It can be hard to resist the adorable, pleading faces staring at you from behind a pet store window. But, by purchasing a puppy from a pet store, you may be supporting a puppy mill.
Puppy mills are dog breeding operations which provide substandard care at best. Unlike reputable breeders for who care of their dogs is top priority, puppy mills only care about one thing: making money.
They house dogs and puppies in dirty, cramped cages and provide them with very little, if any, human contact. While there are laws on the books that mandate minimum standards, it is not enough.
Many puppy mills either find a way around the laws or simply ignore them. Inspectors are few in number, and many puppy mills that are operating illegally are never caught.
Buying a puppy from a such a place supports animal abuse and, since puppy mill puppies often have health and behavior problems, can leave the owner have to care for a sick or aggressive dog.
It’s not only pet stores that sell puppy mill puppies. Many websites and newspaper ads were created by puppy millers as a way to fool buyers into thinking they are buying from a responsible, caring breeder. One such site even claimed to be selling puppies raised by the Amish. Even sites or ads that claim to be against such cruelty are often just puppy millers in disguise.
The only way to know the truth is to physically visit the site where the breeder houses the dogs and puppies. No reputable breeder will have a problem with this request. Breeders know better than most the horrors of puppy mills and are usually willing to do whatever they can to stop it.
There are thousands of shelters and rescue groups all over the country. Adopting from a shelter is a great way to bring a new pet in to your life. Shelter pets have usually been temperament tested and given a thorough physical exam.
By getting a puppy from a shelter, you can be confident that you are getting a healthy, friendly pet. Thousands of dogs, many of them purebreds, are in shelters waiting to be adopted.
If you choose not to adopt from a shelter or rescue group, then you should research breeders carefully before deciding to do business with them.
On-site visits are a must. You should see the mother dog. Ensure she seems happy and healthy. “Breeders” in puppy mills are kept in cages, without any human contact, where they do nothing but breed again and again. When they are no longer useful to the puppy miller, the dog is either killed, dumped at a shelter or sold to another puppy mill.
These dogs live lives of total suffering and despair. Most never know what it’s like to run and play or to be part of a caring family. By purchasing pet store or other puppy mill puppies, you support the abuse of innocent animals.
Keep this in mind when selecting your next pet. Please choose wisely.