Puppy Mills

Many people are unaware of puppy mills. The Humane society has been working for years to stop this cruel practice and raise awareness of it's cruelty and the affects to the dogs.

The question one would ask upon hearing about puppy mills is, "what is a puppy mill and why are they so bad?" To answer that question I met with Janene Baker, an advocate for the Humane Society, and she explained that puppy mills are widely known as "puppy farms," making them seem very innocent and like they would be a good place for dogs to breed.

In these puppy mills the female dogs are forced to breed everytime they are in heat and when the puppies are born they have very little time with they're mother before they are weaned, resulting in poor nutrition and put into a cramped envirement with other dogs. Due to the conditions the puppies are exposed to, they often develope poor socializing skills and temperment issues. As the puppies grow older they often have respitory problems and weak bones in their hips and joints because of the bad transportation to pet shops as puppies.

Many pet shops are unaware that they have recieved they're puppies from puppy mill and the owners of these puppy mills sell them to pet shops to gain the largest profit possible on purebreds. Ways that you can help discourage the business of puppy mills is before you buy a new puppy:
Consider adoption at an animal shelter and not buying from a pet shop.

If choosing to buy from a breeder, see where the puppies have been born and bred.

Make sure that the breeder is more interested about the animals well being and not just selling them to you.

Let others know about the cruelty and affects of puppy mills.

There is power in numbers and no animal derserves to be treated with cruely. The Humane Society appreciates the help of those who care about animals and they're rights to good homes and a healthy, happy life.