Don't let puppy mills stay in business 7/21/2009 12:34 AM By GARY WILLOUGHBY Aiken SPCA executive director
One of the toughest calls the Aiken SPCA gets is when one of our area animal control departments finds out about a suspected puppy mill and is going to investigate. What they find is often something you simply can't un-see.
Puppy mills are different than good breeders who follow guidelines of organizations like the American Kennel Club and who are seeking to produce the best examples of a particular type of dog or cat. The mentality behind a puppy mill is different; money is the singular motivation for breeding animals.
Puppy mills found their origins on large scales in the Midwest post-World War II when farmers began looking for alternative crops and seeking to meet the growing demand for puppies throughout the country. Because of the condition in which the puppies live (lying in chicken coops, rabbit hutches or other areas not designed for puppies) and lack of veterinary care, many of the animals raised this way display physical and emotional issues.
Mothers are bred indiscriminately and far too often, and their puppies are often taken away too early to ship them out somewhere while still very young. Where are these dogs sold? These days, the Internet is a puppy mill breeder's best friend. They either sell them directly or find a wholesaler to do the work for them. These puppies also show up in flea markets, classified ads, pet stores, even being sold out of the back of the truck or van in some parking lot. The buyer sees the cute puppy, buys it impulsively and finds out later that often the puppy has medical issues, emotional issues and other physical problems resulting from inbreeding, overbreeding and indiscriminate breeding.
Recently, the SPCA received a call from a nearby county about raiding a suspected puppy mill. The hope was that some of the animals would be in good enough condition to be rehabilitated and adopted out to good homes after the dogs and puppies were given veterinary care, including having been spayed or neutered. The volunteers who helped with this effort reported the kinds of conditions heard about too often; dogs crowded together, living in their own filth, riddled with fleas and desperately needing grooming and bathing.
Unfortunately, when making money is the bottom line, quality care, socialization and sanitary conditions don't often follow. Luckily, in this case, the groups mobilized quickly and came to the rescue of these great dogs. After good grooming, flea treatment, vaccinations and spay and neuter surgeries, these little dogs are ready for good homes far away from the only living conditions they ever knew.
At the time of this article, many of them have already even been adopted. Call the shelter at 648-6863 for more information.
There are two things the Aiken SPCA wants you to take from this story.
First, if you want a purebred dog, there are good options for you. Nationally, about 25 percent of dogs at shelters are purebreds, so try there first. If these shelters don't have what you want, investigate breed rescue groups. Most are on the Internet on sites like www.petfinder.org. These people are experts in their breed and will do a great job putting the right dog with you.
If these avenues don't work, there are good, legitimate breeders out there, if you do your homework. Ask to see the parents of the puppy. See firsthand where the dogs live. Ask for references and interview the breeder to learn more about why they breed the dogs. Asking a few questions and doing the research will show them you are serious about the responsibility of dog ownership and help you determine whether you want to buy a puppy from them.
Don't buy from pet stores or flea markets, and be skeptical about buying puppies over the Internet. You may be inadvertently helping a puppy mill stay in business.
Finally, if you suspect a puppy mill is operating near you, contact the local animal control and request an investigation. You might just save the lives of dogs and puppies in need.
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Posted by: 4HumaneBreeders On: Friday, July 24, 2009 1:40 PM
Comment Title: Thank you for your article
A good definition of a puppy mill is a breeding operation in which the health of the dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits. And, puppy mills do exist by the thousands in the U.S. Anyone interested in buying a dog (if they decided not to adopt) should check out this "good breeder check list": www.humanesociety.org/puppy
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Posted by: The Auditor On: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 10:38 PM
Comment Title: Is this guy really who he says he is???
This article was written by a person who is supposed to know about these things. I have never seen such miscarriage of truth. Gary you should be ashamed of yourself, actually I am ashamed I have to correct you in such a public forum, but if you are going to be the cook of such trash you are or should be prepared to stand the heat in the kitchen. First of all there is no legal term for the Name "Puppy Mill" so you cannot use slanderous name calling to try to gain credibility. The American Kennel Club does not set breeding guidelines, actually they are not a club at all it is a misnomer of a name. they have zero members. Good try to establish credibility, but again based on false assumed information. Breeding facilities were established with farmers not following WWII but during the depression by the federal govt, in an attempt to save American Farms, without farms the country does not eat, puppies saved the bread basket of America.. not one American has ever starved to death due to lack of our farmers ability to produce enough food to feed the nation. With out the farmer breeding kennels established during this period we may not have been so fortunate. So get your facts right. And yes the puppies were raised in chicken coops, barns and rabbit hutches, that was all they had at the time. Remember it during the depression. These conditions do not continue to exist today we have Animal Welfare laws,if they are enforced they will protect the animals from such conditions. Your fourth paragraph is nothing but lie after lie, I am not going to waste ink on all of this dribble, this is false claims made by others which have no founding fact or in truth. Get a grip Gary!. So you were invited to go to an American citizens home and steal his or her property, you call it a raid, Tell me something Gary who was found guilty prior to your "Raid" and which judge gave you permission to resale the stolen property. You said the dogs had fleas, needed a bath and need groomed. Great that is about 80.0% of the dog population in the world on any given day.. but news flash.. it's not against the law. You mentioned making money, you guys do really well, with your second hand pet stores, you go out and steal dogs, give them a bath and a hair cut then sell them at a more than a 100.0% profit, You forgot to mention you sent the breeder a bill for your services and vet expense and he has to pay it or face contempt charges although he has never been found guilty of anything.. Two things the SPCA does not want you to know is 1. If they don't think they can sell a dog they will kill it almost immediately. 2. The 25.0% of they dogs they get that are purebred are mostly stolen from breeding kennels. This is a terrible article you wrote Gary.. Shame on you! I am going to keep an eye on you, you don't seem quite right.. Until next time.. The Auditor
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