they do not sell puppies that come from puppy mills, but they do. Always.
Adopting is always a great way to get a wonderful pet. When adopting from a shelter, you not only can choose the animal that is right for you and your family but you will also be saving the life of what may be your new best friend.
Like I said before, I know it is tempting to buy that puppy from the pet store, especially now that you know what kind of life it had, but to do that is to support the cruelty of the puppy mills. Adopting a dog from a shelter is also saving a dog that may have been mistreated and has a very uncertain future. Think about it. Another great idea for adopting a pet is to go to a rescue. There are rescues out there for almost any breed you may want. You can locate anything from a chihuahua rescue to a Pit bull rescue. These animals also were abused or neglected and need new loving homes. So there are ways to “save” an animal rather than getting one from the pet store.
Now that you’ve learned about puppy mills and how they abuse and neglect their animals, you are furious and want to know what you can do to help stop it, right? I have found several websites dedicated to just that. One such website is here. Please visit and take the pledge to help stop puppy mills. You can also find banners on this subject that you can add to your websites, AC, my space or anywhere you want. This helps to make others aware of this problem. Also, please tell your friends, family and anyone who will listen about puppy mills and what goes on in them. Ask them not to buy an animal or supplies from any pet shop that sells animals. If you happen to know of any such puppy mill, report it to your local animal shelter or the the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). And as always, you can donate money to this cause. Every bit helps.
I thank you for reading this article and I hope you have learned something from it. Most importantly, I hope that I’ve convinced you to help in this fight against animal cruelty and/or neglect. Please don’t forget to have your pets spayed or neutered. This is the only way we can help prevent more unwanted and abused pets from coming into this world. Thank you very much!
