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Puppy Mills
The More You Know, the More Heartache You Can Prevent...
Finally, Oprah did a show on the hidden world of puppy mills on April 4, 2008!
Highlights of her show included: - Investigative reporter Lisa Ling going underground to see how the dogs in these conditions suffer.
- President
of the Humane Society of the United States Wayne Pacelle explaining
that 99% of puppies sold in pet stores come from puppy mills. The point
was strongly made that good breeders put their buyers through a
discriminating screening process, and would never let their pups end up
in a pet store.
- Rescuer Bill Smith
stating that we as shelters or rescue groups have no issue with
responsible breeders. They follow the dogs they sell throughout their
lives, and take them back at any time. We don't ever have to worry
about re-homing them.
- Buying a puppy
from a pet store ensures that the mothers of these puppies will
continue to to breed. Every single sale of a puppy in a pet store means
continued horror of the breeding mothers in cages. Their feet have
never touched the ground, most of them have never had vet care, and
they are treated as livestock.
- Showing
the reality of an open-door shelter being so full that they have to
kill animals daily. This shelter was very courageous to be featured,
and they told the truth.
- A huge
emphasis was placed on spaying and neutering as a way to eliminate the
gross numbers of animals who are killed in shelters. This isn't news to
us! We have been saying this for years, but we are thrilled to see
Oprah on board.
Please tell the team at www.Oprah.com
THANK YOU and how much you appreciated their show about puppy mills.
We've been trying for years to get this message out, and this is our
best chance to change the world for these poor dogs who have to live
this way.
Question reprinted from WashingtonPost.com
Dog Shows May Also Promote Unhealthy Pets
Dear Dr. Fox:
What is your opinion of dog shows? Are they good for dogs? I have mixed feelings.
-- L.S., St. Louis
I, too, have mixed feelings. They promote ownership of purebred dogs and the commercial breeding of them by puppy mills (cruel, prisonlike breeding camps). Most pups, including those from government-inspected and licensed facilities, come with a host of hereditary diseases because they have been propagated with genetic defects. When breeds are mass-produced to meet increased market demand, diseases of hereditary origin generally become more prevalent due to a lack of careful, scientifically sound and ethical breeding practices.
The American Kennel Club continues to register puppy-mill-bred pups, whose papers are of no significance, except for commercial value.
I recently was disturbed viewing a TV program on a national championship dog show. Dogs such as boxers, Dobermans and schnauzers continue to be shown and win prizes after they have been deliberately mutilated -- ears cropped and tails docked or shortened, which are practices outlawed in Europe. A movement to outlaw such practices is only beginning in the United States. These are essential parts of a dog's anatomy that fine-tune emotional expression and communication.
Michael Fox, author of books on animal care, welfare and rights, is a veterinarian with
doctoral degrees in medicine and animal behavior. Click Here to Read More.
The below articles are reprinted from NBC6.net. Avoid making the same mistake.
Puppy Heartbreak Part I
Puppies -- seriously ill, some are even dying soon after being purchased from a popular pet operation in South Florida. A four-month NBC 6 investigation traces a trail of puppy heartbreak and outraged owners. Should the dogs have been sold to the public in the first place?
It's one of the most high-profile puppy sellers in the United States. But NBC 6 found customers here and across the country shocked when their high-priced puppies suddenly got sick. [read more ]
Puppy Heartbreak Part II
Amy Smithey and her mother, Janet, are lifelong dog lovers. So, when they saw Lili at Wizard of Claws, it was puppy love. "I wanted her as soon as I saw her. I knew she was the dog that I wanted," Amy Smithey said.Amy Smithey claims Jim Anderson, who runs Wizard of Claws, assured her not to worry.
"He told me I never had to worry about any health problems. They assured me a healthy puppy, I would never have a problem, that they do not sell sick puppies," Amy Smithey said.
Instead, two days after she picked up Lili, she had to rush her to the hospital. The vet diagnosed a grade two heart murmur and recommended she return the dog. [read more ]
Puppy Heartbreak Part III
NBC 6 has uncovered unhappy customers who say their dogs are sick or genetically defective.
Wizard of Claws, based in Pembroke Pines, claims it sells only the best of the best dogs. That's why they go for up to $10,000 each. [read more ]
Puppy Heartbreak Part IV
A South Florida pet store is advertising itself as the "No. 1 celebrity kennel in the world," but an NBC 6 investigation, "Puppy Heartbreak," found some of those celebrities are calling it something else. Maybe you've seen the ads or visited the Web site. Wizard of Claws sells thousands of the prized teeny tiny dogs, touting happy celebrity clients.
"What do Jon Secada, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Eddie Jones have in common?" the Wizard of Claws commercial says. [read more ]
Puppy Heartrbreak -Follow Up
After the groundbreaking NBC 6 investigation of the link between Midwest puppy mills and a South Florida pet store that sells dogs around the world, NBC 6 heard from hundreds of viewers. Many wondered what they would do if they wanted to get a dog but not support puppy mills. [read more ]
Buyer Beware
www.stopwizardofclaws.com
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