Looking for a puppy sale? You might want to think again. A great majority of puppies sold in pet stores and on the Internet come from puppy mills, estimates are as high as 95 percent. It is also estimated that there are over 4,000 puppy mills in the United States which produce over a half million puppies each year. Most of these puppies are sold to pet stores and in recent years have started to take over the Internet as well. A puppy from a puppy mill more than likely comes from extremely horrible conditions, often causing the puppy to have diminished health in one way or another.
Puppy mills are typically filthy, shoving several puppies into small cages where they are forced to stay until sold. And even worse, the breeding dogs are usually forced to live their entire lives this way, never once leaving their cramped cage for a walk, a vet visit, or even to relieve themselves. Is this the type of puppy sale you want to support? Before you go looking for a puppy sale please read these suggestions.
- Consider adoption. Many shelters and breed specific rescue groups do have purebreds available for adoption, many of which are puppies. This is the best defense against puppy mills.
- Do not be fooled by pet stores. They will often tell you their puppies come from breeders and not puppy mills. A breeder is considered anyone who mates 2 dogs to produce puppies.
- Anyone can make a great website so do not fall victim to a website scam. Just because a website has the most adorable puppies and they claim to be “family raised” does make it true. These people have a job to do and that job is to make money selling their puppies, no matter what they have to do to get them sold.
- If you insist on buying your puppy from a breeder use extreme caution. Make sure it is a place you can go see the puppy and its parents. Any reputable breeder would welcome you!
- If you come across a puppy mill in your search to find your next family addition please report them to your local authorities or you can report to the Wilde Puppy Mill Task Force tip line by calling 1-877-MILL-TIP.
