Puppy Hell: The Horrors of Puppy Mills

The term "puppy love" conjures images of teen couples passing notes in the school hallway. All is warm and fuzzy. The term "puppy dogs eyes" brings to mind big, droopy, please-love- me peepers reflecting innocence and loyalty. Both of these colloquialisms are made all the more appealing by virtue of one simple word: "puppy." Not only have we come to love the sweet little creatures themselves, but - let's face it - we love the word. Puppy.

Perhaps it is this image of gentleness coupled with the jovial cadence of a word we love that has served to mask one of society's most disgusting realities. For those not in the know, the phrase "puppy mill" might conjure nothing more than an animated, cartoonesque conveyor belt, spewing out tail-wagging baby dogs. From an I Love Lucy bon-bon factory environment right into the arms of loving families. For many, little more thought is given to the idea of "puppy mill" as place of dog origin than is given to the idea of "stork" as baby origin. Perhaps if we replaced "puppy mill" with a more apt phrase-"torture chamber"-we'd finally be able to stand up and say: "Okay, now I get it." Maybe then our cocktail-party chatter would be less about the dog-du-jour and more about the responsible adoption of, and lifetime commitment to, the dog-de-la-vie.

What is a puppy mill?

Let's start by getting that quaint old tune out of our heads and stop asking, "How much is that doggie in the window?" Instead, we should be asking, "Where did that doggie in the window come from?" And more specifically, "If I purchase that doggie in the window, what is my money supporting?" Because, quite simply, if the window in which that doggie sits is one belonging to a pet store, more than likely, that doggie came from a puppy mill. In a 2004 article inThe Province, BC SPCA senior animal-protection officer Eileen Drever explained: "It's a fact that reputable breeders will not allow their puppies

to be sold through pet stores."

As defined by Canada's National Companion Animal Coalition, a "puppy mill" is a high-volume, substandard dog breeding operation which sells purebred or mixed-breed dogs. Facilities that mass-produce puppies and put profit above welfare, puppy mills create living conditions for their dogs that are deplorable at best.

Picture, if you will, a warehouse. Imagine, within this warehouse, row after row and shelf after shelf of inventory stuffed into cramped, makeshift cages. The "inventory" in each box is half a dozen or more puppies, frequently hungry, sickly, and covered in the feces of the "inventory" shelved above them. And above them.

But wait. Those conditions are the Club Med of the mill. However neglected these puppies are, their stay will likely be short, given that some mills sell up to 150 puppies a week. The suffering is not so temporary for the lifers. The "breeding stock" animals are imprisoned in overcrowded, filthy cages and repetitively bred-even inbred-until they simply no longer can, often without ever experiencing the luxury of leaving their cages. Minimal vet care, poor-quality food, and small living quarters make up the sub substandard conditions in which countless mothers give birth to hundreds of thousands of puppies yearly.

While a reputable breeder will work with one or two breeds in order to fully understand and care for her puppies, a puppy mill operator may crank out up to seventy different breeds. When the mandate is to produce as many puppies as you can, as fast as you can, and as cheaply as you can, puppy mill dogs are reduced to the status of widgets. According to Stephanie Shain, director of the Stop Puppy Mills Campaign for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS): "Legally, if an individual treated their pet the way dogs in puppy mills are treated, they could be charged with cruelty or neglect. But these mills are viewed as ‘agriculture' and too often, the agencies responsible for overseeing them treat them like they are raising corn, not pets."

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In 2000, a particularly horrendous case uncovered in Quebec infuriated the nation. The mill was littered with piles of dead, partially eaten dogs, in corners, behind the barn, and even hanging from rafters. Starving adult dogs were found eating their newborn puppies.

So, what is a puppy mill? A puppy mill is the rude, ugly, hateful cousin of the companion-pet world. The cousin who runs the risk of tarnishing the reputation of every member of the family, even the well-meaning ones. The cousin whose branch you wish you could chop from the family tree.