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Puppy Mills

Never Buy Your Best Friend Online 

(June 4, 2009) – If Lisa Mullins knew more about puppy mills, she never would have purchased her English Bulldog online. Mullins didn't know she was purchasing a sick puppy bred at a puppy mill when she bought her bulldog, Otis, from Bulldog Ravine. The Internet seller promised registration papers, “champion” bloodlines, and a health guarantee.  

It wasn't until after Otis became seriously ill that Lisa learned that Bulldog Ravine was actually a Pennsylvania puppy importer accused of selling unhealthy bulldogs from overseas puppy mills. Sadly, after suffering from many health issues that cost his family thousands of dollars in vet bills, Otis died at only 8 months of age.  

If you buy a dog over the Internet, at a pet store or through a newspaper ad, your new pooch may very well be from a puppy mill—an abusive mass-production facility that churns out puppies under inhumane conditions. 

Puppy mill producers often have slick, professional websites that convincingly advertise their puppies as "home raised" or "family raised". These claims are often false. A reputable breeder will never sell dogs through the Internet or other outlets that would not allow them to personally meet and interview prospective buyers.  

The HSUS believes that Bulldog Ravine owner Brenda Moncrieff, like many Internet puppy sellers, has operated businesses under several names and used different Web sites to sell puppies, possibly including: B&E English Bulldogs, Heavenly French Bulldogs, APlusBulldogs.com, MNMBulldogs.com and GreenacresBulldogs.com. Mullins and dozens of other heartbroken Bulldog Ravine customers have contacted The Humane Society of the United States for help.  

“Most of the puppy mills that The HSUS has raided in recent months have been Internet sellers that posed online as small reputable breeders,” said Stephanie Shain, senior director of The HSUS’ puppy mills campaign. “The HSUS encourages anyone who has purchased a Bulldog from Bulldog Ravine or one of these other online businesses to contact us as soon as possible.” 

If you are ready to share your home with a new pet and have the time, space and dedication to provide a lifetime of care and companionship, visit your local animal shelter. One in every four dogs in U.S. animal shelters is a purebred. Most dogs in shelters are there due to "people" reasons, such as cost, lack of time, lifestyle changes (new baby, divorce, moving, or marriage), or allergies, not because of something the dog has done.  

Some shelters will keep a waiting list for people seeking a particular breed or species. In addition, private rescue groups exist for almost every breed of dog, as well as other kinds of pets. If you choose to buy your pet from a breeder instead, always visit the breeder’s facility in person and see how and where all the dogs are living. Never buy a puppy without personally visiting where the puppies and their parents are raised and housed. 

Puppy Mill Facts

  • Dogs at puppy mills typically receive little to no medical care, live in squalid conditions with no exercise, socialization or human interaction, and are confined inside cramped wire-floored cages for life.
  • Breeding dogs at puppy mills must endure constant breeding cycles and are typically confined for years on end, without ever becoming part of a family.
  • There is little regard for the dogs’ health or any existing genetic conditions that may be passed on to the puppies.

To file a pet seller complaint with The HSUS: humanesociety.org/puppymillstory.  

To learn more about finding a reputable breeder or rescue group: humanesociety.org/puppy.  

More about puppy mills: humanesociety.org/puppymills.

Think twice before shopping for that cute little puppy in the window.

What's so bad about buying a dog from a pet store? Pet store dogs are either the product of puppy mills or irreputable breeders. If a puppy is unable to be sold from an irreputable breeder, they are either dumped on the street or dropped off at a shelter. Many times, unbeknownst to the seller, the puppy is sold to someone affiliated with a puppy mill or a lab. A website that explains many of the horrors that go on in puppy mills is www.prisonersofgreed.org.

The Midwest is a puppy mill belt. Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana are notorious for puppy mills. As a result, the shelters in these states are the worst as far as overcrowding. The southern states are runners up to the Midwest as far as overcrowding and puppy mills go.

If you want a purebred because you love that breed, definitely check out shelters and rescues. There are many purebreds available. Shelter and rescue people may be able to help you find that specific breed you are looking for.

If you choose to go the route of a breeder, please choose a reputable one, who will do their best to better the breed. If all the breeder is doing is creating a surplus of animals, as opposed to superior ones, they are not helping the breed. They are contributing to the pet overpopulation problem.

Reputable breeders do not advertise in the local paper or Craigslist.org. They find their customers through breed associations, people competing at dog shows or whatever form of competition that dog is bred to do.

Responsible breeders charge $1000 or more for a well bred dog. Why? They spent a lot of time, research and money buying their breeding stock. They spend countless weekends and more money on show fees, travel, show supplies, then more money and time on stud fees, health tests and vet care. Examples of common test that responsible breeders may have done are CERF eyes, OFA hips, heart, and elbows. A common phrase seen in some ads is "vet checked". This is a term that reputable breeders do not use. Having a dog checked "vet checked" does not include the necessary testing that needs to be done. Responsible breeders do not make very much money. For most, even when they are good enough to charge for handling classes or do boarding, their hobby is a great big money sucking black hole. They do it for the love of the breed. Any money made goes back into their breeding program, rescue programs or more fun things for the dogs.

Responsible, knowledgeable breeders know that with certain breeds there are various possible genetic defects. Understanding genetics means more than just throwing out carriers to those defects. It is about selective breeding to improve not only one's own breeding lines but what those lines can offer as breeding material and the future of the breed. In some dog populations, this can be a breed's salvation.

Irresponsible breeders put two intact dogs together to make a considerable amount of money from uneducated buyers. They spend a little money on food and supplies but mostly, they're making a nice profit from irresponsible breeding practices.

Many people think they are "rescuing" a dog by buying it from a pet store or irreputable breeder. While some may feel this to be the case, they are not helping to stop the issue at hand. Yes, the dogs may end up at a shelter or rescue, but by purchasing from a pet store or irreputable breeder, more money is lining the pockets of people who are keeping their business going. They keep breeding dogs that will end up in shelters and may never have a home.  When dogs are purchased from a reputable breeder, the money goes to support betterment of the breed. When homeless dogs are adopted, the money helps other homeless animals.

If money is playing a role when deciding where to get your next dog, adopting is truly a bargain and a win-win situation. When adopting, various vaccines are already taken care of as well as spaying and neutering. You are also giving that homeless dog a home.

Think before wondering how much is that puppy in the window and how purchasing it would affect other dogs.
-Beth Satterlee

Want to learn more about puppy mills? Visit www.nopuppymills.com.

 

 

 

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