When most people buy a puppy from a pet store, they think they’re doing the animal a service by obtaining it from the “right” place. But the sordid truth is not as appealing as the cute fluffball they’re bringing home. Pet store puppies originate from puppy mills, which are dog breeding facilities that focus on making money rather than the health and wellbeing of their animals. Puppy mills are a billion dollar industry, and they have naive customers to thank for that. With every dollar spent on a pet store puppy, mills reap the benefits and continue their abhorrent practices.

Hundreds, or sometimes even thousands, of puppies are holed up in dirty, cramped cages. Most never experience normal aspects of the average dog’s life—such as sunlight and grass—until they’re purchased, which isn’t guaranteed. Food is moldy. Water is contaminated. Feces and urine are everywhere. Collars that are too tight become embedded into fur. Sharp cage wires come undone and protrude outward. Therefore, mills are inevitably a goldmine of nasty maladies. Dogs suffer from malnourishment, parvovirus, heartworm, eye lesions that can lead to blindness, infected lacerations, swollen paws, severe tooth decay, and much more. And if a dog dies, his cadaver is left to rot in place.

The parents of puppies aren’t let off the hook—they face egregious treatment, too. Males are forced to impregnate females. Females are consistently bred with little to no recovery time between litters. This vicious cycle causes their bodies to rapidly deteriorate. These dogs typically die from exhaustion, or are killed because their bodies are so taxed that they can no longer reproduce.

Once puppies are doled out to pet stores like objects, they’ve already developed a host of behavioral and social problems. Since they haven’t experienced much interaction with humans and other animals, they have no idea how to act properly in everyday situations. A puppy with aggression, separation anxiety, possession issues, etc, is most likely not the ideal pet its buyer envisioned. This could conjure up a bevy of other problems; its owner could surrender the dog to a shelter or spend a copious amount of money on professional training.

Puppies and their parents endure awful conditions for the sake of human profit. There are an estimated 4,000 functioning puppy mills across the country that churn out more than half a million puppies annually. Meanwhile, three million canines are euthanized in shelters that have grown too full. If pet store customers were educated on what goes on behind the scenes, the issue of puppy mills would be greatly diminished.  Adoption rates would skyrocket.  Purchasing from a reputable dog breeder would be another preferred way of acquiring a puppy. And most importantly, more effort would be put into stopping puppy mills.

Sources:

“11 Facts About Puppy Mills." 11 Facts About Puppy Mills. DoSomething.Org. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
“Puppy Mills Are Cruel." No More Pet Store Puppies. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
"Puppy Mills." ASPCA. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.