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Puppy Mill Horrors
Article By: Glenn Redmond
Some friends refer to me as a workaholic. There is no
doubt that I like to stay busy, with relaxation time often
not getting the attention it deserves. I like to catch
the odd TV show or watch a hockey game now and again,
but that usually occurs after 10 pm. However, a couple
of Fridays ago, there I was, sat back in a chair at 2:30
in the afternoon, glued to the Oprah Winfrey Show and
letting the answering machine work overtime.
Oprah, whose 13 year old dog, Sophie, recently passed
away, dedicated the episode to Sophie's memory to expose
the hidden world of puppy mills. Winfrey said, "Our
show today is for anybody anywhere who loves a dog, has
ever loved a dog or just cares about the basic right to
humane treatment."
Oprah show correspondent Lisa Ling along with U.S. Humane
Society President Wayne Pacell and Bill Smith, head of
Mainline Animal Rescue, went undercover, producing horrific
footage of the abuses and cruelty that happens at puppy
mills. Ling said of the puppy mills, "I had no idea
how horrific they are. And it's really haunting…I
felt like I was crying two days after I returned because
it's just a really, really scary sight."
The show highlighted these atrocities in the United
States, but the situation is no different in Canada. Every
province has its share of despicable human beings who
equate puppies to dollar signs. And yes, it's happening
here in Newfoundland, right under our noses.
A puppy mill is a mass breeding establishment that produces
puppies for profit with little regard for socialization,
genetics or the well being of the breed. They are always
overcrowded, absolutely filthy and do a poor job of providing
even the basic necessities of shelter, food, water and
medical care. Though some of the larger mills have thousands
of animals, the average puppy mill will have 25-75 dogs.
They are kept in hutch style cages with wire floors designed
to allow feces and urine to drop to the ground below.
As the waste accumulates, rodents, flies and other bugs
plague the animals continuously. Puppy legs fall through
the wire floor yielding deep cuts that become infected
due to lack of medical care.
Rampant with disease, pups are gathered at 6 weeks of
age, bathed and cleaned of feces and odors and transported
to animal brokers. They end up in retail pet store windows
and fancy websites, looking to pull at your heartstrings
- all thanks to an industry void of responsibility and
moral fortitude.
Life is particularly horrific for the adult breeding
stock. Living their entire lives in cages, many dogs lose
eyes and ears due to fights happening in cramped quarters
from which there is no escape. Some adults lose paws and
legs in the struggle to free themselves from the wire
floors grip. Dogs in puppy mills are de-barked often by
ramming a steel rod down their throats to rupture their
vocal chords. Females are bred every heat cycle until
they are worn out and can no longer reproduce, at which
point they are often shot. No sense in keeping an animal
that is not making any money.
I wish I could tell you that I was shocked at Oprah's
show, but unfortunately, I was not. I have witnessed with
my own eyes the realities of puppy mills. I have many
pictures on my computer of such atrocities happening here
locally all taken on calls with the SPCA. Archaic laws
leave us powerless in shutting these puppy mills down.
People unknowingly purchase these cute puppies, realizing
after the fact that they have health and temperament problems.
So please, don't be fooled by claims made by pet stores
when purchasing their puppies or colorful ads on websites
or in newspapers. You may have good intentions or think
that you are rescuing a puppy by purchasing him, but in
reality you are only making room for another puppy mill
pup while padding the pockets of unethical people. So
rather than asking how much is that puppy in the window?
Ask where did that puppy come from?
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