How to ’save’ puppy-mill dogs: Don’t buy them
By Gina Spadafori
December 5, 2007
I’ve been writing about pets and their care for a living, more or less, since 1984. In all that time, I have completely and utterly lost any idea I ever had that laws can or even should be put in place to end the pure evil of puppy mills, mass-production facilities where “breeding stock” live in filth and fear, in cages open to the elements, for the duration of their lives as units of production.
Why? Because laws to clean up puppy mills will give us cleaner puppy mills, at best. As long as dog-breeding facilities are considered as “farming” — overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, no less — you will never see an end to large-scale kennels, because the pet and farming lobbies will not allow such infringement on their ability to “farm dogs.”
No matter that a kennel-raised pup — even from a “model operation” — has for decades been known not to be the best choice as a family pet. (Wanna read up? Start with Scott and Fuller from the’60s.)
Mass-produced puppies, often raised in filth, are notoriously difficult if not nearly impossibly to house-train. Bred with no concern to congenital defects, those who don’t pop with parvo right away often end up with expensive-to-treat health conditions later. Raised without socialization as the offspring of sick, stressed out moms, many of them are also neurotic as hell.
When you buy a pet-store puppy or a “puppy-mill direct” puppy from an Internet ordering site, you may be giving one puppy a good home, but you’re guaranteeing the continuation of this sick, cruel industry.
As an aside, you’re also screwing up the holidays for veterinarians and dog-trainers everywhere.
Don’t do it.
Read our “No Christmas Puppies” posts from a couple years ago, or today’s story from MSNBC.com on a puppy-mill bust in Virginia. In the credit-where-credit-is-due department, puppy mills have always been a focus of HSUS investigations, and their section on puppy mills and why you should skip their retail and Internet outlets is well worth reading.
(The picture above is by our Morgan Ong, of a van load of former ”breeding stock” from a Midwest puppy mill. The dogs were brought to California for pro bono veterinary attention and adoption into their first real homes ever. Many were in deplorable condition. )
***
Just so happens I’m now raising a puppy for a friend for the next six months. Want to know what you get when you have a puppy from someone (reputable breeder or shelter/rescue group with a good fostering program) who knows what they’re doing? You get a puppy like Otter who:
– Is house-trained at 8 weeks, to the extent her bladder and legs can manage it (understands the concept, can’t always execute to perfection);
– Is socialized to think people are the center of the universe and soaks up learning like a sponge;
– Understands dog body language and is playful and respectful to other dogs;
– Knows that teeth hurt (especially baby teeth) and isn’t mouthy;
– Understands the difference (for the most part) between dog toys and human belongings;
– Is comfortable with having every part of her body touched and doesn’t freak at nail trims;
– Is confident, not fearful, explores in new situations; and
– Sits for her dinner.
She’s not a wonder puppy. She’s just what you get at eight weeks when you get a puppy from someone who knows what she’s doing, works hard to socialize puppies during the first few weeks of life, and primes them to learn new things willingly and happily.
Want a puppy like this? Look for a shelter or rescue group with an active fostering program, or find a reputable breeder if you want a purebred. Hint: At this point, that means no Christmas puppy. Get over it.
No matter how cute, don’t buy a pet-store pr “puppy-mill direct” Internet puppy. If everyone just passed on these puppies, puppy mills (even the clean ones) would end within a year. No sales = The end.
Great article! But please add “internet-direct puppies” to the pet store category. Many puppy mill operators are also marketing direct to the public, skipping the middle man and making even greater profit that way.
Getting rid of puppy mills will also require that people don’t buy these internet pups. How to tell if the breeder found on-line is a puppy mill:
-they take visa, mastercard or paypal before they ever speak to you
-they don’t ask questions about why you want a puppy or what kind of home it will have
- they require non-refundable deposits
-they will ship anywhere
-they have multiple litters advertised or “always” have pups available or on the way
-they bad mouth other breeders or AKC or National Club member breeders on their sites and often claim “special” breeding programs that eliminate all disease etc….
-they may even offer unrelated breeding pairs or trios and may push the idea of breeding for profit
this internet direct industry has now surpassed pet shops as a source of rescue dogs for bulldog rescue. Many times they are charging more than the dedicated breeder with health-screened, well socialized puppies. All the sites of course claim the best care, best dogs blah, blah but no reputable breeder will take a credit card or sell a puppy without extensive interviews. If it sounds too good to be true, it’s an on-line puppy mill.
Comment by Jennifer J — December 5, 2007 @ 10:05 am
Thank you for the suggestion. You’re absolutely right, and I added references to these “puppy-mill direct” Web sites.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 5, 2007 @ 10:12 am
Thanks!
Comment by Jennifer J — December 5, 2007 @ 11:21 am
Great article! There is certianly a double edged sword to this situation. The pet store puppies themselves have done no wrong and too deserve a home, but I completely agree and understand the reason for not buying them (so as not to contribute to the cycle). So sad…
Comment by Heather M. — December 5, 2007 @ 2:27 pm
Heather, it is very sad. But eventually someone does buy them or they are sometimes dumped on rescue. The pet store or internet seller has to move through them fast to profit. Everyday they sit and eat(and grow) lowers their value and costs the store owner or mill owner money. If they don’t sell fast, they will be marked down etc…
If that happens, the pet store owner won’t order more and the mill will breed less or move on to another source of income. So while it may be hard on the crop of puppies in question, it will help shut the industry down.
But I agree, it’s tremendously hard to see any animal miserable and suffering and not want to help. Various rescues have tried to buy up breeding stock at dog auctions. The millers quickly found out that it was a good way to sell of old, infertile and sick dogs and profit off it to boot! They have no trouble buying or importing more brood stock to replace those bought by rescue. So hard as it is, many national Parent Clubs and Breed Rescues won’t buy at auction or permit use of funds to buy pet shop or auctioned dogs. Having said that I applaud those who save the rejected dogs from these sources. It can be very difficult to know what to do and when. You want to save the dogs, but not help enable or facilitate the very industry that is abusing them.
Ultimately, Gina has it 100% right. If no one buys the puppies, the mills, mass importers and brokers will simply disappear.
Comment by Jennifer J — December 5, 2007 @ 3:40 pm
>>Because laws to clean up puppy mills will give us cleaner puppy mills, at best. As long as dog-breeding facilities are considered as “farming” — overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, no less — you will never see an end to large-scale kennels, because the pet and farming lobbies will not allow such infringement on their ability to “farm dogs.”
Comment by trucorgi — December 5, 2007 @ 6:14 pm
Above
This is absolutely true.! And if/when MSN laws are passed, these “cleaner facilities” will be exempt from them. And if/when PAWs (now resurrected in the farm bill) passes, these “cleaner facilities” will pass and the home/show/hobby breeders will fail. Why? Because USDA/AWA regulations were written for commercial operations, not private residences. Breeders who raise puppies in their homes will never meet the criteria. We follow a code of ethics. We don’t have commercial flooring, drainage systems and air exchanges. The language in the amendment also opens the door for HSUS and other animal rights groups to become contractors for the UDSA inspection program. There will be fewer, not more well-bred puppies, and that really is the goal of these regulations. Don’t be fooled. The only way to fight puppy mills is to NOT patronize them.
Comment by trucorgi — December 5, 2007 @ 6:16 pm
I’m old, and I’m bitter. I am gradually coming to the conclusion that nothing - not all the education in the world, not all the anti pet store campaigns, not all the film footage of mills - will stop the willfully ignorant from buying from pet stores.
The willfully ignorant don’t care where their puppy came from. They pretend to believe it when pet store owners say that ‘their dogs’ come from ‘good breeders’. They want a dog, now, with no strings attached, and paid off monthly on their credit card.
With articles like the ‘too busy to housebreak’ yuppies, why are we surprised there are still people out there who just do not give a damn about where their dogs come from, or what lives the parents left behind are leading?
I think education is nice, but we need legislation stopping live animal sales in pet stores. Greedy, stubborn, willfully stupid people will always exist, so let’s make it that little bit harder for them to get pets the same way they buy sweaters.
Signed, a cranky old dog woman
Comment by Carol — December 5, 2007 @ 8:41 pm
The sad truth behind the friendly facade of pet stores is that there often lies a puppy mill. The documented problems of these mass breeding facilities include overbreeding, inbreeding, minimal veterinary care, poor quality of food and shelter, lack of socialization with humans, overcrowded cages, and the killing of unwanted animals. To the unwitting consumer, this situation frequently means buying a puppy facing an array of immediate veterinary problems or harboring genetically borne diseases that do not appear until years later.
Consumer demand for purebred puppies, more than any other factor, perpetuates the misery of puppy mills. Unfortunately, a dog’s lifespan is often longer than a consumer’s desire to maintain their “product.” As a result, millions of purebred dogs are sent to animal shelters every year, where roughly half will be euthanized.
Take a look at the financial impact of Columbus, OH Petland stores on Franklin County (statistics provided by the Director of Franklin County Animal Shelter, Lisa Wahoff, in November, 2006):
7-10 Petland dogs per day are admitted to the shelter. 80% of those dogs are:
*not spayed/neutered
*are in very poor health and/or mental state
*have no microchip reigstered to anyone other than the broker, and no owner can be tracked. Petland takes no responsibility.
*are not an appropriate match to the owner, resulting in owner release within one year of the purchase.
The Results?
A low-end average of $30 per day for each Petland dog (if the dog is healthy) X 7-10 dogs = $210-$300 per day!
It is my firm belief that until the public truly understands and appreciates the cruel aspect - not to mention the consumer fraud - connected with “dealing dogs”, pet stores will continue to generate millions of dollars for their breeders and distributors.
Comment by Mary O'Connor-Shaver — December 6, 2007 @ 9:41 am
It’s not just “purebred” dogs — puppy-millers LOVE the new designer dogs. They don’t even have to mess with paperwork to churn out “puggles,” “doodles” and more.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 6, 2007 @ 9:45 am
Here is an excellent way to stop puppy mills in their tracks! I support this endeaver 100000%
:^0 Please sign this petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/.....ition.html
The “Puppy Mill Bill” simply states that “Puppy Mills” should be outlawed in every state. A puppy mill, for this purpose, will be defined as: Any individual, group, or business that produces a puppy, and sells or gives the puppy to another party to resell.
By signing this petition, you agree with the above definition and the outlaw of all puppy mills in the United States. This petition will be introduced with the “Puppy Mill Bill” to congress, once the required amount of signatures are obtained.
This is the way to go! Unhappy customers will bring a business down. If you can’t show your facilities, you shouldn’t breed dogs!
Comment by Karin Six — May 9, 2008 @ 11:10 pm
Uh … that defines EVERY breeder as a puppy-mill.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 10, 2008 @ 1:52 am
So, Karin Six, the “Dog Lovers of San Diego County” are opposed to the existence of domestic dogs? Because, as Gina says, you’re defining every breeder as a “puppy mill”—meaning that there would be no legal way to produce any dogs for any reason or purpose.
Sorry, but I happen to think my life is richer for having my little dog in it, and I’ll have to decline your invitation to define her very careful, very responsible breeder as a “puppy miller.”
Comment by Lis — May 10, 2008 @ 3:57 am
I’m wondering if the intent of the wording was to define only breeders who use brokers to sell their pups as “puppymillers”.
Comment by slt — May 10, 2008 @ 10:00 am
I can see that reading in it, too.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — May 10, 2008 @ 1:17 pm
I like the idea of the bill but the wording needs to be tweaked. If legitimate breeders were registered and all others outlawed it may help stop the mills.
A Petland opened recently in my area and because I am such a dog lover I would go in and look on a very regular basis 2-3 times a week, however, I wasn’t in the market for a dog. I was truly amazed at the quick turnover of puppies and couldn’t believe they were selling that many dogs at $1100 a pop. Because I love dachshunds I spent some time with one of them. A sweet little thing but very nervous, had dirty ears and a runny eye. I pointed this out to the manager and of course got the runaround. After doing some research on the internet and the bad press about Petland I haven’t returned as it would break my heart to know where these dogs are coming from although I would love to stand outside and tell customers where these dogs are coming from.
Comment by Marti — May 20, 2008 @ 12:45 pm