Mar 27, 2009

Puppy Mills on Nightline

Tonight, Nightline will be doing an expose on Amish puppy mills in Pennsylvania. I believe this is the same guy, from Main Line Animal Rescue, who was on Oprah some time ago. He goes around and tries to rescue some of the breeding dogs and tries to get the worst operations shut down. But he is fighting a losing battle as long as people continue to buy the product from the puppy mills. So if you aren't buying from a breeder or rescuing from a shelter, you just may be part of the problem. A pet shop local to me advertises that all their puppies are from local breeders, but if you demand to see the paperwork, they came from Kansas or Arkansas. . . almost certainly from puppy mills.
I was dumb enough to buy a puppy from a pet shop back in my youth. She was far too young (6 weeks) and quite ill, and I nursed her back to health and dealt with her mental problems for 16 years. The only things I can say in my defense was that I was young and stupid and at least I made the pet shop honor their health guarantee, which contributed to getting them shut down.
Now my dogs have all come from rescue. Someday I may buy a purebred from a breeder, but I'm kind of fond of my rescues. And no matter where they may have started life - some may have originated in puppy mills, after all - I'm not putting any money in anyone's pocket.
I'm not anti-breeding. Heck, I've covered Westminster for the AKC Gazette. But I am against puppy mills. So please think before you purchase a dog.

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