Puppy mills make my heart cry and my blood boil!!!!

I don’t know how the humans who run these facilities live with themselves knowing the abuse and neglect they inflict on living animals.

A puppy mill is a large-scale commercial dog breeding facility where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dogs.

They house dogs in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions without adequate veterinary care, food, water, or socialization. In order to maximize profits, female dogs are bred at every opportunity with little-to-no recovery time between litters. These puppies, often as young as six to eight weeks of age, are sold to pet shops or directly to the public over the Internet, through newspaper ads, swap meets, and flea markets.

In a puppy mill, dogs are often kept in cages with wire flooring that injures their paws and legs—and it is not unusual for cages to be stacked in columns. When female breeding dogs reach a point of physical depletion and can no longer reproduce, they are often killed.

These operations focus on profit, dogs are often bred with little regard for genetic quality. The puppies are prone to congenital and hereditary conditions including heart disease and blood and respiratory disorders. In addition, puppy mill puppies often arrive in pet stores and in their new homes with diseases or infirmities ranging from parasites to pneumonia. Because puppies are removed from their littermates and mothers at a young age, they also often suffer from fear, anxiety, and other behavioral problems.”

MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT SUPPORTING PUPPY MILLS BY BUYING ONE OF THEIR PUPPIES.

RED FLAGS OF A PUPPY MILL

Purchasing from pet store. Pet store owners will tell you they get all their puppies from “licensed USDA breeders” or “local breeders.” They use this licensing to provide a false sense of security to customers. If they say a puppy ‘has papers’ or is ‘registered’ it means nothing more than the puppy’s parents both had papers.

Not allowed to visit the facilities. They may SAY you can come to visit, but when you try they will make excuse after excuse. They will want to meet you somewhere like a gas station or parking lot.

Offer to give you your puppy before they are 8 weeks old. It is in the best interest of your puppy to spend a minimum of 8 weeks with their mom for nutrition, social, and developmental reasons. If they offer to give you the puppy early – they do not have your puppy’s best interest in mind and are likely a puppy mill.

No standing website that includes its location. These people don’t want to be found. They will not have a website and their contact info may be vague. These ‘people’ live in the shadows.

The ‘breeder’ knows nothing about the parents of the puppy and/or won’t let you meet them.

Sell several breeds of dogs. A responsible breeder normally breeds one type of dog because they have a passion for that breed. Two breeds max – if they offer more – run!

Several litters are available and several are on the way. The more litters they have the more adults they have – they may have so many adults that they would need a staff to provide proper care.