Join The Fight To Stop Puppy Mills.

Pet store temptation - we have all suffered from it when viewing the cute and curious menagerie of animals on sale. Do you ever give some thought to where these animals come from?

To be honest, most of those puppies and kittens you see don’t come from reputable breeders, they are bred in puppy or kitty mills. You are probably wondering what a puppy mill is. Well, here is the shocking truth.

Puppy mills are canine intensive breeding plants, where literally thousands of puppies are bred to supply the pet industry. It’s a sad life for a puppy mill puppy, from the very start.

A Puppy Mill puppy is likely to suffer from ill health, behavioral problems and diseases due to unselective breeding. Add to that a lack of socializing skills, which stems from early separation from the mother, rather like dysfunctional children.

Their substandard living conditions, where they are housed in cages, sometimes with many others also lead to health and temperament issues, as they receive little chance to bond with humans before being shipped to the petstore.

It is responsible when breeding puppies to take into account any diseases a breed is prone to, and to carefully select dogs to mate, otherwise you end up with a walking wagging time bomb. Good breeder will make proper vet care, immunization and health a priority.

They should be able to provide a breeding line for the dogs, papers and any other information necessary for looking after the puppy. In addition, pedigree dogs should come with a guarantee, each breeder will differ on this, so check your small print, but the guarantee should not require you to give back the puppy if he falls ill.

There is no such ethos at the Puppy Mill, where money talks fast and loud. They breed dogs regardless of health, disease or family history, which is a recipe for disaster.

The bitches have the worst deal, as they will be made to breed relentlessly in miserable health conditions. And once spent from this terrible life, they will be rewarded with abandonment or death.

Puppy mills are still in operation despite laws to control them. The way to combat these farms is to remove the demand for puppies by only purchasing your puppy from a good breeder, or adopting one from an animal rescue centre; don’t trust pet stores, which may be ignorant or misleading of the truth.

Although it is tempting to save a puppy by buying him, don’t. You will create a space for the next puppy from a mill. If you want to do something, contact the authorities or an animal shelter who will be able to do something constructive.

Puppy mills, tragic and inhumane as they are, are a problem caused by the consumer, so use your spending power wisely and put an end to these hellish establishments.