No More Puppy Mills; Stop the abuse.

I may be aging myself a bit here but there used to be a song that went something like this; "How much for that doggie in the window"... Have puppies and kittens in the pet stores always come from Puppy Mills? Were we just unaware of what was going on way back then? I decided to do some research and find out more. But before I answer this question let's take a look at the seedy underworld of puppy mills.

That adorable little puppy in the Pet Store window, that you want to save, really needs to stay put. "How cruel" you say, I can hear you now. But as long as that little pup stays in that same spot there will be a longer time before another sickly, poorly bred puppy takes its place.

It's simple economics really. If the Pet Stores quit making money off of the sale of puppies then they will quit 'stocking their stores' with them.

It is estimated that the puppy mill industry makes over 50 million dollars a year. States such as Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma are major places for puppy mills and their horrible conditions. These facilities are supposed to be inspected by the USDA. What has been found is that they are not shutting them down but simply fining them for the abuses and then returning to see if they have fixed the fined issues. If not they simply fine them again. So you see, the United States Department of Agriculture is making money at the expense of these poor animals.

Here is what you can do. Firstly and most importantly NEVER and I mean NEVER support a pet store that has LIVE ANIMALS. Don't buy any food or treats or items for your critters, EVER. If these "Cruella Di Vel" stores don't turn a profit they will shut down at some point. If they cannot pay their rent they will close their doors. Greed is the only reason for selling pet store puppies and kittens. They all come from puppy mills far away where they were most likely weaned far to young from their emaciated mother; wholesaled to a middle man corporation where they are warehoused (literally) until they are shipped to their next destination, the aquarium styled glass house at a store near you.

This awareness is a painful topic and many, many soft-hearted people don't want to learn of or hear about the situation because then they feel obligated to do something to help. Oftentimes they don't know what that is so they end up just feeling bad about the whole thing.

Here is what anyone can do to help elevate awareness in our society and raise our humanity as well.

Spread the word to anyone who will listen. Especially to children who are the future; they need to learn that rescuing a homeless animal or going to an ethical breeder where the pups parents are as well, are the only ways to correctly adopt a furry friend. This will help to stop these puppy mills, these cruel places must be stopped.

This is an ongoing grass-roots movement that needs to be embraces by more animal loving people. Do not underestimate the power of the spoken word. People will listen and learn.

Educating others is how we will accomplish this great task. It can be done.

There are many cities that have passed ordinances making puppy and kitten Pet Store sales illegal. However those pet stores are allowed to place out rescue dogs and cats for a fee. This is a great way to curtail the Puppy Mill situation. On the one hand animals that need to be re-homed will have another chance and when the demand for Puppy Mill puppies goes down so does the supply. Supply and demand economics.

This is not condemning ethical breeders, dog showing homes, dog sport enthusiasts, and the like; it is attempting to curtail the horrible, unsanitary and unsafe places where dogs and cats are treated like cattle. Which makes me wonder...