A Market for Puppies

I had heard of puppy mills before I started fostering dogs. Who hasn't heard of puppy mills? I had heard the chance story about inhumane conditions. I admit, though, that I have gone to pet stores and asked to play with the little cuties. They are still so sweet, right? Puppies, from whatever source, are cute and cuddly.

A puppy mill, by ASPCA's definition, is a "large-scale commercial dog breeding operation where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dogs." Consideration is generally not given to genetic quality of dogs, hence there are often hereditary defects.

I've noticed especially that when people come home from the pet store with their new puppies, they are very excited. "I just paid $1,500 for this purebred Lab," they announce proudly. "The pet store let me have a payment plan."

Right.

As I have become more and more involved with the shelter puppies I have fostered, I have to question the problem with puppies and dogs in our country today. We clearly have the means to rescue all of the dogs. People are paying $500-$2,000 in pet stores every day to purchase puppies.

I know of two lab puppies in Dry Fork, Virginia, that have a limited number of days left. I wonder if I can bring them to a little table outside the overpriced pet store and sell them each for $1,500. Obviously I am being facetious. Surely I won't sit outside said pet store...or would I?

The sweet puppies in this picture are the 8-10 week old pups that find themselves with numbered days at the pound in Dry Fork, Virginia:

Are both of these pups not worth every bit of $500 to $2,000?

Why fight puppy mills? What is the big deal? I'll tell you why. Dogs are kept in horrible conditions, in small wire cages (to minimize cleanup). The cages hurt their legs and little paws. Little thought is given to comfort of any of the dogs. Often it is too hot, with too little water, not enough food, and zero socialization. And the poor breeder dogs are harnessed, then they are raped and raped over and over again to produce as many "cash crop" offspring as possible in the shortest possible amount of time. Frequently overused, spent females are put to death early when they are no longer able to reproduce. This is what we are supporting when we buy a sweet little "Storefront" puppy.

Please share information about puppy mills with your friends. If you know of anyone looking for a sweet puppy worth about a grand or two, send them over to the local SPCA. They'll get one heck of a deal.

The Humane Society: Support Puppy-Friendly Pet Stores