I am the author of "MAGGIE the Dog Who Changed My Life" and "FINAL YEARS Stories of Parent Care, Loss and Lives Changed." My hope is to increase awareness of animal intelligence, emotions, & the special relationship between humans & animals. Covers pet loss, puppy mill awareness, pet health, animal rescue, the spiritual bond between animals & humans, & their sixth sense way of reading us. Born out of my special bond with my black lab, Maggie.
According to the Care2 petition site, "Craigslist is helping dog abusers find animals to torture by failing to enforce their own rules." You won't find the animals for sale in the "for sale" section because it is supposedly against the policy of Craigslist. Some dogs and cats are offered for free. The concern is that animals given away on Craigslist could be used for research facilities, as bait animals for dog fighting, or by people who torture and kill animals. Technically, you can’t sell animals on Craigslist, but you can charge a re-homing fee. This may open a door for puppy mill operators, too.
What can you do? You can visit the Care 2 petition site to sign the petition to DEMAND AN END TO SELLING DOGS ON CRAIGSLIST. You can help save the sweet innocent face above from the poor dog below.
Ariel Wulff made a great suggestion in the article Pets in Danger on Craigslist. Because Craigslist reaches every major city in US, she viewed the Craigslist pet ads every day in her city and skimmed every dog and cat ad. She wrote a short letter to each person advertising their pet on Craigslist for free. Ariel believes that "many of these people love their pets and don’t even want to get rid of them, but are in desperate situations and feel like they have no other choice. They honestly do not know the danger they are putting their beloved pets in." She suggests we can do the same in our cities. It's a way to do something to help dogs and cats that you may never have thought of.
Below is a partial transcript and video from the MSNBC Today Show reporting on the online puppy broker, Purebred Breeders.
"...The company is called Purebred Breeders...operates nearly 800 websites...
It's a marketing deception...we found Purebred Breeders are not breeders at all, but puppy brokers...
The Humane Society sent investigators...found large scale operations with dog after do stacked in wire cages, often in dirty conditions. Classic signs, they say, of puppy mills..."
Original Post "120 Dogs Seized From Unlicensed Tennessee Puppy Mill" by Sharon Seltzer on the Care 2 Blog
More than 120 dogs that were living in horrendous conditions at an unlicensed puppy mill in Tennessee were rescued and taken to the State Fairgrounds by Animal Rescue Corps and the Warren County Sherriff’s Office on March 29.
The case began when Animal Rescue Corps (ARC) received a tip concerning the welfare of the dogs.
“These animals were suffering from starvation and various untreated illnesses. We got here just in time for some of them,” said Scotlund Haisley, president of ARC “Every year, the estimated 10,000-plus puppy mills in the U.S. produce more than 4 million puppies while millions are killed in shelters.”
Mr. Haisley took time from the exhausting efforts to care for the seized dogs to give a personal account of the rescue mission.
ARC rescuers found Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, Brussels Grissons and other small breeds living outdoors in crowded 2x3 foot rusted rabbit hutches on the property of Wilma Jones.
Haisley said the conditions “were among the worst he’s ever seen.”
The dogs all showed signs of neglect with overgrown nails, severely matted fur, bad teeth, untreated infections, burns from being soaked in urine and fecal packs. Some had “significant medical issues” and all of them were ”extremely thin.”
As the rescue team released the breeding mothers from each cage, they came across seven deceased dogs.
One small dog broke their hearts when the team found her squeezed between the bodies of two dogs that had died as she tried to keep herself warm.
Many of the dogs were covered with a pink stain that came from the rust on their wire cages. Haisley said, “When the dogs were washed the black dirt and rust just kept running off their fur.”
Newborn puppies and their nursing mothers were found living in the basement of Ms. Jones’ home. The level of ammonia coming from the dogs’ urine was so strong the Hazmat team wouldn’t allow rescuers inside to help the animals until they neutralized the fumes.
Haisley is proud of ARC’s rescue mission, “The majority of the dogs were adults and breeding mothers that have been trapped on the property their whole lives. Now they have the opportunity for a better life.”
Haisley also said, “We haven’t lost any of our charges since seizing the dogs and their numbers keep rising because several litters have been born at the fairgrounds.”
The dogs will remain at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds until Tuesday when Wilma Jones will be charged by District Attorney Lisa Zavogiannis with violations of county and state cruelty laws. Ms. Jones contends that she ”loves her dogs greatly.”
If ARC is given custody of the animals the plan is to eventually place them with local animal shelter partners and rescue groups that will ultimately find new homes for the dogs.
In the meantime, 24 hour care is being provided. Each dog is receiving veterinary care, grooming and socialization. Haisley said the surrounding community has been very supportive and brought blankets, towels and food.
“An army of local and national volunteers are cleaning cages, feeding the dogs, teaching them how to walk on a leash and doing whatever needs to be done. Local groomers have taken time away from their businesses to bath the dogs and cut away their matted fur.”
But Haisley says, “The best job at the Fairgrounds is the crew who gets to socialize the dogs. They are resilient and caring and the dogs are eating up the attention.”
ARC estimates the entire cost for the rescue mission and rehabilitation of the dogs to be $65,000. That includes temporary housing for volunteers, food, generators to keep everyone warm, transportation and more.
It looks like Los Angeles County didn’t want to wait for a national or statewide puppy mill law to go into effect. On Tuesday the Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance to protect animals raised by breeders or kept in pet stores.
According to Daily News Wire Services, the law was introduced by Supervisor Michael Antonovich, “an animal lover who presents a dog or cat for adoption at virtually every board meeting he attends.”
The ordinance is an amendment to Title 10 – the code relating to the licensing of animals and animal facilities, and the care and breeding of animals.
The new ordinance will require breeders to:
Only breed dogs that are at least 12 months old.
Keep puppies in their possession until they are at least 8 weeks old.
Place pregnant dogs in separate living quarters at least three days before they give birth.
Provide nesting boxes for mother dogs and their puppies.
The new rules also make sure all puppies are microchipped or tattooed when they turn four months old.
And pet shops will be required to inform potential pet owners where the puppies in their store come from.
The Board of Supervisors apparently had some disagreements about limiting the number of dogs a breeder could own, so they came up with this compromise.
Breeders will be limited to housing 50 unspayed or unneutered dogs unless they can prove to county officials they can properly care for more.
Those breeders will be mandated to keep stricter medical records, have staff at the facility 18 hours a day and be subject to more frequent inspections, at their own cost.
Title 10 currently requires breeders to provide “structurally sound” housing that is clean and sanitary, enclosures with solid bottoms, wholesome food, accessible clean water and proper grooming for the dogs.
It also states no animal shall be left unattended for more than 12 consecutive hours, requires veterinary care, humane treatment and exercise.
Even with the amendments L.A.’s Title 10 is far from perfect. However it covers most of the same regulations as Missouri’s Proposition B that was passed by the voters last November.
That law is being hacked apart by legislators and breeder associations’ who complain how its restrictions will inhibit their livelihood.
I received this information today from Rocky Mountain Lab Rescue, sent to them by change.org... Please read and pass this on after signing the petition to let eBay know you want them to stop the sale of live animals in their classified sections.
"Puppy mills" are large-scale commercial operations where dozens of dogs are kept in small cages for their entire lives, forced to give birth to litter after litter until they're no longer fertile, at which point they're usually killed. Puppy mills are unsafe, inhumane, and produce thousands of puppies with serious health problems every year.
Now, puppy mills have found a national vendor: eBay.
A few years ago, eBay had plans to sell animals via online auction. Responsible breeders would never sell dogs via online auction, so this would have resulted in the site becoming a haven for puppy mills. eBay users and anti-cruelty activists spearheaded -- and won -- the fight to prevent eBay from selling live animals.
But now all that's changed.
Despite eBay's claims that it "do[es] not condone unethical treatment of animals," eBay now allows puppy mills to sell dogs in its classified section.
This practice enables flagrant cruelty to dogs, and it has to stop. Tell eBay to shut down its sales of cruelly treated puppies and all live animals.
Puppy mill dogs spend their entire lives in small wire cages, without companionship, and often without vet care, exercise or shelter from the elements. As far as puppy mill owners are concerned, the dogs have one purpose: to supply the pet trade.
The USDA recently admitted that they’ve failed to effectively monitor commercial breeders and puppy mills. When it comes to sites like eBay Classifieds, it’s even worse: Breeders who sell directly to customers online aren’t subject to any USDA regulations.
The best chance we have to shut down puppy mills is to hold vendors accountable.
Click here to tell eBay to shut down all live animal sales immediately:
This post was written on the Care 2 Blog by alicia graef. This is such an important issue, so crucial to the welfare of dogs, that I want to share it with you on my blog, too:
On November 2, Missourians cast their votes and passed Prop B, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, a citizen initiative brought to voters to stand up for dogs languishing in puppy mills in their state. Unfortunately, legislators are already working to kill this new law.
Missourians for the Protection of Dogs, a coalition formed by animal protection organizations, businesses, veterinarians, and citizens, hit the streets educating people about the atrocities inherent to puppy mills, such as cramped conditions, dogs being trapped in their own filth and sick and injured dogs being left with no veterinary care to name a few.
Over 190,000 signatures were delivered to the Secretary of State in Missouri to get Prop B on November’s ballot in the country’s worst state for puppy mills. With an estimated 3000 puppy mills licensed by the USDA and the Missouri Department of Agriculture, it’s been called the puppy mill capital of America.
Weak laws regulating commercial kennels have made it the perfect place for unscrupulous breeders to call home. According to the ASPCA, Missouri supplies over 40 percent of the puppies you can find in pet stores across the country.
Prop B, which will take effect in 2011, isn’t anything outlandish. The bill calls for an increase in standard care, including providing food and water, vet care, protection from the elements, exercise, “constant and unfettered access” to the outdoors, room to move around and stretch and rest between breeding cycles. It would apply to breeders with more than 10 dogs and limit the number of breeding dogs to 50 per facility. Violations would result in up to 15 days in jail and a fine of $300.
Prop B calls for nothing more than adequate care for an animal we fondly, and commonly, refer to as man’s best friend. Missourians spoke. They don’t like puppy mills. Prop B passed with 51.6 percent of the votes. Unless they do math differently in Missouri than they do everywhere else, that’s the majority. End of story, right?
Unfortunately, no. It took less than a week for opponents to start coming out of the woodwork trying to get Prop B watered down or repealed.
Breeders of course heard a resounding ca-ching as the new law would significantly raise the cost of running a commercial breeding facility, while others in agribusiness are worried that regulations will expand to livestock. The Tea Party was, of course, also upset.
Worse, legislators are listening and will be discussing possible actions in the new session starting January 5.
“We will start working on that issue probably immediately,” said Senator-elect Mike Parson, a Bolivar Republican. Incidentally, there are 150 licensed breeders in his district.
Rep. Tom Loehner, a Koeltztown Republican who is chairman of the House Agriculture Policy Committee said that the whining heard about the issue in rural areas could “represent a mandate for change,” as most of the votes came from urban areas.
Not to be a smarty pants, but those votes all count the same whether or not the came from rural or urban areas.
Additional concerns were raised over job loss and the potential for Prop B to put legitimate breeders out of business. However, Barbara Schmitz, spokeswoman for Missourians for the Protection of Dogs, brilliantly pointed out that Prop B would be economically beneficial by providing an increased demand for veterinary care, while simultaneously reducing the financial burdens of rescues and other funding allocated to the mistreatment of animals.
As for putting legitimate breeders out of business, what legitimate breeder needs more than 50 breeding dogs? That’s 50 litters of puppies per breeding cycle, yet we destroy millions of innocent dogs every year simply because there aren’t enough homes and Missouri wants to let their state continue to contribute to this horrendous industry churning out puppies like inanimate objects?
Proposition B: What It Means for Puppy Mills in Missouri
Re-printed from the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association By Deanna Tolliver, DVM,
As a veterinarian, I took an oath to protect animal health and relieve animal suffering. Unfortunately, as a veterinarian in Missouri, I have witnessed the worst kind of suffering in dogs from puppy mills—rotten and infected teeth, mammary gland tumors, ear and skin diseases, overgrown toenails that curl into foot pads, and coats matted so heavily that the animals could barely walk. Most of these conditions result from years of neglect and could have been prevented or treated with proper veterinary care.
Given what I have seen in these kennel dogs, I consider it my professional responsibility to support Proposition B, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act. This commonsense measure on the November state ballot will provide more humane standards for the care of all dogs in puppy mills throughout the state.
How will Prop B impact the puppy mill industry?
Prop B would require large, commercial breeding facilities to provide dogs with sufficient food and clean water; necessary veterinary care; adequate living space, shelter and exercise; and essential rest between breeding cycles. It would also prohibit the use of wire kennel flooring and stacked cages.
The measure would also limit the number of adult breeding dogs that facilities can keep to 50 (it does not apply to breeders with 10 or fewer intact female dogs). Since each female dog is capable of producing up to five or more puppies per litter, a breeder could still sell roughly 200 to 400 puppies a year, with a potential income exceeding $100,000—much greater than that of most families in Missouri.
Changes to mass-breeding operations are long overdue
The recent rescue of more than 100 dogs from two operations in Camden and Greene counties undoubtedly confirms that Missouri has an ongoing problem with many of its 3,000 mass puppy-production facilities. The Better Business Bureau, the USDA Office of the Inspector General and the Missouri state auditor all released recent reports detailing insufficient oversight of our puppy mill industry and the grave suffering it causes—both for the dogs and for their future families.
In spite of the neglect that many of these dogs have suffered, those of us involved in rehabilitating puppy mill dogs are amazed at how quickly they respond to a gentle hand and good veterinary care. I believe that Prop B will have a substantial impact on the well-being of these dogs.
Support is on the rise, but help is still needed
Prop B has garnered mainstream support from the Humane Society of Missouri, Central Missouri Humane Society, Southwest Missouri Humane Society, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Best Friends Animal Society and The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). In addition, a number of veterinarians and veterinary clinics, responsible dog breeders, religious leaders and many Missouri businesses have endorsed Prop B in order to ensure more humane treatment of commercially kenneled dogs.
As the election nears, I hope more veterinary professionals will vote YES on Prop B, endorse and support the measure, and encourage colleagues, clients, friends and family to do the same.
To read more and endorse the measure, please visit www.YesonPropB.com. Another veterinary perspective can be found in this letter to the editor, submitted to the Columbia Missourian newspaper by Dr. C. B. Chastain, DVM, DACVIM, a professor at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, in support of Proposition B.
Dr. Deanna Tolliver, DVM, is a Prop B endorser, HSVMA veterinary member and owner of Cross Creek Animal Hospital in Waynesville, MO. She is also the proud pet parent of Janie, a Yorkshire terrier puppy mill survivor born with elbow dysplasia, who seemingly repaid the favor of her adoption by alerting Dr. Tolliver to an intruder and saving her from possible harm.
Teamwork between several national and local animal welfare groups saved the lives of more than 100 dogs on Tuesday from a puppy mill in Central Missouri.
The owner of the kennel could no longer afford to feed the dogs.
The dogs, which included small breeds such as Dachshunds, Malteses, Shih Tzus, Lhasa Apsos, and large breeds such as Huskies and Boxers, were voluntarily surrendered by the owner of the puppy mill. He contacted a local rescue group, Half-way Home Pet Rescue and explained that he couldn’t afford to feed the dogs. The rescue group called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for help.
The Rescue Plan
The ASPCA quickly put a collaborative rescue plan into action. They sent eight members from their Anti-Cruelty team and their 60-foot-long animal transport trailer to the puppy mill. They also enlisted the help of PetSmart Charities to supply the large number of pet transport carriers and crates needed.
The dogs were then transferred to two local animal rescue groups - the Humane Society of Southwest Missouri in Springfield and HSMO in St. Louis. Each of the rescued pups will stay with the rescue groups until they are given a clean bill of health and ready to be adopted into a family of their own.
Collaborative Efforts Are A Win-Win
This is not the first collaborative rescue between national animal welfare groups and local organizations, but in my opinion it seems to be a new trend that wasn’t present in many large rescue efforts just a year or two ago.
Previously it was common for the animals rescued in those missions to be victimized further by deeming them unadoptable and euthanizing them.
Now it is becoming routine for the victimized cats, dogs and other animals to be sent to regional animal rescue organizations that are nursing them back to health, rehabilitating them and successfully placing them in adopted homes. It’s a win-win for everyone.
The cooperative efforts aren’t just limited the ASPCA. Last week a dozen regional rescue groups took in 200 dogs and 54 cats after PETA exposed a North Carolina research laboratory for the cruel treatment of the animals at the facility.
And last year the Humane Society of the United States teamed up with a multitude of local animal welfare groups after they organized the largest raid on dog fighting rings in U.S. history. The majority of those dogs was rehabilitated and found loving homes for the first time in their lives.
Tim Rickey, the ASPCA’s Senior Director of Field Investigation and Response had this to say about the puppy mill rescue on Tuesday. “The ASPCA is committed to assisting local animal organizations, as well as overwhelmed breeders, to help find homes for animals in situations like this.”
He also acknowledged the extra burden placed on local animal rescue groups. “Having too many dogs, as this crisis clearly illustrates, puts a tremendous strain on local agencies when they are suddenly forced to care and find homes for large numbers of animals,” said Rikey.
But everyone involved in the effort believes this is still the best way to handle large scale rescues.
Latisha Duffy of Half-way Home Pet Rescue said, “We’re grateful to national and local animal welfare groups for stepping up to the plate and working together for the common goal of saving lives. Instead of being sold off to auction, these dogs now have a second chance at life.”
Missouri Puppy Mills
The ASPCA reported that Missouri, where the dogs were rescued, is considered to be the puppy mill capital of the country. The state, “exports more than 40 percent of all dogs sold in pet stores nationwide,” ASPCA said in a press release. “It is home to more than 3,000 commercial dog breeding facilities.”
Because of these facts, the ASPCA is urging those living in Missouri to support Proposition B, or the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, which will be on the November ballot.
National Mill Dog Rescue in Colorado Springs Rescues Dogs and Educates People
Thousands of puppy mill operations exist in our country. According to National Mill Dog Rescue, documented problems of puppy mills include "overbreeding, inbreeding, minimal veterinary care, poor quality of food and shelter, lack of socialization with humans, overcrowded cages, and the killing of unwanted animals." To the unsuspecting consumer, this often means buying a puppy facing numerous veterinary problems or who harbor genetically borne diseases that appear years later.
Some dogs live their entire lives in puppy mills, and for one reason alone: to produce more puppies. Repeatedly bred, many of these females are killed once they can no longer reproduce.
National Mill Dog Rescue has been a non-profit in Colorado since 2007. NMDR was inspired by Lily, a puppy mill dog they rescued from a dog auction in Missouri. Lily was worn out, with a rotted jaw, and mammary tumors all along her left side.
National Mill Dog Rescue began with Lily. Their pledge is to "put an end to the cruelty and evil of the commercial breeding industry," more commonly known as puppy mills. They educate the public about puppy mills and and buying dogs in pet stores (who are usually purchased from puppy mills).
NMDR says, "there are many reputable breeders and shelters from which to get dogs." I fully agree. They have an informative FAQ page at http://www.milldogrescue.org/faq.html that answers the following questions about puppy mills:
What is a puppy mill?
How is puppy milling different than reputable breeding?
Aren't you just supporting the mills by rescueing dogs from them?
Why shouldn't I just go to the pet store and buy a dog?
Where else can I get a dog?
How do I know I've found a reputable breeder?
Why are your requirements so tough?
Why do the mills turn dogs over to rescue?
I encourage you to visit the NMDR site to see who they are, what they do, and to learn more about their answers to the questions above. Please share this information about puppy mills with everyone you know about what puppy mills are. Many folks still don't realize the horrors that are perpetuated in puppy mills on precious, innocent dogs.
This week features a story from CA where a community came together and helped end puppy mill sales of one local pet store. Owners of a Rocklin pet store say they were flooded with e-mails and phone calls, asking them to stop selling purebred puppies. The requests started soon after a Roseville pet store which sold dogs closed last year. “We won’t be selling puppies anymore at the store, we just want to be a good member of the community and it’s clear that people don’t want us doing it,” said Rocklin Family Pet Store owner, Dale Glazer. The store will host an SPCA pet adoption event this Friday.
Puppy Love With a Vengeance: Activists, Officials Take On Pennsylvania's Abusive Kennels from the LA Times
"Over the past four years, Anderson — who works for Main Line Animal Rescue, a shelter outside of Philadelphia — has managed to coax some of Pennsylvania's largest commercial breeding kennels to part with their unwanted canines, usually females past their reproductive prime or young males they couldn't sell..."
I wish to share a post from a veterinarian and author colleague about her poignant experience with puppy mill dogs in her office, and the effect on their unsuspecting guardians. As Dr. Nancy Kay states, it really brings home the importance of NOT purchasing puppies online sight unseen or from pet stores, the outlets of puppy mills. Please share this post to help continue to raise consciousness about the deplorable conditions puppy mill dogs and puppies live in.
Puppy Mills: People and Their Puppies Pay the Ultimate Price
Twice during the last month, I’ve experienced feelings of anger while in the midst of euthanizing one of my patients.Normally I feel mostly sadness, often combined with an element of relief knowing that suffering is gently and humanely coming to an end.Anger is an unusual visitor, but this emotion is sure to surface whenever I euthanize the innocent victim of a puppy mill (puppy mills are large scale breeding operations that produce puppies for profit with little or no attention paid to breed related inherited diseases).I feel angered when confronted with a sweet little life, cut way too short and clients left confused, bereft, and devastated by the untimely loss of their beloved puppy. Such was the case with Max and Chloe and the people who cared for them.
Max, was an insanely sweet and adorable Boston Terrier.Once an effervescent, bubbly Boston, this nine-month-old pup had become listless- fatigued by the exertion of breathing.You see, Max was born with an abnormally narrowed windpipe (imagine you or me trying to breathe through a straw).My client Ed recalled thinking that his new pup’s breathing seemed abnormally noisy when he picked him up from the airport. He was shipped to California at 10 weeks of age from a breeder in Missouri.Ed had been looking for a Boston Terrier and fell in love with Max the moment he saw his photo online.He did not feel the need to visit the kennel where Max was born because he was so reassured by the emails and telephone conversations he and the breeder had exchanged.She seemed to provide all the right answers to Ed’s questions.Max’s health was guaranteed- any problems and Max could be returned, no questions asked.
Other than the extra noise associated with Max’s breathing (not uncommon in a smoosh-faced breed such as a Boston Terrier), Ed thought he had a normal puppy on his hands.It was only as Max’s body grew in relation to his small windpipe that he developed labored breathing, eventually needing to utilize almost every ounce of energy struggling simply to breathe. Ed was devastated by the news that we had no way to fix this problem.With his own heart breaking, he held his sweet little Max tightly as I injected the euthanasia solution.
Chloe, an eleven-month-old Cocker Spaniel, was born with defective kidneys.Joe and Cindy first laid eyes on Chloe when they happened to pass through a shopping center pet store on their way to the movie theatre.They never made it to the movies that afternoon- they bought a puppy instead! They simply couldn’t resist the charms of the little blonde puppy with the big brown eyes.Joe and Cindy noticed that Chloe drank lots of water, and she could never be fully housetrained. A few months later, when she began vomiting and refusing her food, kidney failure was diagnosed.Ultrasound revealed that both of Chloe’s kidneys were small and malformed- clearly a birth defect.The once vigorous playful puppy gradually had become profoundly weak and lethargic.Unfortunately, we had no reasonable way of creating long-term improvement for Chloe.Heartbroken, Joe and Cindy gently stroked and loved their little girl as I ended her life.
Puppy mills stay in business by preying on people who are willing to buy a puppy without doing their research.These puppy purchasers simply don’t know better or allow their emotions to override their sensibilities.They are vulnerable to the precious face in the online photo or the adorable puppy in the pet store window (pet stores are notorious for purchasing from puppy mills).Puppy mill breeders often “seal the deal” by guaranteeing their puppies’ health, knowing full well how emotionally traumatic and near impossible it is for most people to “return a pup” once deep attachment occurs (deep attachment typically requires less than five minutes!).
My new year’s wish is that my veterinary colleagues and I will see far fewer victims of puppy mills in 2010.You can help my spreading word to people you know who are interested in purchasing a purebred or “designer hybrid” pup.Educate them about the dangers of purchasing a puppy online, sight (and site) unseen.Encourage them to avoid the impulsive pet store purchase.By buying online or from a pet shop, they may be risking losing their beloved new family member at much too young an age, or inadvertently committing the next 10-15 years of their lives to taking care of an inherently unhealthy product of a puppy mill.One less purchase from puppy mills, even indirectly is one step closer to their eradication...
