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[edit] Puppy Mill Rescue? What’s it all about?

[edit] by Kat Zury, Buffalo Pug & Small Breed Rescue

You may have noticed that many of the dogs that have come through the rescue recently have been listed as “Puppy Mill Rescues”. I got to thinking that many people probably have no idea what a puppy mill is or why the heck we would need to go and rescue dogs from them. I myself have spent much of my life oblivious to what the companion animal industry was all about, until I got involved in rescue and began to educate myself. Unfortunately, what I have learned is the stuff of nightmares, but it is information that ALL people, everywhere, need to know about if we are ever going to do anything to stop it. It is time for all of us to take the blinders off, stop waiting for someone else to fix it, and do whatever we can, no matter how small, to make people aware of what is going on. Reach out to our lawmakers, donate our money or our time or both, adopt dogs from rescues and shelters and stop buying them from these monsters, but mostly, to face the truth, in all its ugliness and understand that we can do something about it… or not! We have free will, but the dogs are helpless and at our mercy.

I’ve had many people ask me why we are “buying” these dogs out of the puppy mills. Aren’t we supporting them? Aren’t there enough dogs in shelters that need our help so that we don’t have to go out of town to buy dogs? Well, to the people who ask that, I invite them to take a look through some of the websites I’ve linked here and answer their own questions. All of the dogs that we have pulled from these millers have either had their lives saved by our actions or have been spared being raised and kept in this hell until they die. The adult dogs we have taken are all breeders, many of them females who have been bred out and if they weren’t taken by us would most likely have been drowned or worse. Oh yes, that’s something else I need to share with you… the dogs that are no longer money-makers are not humanely given an injection and put to sleep, the small ones are drowned or beaten to death, and the larger ones are shot. The puppies that we have brought in were destined to become breeders either at the mill they were born in or would have been purchased and used by another miller. Reputable breeders do not buy puppy mill stock for their breeding programs, and the general public doesn’t go to puppy mill auctions to find Spot. The sites that are linked here have some photos and videos on them that show you what life is like for these dogs in the mills and also what goes on at the auction houses. Take a few minutes to look at some of them… they are real eye openers.

I know it is very hard to face the fact that us humans can be such a cruel lot and could actually care so little about our companion animals. I cringe every time I see something that reminds me of this, but I force myself to look, and often, so that I won’t be complacent and shove the faces of these furry souls out of my mind, no matter how painful it is to see. I want to stay angry and indignant so that I can also stay energized and involved. I know that part of my purpose is to heal the hurts, but even more, I feel I am here to educate, because knowledge truly is the power. If I tell just one person, and they tell one, and on and on, then somehow, eventually, everyone will have to know and once everyone knows, we will have the power to make change.

So I’m asking all of you who have taken the time to read this, to take a little more time and click on the links below. Educate yourself, even though it may be difficult to see. Let yourself be moved by what you learn, and tell someone else. We are the catalysts of change and the dogs are counting on us!

http://www.stoppuppymills.org/

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/puppy_mills_2005.html

http://www.turner.com/planet/promotions/puppies/prisoners.html

http://www.puppymillrescue.com/