What is a Puppy Mill?

It is a place where puppies are being "produced" for purely commercial reasons. The owners of Puppy Mills are not at all interested in the well being of the animals they keep, they are just there for the money.

Puppy Mills sell lots of puppies to dog dealers who sell them to unsuspecting clients who wish to buy a pedigree dog for a minimal price.

The proprietors of such Mills keep their dogs under the most gruesome conditions.

They keep their brood bitches confined to very small, often dark compartments without any exercise. They subject them to hormone treatments causing them to come in season more than twice a year. Whenever a bitch comes in heat she gets covered so that she is constantly mothering some pups.

The pups get taken away at a very early age, as young as five weeks or less. They then get transported over great distances, sometimes in the boot of a car or inside containers.

Many of them die on their inhumane journey, due to dehydration or injury.

Whilst most of the puppies are lucky enough to find good homes eventually, their mother's suffering continues right to their bitter end.

A lady who works as a volunteer at a rescue station described the state of a bitch who got rescued from a Belgium Puppy Mill:

• She can not walk for any length of time because she has no muscles.
• She has got wounds all over her body, many of which are infected.
• She is scared to death of human beings.
• Her mamma glands (teats) are torn and reach almost down to the floor.
• Her joints are malformed, causing her great pain.
• She was used as a brood bitch from her first season, several times a year.

This bitch was lucky enough to be rescued but countless abused canines must bear their tortures without such great luck.

The lady also told me that anyone willing to give such a bitch a new home needs to be prepared to nurse her for the rest of her days, taking her out on short walks of no more than five minutes at a time, patiently building strength and trust.

When we think of Puppy Mills we usually concentrate on the poor puppies coming from such horrible places but hardly ever do we take into account the suffering of their mothers.

Puppy Mills will continue to exist until people stop buying from them. The customer decides on their business.

Of course no Puppy Mill will call itself a dog producing business, they call themselves conscientious breeders.

Anyone who intends to buy a pedigree puppy should refrain from doing so at a place where:

• pedigree pups are being sold at "bargain" price
• they sell several different breeds of dog
• mothers can not be seen and examined or a bitch is being shown to them who's teats are not swollen
• puppies are being sold at a very young age

To make sure you don't buy from a dog dealer you might look for a breeder who is very invested in his dogs, giving them all the attention and care they need.

Such people have few litters and keep only one or two breeds.

Dog breeding is their hobby and they take great care in selecting the right homes for their pups.

Remember: Breeding a dog means a lot of work and it involves spending a lot of money on good food and health care. Because of this, quality breeders need to charge a fair price.

And when it comes to buying a puppy you should insist on the humane treatment of their mothers as well.