Each year, millions of Americans fall in love with "that puppy in the
window." They are cuddly. They are adorable. And you must have one. But
let the buyer beware. There's another side of the pet shop business that
keeps those puppies coming and it has nothing to do with love. Its about a
multi-million dollar industry driven by puppy love. Dateline NBC has
featured a story about the cruelties that exist with in the commercial pet
trade and the puppy mills that supply those little wet noses to the pet
stores in this city and around the country. What Are Puppy Mills? According to the Humane Society of the United States, there are over
4,000 of these puppy mills currently operating in the United States. Many
of them are repeatedly sited for violations of the federal Animal Welfare
Act (AWA) and other United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
regulations. The agency uses a force of approximately 70 inspectors to
enforce its code--an average of 57 facilities per agent per year that need
inspection. Although all 50 states have anti-cruelty laws designed to
thwart neglect and abuse of dogs in puppy mills, such laws are seldom
enforced in rural areas where most puppy mills are located. The Pet Store Link Doggie Lemon Laws What can you do
HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW?
A puppy mill is a breeding facility that mass-produces purebred puppies.
They are typically sold at seven to eight weeks of age to brokers and
retail operations across the U.S. The dams are over bred, inbred, receive
minimal veterinary care, poor quality food and shelter, lack necessary
socialization with humans, and live in tight, overcrowded cages. To the
unsuspecting consumer, this situation frequently means buying a puppy
facing an assortment of veterinary medical problems or harboring
genetically borne diseases that do not appear until years later. On an
even sadder note, these breeding dogs are forced to live in puppy mills
for their whole lives so that they can continue to produce more puppies.
Repeatedly bred, most of these "brood bitches" are killed once their
ability to reproduce declines.
Puppy-mill dogs are the "inventory" of the retail pet store operations.
According to the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC),
approximately 3,500 to 3,700 of the 11,500 to 12,000 U.S. pet stores sell
cats and dogs. PIJAC also estimates that pet stores sell 300,000 to
400,000 puppies every year. In 1984, the General Accounting Office, the
investigative branch of the U.S. government, found major deficiencies in
the enforcement of the AWA rules concerning puppy mills. Despite promises
to improve its inspection process, the USDA has yet to live up to its
promises.
Many states are responding to the horrific practices of puppy mills by
enacting "lemon laws" that protect consumers who buy puppies. Sixteen
states now have laws or regulations that allow consumers to receive
reimbursement of veterinary bills or full refunds when a sick puppy is
purchased. While these laws place a limited onus on pet stores and puppy
mills to sell healthy puppies, and theoretically improve conditions for
their breeding facilities, they do not adequately protect the animals who
suffer in these establishment.
It's simple: Never buy a puppy from a pet store.