Puppy Shopping? Don't Support a Puppy Mill!

So you decided to get a puppy! Congratulations! Be sure you know where it came from. Puppy mills are the most barbaric torture chambers for dogs that you can imagine! They are filthy disease ridden pits! The breeding stock commonly suffer from a multitude of genetic defects that often do not surface until the dog matures to adulthood. That is because the only thing that concerns these breeders is money. Quality of life for their breeding stock or that of the offspring are the last thing on their minds. I see puppy mills on the same level as dog fighting. I considered posting photos from these horrid hell holes, but I won't. I can't bear looking at the neglected dogs in their deplorable cages. If my words do not illustrate the conditions I am trying to describe well enough, go to http://www.stoppuppymills.org/ . I've seen enough.

Gaining first hand knowledge of your puppy's origin guarantees that you are not financially supporting this awful industry. By first hand knowledge I mean FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE FOR CERTAIN! Don't just ask the help at the pet store and accept their answer. Don't be fooled by a fancy web page.

Reputable breeders will not sell puppies to pet stores because they want to be sure the puppy goes to a good home. So search out these breeders. Be prepared to answer many questions the breeder will ask you about the home their puppies will be going to. Be sure to ask the breeder questions to satisfy your standards as well. We'll cover those questions another time. Reputable breeders do commonly have websites, but you must be positive that the breeder you find on the web is the good kind.

If you rescue a dog from a shelter, you are doing a wonderful thing! You are not always going to know the origin of the puppy or dog you adopt. You might get a dog that originated from a puppy mill but it's OK. That dog deserves all the love and compassion any of us do. The difference here is rescue groups do not pay for the dogs that come to them like pet stores do. Therefore no money flows to the puppy mills.