If you have never heard of puppy mills, you have probably never watched Oprah. Congratulations on your ability to avoid Oprah and her magical powers, but hopefully you have still been able to avoid accidentally purchasing a puppy from a puppy mill despite missing the puppy mill episode.
I myself rarely watch Oprah, but one fine day like 3 years ago I watched, learned, and became apalled. It turns out some breeders want lots of money for their puppies while putting little money and care into the process. The dogs are kept in really small cages often so neglected their collars are embedded in their necks. The females are bred way too much and spend the majority of their life cramped and pregnant without the right nutrition and help. From what I saw on the Oprah show it doesn't look good and these people should not be allowed to breed dogs.
I thought that episode shut all the puppy mills down, but apparently there is a puppy store right here in my little neck of the woods still supporting such horrific places. I was happy to see so many people caring and protesting on this day where I snagged a few shots. The best place to get a dog is from your local dog shelter, the second best place is from a good breeder of whom you can actually meet, see where their dogs are kept, and know that they take really good care of their pets. That is what we did, it is a shame we didn't rescue a dog, but boerboels don't end up in the humane society very often if ever.
There you have it, puppy mills are bad, good breeders are best!
Good post, say no to puppy mills
ReplyDeleteBenny & Lily
Amen!
ReplyDeleteHiya! They have them in Australia too and it is so cruel!!!! :( What do they need puppy mills for when 250.000 healthy dogs get put down every year? Stupid hoomans.
ReplyDeleteSo keep protesting!
Cheers from DownUnder Teal'c
In between the rescue shelters and the good breeders come the breed rescue societies, and they are well worth considering for people who want a specific breed.
ReplyDeleteI can sort of understand why people choose a pedigree dog from a reputable breeder for their first dog. I had a friend who looked at breed specific rescue (Ridgeback) but he and his partner weren't sure they were equipped to cope with any potential problems with a rescue dog.
And therein lies the problem. The publicity around rescue dogs shouts 'problems'. In some cases there can be, with animals that have been abused. In most cases, with time and love they can be sorted out. And just as many or more rescue dogs display no problems. We've had four.
Katherine (and Pippa the rescue dog)