Puppy Mills on Oprah Tomorrow April 4th
 

I'm usually not a fan of Oprah's show, but this is a topic that's very important to me. I received the following in an e-mail from the HSUS:
If you have ever purchased a puppy from a pet store (where the vast majority of puppy mill puppies are sold), or would consider doing so in the future, please watch this show and learn about the horror that puppy mills are. If you can't watch the show, please consider visiting the Awareness Day link in my sig or hsus.org to learn more.

what time? i want to watch it. we did purchase my dog at a pet store almost exactly 11 years ago, we also learned that she came from a puppy mill in kansas, and though we wanted to breed her, we never could because she had a cyst on her ovary during her first heat. she then had to have hip surgery to correct her hip displaysia at 9 mos, and has had 2 knee surgeries since, and will probably have one more, as one of her surgical joints (cant tell if its knee or hip) has started "clicking" after she is walking a while. She has also had constant bladder infections and is permanently on low dose amoxycillin to keep them from returning as part of her urinary tract never fully developed.

With that said, she is the most loving dog we've ever had, and THANK GOD a family like mine bought her and not someone else who may not have had the means or desire to take care of her like we have. With out the medical treatment we've given her, this wonderful dog wouldn't have stood a chance, and now she's 11 years old and barely showing her age (arthritic, but doesn't like to admit it). That's very good for a large breed.

I just set it to record on my DVR...I think it was 4pm on channel 6. Double check the time though...I am not 100%. It's sad what they do to these animals on the puppy mills. :(

Yeah, it's on at 4. I'm happy your pooch is living a long happy life, that's awesome! It's a good thing your family didn't breed her, though. One of the main reasons that so many puppy mill puppies have health problems is that they are usually severely inbred. Puppy mill breeders don't breed dogs for the sake of bettering the breed, they breed purely for greed and nothing else. The stores can give you a paper trail from here to the moon, but I wouldn't trust them at all.

Puppy mills are horrible. Working with rescue dogs I'm pretty sure we have had a lot of puppy mill dogs, but so far my family and I haven't fostered any with severe deformities. Maybe this show will help out the dog world.
I've never "bought" a dog I have always had rescues......... and I always will.

I believe puppy mill production is only part of the problem...... and that the quick disposal of Americas dogs (and other animals) into shelters fuels this.(I'm not saying everyone is the problem just a good part of the population). I think if we cut down on unwanted dogs and rescue the dogs that we(people of America) have created, now this might just slow down the puppy mills severely.

Millions of dogs die in a shelter everyday..... and I bet a number of them come from the puppy mills.

And rescue dogs are just as good as any other dog, and there are even breed specific rescues you can even get matched with a companion that you will cherish for the rest of your life of your breed of choice!

ok I'm done with my rant

We always get out dogs from breeders, which certainly makes them more expensive, but they never get sick and they live to be quite. Puppy mills are a real shame.

Im gonna be watching this while working on the car, my old golden and our cocker spaniel are from breeders, our black lab was born on my farm 4 years ago, and Tonka...well he was roaming the streets or Pemberton and rescued him 5 months ago today, will never know too much about him.

My family got our collie from a breeder in Ringoes. Nicest people and the dog is very healthy. While the purchase may be more expensive, the peace of mind was well worth it.

My wife watches Oprah so she'll give me the short version when I get home.

I have only had 3 dogs in my life, and most of them are from soemone else.
Dont know what a Puppy Mill is, but reading a bit I think I have an idea now.

The short, short (and not so graphic) version of a puppy mill is it's a horrible place where the parents of puppies sold in pet stores live their entire lives in deplorable conditions. They are kept in tiny, dirty cages often without clean water or veterinary care. They are never socialized, and only given the bare minimum to survive. They freeze in the winter and swelter in the summer. They are forced to mate until their bodies can no longer physically reproduce, then they are discarded....either left on the side of the road, in a shelter, or even worse, in a farmer's field as fertilizer (as is the case in Amish country).

large breed is an understatement, she put her damn chin on the window sill of the ta with all 4 feet on the ground

... your cars low ;)


Did anybody record this today? I was at work but want to see it

i didn't tape it it was pretty good....... maybe try oprah.com ....... since it is a past episode maybe they will have it there?

i am glad that this subject is seeing some light. it is a big problem. i took my in-laws down to the shelter and i swear to god if i had the resources i would adopt the whole lot. even the shelter makes me well up inside, i could only guess what a puppy mill would do to me, or what i would do to the owners if given the chance. i feel like we are living in their world, really, and we have adapted them to live with us. we have not adapted to live with them. i bought my dog through a private party sale, knew the owners of the mother of the dog and knew that this was the dog's only litter of puppies. otherwise, i would not have purchased him and i feel lucky to have him in our lives... i do not in any way want to be responsible for the actions of the owners of puppy mills.

if i ever do get another dog, which is very likely, i will rescue one from a shelter. it only costs a small amount, especially considering the care they receive at the shelter, and i would feel better knowing that at least one of them is going to live out his life in the best that i can provide for them.

my in-laws did adopt a dog, and it was only $250. that seems like a lot of money, but they receive the best veterinary care while there and are guaranteed against certain illnesses. that $250 is small peace of mind, when the several hundreds that you can pay a breeder or puppy mill gives you zero guarantee that the dog is free from illness. you can end up shelling out thousands in vet bills if you get a sick one - just ask melissa. i am not saying she shouldn't do it, or god forbid turn your back or euthanize a sick dog - absolutely do what you can with what you are given, but having that assurance from a vet before buying will shield you from the known killers of breeds.

I watched the show over the weekend, and it was great that this topic was put on a stage as grand as Oprah's. Whenever I put myself through watching shows like this, I always go through the same range of emotions. First the heartbreak from watching how these poor dogs are kept and treated. Then the adrenalin starts flowing and I get a wave of anger beyond belief. After a while I settle down and just watch in disbelief...disbelief that beings of our own species can be so cold-hearted and greedy that they can treat these animals the way that they do. I had to fast forward through the euthanasia part in the shelter because I honestly can't handle it, but that's one of the main reasons I do rescue. I don't know if they mentioned it in the part I forwarded past, but shelter dogs are euthanized at the rate 1 EVERY 9 SECONDS in this country alone...mostly because of over-breeding both by puppy mills and backyard breeders.

There are 2 simple things that everyone can do to help put a stop to these horrors without costing a single penny:

1) don't ever buy a puppy from a store...any store.
and
2) don't shop for ANYTHING at ANY pet store that sells puppies for a profit.

As Jim pointed out, when you adopt from a rescue or shelter, the entire, meager adoption fee goes to help other dogs. For example, our rescue spends anywhere from $50 for a routine spay/neuter all the way to $7000 for surgery for an injured dog. And we spay/neuter every intact dog before they are adopted out to help curb the overbreeding problem.

If I can figure out how to get it off the DVR and on to tape I can give it to you at the monthly meet if you're going.

if you can, i would pay for the tape/your time. i wasn't able to catch the show, but would love to have it on tape.

Yeah sure, no problem...don't worry about the $.

That's why we decided to adopt a dog from a rescue, because there are way too many abandoned pets out there. Puppy mills are part of the problem, but the bigger part is the people who don't make a commitment to the animal or don't live in the right place to have a pet. There should never be the thought of "take it back".

I won't be at the monthly meet, but I'm sure you can give it to one of hte mods and they'll pass it to me at some point.

I applaud anyone who rescues a dog. A lot of people are stuck on the cute baby puppies that they see and don't realize that a lot of dogs that used to be those cute puppies need a home too. When I eventually buy my own home, or at least have a place that allows dogs, I hope to rescue a greyhound or two. I read that they're not nearly as high strung as you'd think, and are actually major couch potatoes until you get them outside. I think they're beautiful, and they all need homes.

while we were at the shelter for my in-laws they successfully placed three dogs, not counting the one my in-laws were adopting. but it isn't always like that, and you can see it in the eyes of the not-so-cute-anymore dogs that've been there for a while. a real heartbreaker, is what i call it, and if i had the means more of them would find a home...

but i don't want to get in over my head and not be able to provide for any single one of them, so i know what my limits are. i can safely adopt one more, and i plan to do so shortly. after that, it'll be all i can do to keep up with the two of them, not to mention the increase in appetite my golden will see after he starts moving around more.

For anyone that missed this and would like to see it, I just saw on the ASPCA website that it will be re-aired next Thursday, May 29, at 4:00 P.M.

thanks steve! I'll try to check it out

I got my dog from the local Animal Shelter. I got him when he was only about a year and half old.
I hate puppy mills. My neighbors almost bought a bulldog from a pet shop until i explained where those dogs come from.

good job educating them. if we only affect one person, that one person will affect one more and it'll spread that way. never stop trying to educate people, though, as you might be able to affect more than one. anytime anyone asks about my dog, and they all do, i tell them it came from a private breeder (and i use that term loosely) as i knew the mother was only going to have one litter of pups and although a stud service was used, it's nothing like the puppy mills. i also like to relay the story of my in-laws and their adoption - how many times are you going to find a mild-mannered pomeranian in the shelter? now they have a pure-bred chihuahua as well, that was also a rescue, but from a private owner (who was going to take it to the shelter if a good home couldn't be found), so i think of that as a double save, since the shelter never got involved.

at least i have another opportunity to see this oprah show. i know she usually does a good job putting issues out there, so i have high hopes for this show.