Emily Wheiler

Professor Dursema
English 1010
10 December 2015

Why We Should Ban Puppy Mills

All across the U.S. people continue to purchase puppies from pet stores that acquire their
animals from puppy mills. Puppy mills are dog breeding facilities that put making a profit over
the health and well-being of their animals. They save money by spending little on food, shelter,
and veterinary care while over-breeding their animals.(About Puppy Mills) When purchasing a
puppy, a lot of people dont give a lot of thought as to where their puppy is coming from. They
just get caught up in the moment of getting a baby animal. Unless youre adopting from a shelter
or rescue, its likely your puppy came from a puppy mill.
The living conditions at a puppy mill are generally over run and cramped. There are
various sizes of puppy mills, and in this case, bigger doesnt necessarily mean better. Puppy
mill kennels generally consist of small, outdoor wood and wire cages or crates. The animals are
cramped into these filthy cages. Their eyes are filled with pus and their fur with excrement.
Many of the puppies suffer from malnutrition and exposure. (Puppy Mill Facts) The more space
breeders have available to them, the more cages and breeding stock they acquire to stick into
every nook and cranny they can possibly find in their buildings. Puppy mills can house between
hundreds to thousands of dogs, all of which live in the same, uncaring conditions until they are
either rescued, sold, or put down.

The puppies, who fortunately get a little more care than their parents, dont stay in these
horrid conditions as long as their parents do. However neglected these puppies are, their stay
will likely be short, given that some mills sell up to 150 puppies a week. The suffering is not so
temporary for the lifers. (Puppy Hell) Dogs used for breeding will be kept in their cages until
its time for them to perform. When the job is done, they are stuffed back into their crates until
they are needed again. Once the mothers give birth, their puppies are usually taken from them
before being weaned. When either parent can no longer produce, instead of being retired, sold, or
given away, they are put down to make room for more breeding stock.
Luckily, there are many dogs who are able to make it out alive and find better homes.
One particular story involves a dog named Gracie, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Gracie was a
puppy mill puppy, born in the same way thousands of dogs are. Sadly, the breeder of these dogs
decided to keep Gracie to become another part of his breeding stock where she would live out
her life in a cage giving litter after litter. Fortunately, a woman tipped off the local humane
society when she went to look at a puppy to buy. She had visited the kennel in hopes of buying
a puppy, the caller said. To her horror, the breeder had emerged with a young dog covered in
dried feces and stale urine. The puppy reeked, and the breeder didnt even seem to notice.
(Saving Gracie) After visiting the location the humane society gave the breeder a warning and a
checklist of things he needed to fix to prevent being shut down. The humane society received
orders from their management to perform a raid on the facility to get those dogs out as soon as
possible. Over 200 dogs were rescued, Gracie being one of them. The dogs were all given vet
checks, cleaned up, given names, and eventually sent to other rescues that had space or adopted
out to approved families.

There are many stories of animals being rescued and rehomed and puppy mills being shut
down for good. However, there are still many that are open and not a whole lot of action has
been taken against them. An Ohio breeder who was found with seven dead puppies scattered on
the ground, and was only cited by his "USDA inspector for a housing violation [Andy Yoder,
Yoder Backroad Kennel, Millersburg, OH.] (Dodo) That breeder, among hundreds of others,
never receives punishment for their actions except for a slap on the wrist and a warning. Because
the USDA does not regulate these mills as well as they are supposed to, puppy mills remain
open, able to do and breed as they please.
Sadly, a lot of people arent open to the thought of puppy mills, or any animal abuse for
that matter, being as bad as the facts and statistics say they are. People believe were too civilized
for that to happen in our country. As civilized as the man who stuffed five young Rottweiler
puppies into a birdcage and left them there. Naturally, but tragically, these puppies continued to
grow and, eventually, too large to be extracted from the cage, had to be euthanized through its
bars. This didn't happen in some far-off Third World country but in our own, tidy North
American backyard. (Puppy Mill Hell) However, this is an everyday occurrence and many
animals are paying the price for peoples ignorance.
Shutting down puppy mills and getting them banned is going to take the consistent work
of not only animal shelters and animal control officers, but the public as well. That's why
consumers can and must do their part, by refusing to buy puppies from pet stores or online
both common fronts for puppy mills or from any breeders who won't allow them to visit the
kennel and see the conditions where their puppies are born and raised. (Dodo.) When looking
for a new pet look at all the ones up for adoption. There are thousands of animals all across the
U.S. that are looking for new homes. If a younger animal is what youre looking for, make sure

its from an approved breeder with registered animals. Puppy mills are only around because
people are still buying their puppies. The more people adopt animals and buy from approved
breeders, the less money pet stores and puppy mills will make, forcing them to shut down and
surrender their animals. Together, we can all work together and close down puppy mills for good.

Works Cited
"About Puppy Mills." The Puppy Mill Project. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
"Puppy Hell: The Horrors of Puppy Mills." Modern Dog Magazine. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
"Puppy Mill Facts." Ban Puppy Mills. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
Bradley, Carol. Saving Gracie: How One Dog Escaped the Shadowy World of American Puppy
Mills. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2010. Print.
"100 Horrible Puppy Mills In America." The Dodo. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.