STOP PUPPY MILLS!
Puppy mills are nothing new. These mass dog-breeding operations have been around for decades. They continue to thrive because they prey on unwitting consumers who are smitten by too-cute-for-words puppies in pet store windows and on fancy websites.

But behind the friendly facade of the local pet shop, the pastoral scenes on a "breeder's" website, or the neighborhood newspaper ad, there often lies a puppy mill. These canine (AND FELINE) breeding facilities house dogs in shockingly poor conditions. 

Life is particularly bad for "breeding stock," dogs that live their entire lives in cages and are continually bred for years, without human companionship and with little hope of ever becoming part of a family. These dogs receive little or no veterinary care and never see a bed, a treat or a toy. After their fertility wanes, breeding animals are commonly killed, abandoned or sold to another mill. The annual result of all this breeding is hundreds of thousands of puppies, many with behavior and/or health problems.

Several hundred thousand puppies are shipped cross-country to be sold in pet shops, but many are sold via newspaper classifieds or Internet sites and are often accompanied by false claims such as, "We'd never sell puppies from a puppy mill" or promises that the puppies are "home raised," farm raised," or "raised with kids/grandkids." The ploys of the puppy mill are designed to dupe a well-intentioned family into buying a puppy and keeping the engine of cruelty working overtime

Because a puppy mill is a business, the facility is designed purely for profit, not for the well-being of dogs. Laws are on the books to provide minimum-care standards for puppy-mill animals, but enforcement has historically been spotty at best. The U.S. Department of Agriculture licenses and inspects "commercial breeding facilities for violations of the Animal Welfare Act; likewise, a handful of states have laws that provide oversight of some breeding operations as well. But puppy mills can successfully navigate around these laws, either by selling directly to consumers (thereby avoiding USDA licensing requirements) or by simply avoiding the reach of law enforcement (with so few USDA inspectors and minor fines, it's easy to stay in business).

BEWARE OF PET STORE DOUBLE TALK
Pet stores say: "Our puppies come from breeders, not puppy mills."
Understand that the word "breeder" is not an exclusive term. Anyone who puts two dogs together and produces puppies is, technically, a breeder. So don't assume that a puppy from a "breeder" did not come from a puppy mill. A responsible breeder would not sell her puppies to a pet store; she would want to meet you in person.

They say: "All our puppies come from USDA-inspected facilities, so we know they are not from puppy mills."
Being USDA-inspected does not mean that the business is not a puppy mill, any more than having a driver's license guarantees that the holder is a good driver. It is extremely rare for the USDA to revoke a commercial breeder's license or even fine a puppy mill that has repeated violations. There are hundreds of USDA-licensed puppy mills in operation that have long lists of violations and problems associated with them. The pictures of puppy mill animals and conditions at the end of this article are ALL FROM USDA COMMERCIAL LICENSED “BREEDERS”.

They say: "We know our breeders are not puppy mills because we only deal with breeders we know."
If a pet store manager tells you this, ask to see documentation that shows exactly where their breeders are located. In most cases, you will find out that the breeders they "know" are in distant states. The store manager's definition of "knowing" a breeder often just means that he or she has been receiving shipments of puppies from the same place repeatedly. In most cases, the owner or manager has never visited the breeder's facility or inspected their records.

They say: "We don't sell puppies from local breeders because our state is not regulated, but (the state the puppies come from) is."
Commercial breeders in all states who sell wholesale to pet stores are required to be regulated by the USDA. Some states, such as Missouri and Pennsylvania, also require a state kennel license and state inspections. But this does not mean that puppies from Missouri or Pennsylvania are healthier. In fact, these states have two of the worst concentrations of puppy mills in the United States, with some of the worst conditions. This is due in part to the very small number of qualified inspectors, infrequent inspections, and the fact that even facilities that are found to be substandard during the inspections process are rarely penalized.

They say: "Our store's puppies are healthy—they come with a health certificate from a licensed veterinarian."
A health certificate only means that the puppy has had a very brief "wellness" examination by a veterinarian. This examination does not include testing the puppy or his or her parents for genetic disorders, or testing for diseases such as Kennel Cough, Leptospirosis,  Giardia and Brucellosis, with the latter two being contagious to humans and are frequently seen in puppy mill puppies.

They say: "Our puppies come with a health guarantee."
Read "health guarantees" very carefully. They are often designed to protect the store's interests more than yours. They can be full of exclusions and loopholes, and often require you to return a sick puppy to the store in order to get a refund. Furthermore, the store management will often use the puppy's "health certificate" as "proof" that the animal was healthy when he or she left the store, leaving the buyer helpless if the puppy becomes sick just a few days after purchase.

They say: "Consumers know our puppies are from good breeders because they are registered and come with papers."  AKC papers ARE MEANINGLESS as far as health and temperament goes. "Purebred" registration papers (from one of many "kennel clubs" or other dog registries) are only a record of a puppy's parents (and sometimes earlier generations). Puppy mills routinely sell puppies with papers from prestigious sounding "kennel clubs." Registration papers do nothing to ensure that an individual puppy (or his or her parents) is healthy or free of genetic defects, or that they were raised in a humane and sanitary environment. The AKC makes money from every pup who is registered with them, They cannot and do not care about where the pups are born, as long as they are getting a fee from the registration of the pup, and have proper paperwork on the sire and dam, the pup will be allowed to be registered.

They say: "We know this is a good breeder. We've never had a problem with any of their puppies."
Keep in mind that even facilities with mostly healthy puppies and problem-free inspection reports are keeping dozens or even hundreds of breeding dogs in cages for their entire lives. These parent dogs live behind bars from birth until death, without ever feeling grass under their feet, enjoying a treat or toy, or having loving human contact or proper veterinary care. They are bred repeatedly until they can no longer reproduce, and then they are discarded.

The real tragedy of puppy mills is that keeping breeding dogs in such a way is perfectly legal. Only the public can stop the cruel cycle of puppy mills, by refusing to buy the puppies that keep these kinds of breeders in business. Stay away from pet stores. Without buyers, there would be no need for the millers to keep producing their stock, and the store would be out of business in a short time.

                                                                                           BUYING A PET FROM A PET STORE IS NOT “RESCUING”
                                                                                             A POOR PUPPY, IT IS A DEATH SENTENCE FOR THAT
                                                                                             PUPS MOM. SHE WILL NOW BE FORCED INTO
                                                                                             ANOTHER LITTER TO REPLACE THE PUP YOU JUST 
                                                                                                BOUGHT!

HERE ARE SOME REAL PICTURES OF THE PARENTS OF THE CUTE LITTLE PUPPIES YOU FIND IN ANY PET SHOP THAT SELLS PUPPIES AND KITTENS. THEY WERE ALL USDA REGULATED BREEDING FACILITIES. THE PICTURES WERE TAKED DURING OR AFTER RAIDS.                                                 
                                                         WARNING: GRAPHIC PICTURES

                                                        THIS PICTURE IS GARBAGE PAILS FULL OF DEAD CARCASSES FOUND
                                                         IN A PENNSYLVANIA PUPPY MILL OWNED BY A LOVELY AMISH FAMILY.

GOLDEN RETRIEVERS ARE THE MOST      
POPULAR PUPPY SOLD AT PET STORES

                                                                        NOTICE THE DEAD PUPPY IN THE FOOD DISH.

WHAT A LOVELY PICTURE OF THE MOTHER WITH HER PUPPIES.
IT IS A GOOD THING SHE CAN PRODUCE LARGE LITTERS,
OR THEY WOULD DISCARD HER.

TYPICAL CRATING CONDITIONS FROM A PLACE WHERE PET STORES BUY THEIR PRODUCTS TO SELL TO THE UNSUSPECTING PET BUYERS. THESE ARE WHERE THE TOY BREEDS SUCH AS CHIHUAHUA’S, YORKIES, POMS, AND SHIH-TZU’S ARE KEPT. THEY SURE DO MAKE CUTE PUPPIES THOUGH, AND CUTE PUPPIES SELL!

CATS ARE VICTIMS TOO…BUT THE KITTENS IN THE PET STORE WINDOW
                                                       ARE SO DARN CUTE, THEY ARE HARD TO RESIST!