A dogs experience - The American Puppy Mill

Two dogs are shoved in a cage or kennel together, calculated at the right time to conceive. They breed together and it takes, a mother dog now pregnant at a puppy mill. She lies in a small cage, one she can not even stand up in. Her food is scarce, clean water is rare, and fecal matter and urine begin to collect. Flies and other insects, which carry disease that can easily infect dogs, are now swarming on the ground of the puppy farm. The puppies are born in these condititons. For the next 6-8 weeks, this is the puppies lives too. Pus in their eyes, likely from crying and infection, fecal matter and urine throughout their fur, and bug bites all over their bodies. The owners of the puppy mill don't look, they don't care.

The mother fights with her body to muster up the energy to feed once more. The lack of correct nutrients, food and water makes it tough. She has no energy. She feeds anyway. Many times, the puppies are sold at six weeks, which is two weeks shy of the needed time with the mother. They are hastily pulled fromthe kennel, and for the first time, they feel the warmth of human hands. If they get excited, they are beaten. The only interest in them is to clean them up, get them off the puppy farm in exchange for money. This is the life for a dog in a puppy mill.

If the mother is still in her prime and can produce more puppies, she is spared. If she is deemed unfit for more puppies, her fate is full of gloom and she may end up in the landfill, dead. She could no longer make money for the puppy mill and is no longer needed. Perhaps, in this situation, death may be more humane. Living in the conditions of a puppy mill for another year is unbearable for the morally sound.

What is a puppy mill?

In case this is your first experience with a puppy mill, we will define it for you. It is a place where profits far succeed the concern for the animals. Generally, puppy mill, or puppy farms, breed large quantities of dogs for the resale to pet stores or unsuspected buyers. The living conditions for the puppies and the adult dogs, if kept onsite, are more than horrid. It is generally dirty, they are commonly underfed, and never have adequate health care. Quite commonly, these dogs, are simply piled on top of one another in a kennel too small, and only taken out when a prospective buyer is interested in that breed.

Unfortunately, these dogs are bred at such rapid rates that it is cheaper for the puppy mill to neglect these animals and even let them die, then it is to ensure their health. It would eat into the profits too much (in their sick opinion) if they were to purchase more kennels, or extra food. Puppy mills are not looking to hold the dog past the time when they can be sold legally, and for some even before that. If a puppy doesn't sell, it is often believed in this industry that the dog becomes a liability and is better off dead.

The circumstances in puppy mills is a breeding ground for K-9 diseases. Many of the dogs that originate from these mills have serious medical conditions, partly due to the living conditions, but also because proper documentation is rarely checked for the parents of these animals. This, many times, leads to both parents being from the same blood line, such as brother and sister, therefore creating life long medical problems for the puppy.

If you want to know more about puppy mills, or where to report them, contact me at anders02@live.com. Before supporting a puppy mill, please consider adopting a dog from your local humane society.