View the world through the eyes of Hudson. His objective of this blog is to educate the public by trying to teach them not to buy a dog through a puppy mill. Don't buy a dog before you see where his parents live and how they are treated. Better yet ADOPT through a rescue or shelter and know you've done a good deed by saving a dog's life !!!
10,000 Estimated number of puppy mills in the U.S. (both licensed and unlicensed) 1,924 Number of USDA Class A and B licensed facilities that breed dogs for the pet trade 167,388 Estimated number of dogs kept solely for breeding purposes in USDA-licensed facilities 108,802 Estimated number of female dogs kept for breeding at USDA-licensed facilities 9.4 Estimated number of puppies per breeding female per year 1,022,740 Estimated number of puppies produced by USDA-licensed facilities each year 2.04 millionEstimated number of puppies sold annually who originated from puppy mills – USDA-licensed and USDA non licensed 25% Estimated percentage of dogs in animal shelters who are purebred 3 million Estimated number of dogs and cats euthanized by shelters every year in the U.S. $4.00-$7.00International City/County Management Association budgeting recommendation, per capita, for animal control programs $500,000 Estimated cost of a puppy mill bust involving 250 animals
Bulldogs on sale! Yorkie puppies available here! Have you ever wondered where all these cheap puppies for sale in pet stores come from? The answer is that they are produced in factory-like environments known as “puppy mills.” Puppy mills are large-scale dog breeding operations where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dogs. Puppy mills treat dogs like products, not living beings, and usually house them in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions without adequate veterinary care, socialization, or even food and water.
The cute puppies for sale at your local mall were probably bred from dogs who don’t play outside or get groomed. Puppy mill dogs are typically kept in cages with wire flooring that injures their paws and legs—and cages can be stacked up in columns (which means waste falls on the dogs housed below them). Compromised health and conditions like matting, sores, mange, severe dental disease and abscesses are often widespread. Many puppy mill puppies are born with or develop overt physical problems that make them unsalable to pet stores—which means they end up abandoned or just left to die. Many sick puppies do manage to end up at pet stores, though, where the new puppy owner unknowingly purchases the sick dog.
Breeding dogs at the mills sometimes spend their entire lives outdoors, exposed to the elements—or crammed inside filthy structures. Female dogs usually have little to no recovery time between bearing litters. When, after a few years, the females can no longer reproduce or when their breed goes out of “style,” the dogs are often abandoned, shot, or starved until they eventually die.
What "USDA Licensed" Really Means
Many pet stores with cute puppies for sale will tell you that they don't get their puppies from puppy mills. They'll say their puppies are all from "USDA licensed breeders." If you dig a little deeper into what that actually means, you'll find that it's not worth much! The standards of care required by the USDA are woefully inadequate and not what most of us would consider humane. Under the federal Animal Welfare Act, which is enforced by the USDA, dogs in commercial breeding facilities can legally be kept in cages only six inches longer than the dog in each direction, stacked on top of one another, for their entire lives. It's completely legal to house dogs in cages with wire flooring and to breed female dogs at every opportunity. The standards of care currently required leave a lot of room for dogs to be severely mistreated. Take a look at our gallery of breeder photos taken by the USDA to see for yourself where pet store puppies really come from and what it means for a breeder to be USDA licensed.
Even if the standards were adequate, they're not enforced! Take a look at a scathing report done by the Inspector General on USDA's lax enforcement of the law regulating breeders (heads up, it's a little graphic!) and judge for yourself whether USDA licensing of puppy mills is enough to make you shop at stores that sell puppies. We don't think it is! In fact, you only have to be licensed by USDA as a commercial breeder if you are selling puppies to pet stores or brokers! So USDA licensure is actually a pretty good indicator that the breeders are, in fact, puppy mills! Small hobby breeders who sell their dogs directly to the public, including those who only sell their puppies online, do not have to be licensed or inspected by USDA.
Don’t support the industry.Most pet shop puppies come from puppy mills, and so do most dogs sold over the Internet. Pet shop puppies are separated from their mother at as young as six weeks of age. The health of the puppies is not always guaranteed.
Purchasing a puppy for sale at a pet store or online often supports the horrible puppy mill industry. Buying anything in pet stores that sell puppies supports the industry, too! Buy all your pet supplies—toys, pet food, kitty litter—from stores that do not sell puppies, or buy your pet supplies online from websites that do not sell puppies.
- See more at: http://nopetstorepuppies.com/puppy-mills-are-cruel#sthash.bE06zcWJ.dpuf ASPCA has a wealth of fabulous information on their site and Hudson highly recommends you check it out ....
Last year, The HSUS released a Dirty Dozen report of some of the worst puppy mills in Missouri—the state with the highest concentration of these high-volume dog-breeding operations. Our report catalogued a raft of violations of the weak state and federal rules and showed a pattern of negligence and neglect.
Among the most egregious entries on our Dirty Dozen list was S&S Family Puppies, a puppy mill with more than 500 pages of enforcement records documenting dogs underweight, with oozing sores, and with untreated injuries. The records showed that the dogs lived in cramped and filthy conditions and had inadequate protection from harsh weather. Despite this appalling mistreatment, the kennel had maintained its license—until now, that is.
USDAA matted, filthy dog at S&S Family Puppies.
This month, Missouri’s Attorney General, Chris Koster ordered S&S Family Puppies to close its doors. We hope this is just the start of an effort to crack down on the many inhumane and substandard breeding kennels in Missouri, especially the chronic violators that have demonstrated so little respect for the law or their dogs.
The Stephensons’ dogs, however, are not going to rescue groups or shelters where they could be adopted into loving families. Instead, the state is allowing them to be transferred or sold to other commercial breeding facilities. Forty of the dogs are scheduled to be sold to the highest bidder this Saturday at the Southwest Kennel Auction in Wheaton, Mo.
And because only the Stephensons were mentioned in the Attorney General’s statement, we suspect many of these dogs may be transferred to a second kennel operated by another family member, Brandi Cheney. USDA records list Stephenson and Cheney as co-owners of S & S Family Puppies. In fact, last year several aggrieved consumers sued Diana Stephenson and Cheney under the Missouri consumer protection law. The consumers alleged that Stephenson and Cheney sold them sick puppies but misled them into believing the puppies were healthy. A copy of the plaintiffs’ complaint was sent to Attorney General Koster.
Nevertheless, as detailed in our March 2011 Dirty Dozen update, Cheney recently obtained a USDA license for a new kennel, called Circle B Farms, which has also been cited for severe animal care violations.
Thus, the surviving dogs likely won’t have a chance at a better life, but merely a life in another puppy mill. This is unacceptable. Puppy mill operators who have repeatedly violated both state and federal laws should not be permitted to move or sell their surviving “stock” to other puppy mill operators. The dogs have already suffered untold trauma and should not be transferred to another breeding facility, especially considering that local and national animal groups are prepared to help these dogs. It’s time they find a loving home.
By: Krista Mifflin If you see these signs in your potential dog breeder ... RUN!
You think you've finally found a breeder for that puppy you want to share your life, but you want to be sure he's a responsible breeder, so your new family member can have the best possible start in life. How will you know if he is a responsible breeder? What are the signs to watch out for? When should you take your money and run ... in the opposite direction?
Thanks to the help of the wonderful folks on the Dog Park Forum, we've compiled quite a list of "flags" that should help you decide if the breeder you are talking is a good one or not. If you see these signs, it would be best to look elsewhere for a breeder:
He won't let you see the puppy's parents (the father may not always on site, this is normal).
He won't let you see his breeding facility.
He can not produce registration papers for the parents.
He does not have the registration papers for the current litter of puppies.
He has no pedigrees on either of the parents.
None of his puppies come with guarrantees.
None of his dogs have been checked for genetic diseases.
None of his dogs have been OFA'd.
None of his dogs have been CERFed.
He does not want to know if anything has happened to your dog (that came from him).
He breeds a lot of unrecognized breeds - Cock-a-poos, Spoodles, Labradoodles and the like.
No veterinary health checks of the puppies from birth.
No mandatory spaying/neutering of pet quality animals.
No mandatory vaccinations (at least basic ones), no de-worming.
Breeding solely for "pet quality" means breeding for money - not for the betterment of anything.
Does not breed to better the overall conformation or working style of the breed.
Does not know the history of his chosen breed.
His dogs appear to be in ill-health.
He always has puppies for sale, sometimes two or three litters at a time.
Does not have veterinary records for at least the mother on hand.
His dogs have no titles, either showing, working, or sports, whatever the animals are being bred for.
He won't give references from owners of pups from previous litters.
He doesn't ask any questions about the environment you offer the pup, just wants to see the cheque (and prefers cash).
The puppies are ready to go before they should be (under eight weeks of age).
Advertises "rare" colors, sizes, etc (such as "rare" white Dobermans, or Great Danes, "king-sized" German Shepherds, etc.)
Advertises or sells their pups for greatly reduced prices
.
Sells to pet stores, puppy brokers, wholesalers, etc.
Breeds before the age of two.
It is a long list, but considering the health and welfare of your newest family member, it is always better to be picky about who you buy from, than to end up with possibly insurmountable health problems a year or two later. Better Yet Hudson thinks it is far better to ADOPT rather than BUY and spend way too much and contribute to the Puppy Mill Problem !!! Adopting makes you feel so good and its good on your wallet too !!!
Chicago and Greater Cook County's Companion Animal and Consumer Protection Ordinance banning the sale of commercially bred dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores.
Bid on a chance for a professional photo shoot to appear in Chicago's hottest new coffee table book,
"The Chicago Pet Project"
"Portraits and Love Letters from Chicagoans to their Pets"
Other great auction items include; trips to Costa Rica, Beaver Creek, CO and Half Moon Bay, CA, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry tickets, tours of Bulls and Blackhawks dressing rooms, Carrie Underwood signed guitar and more.
Don't forget, for a $50 donation you can sponsor a paw print with your pet's name on it for the event.
Many of you already know how dangerous it is to leave pets in cars when it is hot, but in the story below it is important to note the temperature was only 68 degrees yet the car's temperature was 104 degrees even with the windows cracked a couple inches. Information about this topic often states 70 degrees is the limit but this situation shows temperatures less than that are not safe. Ideally, pets should never be left unattended in cars, even with the a/c running (situations have occurred where a/c malfunctioned).
Attached are flyers to share with others and below is an email I sent out last year with suggestions if you encounter a pet in a parked car. And this link to an excellent video (a vet stays in a parked car for 30 minutes with all windows crackedto experience what a dog does) is something we all should watch and share.
If you witness a dog in a car -- even with windows down or cracked -- AND the animal appears to be in distress due to the HEAT INDEX,
CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY!!
While you are waiting for law enforcement (has seizure power) or animal control (typically does not have seizure power in rural and outstate areas), use your best judgment on what to do. I need to add that no humane society in Missouri has seizure power.
By all means, put your cell phone camera to good use, and take videos;
Request others to serve as witnesses, AND ask witnesses to enter the business for tepid water and to locate the vehicle owner;
Try to entice the dog out of the car at your own risk, if a small dog and a window is open;
Perform pet CPR if necessary;
NEVER put cold water on the underside of a dog who is in distress--this can cause cardiac arrest;
If possible, transfer the dog to air conditioning in a vehicle or business;
Offer the dog tepid water;
Be prepared to offer to transport the dog to an animal clinic.
Yes, a window can be broken. Yes, there are consequences. I believe that any animal advocate--including myself--is willing to take that chance rather than watch a dog expire. Again, cell phone videos are invaluable AND admissible.
On two occasions, the AC was left on for the pets, but the cars were no longer running. On those occasions, 911 was called; a sheriff's department was dispatched; deputies broke the windows. This happened in Pettis County.
The above is based on personal experience. Please do what is best for yourself at the moment, while doing whatever you possibly can to save the life of the dog! I would appreciate any feedback on law enforcement who helped, OR did not help.
On a daily basis, I see dog and cat patients who are overweight or obese. Research has shown that many pet owners don’t recognize this serious nutritional disorder in their favorite fur person. One of my jobs as a veterinarian is to ensure pets are as healthy as possible and, in the case of a porky Pug or flabby feline, to determine why the pet has packed on those extra pounds.
At a recent conference I attended in my hometown of New York City, veterinarians like me, as well as human health care professionals, were given a fascinating glimpse into the intersection between human and veterinary medicine. The conference, Zoobiquity 3, is based on a New York Times best-seller by the same name that looks at ways to bring veterinarians and physicians together in order to talk about diseases they treat in different species. During the morning’s fascinating presentations, which covered topics including breast cancer, dementia and Lyme disease, a veterinary nutritionist, Dr. Lisa Freeman, and Dr. Evelyn Attia, a physician specialist in eating disorders, discussed the similarities between binge eating in dogs and in humans.
Calories Hidden in Plain Sight
Dr. Freeman’s presentation included an important lesson about food and feeding for all pet owners; she discussed the case of Lucy, a 44-pound Beagle. Yes, you read that right: Lucy weighed twice the expected weight for a member of the long-eared, tri-colored Beagle breed. Lucy’s family knew she was obese, but they couldn’t figure out why. They said they only fed her half a cup of diet dog food twice a day. Where could Lucy’s love handles be coming from, they wondered?
Sleuthing out the sources of extra calories in an obese pet’s diet requires detective-like skills in a veterinary nutritionist. Given the small amount of food Lucy was being fed, it was clear she had more than one source of extra calories in her daily fare. Suspicion immediately fell on what other kinds of goodies Lucy might be scoring. Treats, for example, are notoriously high in calories and very easily handed out to a dog with hopeful brown Beagle eyes and a wagging tail. Treats are not exclusively doled out by family members either, but can also come from a well-meaning delivery man, a bank teller or the nice clerk at the drive-through pharmacy. These were found to be a problem for Lucy.
Other pets in the household can also be a source of additional calories. Some investigation found that for Lucy, the cat’s food was a special delicacy. It turns out that people food — dropped from the high chair or offered as a reward for “giving paw” — added an additional caloric load for our zaftig Beagle. Lucy had a touch of arthritis and twice a day willingly took her medicine — but in a spoonful of calorie-laden peanut butter.
Finally, like some humans with eating disorders, Lucy was a binger. She would periodically consume an entire loaf of bread while her family slept.
AB 2343 has just been introduced in California. If passed, it would allow (and in some cases require) shelters to give dogs and cats to for-profit companies to sell for any reason whatsoever. In the case of cats entering shelters without ID, shelters can adopt them out or give them to individuals who sell them the very moment the cat enters a shelter, the very day that animal becomes lost, and before a family even has the opportunity to recognize that their cat it missing. In other words, if your cat gets lost, loses his collar, and ends up at the shelter, you have no right to reclaim him if the shelter gives him to or adopts him out to someone else, including individuals who sell animals for profit.
How does it do this? Sec. 31752(b)(1)(B) of the proposed bill says that stray cats without identification can be adopted or transferred to a “rescue group” immediately. Subsection (g) then changes the definition of a “rescue group” to be for-profit or nonprofit. It can be a 501(c)(3) or an “entity” or a collaboration of individuals who sell dogs and cats. There is no requirement that the sale be for purposes of companionship. There are no standards of any kind for these for-profit individuals.
What might they sell animals for? According to one legal analysis, since state law preempts local laws, AB 2343 would potentially undo local laws that prevent shelter animals from being sold to research labs, thus allowing “bunchers” to do so.
Click here to read the analysis by a UCLA law professor.
Here is sample language you can use (please feel free to cut and paste to your email):
I am writing to urge you to vote No on AB 2343. AB 2343 loses sight of what is, in fact, one of the primary functions and mandates of a taxpayer funded, municipal animal shelter: to provide a safe haven for the lost animals of local people and a place where they can go to find them. Since their taxes pay for these services, families with cats deserve the same amount of time as families who share their homes with dogs to reclaim their companions. At the same time that the bill immediately divests a family of their cat, it allows shelters to immediately give these cats to others who could then sell them for a profit and sell them for any reason whatsoever, not just for purposes of companionship. This will put animals in harm’s way. Thank you.
By Raining Cats and Dogs, March 10, 2014 at 7:25 am
A dog in an Iowa puppy mill. Photo courtesy of Iowa Voters for Companion Animals.
Last week, Chicago’s City Council voted to prohibit the sale of commercially bred dogs, cats and rabbits in the city’s pet stores. The ban, which goes in effect next March is aimed at plugging the pipeline from puppy mills – the inhumane mass breeding operations that sell to pet stores – to Chicago. Meanwhile, Iowa lawmakers are considering a measure (S.F. 2254) aimed at more tightly regulating Iowa puppy mills.
As lawmakers consider the measure, some of the usual suspects are voicing opposition – the large-scale breeders it’s meant to legislate. But, a surprising group is taking aim at the law – the American Kennel Club (AKC) – the same group that many people think are protecting dogs and upholding breed standards. For years, Iowa puppy mills have been one of the biggest providers of dogs to Chicago-area pet stores.
Tightening the laws in Iowa
“The USDA is stepping up and doing a better job regulating breeders under their constraints,” says Mary LaHay, founder of Iowa Voters for Companion Animals. Her group is spearheading the measure. “In order to truly regulate Iowa puppy mill, we need closer oversight at the state level to increase the standard of care. The Iowa Department of Agriculture needs the authority to enforce Iowa laws. The USDA doesn’t have that authority.”
Iowa is home to many mass dog breeding operations that look like this. Photo courtesy of Iowa Voters for Companion Animals.
Of the top five dog breeding states, Iowa is the only one that doesn’t have state oversight over the mass breeding operations. With 250 puppy mills housing around 15,000 dogs, Iowa is the second largest state in dog production (Missouri is the first). Data from 2013 shows that 40 percent of Iowa dog licensees had violation in 2013. There are only two federal inspectors for the state.
“As with any federal agency, their concern is always about federal laws and not what is legislated on a local or statewide basis. For example, you don’t expect the FBI to enforce local laws. That is what local law enforcement is for,” adds LaHay. “If we had the state oversight we are asking for in the bill, we could have shutdown Debra Pratt’s puppy mill a lot more quickly.”
Debra Pratt's puppy mill amassed severe violations for years before closing last year.
Debra Pratt’s Iowa puppy mill amassed violation after violation over a several year period. The USDA wrote her up but had little authority to take action. Last spring, herdogs were auctioned off – at a profit for Pratt. Rescuers visiting her puppy mill described it as one of the worst they’d ever seen.
She finally lost her license in August when she struck a deal with the state. Even though federal inspection reports were part of the public record, no one locally took action.
More humane operations
“The new laws are focusing on making conditions more livable at breeding operations,” says LaHay. “We want to move out of the middle-ages to increase the standard of care. Currently, laws require that cages only be six-inches longer and wider than the length of a dog. This law will triple that. It also would require that a portion of the caged floor have solid flooring.”
It's common to see dogs in this condition at mass breeding facilities. Photo courtesy of Iowa Voters for Companion Animals.
Many dogs in these facilities live their whole life in a cage – eating, sleeping, eliminating and breeding. Usually, there isn’t proper ventilation. The stench of ammonia from pet waste is horrid in the mills. Dogs are stuck there without a break. The proposed law would require breeders to give their dogs unfettered access to the outdoors for fresh air and to exercise.
It also would require that all dogs have annual wellness checks with a veterinarian at Iowa puppy mills. Currently, vets come in and check the facility to make sure policies are in place to respond to an emergency, they don’t need to check on the dogs. Annual wellness exams could catch some health issues, parasites, distemper and brucellosis.
“It also would increase fees and set up a remediation fund,” adds LaHay. “A similar fund is set up for agricultural farming to protect taxpayers from incurring costs when agricultural animals need to be rescued.”
The fight against the law
The proposed changes in Iowa law are similar to a compromise bill made between animal welfare supporters and breeders in Missouri several years ago. While there is opposition in the agriculture sector in Iowa, the biggest battle is being waged by the AKC, the same group that holds the high end dog shows and issues papers for dogs.
“The AKC is pushing us hard and put the fear of God into hobby breeders even though most of the changes in the law will have little effect on their business,” says LaHay. “Guidelines are for any breeder with four or more breeding dogs – which was the law before. Many small time or hobby breeders had been operating outside that law and didn’t realize it until now.”
For many of the smaller breeders, the rest of what they are doing is above and beyond the current standards. In most cases, the smaller breeders are already working with a vet. Often the dogs they breed wouldn’t fall under the cage standards because they are living indoors with the breeders and their families. Other breeders have larger out buildings surrounded by fenced in yards. Those dogs also get tons of social interaction and plenty of fresh air and outdoor time.
Small breeders do face an increase in fees, but that is still being negotiated. The bulk of the new legislation won’t effect small breeders. Yet, the AKC has focused on them and managed to get many of them to believe the proposed laws will put them out of business.
Many dogs rescued from Debra Pratt's mill were in this condition and came with AKC papers. The Chicago English Bulldog Rescue took in 23 dogs.
“How can you say you are upholding your breed standards…that you are a group that loves dogs…and not go to bat for them here in Iowa,” says LaHay. “The Pratt case shows how bad some of the puppy mills are and how hard it is to protect the dogs under those situations. The AKC has waged similar wars in other states trying to set up better regulations to protect the dogs.”
At upcoming public hearings, some of the states highly respected breeders will be working with Iowa Voters for Companion Animals to better explain how the changes would effect smaller breeders. LaHay says licensing fees would be going up for smaller breeders, but that change is still under consideration as the bill makes its way through the legislature.
Tomorrow, we’ll focus on why the AKC fights for puppy mills and continues to back a business that profits greatly off the cruel and inhumane treatment of dogs.
For more about Iowa puppy mills and the new Chicago ordinance read:
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