Tuesday, June 2, 2009

The Evils of Puppymills

A cute puppy at the pet store begging you to take it home.. Awww.. How cute.. NOT

Behind every puppy at most of the pet stores/pet farms, there is a tragic story...
(the ONLY exceptions are pet stores/farms is owned by an ethical breeder who cares about his dogs and the homes the pups go to. Continued later.)

Puppymills are exactly what they are named. They breed a dam and stud (female and male dog) as often as the dogs are fertile, then take the puppies and sell them. They do not care where the puppies go to, nor do they care whether the parents are healthy or not. It is a business to them. Money is of essence. NOT animal welfare.



More about puppymills: http://www.prisonersofgreed.org/Images/MillBooklet1.pdf

We have often heard excuses from many pet owners.

They say, they looked around already. The place seemed clean. Therefore they bought the pup.

Another said, it was love at first sight. They admit it was selfish. So what if you admit? Will it save your dog's parents? No. You are admitting you are selfish because you think that will ease your guilty conscience. And boy you better be guilty.

One more said, not ALL pet shops are bad.

The worst part about the three real life examples, were that they KNEW about puppymills already. We feel so disheartened when people know about puppymills but still continue to buy from them.

It is true not ALL pet shops are bad, but remember. An ethical breeder:

1. Breeds for the sake of bettering the breed
2. Does NOT breed for earning money
3. Lets the bitch rest in between heat cycles to recuperate
4. Cares about the homes the puppies go to.

Does YOUR pet shop/farm do ALL of that? 3 out of 4 is not good enough. There are NO negotiations about this.

Some people say that their dogs, albeit from a pet shop/farm, are imported from Aussie/USA/Taiwan or some other country. And that makes their dogs "good quality" and "non-puppymill". We cant stress how wrong they are. There ARE puppymills overseas too and a dog that is imported from say USA can jolly well be a puppymill dog from USA. It does not mean just because the dogs are imported they are of good quality.

Think about this: Will an ethical breeder overseas sell its puppies to a pet shop/farm without being able to know what homes the puppies will go to?

So beware of dogs from pet shops/farms - whether they are imported or not. If you want an imported dog, be sure to sound the breeder out. In turn, an ethical breeder would sound you out as well because they want to make sure you can provide the puppy a good home.

Advantage of buying from an ethical breeder:

1. You will be guaranteed that your puppy will have no genetic physical defects, health problems, and temperamental problems.
2. Your breeder will teach you many things, including how to raise a puppy.
3. Your conscience is clear.

Can you do that just to save dog-kind?

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