In the early 1990’s, the Humane Society of the United States began a campaign to inform the general public about the puppy mill industry. The seven worse states: Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania where boycotted by the Society and thus captured unwanted national media attention. It is no coincidence that many pet store puppies come from these states. Always check registry or point of origin statements on the bill of sales before purchasing a puppy or dog.
Shortly after World War II, many mid-western farmers were looking for alternative methods for making money if their crops failed. The United States Department of Agriculture encouraged farmers to raise puppies as a designated crop for the burgeoning pet store industry. As the number of retail pet stores grew, so did the need for more puppies.
Many of these farmers unfortunately lacked even basic animal husbandry backgrounds especially regarding the breeding and care of dogs. During routine humane inspections their animals were sometimes found being kept in filthy chicken coops and rabbit hutches and denied basic veterinary attention. Seldom did these farmers provide breeding mother dogs’ exercise or her puppies any form of canine-to-canine or human-to-canine socialization. An unregistered puppy mill operator in Virginia was forced to relinquish 900 pure breed puppies to authorities. Estimated value - $500.000. Good Morning America report, December 17, 2007.
During shipping, hutches containing puppies are stacked to conserve space. Occupants on the higher levels urinate, defecate and vomit on those below. These unsanitary conditions can compromise a puppy’s immune system and plague it with chronic ailments. The National Animal Welfare Act was created to address the deplorable conditions found in many puppy mill facilities but a lack of inspectors gives ample opportunity for many puppy mill operators to ignore the guidelines set forth by the law.
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