Puppy Mill Breeder Rescue Program
Behind every single cute, fluffy puppy you see at a pet store, there are matted, overbred, undernourished breeder-dogs stacked in cages. Where are these adults? They are in Puppy Mills all across America.
Paw Placement is on a mission to take away the cage! We are rescuing these dogs from unspeakable conditions, rehabilitating them and finding each a loving home of their own.
All of our Puppy Mill Breeder Rescue dogs are listed on our SEE THE DOGS page.
Please help us BREAK THE CAGE!
DONATE: Each dollar you donate represents one bar pulled from the cage of a puppy mill dog. For every $1000 raised, a cage is destroyed and one animal is set free. Yes, $1000 is a lot of money but every dollar counts because these animals can only count on us. Our goal is to rescue at least 30 breeder stock dogs in one year.
FOSTER: Fostering a puppy mill rescue dog is a special task. These animals have never known love, kindness and affection. Oftentimes, breeder stock rescues come to us as shells of the animals they should be. Your love will bring life back into their eyes. Your care will cause them to wag their tails for the first time. Your attention will help them trust humans. Please fill out the Foster Home Application. |
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WHAT IS LIFE IN A PUPPY MILL LIKE FOR A BREEDER DOG?
Imagine living in a cage with only six inches of room in all
directions, shared with others, and never being let out.
Imagine standing on wire mesh, never touching solid ground.
Imagine no shelter from the elements, including severe weather.
Imagine living and lying in urine and feces always.
Imagine being caged with aggessive dogs with no where to run.
Imagine having your food mixed with sawdust, providing no nutrition and having your teeth rot in your mouth.
Imagine drinking filthy water daily.
Imagine matted hair painfully growing into your skin.
Imagine have a steel rod cut your vocal chords to silence barking as you struggle against cruel handlers and given nothing for the pain.
Imagine a chain put around your neck as a puppy, and never loosened as you grow.
Imagine never knowing kindness, gentleness, exercise, or play.
This is not imagination for puppy mill breeder dogs. It is heartbreaking reality.
Why is Paw Placement stepping up to help "Breeder stock" puppy mill dogs?
Paw Placement and its network of volunteer animal advocates believe in helping animals in all situations, even if it means stepping outside of our own community's backyard. Conditions in puppy mills for the breeder dogs are horrific and when their fertility wanes, they are oftentimes cruelly discarded or destroyed.
Frequently, when puppy mills are raided and shut down, the puppies in the facilities find placement with local adoption organizations. However, the older breeder dogs, who have lived their lives in strict confinement, with little interaction or medical care, are left behind. We firmly believe that these animals deserve a second chance.
Paw Placement has a commitment to provide ongoing education/training/rehabilitation program for our volunteer/foster care network. We will care for the special needs of puppy mill breeder dogs rescued locally and nationally.
Each Puppy Mill Breeder Rescue animal cost us approximately $1000. Breeder stock adults have received little medical care throughout their lives. They often have dental and eye issues that are treatable yet costly. Most require grooming because their fur is matted into their skin. Many must have metal collars surgically cut out of their necks. All require behavioral attention. Why? Because they have never known affection or kindness.
Paw Placement will not take in hundreds of puppy mill survivors at one time. Based on finances and foster home availability, we are able to help only a few breeder stock dogs at a time.
What is a puppy mill?
Puppy mills are commercial breeding facilities that mass-produce puppies for sale to pet stores, over the internet or directly to the public. These facilities commonly house animals in overcrowded, filthy and inhumane conditions with inadequate shelter and care.
Multiple dogs are housed in cages too small to allow them to stand or turn around. They receive no vet care, proper nutrition or human attention. Their only value is in the number of puppies they produce.
How many/where are puppy mills located in the United States?
Puppy mills can be located in any city/state. There are over 4600 breeding operations licensed by the USDA and 80% of these are breeding for the pet trade.
There are an estimated 10,000 puppy mills not required to operate with a license. These unlicensed operations house as little as 20 animals to as many as 1000 animals. Conditions at these smaller mills are just as bad, if not worse, than the larger breeding facilities.
Aren't there laws to stop inhumane puppy mills?
Puppy mills are legal in the United States.
There are some state and federal laws designed to provide dogs with only basic care (minimal nourishment and cage space), but inadequate funding and loopholes in these laws make them ineffective.
Some puppy mills (those that sell wholesale to pet stores) are regulated under the Federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) which is enforced by the USDA. However, due to a loophole in the AWA, large commercial breeders who sell puppies directly to pet owners, including those who sell over the internet, are exempt from any federal oversight. These unregulated puppy mills sell thousands of inbred and sick animals every year to unsuspecting consumers.
Some states have licensing and inspection programs for these breeders, but most do not.
As of 2007, the USDA Animal Care Program employed only 102 inspectors nationwide for all regulated puppy mills, including more than 4600 licensed, Class-A breeders.
Do puppy mills affect animal shelters?
Absolutely! Puppy mills contribute to the animal overpopulation crisis. These breeding operations pump 2-4 million puppies into the marketplace each year, and sale of these puppies siphon away adoptions at local rescue shelters. In-bred animals are often abandoned at kill-shelters due to behavioral issues or chronic health conditions. Additionally, people who buy a cute pure bred at a pet store, yet are unfamiliar with the behavior that accompanies the breed, often relinquish their dog once the animal becomes incompatible to lifestyle.
Walk the corridors at kill-shelters and see how many pure breds there are. Check the internet to see how many breed-specific dog rescues there are. All of these animals are the product of back-yard breeders and puppy mills.
Why do puppy mills exist?
Puppy mills continue because there is a demand for purebred, hybrid and designer dogs. Most people have heard of puppy mills but do not believe that their cute puppy came from one. Ninety-nine percent of dogs purchased from pet stores are puppy mill dogs. Most dogs purchased online or through the paper are the result of inhumane backyard breeders.
Animals are not commodities. They are living beings. Only through collective compassion and outrage will puppy mill abuse of breeder dogs come to an end once and for all.
Please help us make a difference for this most important cause.