People are getting new puppies every day. Many want a specific breed, and, in that breed, they want a purebred or even something rare. This specificity leads to programs which are illegal and very harmful to the dogs. Now, here I am not saying all facilities of dog breeding and such establishments are awful, but the truth is some are horrendous. Puppy Mills, which is a negative connotated word, is a place in which owners bred and breed dogs, and typically have no actual care for them.
In a Puppy Mill dogs are bred for profit and not maintained properly. They are kept in appalling conditions and mistreated. Many females are bred too young and continuously kept pregnant without a resting time. Even with all this, there is mistreatment, animals aren’t fed properly, given the right medical care, groomed or anything truly to keep a pet healthy. There is an issue with this because they still are able to make money.
There is such a demand for specific puppy breeds that people will purchase a dog without thinking about beforehand circumstances. I realize that doing this, it is saving one dog, but not reporting this is killing many more. These breeding operations are so shoddy, there is inbreeding to keep certain markings which lead to bad congenital health conditions for the dogs.
The scary thing is some puppy mills sell to pet stores which sell dogs. In that case, there is no knowing what the past of the dogs was. But this also can leave different effects on a dog. Many dogs end up with anxiety, due to the first few months of living, but there are just horrible health problems that come along with getting a puppy in this was as well.
When I was younger my family and I went to go get a dog. His name is Cooper, but the truth is he was from a puppy mill. He was a rare white Schnauzer and when we got him, we knew something was wrong. This little guy was, first of all, a bit young to be taken from his mom, but despite him being white, he was almost black. He had so many tiny fleas on him he was lethargic and not puppy like at all. So soon as we got him, he had to go to the vet. This beginning was rough, and he did grow to be normal. He played, his favorite toy is a hedgehog, but he also had a few issues.
Cooper has skin problems, he has large patches of discoloration and hair loss. He has tons of allergies, and after doing research its most likely due to inbreeding. He may not be different from any other dog, he is loving and fun, but he has issues that wouldn’t exist if he was inbred and was treated right once he was a newborn.
The thing is, all that be done is raising awareness. People who run these operations don’t stop. I realize getting a dog from a Puppy Mill, is hard to avoid, and it sucks knowing that dogs are being mistreated. But also, just knowing that these aren’t okay is important as well. Dogs feel they love, they are moody. They have personalities of their own, and it is sad knowing dogs don’t get to be who they are. But it’s worse when people ignore the issues behind their mistreatment, just for personal gain. I am by no means saying don’t buy a dog from a breeder for its type, I’m not that hypocritical, but I am saying Puppy mills are real and they are awful creations.