Letter to the Editor:
Hazardous conditions of puppy mills

My boyfriend and I recently purchased a puppy. After the puppy became deathly ill, my boyfriend and I decided to do research regarding the typical practices of puppy stores, and the origins of the puppies they sell. What we found was heartbreaking, and we felt the need to help educate The Rider News readers about cruel puppy mills and how they can avoid supporting them.

According to The Humane Society of the United States, hundreds of thousands of puppies are bred and sold in the U.S. each year — many of them in inhumane puppy mills. Puppy mills are breeding operations that house dogs in poor conditions; they are kept caged around the clock for the sole purpose of breeding so that the operators of these mills can sell a high volume of puppies for profit. Conditions that have been found on puppy mills include overcrowding, non-existent veterinary care, poor quality or no food and water, forced over-breeding and cages that lack protection from the elements. The result of all this breeding is hundreds of thousands of puppies, a great many with severe behavior and health problems.

Puppy mills work hard to hide their business from the public. They sell their puppies through pet stores, often sending the puppies from several states away, as well as through newspaper ads or over the Internet.

Remember — legitimate, compassionate breeders don’t sell their puppies through pet stores or over the Internet. These small breeders want to be sure they know where their puppy is going and don’t simply sell to the first person with enough cash or a credit card. Unless you personally visit the place your puppy was born and raised — and where the puppy’s parents live — there’s no way to know that your puppy didn’t come from a puppy mill.

If you’re looking for a purebred puppy or dog, another great option is adoption. About one out of every four dogs in a shelter is a purebred, and there are rescue groups for virtually every breed of dog out there.

No dog lover wants to support animal cruelty, but many do so without knowing it by buying puppy mill puppies from pet stores, newspapers, the Internet, etc. Please help spread the word about the cruelty of puppy mills.

—Lisa Gooley & William Hernandez
Princeton, NJ