Oh - and that “A” at the end? It stands for “Agriculture”. As in “animals raised for the purpose of becoming dinner most of whom will have very short lifetimes”.

It remains completely illogical why THEY should have anything to say about the conditions of animals being raised to be COMPANIONS (animals intended to have very LONG lifetimes) - i.e. Dogs and Cats.

Why does this matter? Well - how an animal is raised quite often determines a lot about that animal’s temperament and ingrained behaviors for the rest of its life. Ever heard the saying “Were you raised in a barn?” Well, to raise a dog like a barn animal, and then expect it to have the temperament to successfully adapt to being a companion in someone’s home just doesn’t make sense.

That’s just one of MANY reasons why an organization that oversees AGRICULTURE has no business overseeing the raising of companion dogs and cats. Even if the commercial breeders are doing everything according to Hoyle - um - USDA - it’s STILL not the way dogs and cats intended to be companion animals should be raised.

What the HSUS did — going public with the story — will stop more people from buying puppy-mill dogs than reporting a cruelty infraction ever would have.

The NRA is also a fund-raising business, but that doesn’t change the fact that they have done more to support our second-amendment rights than any other entity. (I’m an NRA member.)

I don’t care that the HSUS uses the puppy mill issue to raise money. They use the money to raise awareness, and getting people to STOP BUYING puppy-mill dogs is the only thing that will change the situation.

But thanks for dropping in, oh commenter too gutless to use your own name, and too incapable of independent thought to do anything but mimic the “H$U$” BS.

We have issues with the HSUS. We’ve written about those issue, lots of times. But they remain on the side of angels on the issue of puppy mills, and have been there for 50 years.

Good question! If these puppies were suffering, the breeders and Petland should be reported immediately! If you saw somebody mistreating an animal would YOU wait a few months before stopping it? I would hope not…

Responsible Breeders place their OWN animals directly into homes that THEY have selected. Period.

That is NOT what is going on with the puppies at Petland, and that is ALL we need to know about the puppy producers who churn out puppies for retail at those stores.

Serious dog people saw this report from HSUS and universally said “Well - yeah! We’ve known this stuff for YEARS!”

HSUS hasn’t “discovered” anything new. Knowledgeable dog people have been aware of the source of Petland puppies for a long, long time.

… then tell me how you feel.

Comment by Andy Mooney — November 30, 2008

Any of the bloggers here have forgotten more about pets than you will ever know, Andy.

As for what I feel, well, I feel you are at the very least an apologist for a sick, immoral industry. And I feel that every puppy-mill retail outlet should either quit selling puppies to anyone with a credit card or that they should go out of business.

I feel the world will be a better place when people are informed enough not to buy the BS of puppy-millers.

And finally, I feel you should not let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Again, for the clue-impaired:

1) NO REPUTABLE, ETHICAL BREEDER SELLS THROUGH A THIRD PARTY. They take responsibility for the puppies they breed into this world for LIFE and that means placing them directly with families that work because they fit and are prepared. Not because they have a credit card.

2) U.S. Department of Agriculture “approval” is the sure sign of a high-volume commercial kennel. By USDA regulations, puppies cannot be raised in the home and socialized like family members. “USDA” = GET YOUR PUPPY ELSEWHERE.

Dogs should not be treated like livestock, and a “clean” vet-checked puppy-mill is still not a recommended source for family companion.

Andy, I don’t know which Petland franchise you own or work for, but you can kid yourself all you want and that’s fine if it’s how YOU sleep at night. But puppy-farming is still a sick industry, and we will not recommend it here.

Not ever.