Why Puppy Mills Suck....

This story (through www.schnauzerrescue.com) is why I espouse rescue dog adoption.

ANNIE'S STORY

Annie's story is presented here to inform people about the reality of puppy mills. Annie is a typical example of the condition of most puppy mill dogs while they are in the puppy mill and when they are all bred out and no longer of any use to the owners. Annie is alive today only because she was rescued rather than being killed, which is the cheapest solution and usual fate of puppy mill dogs that are no longer profitable.


The upper two pictures show Annie as she came from the puppy mill. Since most females are bred every single heat (at least twice a year) from their first heat on which occurs while they are still puppies their bodies become used up and broken down at a very young age. When these pictures were taken of Annie she was only 5 years old. She had many C-sections and the scar tissue was severe, so even though her normal weight for a girl her size should have been about 15 lbs, she weighed over22 lbs--she had been bred so many times that over a third of her body weight was mammary tissue!


Annie had produced a litter of puppies that were all born dead two weeks before these photos were taken-that is why she was to be shot. When she was rescued she had the following conditions, all of which were chronic and of long standing duration and all of which could have been avoided by proper humane medical care and treatment--routinely not provided by puppy millers because medical care comes directly out of the profits these animals produce and it is cheaper to shoot dogs no longer able to produce than it is to give medical care and treat the dog humanely.


Annie Before:


Infections in both ears; many rotten teeth (sawdust is routinely mixed with dog food to reduce expenses, and consequently the dogs' teeth rot at an early age because sawdust clings to the gums and teeth and promotes decay---untreated abscessed and rotten teeth promote secondary infections including heart disease, which are not treated); abscessed rear paws (all paws have severe scar tissue from wire cage cuts); severe urinary infection; infected uterus (when the veterinarian opened the dog for spaying, parts of the uterus were green, rotten and dying);bladder stones; kidney stones, and one kidney was mostly nonfunctional.


All of these conditions were determined to be a result of long standing neglect, lack of medical care and extremely poor nutrition. ANNIE'S CASE IS NOT UNUSUAL. It is the norm. What happened to her puppies? According to the American Humane Association, over 90% of puppies sold in pet stores are from puppy mill moms like Annie. DON'T BUY PUPPIES FROM PETSTORES.


Annie Today:


Annie was one of a few lucky puppy mill dogs that got rescued. Most are killed (usually shot or drowned, sometimes electrocuted) by their owners before they ever leave the mill.