The picture above is of a pet store that recently opened up in Wappingers Falls, New York. They sell animals that come from puppy mills.
A puppy mill, is a commercial dog breeding facility that is operated with an emphasis upon profits above animal welfare and is often in substandard conditions regarding the well-being of dogs in their care. Similar types of operations exist for other animals commonly kept as pets or used as feed for other animals. The term can be applied to operations involving other animals commercially bred for profit, e.g. "kitty mills." There are an estimated 4,000 puppy mills in the U.S. that produce more than half a million puppies a year. Commercial kennels may be licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture which may inspect the kennels routinely. For-profit breeding on a smaller scale is sometimes referred to as backyard breeding.
If you visit the following link, the website there has well documented cases where the USDA has done inspections at these puppy mills that supply the stores that are owned by Rick Doyle.
http://www.againstpuppymills.org/HoS_RickDoyle.html
The list of violations is not isolated to just this particular store or these breeders/puppy mills. This is a common occurrence all over the country, probably the world, for animals sold in pet stores. When profits are put ahead of concern for the animals health and well being, there is little regard for them, and shortcuts are taken that end up in suffering, diseases and premature death of the animals.
On a personal note to this blog entry, I have a neighbor who bought 2 dogs from the pet store in the Galleria Mall in Poughkeepsie, New York several years back. Within 2 years, one of her dog's went blind, and within the next 3 years, both of the dogs had died from medical problems associated with inbreeding at the puppy mill that supplied the pet store.
As a volunteer for the Dutchess County SPCA, I see dogs and cats that are currently waiting to be ADOPTED by loving families. These animals need a home. By adopting rather than BUYING, you are not only saving the life of an animal that desperately needs a "forever home", you are also saving the lives of future animals that would have been born in a puppy mill to supply the unnecessary demand, and you are not funding these horrible practices, and greedy people. If we take away the DEMAND for puppies in pet stores, the puppy mills will cease to exist and will have to find another way to make money, sparing future generations of suffering. It's common sense ecomonics. Supply and demand.
Save a life, ADOPT your next best friend.
The following video shows exactly where pet store animals come from. Please watch it. And think......Do you want to contribute to this cruelty?
To adopt an shelter animal, please visit your local SPCA or go to:
Petfinder.com
Adopt A Pet
In Dutchess County go to http://www.dcspca.org/
For more information on puppy mills, visit Againstpuppymills.org
Thank you!
Michael
