Puppy Mills

Usually on Wednesday I do a product review. Right now I want to bring something else to light, that is much more meaningful to me. As you all should know I'm an animal lover. There isn't a thing in this world I wouldn't do for an animal. So today I want to give you information on puppy mills and share with you a heart wrenching experience I went through.

This is an example of a puppy mill. This is the horrible conditions these helpless dogs are forced to live in!

 These dogs are crammed together, bred countless times, and when they aren't able to breed anymore, they are put down. So what is a puppy mill:

Puppy mills 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 legitimate-seeming websites. Puppy mills house dogs in shockingly poor conditions. After their fertility wanes, breeding animals are often killed, abandoned or sold cheaply to another mill to try and get "one more litter" out of the dog. The annual result of all this breeding is millions of puppies, many with behavior and/or health problems.

*The above information (in bold) is courtesy of The Humane Society.*

(Rusty)

About 5 years ago our little dog Rusty ran away. She was a Jack Russell, as smart as they come. Hubs took her out to go potty, he walked in the house to grab a cup of coffee and right back out. Rusty was gone! We searched for her all day, we looked every free minute we had for 3 months. I was heart broken. Cried constantly, I loved this dog! We called the animal shelters, we asked everyone in the surrounding neighborhoods, we posted posters, we put an ad in the newspaper. I never got my baby back. 

We were on our way to a weekend camping trip when we stopped at an animal store. Of course I can't walk in there without falling absolutely in love with every single puppy in there. But there was one, who yelled my name. He was a pug, cute as a button. I had to have him. The owners of the store told us he was born w/ out a collar bone and couldn't be rough housed with. Well I don't get my dogs to beat them up, and I know how to be careful.

(Doc)

We had Doc about 2 weeks, and well you know how quickly I fall in love and get attached. I think it takes me about .03 seconds. Well I came home from work one day, a little early, and looked for Doc. Typically he would come running to greet me. That day he did not. So I found him laying on his bed and he barely looked up to see me. I went into panic mode, something was wrong with my new baby. I called hubs at work and told him I had to take Doc to the vet. I'm sure he could tell by the panic in my voice that he needed to go. So I got Doc to the vet, and she's asking me if he had his shots, I say no I was scheduled the next day to come in to get them. She wouldn't run any tests on him, he had water around his brain, and she knew I would be blowing money. She knew he wouldn't survive. She gave me some stuff that would perk him up a bit, and sent us home. I had convinced myself I would have a few months with him, and they would be the best few months of his life. 

The next morning Scott woke me up, and told me Doc was barely breathing. I knew he would never joke like that, but I couldn't / wouldn't believe it. I jumped out of bed and ran to Doc. He lay there, barely breathing, looking at me with his big eyes. I picked him up, hugged him, and told him I loved him over and over. That it was ok, he could go and be a happy healthy puppy who could run and play. That I would always miss him and carry him in my heart. About 15 min later Doc died in my arms. It was 2 years to the day that my mom died as I held her hand. 

It turns out the animal store I purchased him from, bought all their dogs from a puppy mill. I was furious and was not going to allow another person unknowingly purchase a dog from them, just to live the heart breaking moment I had. I sat here crying my eyes out as I write this...it still stings! So I called the news, I called the paper, and I called the Humane Society. I was on a mission to shut down the store and the puppy mill. To bring information to the public about these horrible places. I succeeded in shutting down the puppy mill, the store is still in business. 

So I say to you, if you know of a puppy mill, please call your local Humane Society. If you are purchasing from someone, know where that dog came from, and only purchase from reputable breeders, or go to a shelter and adopt a dog.