Backyard Breeders Keep Morbid Puppy Mills in Business

Help keep Fido out of the puppy mill this holiday Season.

Puppy mills are a serious problem each holiday season, this young pup was rescued from a suspected puppy mill in Arkansas. Courtesy> showtime.arkansasonline.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - For most of America the holiday season is a time of excitement and joy. Spending time with friends and family, planning for the many celebrations and, of course, the Christmas shopping!

Amid the hustle and bustle, decorations, and gossip, my mind wanders to a faraway, and much more solemn place. My thoughts are on one of the most sought-after gifts of all time - the “Christmas Puppy” and its subsequent Christmas puppy boom.

My heart is worrying on the thousands of puppies who will be born into uncertain futures to fulfill the novelty of the Christmas puppy. More upsetting, to line the pockets of the many backyard breeders and puppy mills all over the country.

I have been raising animals all of my life. As a teenager, I raised and showed small animals in 4-H. I have worked in veterinary offices and for a local animal shelter. At the shelter, I worked as an Exam Technician and a Euthanasia Technician.

As an Exam Tech, I was responsible for doing intake on all of the dogs coming into the shelter. I witnessed some horrendous cases of abuse and neglect. I was expected to find room for the dogs in the shelter and to decide whether they would go up for adoption or not.

If they did not go up for adoption their fate would be euthanasia. Unfortunately, many times I would be forced to walk through the kennels and choose dogs to “go” in order to make room for the numerous stray and surrendered dogs coming in throughout the day. This is when I began a personal crusade to educate people about the pet over-population problem in our community and across the country. Now I know that a lot of people are against kill shelters, and I respect that, but it is a sad reality that needs to be accepted in order for the problem to get better. According to the American Humane Society, an estimated 6-8 million dogs and cats enter shelters every year (25% of dogs are pure-bred).

Half of them are adopted. What are the rescue organizations to do with the other 3-4 million pets that cannot find homes? The only option is humane euthanasia. In our community, the Willamette Humane Society takes in 2,550 dogs and puppies a year, about half of which are adopted (according to the Willamette Humane Society’s annual report for 2007-2008). For people working in the field of animal rescue, this problem is much more painfully obvious at Christmas time! It starts about October. Pick up any newspaper classified, search Craigslist or the numerous other online pet classifieds and you will see advertisements boasting “Christmas Puppies! Reserve now!”, and it only gets worse as the season goes on.

All over town you will see cardboard signs with sloppy sharpie scribbles “Lab Pups $500”. Pet shops fill their little fiberglass boxes with tiny, adorable puppies. Backyard breeders and puppy mills prey upon this “Holy” holiday to exploit our beloved companions for an easy profit. They breed dogs irresponsibly, often paying little attention to health or temperament when producing their litters.

The dogs are frequently under-socialized, temperamentally unsound and in poor health. These factors contribute to the large amount of puppies being returned to breeders or surrendered to rescue organizations weeks after purchase. Obviously the breeders are not the only ones responsible here. It is we, the consumers, who provide the demand for these dogs. People make irresponsible and impulsive purchases to give their wife, child, sibling or parent the adorable little puppy staring at them from a pet shop window.

As you can imagine, most are thrilled with the gift (I mean, who can resist those puppy eyes?). Unfortunately, the novelty does wear off. The whining in the middle of the night. The chewing. The potty training. The cost of dog food and vet bills, and occasionally serious behavior problems that are way more than the person is prepared to handle, all become too much. What happens then? We all know, but no one likes to admit it. The poor dog winds up at the local animal shelter. The family drives away telling themselves that the shelter will find a better and more appropriate home for their little pup. After Christmas, shelters are overwhelmed with puppies. The terrible and troubling fact is that many of them will never walk out again.

For most of the community this is something that is "out of sight, out of mind", but for the thousands of rescue workers all over the country, this is what they have to face every day. It is an injustice that needs to be un-swept from under the carpet!

What can we do about this problem? Resist the urge to buy that precious puppy in the pet shop window. Don’t pick up the classified and dial the number for the “perfect” present. If we reduce the demand for cheap and plentiful puppies at Christmas time, the irresponsible breeders won’t breed!

If you do decide to get a puppy for Christmas, choose to adopt from a shelter instead of buying. If you are set on buying a puppy, research the breeder and make sure they are breeding for the right reasons (to produce healthy, temperamentally sound dogs who are true to their breed standard). Any responsible breeder will offer a health guarantee and many require you to sign an agreement that, if for any reason, you decide not to keep the dog it will be returned to them and also that you have it spayed or neutered.

Spay and neuter your pets! Make sure that you are financially and emotionally prepared to raise a puppy. And accept that these are not toys. They are not disposable. They are living, feeling creatures who require and deserve a lifelong commitment!

When all of your wishes come true, many of your dreams may be lost as a consequence.