Will You Stop the Suffering? (Puppy Mills) Part 3

Pet stores purchase puppies wholesale. The wholesale price may be $300.00 - $500.00 depending on the breed and age of the dog. They then keystone or triple the price. Even a 50% discount sales incentive still nets the store a handsome profit.

Pet stores are also often guilty of presenting puppy mill disclaimers. (Approximately 90% of puppies sold in pet stores come from puppy mills (http://www.pugrescuent.com). These same establishments will often contend that only quality breeders are associated with their business, but logic compels the consumer to think otherwise, because most professional breeders love their particular breed of dog and respect their profession. They are often requiring prospective clients to fill-out an extensive questionnaire detailing their home and work schedules, number of children, pets or previous experiences with owning a dog. Breeders may also suspend a sale and request the client to wait until a future litter becomes available, as a means of weeding out impulsive buyers or those deemed unprepared to own a dog.

The breeder typically plays a decisive role in the adoption process. Some clients report that they found the experience at times intimidating, but soon realized that the breeder loved his dogs and wanted to be sure that a positive human-canine bond would remain long after the adoption took place. Does it seem even remotely possible that any professional breeder, concerned with the welfare of his charges and the advancement of a particular breed of dog would consider having a business relationship with a pet store?

Many pet stores are also guilty of purchasing puppies through international channels. Good Morning America reported (December 17, 2007) an alarming rate of puppies entering the United States emanating from Russia, Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Central America. The C.D.C. (Center for Disease Control) found a shipment of puppies from India had not been inoculated for the rabies virus −  a painful and potentially lethal disease for humans. Puppies from foreign countries were often found ill, infested with worms or skin parasites. Veterinary services, medications, and special needs diets to correct these problems can exceed the puppy’s original sale price!

Further reports cited incidents where puppies were crammed into shipping creates designed to accommodate the needs of a single occupant. Many of these puppies suffocated during transport. In one particularly disturbing scene, crates filled with puppies had been enclosed in bubble wrap and the entire shipment of puppies perished.

Puppies deemed old enough to be taken from their mothers are placed in travel crates and shipped throughout the United States. The frightened puppy may have to remain in its crate for several hours or days. Except for an occasional drink or nourishment, few positive human interactions occur while the dog is in transit.

Throughout the world, millions of dogs and puppies are being forced to endure inhumane treatment in order to fill product quotas for pet store profits. A puppy purchased in a pet store may be saved from its ordeal, but an equally damaged or traumatized distant cousin will soon replace the one recently sold and the suffering continues. The ignorant American consumer supports and engines this abusive system.