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I have always been the kind of person that finds it almost impossible to look at, or listen to, anything that depicts cruelty to animals in any way. As a member of the Boxer Mailing List, I, for a long time, couldn't read the posts sent to the list concerning the above.
However, I cannot just set by and do nothing. Since I have joined the Boxer Rescue List, I have created a Boxer Rescue Message Center, and do my best to match boxers needing loving homes with people who are looking for a boxer. But this just doesn't seem to be enough.
Fredric and I have worked very hard in establishing The White Pages, and so it seems only right that we have a page that can help with such a horrendous problem.
I've made this page in answer to my own conscience, and the plight of our beloved boxers, and all pets in general. It has been difficult in doing searches on the web, and I have a long way to go. For now, I have quite a few links here, and I pray that the page will help educate others about the plight of pets in puppy mills and pet stores.
I am open to suggestions as well as contributions that you may want to make to the page. :o) Please feel free to email me any time at ldywind@earthlink.net, or Fredric at radome@earthlink.net.
Where do pet store puppies
come from?
Puppy Mills Information and
Updates
Should Pet Stores Sell
Puppies?
Stop the Sale of Puppies
and Kittens In Pet Stores
Other Informative Links
A Living Nightmare
They are groups
of people that earn a living by producing or are
involved with mass breeding of puppies. Puppy millers became more
prevalent in the 1970's when AKC purebreds became "the thing
to own."
1.Females are bred at every heat cycle such that they can never
recoup, within 5 yrs. of this exhaustive production cycle lacking
proper food, sanitation, and vet care, the animal often times is
culled/ thrown away. The quality of the by-products manufactured
namely puppies, suffer with defective gene pools/unmanageable
health problems and temperament disorders from the onset. The
puppy miller (Class A Dealer) then through a broker (Class B
Dealer, brokers too can be millers) have the puppies transferred
across state lines to pet stores throughout the U.S.
The Animal Welfare Act since the 1970's was set and tries to
enforce
standards for sanitation, nutrition, housing, etc. The short
staff of USDA
inspectors can only try to regulate puppy mills. The success rate
however is grim. Unlike manufacturers of products (products have
no blood running through there veins) puppy millers without
liability are enjoying profit, profit, and still more profit as
the cancer is allowed to spread at the expense of consumers and
at the bloodshed of mass produced puppies.
2. Today the
problem is not just like a flu bug only affecting some people in
one location but it has manifested into an epidemic that affects
thousands ofconsumers throughout the U.S.
What type of earnings do puppy millers/commercial breeders earn?
In 1995, figures show many of these people earned $290,000 on
upeven after being cited for numerous violations including
overcrowded cages, inadequate sanitation, lack of pest control
and substandard feeding and watering. This type of money is what
motivates and perpetuates the exploitation of consumers and
millions of dogs. At the end of our presentation we will try to
give you some properties of how a responsible breeder differs
from the puppy miller/commercial breeder.
Now can you share an example of a puppy miller?
Yes in S.D., a
local humane society got permission from a judge and their local
sheriff to inspect a kennel. When they arrived there was barking
amongst 130 dogs of various purebred types. When the authorities
entered the first of several low outbuildings the stench took
their breath away. The dogs, it appeared, were always kept in
near darkness. The men had to switch on flashlights. They found
the first dead puppy shoved into a plastic bag with a wet mass of
feces, hair and rotting food. Two more dead puppies were found
and three others that would not survive the week. The remaining
dogs, crowded, threatened to wipe her excrement covered paws all
over his white shirt.
Later he turned to a Humane Society investigator and muttered,
"What a
pit."
"Hundreds of these places are just as bad or worse,"
came the reply.
In this case, the kennel owner was by a jury trial given a
verdict on April
18, 1994 guilty of the offense of Inhumane Treatment of Animals
(Class I Misdemeanor). With this she was ordered to relinquish
her licenses with the U.S. Dept. of Ag. and would not be involved
as a dog or cat breeder or owner of dogs or cats for that purpose
or for purposes of sale, for a period of 2 yrs. She would not be
employed by any person, association, corporation or other
organization which deals in raising dogs or cats for profit
purposes. She was ordered within 45 days to relinquish all
interest in and possession and ownership to all dogs and cats and
their litters or shall within 45 days assign and release all dogs
and cats and their litters and any other dogs and cats and their
litters found at her residence, with the exception of 1 dog and 1
cat as personal pets.
"HSUS research shows
that approximately 4,000 of these mills currently operate in the
U.S., many of them despite repeated violations of the federal
Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and other United States Dept. of Ag.
(USDA) regulations. In
1997, the agency used 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 that should
prevent neglectand mistreatment of dogs in puppy mills, such laws are seldom enforced in rural
areas, where most puppy mills are located."
What happens when the puppies enter the pet store?
A member of an anti puppy mill organization took a job at a MI
pet
store. She worked there for
two weeks and it was like living in a
nightmare. It was all she could do to stick it out for two weeks.
What
she saw was unreal to her. They got all their dogs from a puppy
mill in
Minnesota. She wasn't allowed to know the name of the
"breeder". Not one single puppy came to the store in
decent condition. While she
was there three pugs came in whose legs were like rubber. They
were unable to stand under their own weight. The asking price on
these pathetic puppies was $1,000! There was a boxer puppy with
mange and a shih tzu who's lower jaw was so weak it couldn't
chew. There were puppies on "breathing treatments" (she
thinks
they had kennel cough but has no way to "prove" it).
The list goes on and on.
They had a closet in the back of the store with no lights. The
open wire
cages were stacked to the ceiling. The closet was called
"intensive care". That is where they put the really
sick animals supposedly until they "got better"...or
died. None of these poor animals ever "got better" and
none of them ever got taken to a vet either. It was also a
"storage room" for the dogs that didn't fit into the
cages in the front of the store....sort of a stock room for
living creatures. The smell in this closet was so bad her eyes
burned every time she got near it. The walls were smeared with
excrement and urine and it was infested with insects. Of course,
she took the time to completely clean that little room even
though it took every ounce of strength she had. But just cleaning
it up wasn't a solution. She had to quit because she could not
tolerate being part of such a horror. She called authorities
again after she quit and was told that the store was not
"breaking any laws".
Note Ex:
The new breed of breeders
seldom meets a dog's eventual owner, selling instead to a broker
who trucks and flies hundreds of just weaned pups to stores
around the country. The "product" undergoes three
markups: a typical puppy mill dog costs the broker $35, the
retail outlet $75 and the consumer around $500.
AKC is the largest U.S. breed-registration organization. AKC
states they support major scientific research to advance the
health of
purebred dogs. In their 1996 annual report, records showed less
than 2% of their total income went towards the AKC Canine Health
Foundation that year. In contrast $10.5 million was spent to fund
dog & performance events. They advertise themselves as the
nations leading not-for-profit organization devoted solely to the
advancement of purebred dogs. Yet AKC registration papers do not guarantee the quality
or health of a puppy. In 1996 AKC cleared $46.2 million,
including $26.3 million for registration fees.
Can you give me some properties of how a responsible breeder
differs from the puppy miller/commercial breeder?
1. Breeder has records on 3 generations of bloodline information
documented on pedigree certification.
2. Breeder is aware of how many times female is bred in past 2
yrs.
with a careful observation of allowing dog to recoup 2 cycles in
between.
3. Breeder provides proper sanitation, health, Vet care, and
socialization to foster healthy/adjusted pups. There is clean
room air and suitable room temperatures which can be measured by
instrumentation gauges.
4. Breeder has a return policy for whatever reason for the
lifetime of
the dog.
5. You may see the sire & dam, there is nothing hidden.
Breeder is
locatable.
6. Breeders don't sell
through pet stores, but through their
reputation, purebred club affiliations, and breed specialty
magazines.
The Humane Society of the U.S. is working to expose the suffering
of
thousands of helpless pet trade animals. Only through their
ongoing
investigations and their legislative efforts, only by opening
America's
eyes to the brutality taking place behind closed doors, will we
even begin to impact the problem of pet store/puppy mills,
commercial breeding.
I thank HSUS in Washington, D.C., and all of the chapters who
have
assisted me. Also credits go to PETA, Rescue people, Vets, U. of
WI which set up Sonny's MRI Fund, and to Consumers throughout the
U.S. Your accomplishments will be the start in getting all of our
states unified in this cause.
1. Puppymill Profits, The passion for animal purity creates a
monstrous
industry, By Rebecca Bradford, The Source - July 30 - August 5,
1998, pgs.
8-9.
2. Prisoners of Profit, ASPCA investigators find shifts in the
practices of puppy mill operators, but cruelty is a constant, By
Anthony E. Shaw, ASPCA Animal Watch-Winter 1996, pg. 20.
Educate Yourself!!
Please educate yourself about puppy mills and pet stores. Learn what responsible breeding is all about. Take your time in choosing a breeder. Research before buying from a breeder. Make sure the breed of dog you are contemplating is really the right breed for you. Be aware of health problems that a particular breed may be prone to. Get references! Never make last minute or impulsive decisions about purchasing a pet.
And please, please be aware of online pet stores and puppy mills. They are out there! I'm appalled at how many. I thought about giving some links to these pet brokerage sites, but thought better of it, in that we just don't want a link to the very places that we abhor so much. There are some sites that are doing this however.
Any site that advocates or sells animals and do any of the following, avoid them like the plague:
1. Provide classified ads for breeders.
2. Provide "puppy wanted ads".
3. Lists stud dog ads.
4. Sell or print ads for multiple breeds of dogs.
5. Gush about their advertisers, and their ethics.
6. Offer their services to any and all comers, having no prior knowledge of those that place ads or answer ads.
7. Brag about their ethical business tactics.
8. Offer any other services or freebies to get you to buy.
Never buy from a breeder if you see the following:
1. The puppies and mother are in a dirty environment, and are kept outside in an outbuilding or barn.
2. The breeder can't answer simple questions about the mother's parentage and the stud's parentage.
3. Brag about how many litters they have a year.
4. The pups or the mother look unhealthy.
5. A breeder that doesn't seem to care about keeping up with the pups as they grow.
6. A breeder that doesn't tell you that he wants the pup back if you can't keep it, and he will refund your money.
7. Remember, a good breeder cares about the pups right down the road no matter how old they are.
Your thoughts and comments are always welcome. :o)
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© 1997, Kathryn J. Isler, All Rights Reserved
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9, 1998...
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This page last modified: April 9, 1998 8:25:49 PM MST Thursday, October 28, 2010