Pet Stores and Puppy Mills

Came across this article which exposes the truth behind pet stores and their suppliers – puppy mills.

Article:

The Other Side of the Pet Store Window

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – PETA

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/
viewArticle.asp?articleID=18410

December 28, 2006

By Christina Matthies

Every time I see a shopping mall pet store, I wish I could stand in front of it and show the passersby an elderly Chihuahua named Sophia. Sophia is the reason no one should ever buy an animal from a pet store. Like most dogs for sale in stores, she came from a puppy mill.

When I first met Sophia, I didn’t think she would ever get over her intense fear of humans. The first month I had her, she huddled in the corner of my bedroom and shook with convulsions whenever I looked at her, her large eyes bulging with fear.

Sophia was one of a hundred neglected dogs seized by authorities 14 months ago from a puppy mill in North Carolina. Instead of frolicking in a home with loving guardians, Sophia and her fellow inmates were relegated to dilapidated wood and wire outdoor hutches, denied proper nutrition and veterinary care, given algae-coated water and forced to sit in their own waste. Like Sophia, most of the dogs were small breeds: Chihuahuas, Boston terriers, Shih Tzus and others. They were being exploited for the sole purpose of making money for their owner.

Puppy mills are a thinly veiled “secret” in the pet store industry. The little bundles of joy in pet stores come from puppy mill mothers like Sophia, who are forced to bear litter after litter, with dire consequences to their health. Male breeders are stuck in cages, treated like assembly-line objects, and both males and females are thrown away when they can no longer reproduce. The puppies they give birth to are usually sick—infested with parasites and infected with viruses and diseases on top of the genetic problems they’ve inherited from their worn-out parents.

Puppy mill dogs are never touched with a loving hand, fed treats, given soft beds or chew toys or taken for walks. Their basic physical needs are unmet and they are emotionally ignored. And they carry their wounds with them. When People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) gained temporary custody of 20 of the North Carolina puppy mill breeding dogs, I agreed to foster six of them. I was totally unprepared.

Most of them were so scared of people that even if gently touched, they would lose control of their bowels. They had infections, parasites and untreated broken legs that had calcified and healed improperly. When I lifted a camera to snap a picture, they scrambled against the wall, their bodies trembling so hard I thought they would collapse. They would do anything to get away from me, which made giving them their medicine for all their ailments next to impossible. It soon became clear that I had a lot of making up to do for the human race.

Now, I’m proud to say, a lot of that fear is gone.

Sarah, a Chihuahua mix who spent the first year or more of her life in a cage, enjoys playing tricks on my son, stealing his socks and toys and running away with them when he isn’t looking. Chandler, one of the youngest of the bunch, no longer cowers in fear but rolls onto his back to have his belly scratched when he’s done playing with his new friends—three large shepherd mixes. Theresa, another little Chihuahua mix, is slowly learning to trust me and recently started touching my legs affectionately when she thinks I’m not looking. And Sophia, the one I thought would never trust humans, sleeps curled up in a queen-sized bed, snoring like a contented freight train as her new foster mom desperately tries to get some sleep.

The best way to help dogs like Sophia is to refuse to buy animals from pet stores. There are millions of dogs and cats in animal shelters across the nation waiting for homes. All of them are special and all have something to offer. If you have the time and resources to share your home with one—or better, two—of them, go to your local animal shelter and adopt. It’s time to put the puppy mills out of business.

Christina Matthies is a proud foster mom and writer for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; www.HelpingAnimals.com.