The United States Service Dog Registry is a proud supporter of the Humane Society of the United States. One of their focuses is their campaign to Stop Puppy Mills. This Saturday, January 10th, they are hosting rallies across the country to educate people about the problems with buying your dog from a puppy mill.
- Puppy mill dogs often have health and behavior problems.
- Consider adopting from a local shelter instead of buying a puppy from a pet store or an internet ad.
- Puppy mill dogs are raised in poor conditions and lack social interaction.
What are puppy mills?
Puppy mills are breeding facilities that house dogs in poor conditions where they are bred and sold for profit. Many of these dogs are caged for years, bred continuously, and lack social skills because they receive no human companionship.
Once puppy mill dogs are no longer fertile, they are commonly killed, abandoned, or sold to another puppy mill. The result of puppy mills is hundreds of thousands of puppies, many with behavior or health problems, and many with little hope of ever being adopted.
Puppy mills exist because unsuspecting consumers keep buying dogs from pet stores, classifieds, or over the internet. It is up to us to spread the word and educate our friends and family about the reality of puppy mills.
What can you do?
The Humane Society has a whole page of tips, including materials you can use to help stage a grassroots campaign.
Anonymous January 7, 2009
I can’t believe people still buy dogs from pet stores and puppy mills! A friend of mine just bought a dog at a pet store (I’m not saying which one) because she thought it was cute. And now she’s finding out the dog has a problem with its eye. It is so sad.