Puppy Mills

[Antonette Maldonato]

Would there be better control over this horrific action of puppymills if there were better legislation to control these type of breeders. We have an FDA for food and drugs ....why not a federal bureau to govern just what happens to our domestinc pet companions. Also, do you think that the veterinarians are doing their part countrywide to report abuse and neglect with what they see or what they have been told or suspect specifically in counties where puppymills are known.

[Deanna]

When I did my report in 5th grade I remember something about Puppy Mills being "under control" by the FDA which I found odd since dogs are neither food or drugs. It's sad that they seemed to be looked down as a "farm of puppies". It was years ago so I could be terribly wrong.

[Antonette Maldonato]

Deanna, thank you for your comment and it sounds like something that would be swept under the FDA rug however, with all of the abuse and neglect all of our pet companions are suffering, we also need to get more education to our younger people to break the cycle of abuse and neglect and to ensure that our animal physicians mandate their fee schedule to better fit the needs of the animals in order to have affordable spay and neuter .........the fees have gone way out of control and that is not the way to assist our pets if we want a better world for them.............many need to be held accountable and responsible.........

[Bob Baker]

There is a federal law to protect dogs in puppy mills. It is the Animal Welfare Act and it is enforced by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Unfortunately the USDA has not vigorously enforced this Act. Most state laws regulating puppy mills are also supposed to be enforced by state departments of agriculture. But these departments of agriculture often side with the puppy millers because many of the puppy mills are operated by farmers. The departments of agriculture belive their primary purpose is to help the farmers so they turn a blind eye to the deplorable conditions at puppy mills.

There are many veterinarians that do report abuse. Unfortunately many of the veterinary organizations defend the practices at puppy mills and other forms of abuse due to conflicts of interest. A number of vets have puppy millers as clients and don't want to lose the money they make off these clients.

[Antonette Maldonato]

Thank you Mr. Baker for your response. Although I sign every petition and contact my legislative body what else can we do to eliminate these illegal puppmillers. I have two dachshunds that are from puppymills and although they are the sweetest dogs ever through training and patience....the horrors these little ones have had to endure because of interbreeding and physical and medical problems is aborhable.

[Bob Baker]

The most important thing is to spread the word and educate the public about the source of pet store puppies. Hopefully, when people quit buying dogs in pet stores the market will dry up for the puppy millers and they will go out of business. You could also write a letter to Oprah Winfrey thanking her for bringing this to America's attention. Hopefully she will do some follow-up on this story. You can also search our web site. We have a list of things people can do to stop puppy mills. aspca.org