Inside the Puppy Mills

Under what authority do "Investigators" from HSUS operate? What are their qualifications for their job? How are their "undercover investigations" not warrantless searches? They behave as if they have enforcement authority, and are often quoted as if they are a government agency or somehow "official," but they are simply a private organization with a huge budget. They have created and defined the term, "puppy mill," but I have never seen that defined as a legal term, so they can call whatever they want to a "puppy mill." They have done that to licensed commercial breeders before, who had no legal violations, and have threatened them with arrest unless the breeders turned over their dogs--as if the HSUS has any such authority (they do not). In addition, the photo of the Boston terrier with mange is apparently not from the breeder who is the subject of the article, but the placement of the photo would make readers think that this breeder's dogs look like that. I do not consider this article responsible journalism.

"Papers" are worthless. They mean nothing. The AKC gives papers to puppy mill puppies.

And dogs wiith horrible genetic defects some from "show dog breeders" and have "pedigrees" or "papers."

Dog lovers clean up this system. Animal rights groups around the country lets get rid of the puppy mills. These folks are not fit to be in business. I wonder how they would feel living under the conditions these animals live under. Its nothing but greed and corruption. It's ashame we just look the other way. Wake up America it''s time to clean house.

I've read a lot of the posts here. I think the only way to get a pet is from a shelter or rescue group. If we stop buying them from pet stores and any type of breeder we can shut this system down. It's up to us as consumers. If we don't buy, then there is no demand and they will shut down.

Sure there are bad breeders out there, but one thing the Humane Society and PETA (not mentioned in this artlce, but they are in MANY other artices just like this one) repeatedly try to do is make the problem sound bigger and worse then it really is. They aren't trying to shut down the "bad" breeders... they are trying to shut down ALL breeders, even the good ones. Why is it that these people complain about the poor health of puppy-mill (and pet store dogs), but tell you to adopt from their shelters (for a fee) when nearly all their dogs came from those places a few homes ago! You are not getting a better/healthier dog if you adopt (always for a price) from a shelter. If you want a healthy dog go to a small hobby breeder who health tests and see the kennel where they were born and raised. That is the ONLY way to get a healthy well adjusted dog.

The poster Concerned Citizen represents the hobby or "reputable" breeders that help support the puppy mills.They aren't as "reputable" as they claim!

They spread smear about humane groups, because humane groups have exposed the truth about the ugliness of the dog breeder world.

The AKC (that these hobby breeders are a part of) is IN the puppy mill business. The AKC makes 80 percent of its income registering puppy mill dogs. That is what pays for the "hobby" breeders' dog shows, breed club activities, purebred dog promotion, AKC salaries, etc

So the AKC gets naive "hobby" breeders to oppose legislation and laws to crack down on puppy mills. The AKC needs the money, and the hobby breeders profit personally from puppy mill money!

These breeders also lie about humane groups, and spread nonsense about "ending breeding" - anything to help suppress the truth about the mills and keep them in operation and unregulated.

Not to mention, hobby breeders ARE making money, are NOT paying taxes, and don't want to be licensed or follow rules!

The dog breeding world is an ugly, sordid one based on fraud, lies, and abuse.

I run a no kill shelter for dogs and cats. It hurts everytime I see an ad for puppys, knowing that as soon as they are no longer cute, most will end up in a shelter or even killed or worse yet just abandoned in the streets or in the country where they have to fend for themselves. I work with our local pound and am full almost constantly with these wonderful, sweet pets.

My husband and I are disabled but these dogs are cared for out of our own pocket. The vet bills are paid for by us. I have even gotten a part time job just to pay expenses for these unwanted dogs. There are just not enough homes to go around and people keep breeding more.

Before you decide to breed puppys PLEASE check out your local shelter and see all of the wonderful pets you will be killing or leaving to live their lives out in the shelter. A shelter is a temporary home not a forever home.

After reading your article I felt like I ought to make a comment. Not all breeders that sell to pet stores are puppie mills. If a breeder has license, they also have rules and regulations to follow. It is up to the inspectors to weed the bad breeders out. There are a lot of good breeders out here. While I was raising dogs and puppies, I had 3 inspectors coming to visit my kennel. All were well satified. I sure that there are more people like me that had air, heat and clean kennels and they sale to pet stores. So again, not all breeders are bad, you just hear about the bad ones.

I am leaving my comment b/c I am an animal rights supporter and I have seen these videos from some of the "puppy mills" and it sickens my heart. I agree with the investigator, some of the conditions in which these dogs are subjected to is absolutely absurd and cruel. You think about how these animals feel being in these small cages and in the elements and yu have to think, how would I feel if that were me...I know that these animals have feelings like you and I and I know that they feel pain, fear, loneliness and all of the emotions that we as humans feel. It is unfair and unjust the way some people who breed these animals think of these dogs as nothing but a profit and don't consider the feelings of the animal. Maybe they should be put into a cage with barely enough room to turn around and left out in the weather to shiver from the cold or burn up in the heat and have to depend on someone to feed them and show them love and affection and maybe they would be able to feel what these dogs feel and then it would change. I think that a legislation should be passed that if you are investigated and there are conditions like these, the person should be fined in astronomical amounts and should be placed under arrest for felony animal cruelty and never be allowed to breed dogs or even own an animal again. SHUT THEM DOWN....that is what I think needs to happen to these places, don't give them a chance to stay in business, amke sure that the word gets out that they are treating these animals this way and shut them down and make them do jail time and pay fines, maybe setting an example out of a few of them would make them rest of them change the way they treat their dogs. I hate animal abuse and would never treat an animal of mine to such cruelty. I have 16 cats and 9 dogs, all of them are shown love and affection on a daily basis and they have clean shelter and food everyday, that is the way animals should be treated, not like a commodity to make a profit from. To any of my fellow animal lovers...please write to your congress and if you suspect a puppy mill in your area or community, call your local humane society or PETA and see if you can help to stop this abuse!!!!!!

You know, you have an "undercover investigator" who wanders through a place, takes pictures and all, who then releases those pictures weeks to months later after there is time to have remade the whole movie. We've all seen Hollywood show things like dogs flying through space, so faking up someone's setup is a snap. The Weavers won't get to confront this "witness" against them and they will be tried in the press.

The HSUS is NOT the humane society. It is a political action organization that harasses legitimate businesses. Newsweek has obviously not researched the HSUS at all, to allow such an article to be published. Just look up the connections between the HSUS and PeTA, and John Goodwin, who spent time in jail for terrorist activities. Then they have the gall to sneak around someone's place, win their trust to break it, just for their co-called investigation. The HSUS has absolutely no right to investigate anyone and it is not trustworthy.

There is an important lesson to be learned from all of this... Check out the place you are considering getting a pet from first! It truly doesn't matter whether you are thinking of going to a breeder, petstore, or shelter, it is our job as the people considering getting pets to check out where they come from and how they have been raised. I hear horrible things about breeders, but I have seen many wonderful, caring, responsible breeders. The key to breeders is to check them out first! (AKC has some wonderful tips on finding a good breeder, what to watch for, when to walk away, etc). I hear daily about how everyone should go to a shelter as their dogs are well cared for. Obviously there are pros and cons to that as well, however that's another story. I have personally seen 2 local shelters (Humane Societies) that had horrible conditions, unclean kennels, no outside time at all for dogs, starving animals, and neglected pets. Animals that came in healthy left emaciated, sick, and terrified. Yes, 1 of those 2 shelters was shut down, and the other one has improved, but it's still not the great place i hear described by so many. The point... Check each place out First! Don't just trust the name on the building or the type of place, it is our responsibility to "investigate" where we get our pets from, Before we give the place our business.