Puppy Mills

Many, many people own dogs around the world. Dog's are called loyal, loving, and man's best friend. However, despite the fact that we say we love dogs, we overlook the cruelty that surrounds the birth of many of them. Hope is the name of one dog who spent much of her life in a puppy mill, producing puppies. When she was finally rescued by an animal rights group, she weighed only two pounds and had severe infection throughout her body. There was little chance of her surviving, but miraculously, she did after many months. Everything she saw was new to her- she had never even been outside in her life.

Puppy mills are places where dogs are bred for profit, and are usually severely neglected. Dogs who live in puppy mills spend their entire lives in tiny wire cages, producing puppies. That is their only purpose, so they are not properly taken care of. Many have skin diseases, and they often are malnourished and dehydrated. When a puppy mill owner no longer wants a dog, they sell it at a dog auction. There, another puppy mill or a scientific laboratory buys it after hours of confusion and discomfort. When a dog is no longer able to breed, it is killed and thrown away like rubbish. Puppies born at puppy mills are sold to pet stores, where unsuspecting dog-lovers buy them. Ninety percent of the puppies in pet stores come from puppy mills, which translates to 500,000 puppies per year. Unfortunately, these puppies suffer many problems. They are often inbred, which leads to many types of health issues. They are also often psychologically injured, so that they have behavior issues.

Happily, many people are working to stop puppy mills. Puppy mills are illegal in the United States because of the cruelty that is shown towards dogs there. However, more puppy mills start all the time because of the large profits that can be made in this business. In order to completely shut down puppy mills, people need to stop buying dogs in pet stores. Instead, they should buy their dog from a breeder or adopt one. If people stop buying puppies, pet stores will stop buying them from puppy mills, which will cause the puppy mills to be shut down. When puppy mills shut down, cruelty shown to dogs will lessen. As people start to adopt more dogs, the number of dogs put to sleep will also decrease.

The next time you are thinking about getting a dog, buy one from a breeder or adopt one that needs a home from an animal shelter. Don't contribute to animal cruelty by buying one from a pet store. Dogs are wonderful creatures that only aim to please; the least we can do is reciprocate by saving their lives.

Please watch film clips, look at pictures, and read the stories of puppy mill dogs at http://www.prisonersofgreed.org/. Excellent (though occasionally very graphic) videos of suffering puppy mill dogs can also be found on Youtube.