Puppy Mills: What Are They and What Can You Do to Avoid Them?

You have likely heard about puppy mills, but you are unsure what a puppy mill is or what you can do to avoid them. Lisa Chelenza has more about puppy mills in this edition of Pet Pointers.

A puppy mill is a place where dogs are continuously bred and the puppies are sold to pet stores or dealers at wholesale prices to be resold, often to uninformed consumers. Sharon Fay is from Molly’s Wish, an organization dedicated to educating the public on puppy mills and the treatment of the animals in them.

“The puppy mills are like a cash crop for people.  They use them for breeding, no human touch, no love, no nothing.  They are just abused and battered.  They don’t have clean water, their food is full of bugs, and they just have crates on top of crates on top of crates,” said Sharon Fay, with Molly's Wish.

If you have ever purchased a dog from a pet store it is possible the dog came from a puppy mill. To avoid supporting puppy mills consider adoption first. In total, 25 percent of dogs in shelters and rescues are purebred and there are breed specific rescues for every breed and millions of dogs across the country in need of forever homes.

Remember never choose a dog on looks but on their personality, their needs and your lifestyle. Be 100 percent sure you have the time energy and resources to care for them properly.