Do you know where that cute little pup for sale in the window came from?
We adopted a dog from a shelter last year and I began to wonder if she'd been dumped from a puppy mill after our vet explained that he was surprised to see that at roughly two years old, she'd been pregnant many, many times. She was scared, emaciated and we had no clue where she came from and why.
Not only what our vet said concerned me, but after looking into some "breeders" here's what I found.
Female dogs at some "breeding farms" are alive to breed until they refuse to produce. If the puppy farm operator has no use for her anymore, he sets her loose. They often have several acres of land and yet store the dogs in rabbit cages, standing on wire mesh -- never feeling solid earth beneath their feet. These innocent dogs are "assets" as long as they produce. Their inhumane living conditions leave them with no room to move, no human contact, laying in their own fecies, likely ill.
The puppies, with normally ill health, get shipped off to pet stores across the country -- and buyer beware -- the pet stores (even some of the most posh of shops) may tell you they only get their puppies from "Breeders". And unfortunately, weeks or months later, the proud and happy new puppy owner finds their new canine baby with some sort of "mystery" illness.
The good news?
The humane society has just recently rescued 1,000 of these "farmed" dogs from West Virginia and another 700 from Tennessee. Some of which may be found in shelters.
Neighborhood mutts chained to posts in backyards across America and these adult "asset" dogs are usually starving for attention. If you're set on getting a dog and have enough love and patience in your heart, consider adopting a dog instead of buying one from a pet store.
Check out the Humane Society's website at stoppuppymills.org for more information and how you can contribute.
For more articles and tips about dogs, visit me at http://www.happydogtips.com |
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