How To: Fight Puppy Mills

Puppy mills are large commercial breeding facilities that treat the animals poorly. Think of it like a factory for animals: dogs are a product made for profit. They are kept in small cages their entire lives in unsanitary conditions without attention, let alone love, and are bred as often as possible. Not surprisingly, this can lead to tons of health problems.
- Don’t buy from a pet store!. Most pet stores get their animals from mills, not local breeders. If you’re unsure, ask the shop owners and find out their source.
- Make adoption your first option. Check your local shelters for a potential pet. There are many dogs waiting in shelters for good homes – and 25% of them are purebred! Or, look for a dog with a breed rescue group. Scan the internet for breed-specific rescue organizations.
- Know how to recognize a responsible breeder. If you are choosing to buy from a breeder, make sure you are buying from one who cares about his or her dogs. They are not interested just in the sale, but they want to place the dogs with a caring family. Read the
ASPCA’s responsible breeding statement to be able to identify a responsible breeder. - See where your puppy was bred and born. Ask the breeder to look at the home where the puppy was born and ask to meet the parents (or at least the mother). Also, ask for an adoption contract that explains the breeder’s responsibilities, health guarantees, and return policy.
- Internet buyers beware! If you buy a puppy based on a picture and a phone call, you have no way to see the puppy’s home or meet her parents. Also, those who sell animals on the internet are not held to the Animal Welfare Act regulations – and are not inspected by the USDA.
- Share your puppy mill story with the us! If you have – or think you have – purchased a puppy-mill puppy, share your story. Every bit of evidence can help to get laws passed banning puppy mills.
- Speak out! Write to your local and state legislators. Join the ASPCA
Advocacy Brigade for updates on legislation! - Tell your friends! If your friend is planning to buy a puppy mill puppy, spread the word and inform them of the cruelty of these facilities. Tell them about the wonderful dogs in animal shelters!
- Think globally Use the internet (facebook, MySpace, a blog, etc.) to speak out about puppy mills! Link to the site on puppy mill information at DoSomething.org or ASPCA.org.
- Act locally! When people are looking to buy or adopt a pet, they will often ask the advice of their veterinarian, groomer or pet supply store. Ask the owners if you can leave flyers with them.
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Comments
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i totally am down for such cruality of these puppies an will help if a needed to ban them
I totally agree.Before today I had no idea what a puppy mill was,but I do now,and I am so ready to find one and trash it.I can't believe that these things are legal in every state!Well,that and the fact that the pound euthenics dogs if they haven't been claimed in two weeks.
Puppy mills are horrible.
I didn't know what they were but now that I do...
Animals should not be treaten that way.
They have feelings too.
Just like us.
my dog came from a puppy mill but we saved her just in time. But now she gets scared very easily
I really love animals but this is kinda cruel to only go after puppies at animal shelters. If puppy mills are so bad then why can't we help the animals there by buying them. i know we should help the animals in the shetler too because honestly it makes me sad to see them there but if these puppies at the mill have it so bad then shouldn't we help them too WHILE we stand out against the puppy mills. I think this is something to think about because i feel bad for the animals in the mills but i also feel bad for the shelter animals. We have to look more at this then just buying the poor shelter animals because the mill animals have it bad too.
I have 2 dogs of my own and i realy hate the fact that these people do this. i can't belive they actually have the nerve to do that. hope that they become illegall
OK i feel so bad for the puppys me and my friends r going to halp these puppys to a good home!!
your right it should be illegal!! I AGREE!!! LOL
my dog, we got him from a puppy mill...he was incredibly sick with a parasite when we brought him home and the vet tech thought he might not make it...thankfully, he's alive and big now, and hes healthy. but puppy mills are horrible.
lets stop them guys
There was a pet store in the mall around my area, and they closed it recently. The store had dogs,birds, hamsters, rabbits, and other animals. When I went in there it was always a little bit depressing because the animals always looked really sad. They also were really skinny, and looked like they hadn't ate in a long time. The dogs were kept in cages that you could see right through a glass window, sometimes the dog couldn't even move! I am really happy that the store closed because now I know future animals, will not be treated badly there. I hope more will close, so that we will be assured that no animals will be treated badly in pet mills.
what is wrong with these people
how could they do that to a dog
i'm not sure how to help, but ill do ANYTHING
<3alwayz,
Kayla
im deffinately going to do this but also raise awarness,
to treat animal withs such inhumane cruelty is horrible, makes me want to cry.
puppy mills are hell for dogs. honestly they make me cry. where i live i think they have alot. im going to stop this somehow.
i totally agree with you...they do have feelings...you can see it in there sad eyes! :(
Molly
I think puppy mills are totally mean. It's not the puppies faults there is an evil owner! Anyway, one of my dogs is from a puppy mill saved by the humane society and his teeth are in horrible shape because he got hit by something, possibly a baseball bat. He's also deaf in one ear. I think we need a lot of people to stop this, but it's necessary.
I think puppy mills are WRONG VERY WRONG it needs to stop NOW
I actually saved a puppy from a puppy store. She had came from a puppy mill and actually looked for ill in the store. The Manage just claimed she had a small cough and was fine to go, I disagreed. I bought her and immediately took her to the vet, turns out she had full blown pneumonia and was on her way to die. I realize that almost every dog in a puppy store could have some sickness from the puppy mills and the employees haven't done anything about it. Puppies are dieing everyday from puppy mills, they are miserable and we need to do something about this.
yeah i think we should save the puppies from the puppy mills while we try to save puppies in a shelter. every puppy needs to be saved from cruelty..
I think puppy mills are ver VERY cruel.I have 2 dogs of my own, and It would be terrible to see them in awful conditions like at the mills. I recently found a puppy on the streets that looked like it was from a puppy mill.She had been breed at the earliest age possible and had very dry, black skin.We took her to the vet for treatment and gave her good food.Soon she was better.But now has alittle sayback from carrying puppies.I'm going to fight puppy mills.And help sheltered animals. I hope someday the mills will go down!THIS IS ANIMAL CRUELTY!!!!
this is horrible
i am right with ya sister
I agree with all of this . Another thing I do NOT understand is why our PRESIDENT of the united states just got his daughter a puppy but still hasn't focused on closing down this mills . I think the U.S is focused on bigger problems but the little problems need to be accessed to . And i'm not saying mills are a small problem but we all need to do anything we can to help.
I beleive puppy mills should be made illegal, but just because something is illegal doesn't mean they'll just stop. Look at cock fights and dog fights, they're illegal, and people partake in that.
But anyways, I beleive the first step to happier, healthier dogs, is going to your local pet shop and asking if the dogs have ever been outside or on a walk, if not, maybe ask if you can take them for a walk. Some pet shops don't allow that, if not, try to raise money to build a small fenced in area for the puppies. It may not do MUCH, but it's a start.. every little bit helps.
I agree that puppy mills are horrible, but the president had a reason to why he couldn't get one from some pet store or shelter. Maybe you should look into the facts and reasons.
I agree with everyone we should all work together to stop these puppy mills!! I have seen conditions of dogs from puppy mills and it is just plain flat out sad!! We should all write a letter to the president explaining the cruelty of puppy mills!! Most people do not have the money to take there dog(s) into the vet to get care for the diseases puppy mills cause, my family is broke and we were looking for a dog that needed a home, and this lady that lives around my block had a Chihuahua that she needed to get rid of because she already had 4 other dogs. So she said i could have it for free and i told my parents, so they checked it out and the lady said she got it from a mill because it looked so sad in the cage, so she took it to the vet and the vet said it was not going to live much longer so she should take it back to the mill(it has something wrong with its brain and has bone and muscle problems and more) but she had already fallin in love with the puppy and to see it in the cage a again would just brake her heart so she kept it. My parents didn't have enough money for the surgery it would take to heal the puppy so we couldn't take it home with us:(
ha,cruel,more like EVIL!!Bad Conditions,OverBreeding,For What?Money!!Some People are Just EVIL!!What Sane person would do that kind of thing!?I'm telling you this.PUPPY MILLS ARE EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Also to what y'all are saying,I'll just say this.AMEN!!!
A few years ago my mom and I were in a pet store and I saw a cute little puppy that I thought I ought to have. I was jealous that others got puppies from there and I didn't. My mom then told me about puppy mills. I was devastated. People should really focus more on animals shelters because just because they are stray doesn't mean they are bad dogs.
I don't have a pet but I love animals, these animals seem hurt and in need i want to start a club at my school for this!!!
PUPPY MILLS ARE EXTREMELY WRONG!!! I have a dog, but we got her from a breeder. But now that I think about it, my dog is scared of things sometimes. Maybe she was from a puppy mill, or maybe she was abused as a puppy. Awwwww how sad :(
Puppy mills are horrible!
Look up Puppy mills on youtube.
I am a really big dog fan, my family has a Lab named Copper and i have my own dog, shes a Yorkie named Star. I saved up $1,500 for her and got her from a breeder, i met the family and Stars mom, dad, brother, and sisters.
I want to help save dogs from puppymills who arent so lucky to have a loving, caring family to look after them.
If you know of a pet store that sells puppy mill puppies you should talk to the store manager about the situation. They may have no clue whats going on. If that doesn't work you could always start a riot, lol. If they wont listen to reason maybe their customers will. Make fliers and put them up everywhere you can think of: vet offices, school bulletin boards, the business right next to the pet shop *wink ;) Buying the puppy mill puppies only increase the demand to make more. Stopping pet shops from supplying them will help stop the production.
wow im crying..puppy mills are horrible for dogs...I have two dogs and one was a stray the other from a shelter! i am to young to volunteer at the no-kill shelter in my area but i still want to make a difference! This is my new fave website!!!!!
People who own puppy mills are disgusting. The topic makes me sick, that someone could actually be this low. Dogs are living things, like you and me. And to imprison them in cages, forcing them to breed simply so you can make money is so cruel. These dogs deserve better. What did they ever do wrong? I am disgusted that somebody would do this. It makes me so angry.
it is sad that in some Fiction books they describe things like puppy mills and everyone is disgusted but thinks that thinks like that aren't real Its pretty sad actually
Animal crulity is becoming the most sommon crime these days with dog fights and everything. So any way that i can help an aminal i am in!!!
Puppy mills need to be shut down forever. I understand that we should refrain from buying puppies for them, but how do we rescue the dogs that are unfortunate enough to be thrust into that situation?