Dear Caring Animal People (CAPs):

Many of you may be familiar with the recent deployment of UAN’s Emergency Rescue Service (EARS) volunteers to care for the dogs seized from a Maine puppy mill in October, or a similar situation in Virginia where animal control authorities seized nearly 1,000 dogs from a massive puppy mill operation in Hillsville.

Here at UAN we’ve seen a surge in news about puppy mills and requests for assistance. So, with so much growing attention on puppy mills, we thought all of you CAPs might be wondering what they are and how to stop them.

* What exactly is a puppy mill?
It is a large-scale breeding operation that focuses more on profit than on the welfare of the dogs being bred and the puppies they produce. Puppy mill dogs are housed in crowded and unsanitary facilities, where they are kept in filthy cages, without attention or socialization and rarely any veterinary care. Although the puppies may make it out of the puppy mill, many have serious health or behavioral problems later in life. The “breeding stock” usually spend their entire lives in cages and are constantly bred to meet the puppy demand. Once the breeding dogs are too old to reproduce, they are typically killed or abandoned.

* How can I avoid supporting them?
The best way to avoid unintentionally supporting the puppy mill industry is to adopt a dog from a local shelter or rescue group. Puppies from puppy mills are sold in pet stores, on Web sites from people posing as reputable breeders, or through newspapers ads, so consumers never see the horrible conditions from which their cute, little puppies came. Avoid purchasing puppies through these means and tell everyone you know to do the same. You can also tell your state legislators that you want to see more action taken against puppy mills and toward the humane treatment of the puppies and breeding stock caught in this industry.

* What if there is a puppy mill in my community?
If you believe a facility to be a puppy mill, take detailed notes and report it to your local animal control agency so officials can properly investigate. Although it may be tempting, don’t buy any of the puppies to try to rescue them from the puppy mill! This money just supports the puppy mill, and it buying one or two would not help the rest of the puppies. You can raise awareness in your community by writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. This will inform people about the horrible conditions in puppy mills and warn residents that such a deplorable facility exists in their own backyard.

If you have other resources and information about puppy mills, please post them here!