Buyer Beware

Who has not been taken in by that adorable puppy sitting in the pet shop window begging you to take him home? Pet stores present themselves to be safe and dependable establishments for purchasing a new puppy or kitten. Unfortunately, under this pretense of good morals lies a world of cruelty, abuse, and isolation. Many people don=t know that the principal suppliers to most chain pet stores are large-scale commercial breeding facilities called puppy mills. These so-called Abackyard breeders@ believe that the animals are not negatively affected by the poor conditions and that they simply have been put on earth for our use. I believe that the circumstances alter baby animals and cause them to develop physical, behavioral, and emotional health problems, many beyond repair. These problems often lead to abandonment by the owner because of difficulty training or hostility toward children. Innocent animals are euthanized every day in shelters because of irresponsible breeders and uninformed consumers.

Shockingly enough, puppy mills are a multimillion dollar business in America and have been in existence for decades. Most are located in the Midwest, especially the industrial areas of Missouri and Kansas. Animals bred in these deplorable conditions become prisoners of human greed as they are churned out like an assembly line. Ann Martin, a writer for the wellness magazine Better Nutrition and expert on animal health concerns, reported that, Apuppies from these facilities lack socialization, live in squalid, overcrowded conditions, are fed inferior food and often have congenital problems including hip dysplasia, kidney disease, deafness, and behavioral problems@ (51). Many of them have never felt grass. These companion animals languish from boredom, loneliness, and neglect and are often extremely hyperactive. Since they are usually unsupervised, dogs with violent tendencies are not removed from communal cages but are left to torture and scar their cagemates for life. Females are treated like breeding machines but can usually only produce three to four litters of puppies in their lifetime. After each painful, strenuous birth, their babies are ripped away from them at an early age, packed into small cages, and shipped to dealers all over the country. After the female has Aworn out,@ she is considered worthless and is killed in a cheap, inhumane way.

Conversely, puppy mill owners use a business incentive to justify their actions, as most of these facilities are in rural areas and are family operated to supplement a moderate income. A philosophy professor from St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, MN observed that there is Aa compelling economic incentive to breed as many animals as possible without raising operating expenses, which reduces the >cost per unit= of production, which increases the profit margin@ (Curnutt 117). Laws governing dog-breeding operations have been around since the 70's, when the first Animal Welfare Act was instated, but legislation has not come close to solving the problem of these heinous conditions. Thousands of unlicensed puppy mills are not even regulated or inspected by the government since they sell directly to the public. But technically, The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for enforcing the AWA concerning not only thousands of puppy mills and pet stores, but laboratories, zoos, and circuses as well. And shockingly, there are only 96 licensed inspectors nationwide responsible for investigating tens of thousands of operations. The website www.stoppuppymills.com describes how puppy mill owners can successfully avoid animal welfare laws because of so few USDA inspections and minor fines, making it easy to stay in business (1). It is now clear to me that animal welfare is not an important issue to the American legislators and government officials.

The main problem lies in the puppy mills themselves, but the effects of the countless number of defective dogs produced can be seen all over. Within the first year of purchasing a new puppy from a pet store, the effects of a traumatic puppy hood will become apparent. Since the dogs have been taught to eat, sleep, and eliminate in the same place, they are almost impossible to house-train and may exhibit noticeable separation anxiety or chew incessantly which prompts a considerable amount of new puppy owners to give their dog up to the local, overpopulated animal shelter. About three million dogs are euthanized annually in these shelters because more animals are bred than can be placed into loving homes, and up to 30 percent of adoptable dogs taken in by animal shelters are purebred. Purchasing your dog from a pet store only adds to the suffering and death of pets around the nation and keeps the puppy mill suppliers in business. Pet stores use careful marketing to sway their consumers; for example, each dog is usually certified by the American Kennel Club, the largest