Inside the Puppy Mills

bunnynell is correct. I run a no kill shelter for dogs that no one wants. It hurts everytime I see an ad for puppys, knowing that as soon as they are no longer cute they will end up in a shelter or even killed or worse yet just turned loose 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.

A note to zcar3- unless you have acually been "under cover" or have examined, researched, visited, time and time again these "reputable dog kennels"as you so call them- then you have absolutely not a single leg to stand on. The only reason you are so passionate abou this colum written from the HUMANE SOCIETY is that you yourself, may just be running with puppy mill owners, perhaps we should look into your care of animals. THE HSUS only cares for anuimals welfare. YOu should be pleased that someone is sp[eaking for mistreated animals around the world. Please educate yourself before lashing out at a United States funded program. Thank GOD for the Humane Society -they are angels in disguise!

One more thing...most reputable breeders will NOT sell to pet stores, or other breeders, for the fear that there pups will end up in one of those horrible puppy mills that exist out there. Also, if reputable...a breeder will do an indepth screening on potential buyers...including background checks. AND keep in close contact with buyers, requesting pictures of the puppy as it ages, several times throughout the year (at least I DO....and I've yet to have a puppy/dog placed in a shelter or given away or sold).

not only do these reputible dog kennels give dogs an electric blanket all day, they also supply a heat pad for the night too. and i think its ridiculous to be bothering these nice people with your false accusations. its all a load of bull. they love all there animals. he also forgot to mention the heating and air-conditioning in the buildings and also the long hours put in to take PROPER CARE of these beloved animals. Mrs. Weaver cooks the puppies an extra special treat of hamburger and rice every day. And when a dog is whelping she stays up with them through the night to make sure no complications occur. the weavers have a deep love for all their animals and if they could let them all sleep with them at night and warm there pillows during the day they would. they have been slandered in the worst possible way. by the way the dog in the picture at the top of the page is NOT from rcw kennels i've been there many times in the fourteen years they have been in business and there has never been a dog at rcw that was abused or neglected in any way. she spares no expense to raise healthy, well adjusted puppies so they will find a good home, with owners that love and appreciate them dearly.

Dogs are dying every day -- have a heart and adopt from your local animal shelter. There aren't very many no-kill shelters, for a person very involved in trying to get the word out about how many animals are being killed every day/week follow this url:
http://www.projectfifty-two.blogspot.com/

Any son of a *** that treats a helpless animal that way out to be incarcerated for a very long time in a tiny cell with horrible food and no love. Maybe then they will see what it feels like. Bastards.

We have a puppy mill puppy that we adopted from a rescue when he was 5 months old (now 2 1/2). He is the most loving, gentle dog and we could not ask for a better little guy to love and have love us. I could not even read this article because I know how our little one suffered. When we adopted him they were uncertain about his survival because he had a severe case of pneumonia. He pulled through amazingly, but I believe he will always be small due to his health issues at an early age (he is a 5lb Papillon- he was 2lbs when we brought him home). Adopting a puppy mill puppy comes with many difficulties (health issues, personality issues, etc), so I do not recommend adopting a puppy mill puppy to just anyone. They need your time and attention...and they can be costly at times, so do not adopt a puppy mill puppy if you do not have the time and means to take care of one. We are so grateful that we were given the opportunity to bring our puppy into our home and would never think twice about rescuing/adopting a puppy mill puppy again in the future. So if you have the opportunity- bring a puppy mill puppy home and give them the life they deserve!

I'm glad there were no pictures or I would have burst into tears. I have rescued several dogs and cats and given them a good home. It makes me sick to see animals so badly treated.

While it is true that even the puppies in the petstore need homes, the money spend on them goes back to the puppy mills and allows them to continue breeding. The money spent to adopt a pet at the shelter helps pay to neuter more pets, pays the salaries and keeps the shelter open to help more animals, and pays for medication and health care to save injured animals. As a veterinarian, I focus on educating my clients so there next pet is not from a petstore but from a reputable source. I am not against dog breeders, but the GOOD breeders do not breed dogs for profit, they do it for the love of the breed. If someone wants to pay over $1000 for an English bulldog rather than $100 for a mutt at the shelter that is their choice. I can let them know which one I will be seeing more of for health problems but it is still their choice. If we in the pet industry were to work together to try and educate the public then the puppy mills will have a much harder time making a profit when the demand begins to fall.

I think that the people that own these puppy mills should be forced to live in the conditions that they make the dogs and puppied live in. This is truly inhumane and they need to be stopped at all costs! Animals do not have a say in who they breed with or where they are raised. They have feelings just like humans. They feel pain, cold and hunger along with the feeling of being alone.

We bought a "shih tzu" from Petland and found out later it was a Lasa Apsa. We were given the papers for the wrong dog and when I happened to ask where the puppy came from that's when they decided to tell me. They gave me back every penny we paid for the dog since we were mis represented by Petland. Both breeds look very similar as puppies, but we were allergic to the lasa and that's what put up the red flag to us. We'd had a shih tzu in the past and were fine with it. This puppy came from Hunte but it was the store's fault for mixing up the puppies. The chip inside the puppy is what determined which puppy we had. If you are weary, ask them to scan the dog to see if the numbers match. We were offered our money back or to trade puppies. We looked at another dog labeled as a Coton De Tulear, which was signifantly more money, but they were willing to do an even swap since they'd made a mistake. The following day, we brought out lasa back and they Coton was labeled as a silky terrier. Looks like they'd screwed up again! So needless to say we got our money back!!!

Columbus, GA

I read Jamie Reno's interview/article with a great deal of interest. In my career, I directed the operations of a municipal animal shelter and live in the midwest which is, truthfully, filled with what he terms "puppy mills." I have seen the things about which he speaks first hand. However, I must take exception to his solution. He advocated only obtaining puppies from shelters. What of those who want a puppy of show caliber or want a puppy that has been bred from parents who are certified as having been examined for health and are clear from genetic disorders? You cannot obtain that in a shelter. Also, you cannot obtain a purebred dog from a shelter that could be shown in conformation rings since most laws now mandate adopted dogs must be spayed or neutered. I would ask that the author of this article be a bit more open-minded and recognize the thousands of reputable breeders whose interest is the improvement and welfare of their breed of dog. For those breeders, litters are not a "commodity;" they are part of a program to help develop better, healthier dogs. For these breeders, finding a good home for these puppies is, believe me, far more important than the money.

It is true that even the puppies in the petstore need to be saved-but the money spent on them goes back to the mills and allows them to keep running. The money spent on a puppy at the shelter helps neuter pets to prevent overpopulation, pays salaries and facilties so they can help more animals, and administers medications to help heal those that are sick. As a veterinarian, I focus on educating my clients so the next dog they get is from a reputable source. I am not against dog breeding but the GOOD breeders do not breed dogs for profit-they do it for the love of the breed. If someone wants to spend $1000 on an English bulldog from a breeder rather than $85 on a stray at the pound that is their choice and no one is wrong to make it-I just want them to know which one I will be seeing more of in my clinic for health problems!! Buyer beware! The more people I can educate-the less profit in the puppy mill's pocket. We all can do our part by educating those around us-whether we are veterinarians, breeders, pet owners, or shelter workers.

these people are not human at all, who have these puppy mills. poor animals. the owners just want the money. every single one should be shut down completely and go to jail. but put them in a confined little area and let the owners walk around in their own filth. lock them up and forget about them!

I guess my comments will not appear for obvious reason!

Even when you are very careful it can happen to you! We bought 2 Great Danes in late '90s - the woman came to our house, interviewed us, showed us pics of prize winning parents, we papered 1 of the dogs and 1 we chose not to. It was odd.. the woman came over as I said interviewed us and we picked 1 out of about 5 puppies she had. About a week later we called her back and requested a 2nd puppy for a playmate she said she still had some left and she would stop by with them... she came over and only brought 1 with her and told us it was the runt of the bunch and it was the only one left and if we did not by it she was going to kill it.. OMG.. what could we do.. we got it and I paid monthly payments.. actually deposited them into her bank 100$ a month for 12 months - she was an odd woman - she looked like she had a wig on .. then we saw her on the news a couple years later - DONNA CLARK in Washington State. She used disguises and was running puppy mills in Eastern WA. We were in the Greater Seattle area - and we have seen ads in the paper over the last 10 years that we knew were her.. beware you just NEVER KNOW!!! Her dogs were inbreed and had hip problems and were poorly taken care of to say the least.. Just a note to you to BEWARE we were careful but were taken too!

Thank you for writing this article! To our shame we the people of Morrison County Minnesota, have a "Puppy Mill". Many people here fought long and hard to stop it, but petitions, lawyers and even PETA, couldn't stop it from becoming a reality. The ower, a former school teacher, you would think he would be an intelligent man, wouldn't you. Well he is a greedy man, only interested in money. This "Puppy Mill" has 400 dogs, all debarked, and we have been assured that they will be well cared for. We need to fight this outrage with legislation at the federal and state level. Please write to your representitives!