The Truth about Pet Stores and Online Puppy Sales

We all know that I push responsible adoption of dogs, all, day, long. But what you might not know, is how passionate I am about educating people on puppy mills when they insist on buying a pure bred dog. I will actually HELP them purchase the dog of their dreams, if it means doing it the ‘right’ way and not supporting a pet store or online puppy shop.

When you buy a puppy from the pet store in the mall, or find the cute little, ‘merle’ colored French Bulldog online, I can confidently tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, that dog came from a puppy mill. How do I know, you ask? Because research tells us that 99% of puppies sold online and in stores come from puppy mills. Oh, and because responsible breeders do not ship their puppies to just anyone who purchased them online. Responsible breeders do not hand their love and labor over to a pet store to make a buck off of. Who does? A puppy mill producer.

Maybe we should start with, what is a puppy mill exactly? A puppy mill is a commercial breeding facility, much like a livestock facility, in which the animals are generally raised in subpar conditions and in mass quantities. Did you know that puppy mills are actually legal and approved by the United States Department of Agriculture? You can even visit their website and they provide resources on how to start your own commercial dog breeding facility. While I know the resources are intended to be… helpful, and in good nature; the fact of the matter is that there are not enough USDA inspectors, to do periodic evaluations of the facilities. That is why so many dogs kept in deplorable conditions go undetected.

Among the exhaustive list of the USDA’s Introductory Course on regulatory commercial dog breeding, which can be found here; you will find the following diagram showing the minimum space requirements set forth for the dogs.

Yes, you read that right. Six inches of space, all the way around, is all that is required for a dog. That means a dog Prim’s size is only required to have two square feet of space. TWO. SQUARE. FEET. You guys, she lived in a puppy mill for TEN YEARS!!! Can you even fathom? Honestly? Could you imagine, my sweet, innocent, meek little Prim, living like that for ten years? (side note: I literally started full on ugly crying picturing that and writing this as she lays curled up on a soft bed right now).

Now, I’ll be completely transparent with you; from what I know about Prim, she was a lucky one. She was kept in a larger, outdoor style ‘run’ or kennel, with upwards of 10 other dogs. She regularly got her hair cut and had some human contact. I will forever be thankful to the kennel manager who convinced the owner of the backwoods Missouri puppy mill, to find an alternative placement for the 32 senior dogs she was looking to discard. They are the lucky ones. The ones who had someone who cared enough, and had National Mill Dog Rescue (NMDR) to be there for them.

To consider a small, 6.5 pound dog, who we have bred to be a companion, house dog, who’s been living outside (maybe indoors?) with little human contact, lucky, because she didn’t have to live on wire cages, is just plain sad. I saw several dogs at the NDMR facility in Colorado who were pacing their new spaces on sheets, to provide as much comfort as possible, as their feet began the healing process. Bloody paw prints painting the cotton. Yes, Prim was a lucky one. Two major surgeries that took every last tooth (even that cute little snaggle tooth you see pictured above), and multiple mammary tumors, one the size of golf ball, and still, she is a lucky one.

So what can you do to help? First of all, if you are currently looking at your store bought puppy and feeling guilt and shame, please don’t. I don’t want to shame people who lack awareness and knowledge. I simply want to teach you that there is a different, better way. What good will it do if I shut you down, make you upset, and close your ears, mind, and heart? No, I want you to look at your dog, squeeze him tight, and say a prayer for his mom and dad. Make a promise to him that you will do better next time. That you will educate the next person. That you will send them my way when they want to buy a puppy.

I want you to sign the petitions like those in California. No offense California peeps, but there isn’t much you all do out there that makes sense to my Midwest heart. But for real, the fact that you were the first state to outlaw the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores has my heart soaring. It is the first step towards population control and shutting down puppy mills. The problem here is supply and demand. If we can cut the demand, the supply will naturally no longer be needed.

The price markup in this industry is INSANE. I paid $125 for Prim, this included her care, the transport it took to get her from Missouri to Colorado, and all of her major surgeries. She is poorly bred; her knees are bad, her ears don’t stand up and she is long for a Yorkie. Yet her puppies were likely sold for $1,000s in pet stores across the United States. At the very least America, you should be down right pissed off at how much they are taking advantage of you and your hard earned money.

I am asking you for 3 simple things:

1. Stop supporting pet stores and online pet sales.
2. Educate the people around you and the next generation.
3. Send people my direction when you hear them talk about buying a dog. I promise to educate, and ultimately, help in the process of finding reputable breeders if adoption is not in their cards.

From Prim and I, thank you for listening to my TED talk.