Anyone who has seen the filthy, cruel conditions of a puppy mill should be absolutely disgusted. These "breeders" need to stop exploiting animals for a living and get a real job or be put in their own vile cages.

I wish more people would consider adopting from shelters. There are also breed specific rescuers available.

The demand for popular breeds, and the high prices people are willing to pay, keep breeding operations churning, Shain said. A quick Internet search showed many puppies with four-figure sale prices, and some breeds, including bulldogs and Belgian Malinois, with top prices exceeding $3,000.

Unbelievable. You can keep your inbred "pure bred" dog. I'll take a mutt from the pound anyday.

I'll take a mutt from the pound anyday.

"I'll take a mutt from the pound anyday."

Agreed.

Some of the best dogs Spud knows came from the pound and in many cases were considered "unadoptable"

Took a lot of work but they are all fine and playful pets now.

The worst dog Spud ever met was purebred.

These puppy mill horror stories crop up all too bloody often.

Spud misread the thing at first and thought the story was about Bob Barker discovering a puppy mill. Spud thought "Good! Hope he uses his martial arts training and kicks the crap out of the abuser folk.

Bob "Baker", apparently.

Pity.

Be Well.

PS: Don't ferget to spay or neuter your pet!

The best cat I ever knew was wild.

Ditto. Mine is more indoor now, but I do walk him. Let him keep his claws too.

Don't let these horror stories scare you away if you want a purebred dog. Just do your homework before buying and make sure you buy. Get references if possible. There are plenty of legit "breeders" out there who only breed their dog(s) every 2-3 years and really do love their animals (I happen to know a few).

That being said the best dogs I've ever had experience with are mutts. None of the behavioral or health problems you see with the "purebreds", and a fraction of the cost. I'll continue to visit the SPCA for my pet needs.

"Just do your homework before buying and make sure you buy. Get references if possible"

Gah. Should read "make sure you buy from a respectable and humane breeder".

Thank you

I've got to agree with Blue. I have 2 dogs, one rescue and one bred. I did a great deal of research on the bred one and checked the breeder's facilities, as well. She treated her dogs like members of the family. That's why I went with one of her's.

I do prefer rescue dogs, but one has to realize, also, that buying from a breeder is, in some respects, also rescuing. Some breeders (not all, and I would like to say very few, but I can't say for sure) will destroy dogs not sold by a certain age.

Owners of these "mills" are one of two groups of people who make me very angry (in regards to their treatment of animals), the other being those who raise and/or train dogs for fighting.

My wife and I volunteer with a Golden Retriever rescue group. We've adopted a lot of unwanted dogs in our years of all breeds.

It's amazing how many puppies show up in the shelter in June through December as these puppies grow up and people no longer want them when they get bigger and are full of energy. Rather than train them and take the time to let them grow up with love and rules, they drop them off on the side of the road.

Others, rather than treated like family members, are chained up in a yard to spend their days unwanted and neglected, lonely, and having missed the chance to be joyful and add the tremendous love they want to give naturally.

I remember the day my wife crawled into the back of a cage at a puppy mill and took the remaining little runt with health problems no one wanted.

Sandy needed 4 meds daily her entire life and eye drops. She passed away in her sleep at 16 years old last June, and Daisy, who I called a 'wire fox terror' passed away in July at 18.. We were her fourth home.

Andy, a 5 year old Golden Retriever (our 4th golden rescue in 20 years) is a bundle of love and fun.

Breeders are sending a lot of their puppies to lives of misery to make a quick buck and don't consider that they may end up miserable.

2 years ago, a young lost Maltese showed up limping in our yard and we weren't able to find her owners, so she moved in (we think she cased the place seeing ia good deal LOL) The ligament never attached to her left hind leg because she was stuffed in a cage by a breeder and unable to move properly, our vet surmised. Katie's really funny and talkative.

All our dogs make us laugh and bring a lot of love to the house. They've given us more than we've given them - a chance to be themselves.

I hope they do something about breeders. Most dogs aren't lucky enough to make it a few years, and those years are often not a life worth living.

Dogs bred without human contact are unfit pets. Widespread inbreeding in the States has ruining many lines of dogs. Never buy a puppy from a Pet Store. Meeting the parents (and breeders) is too important. But in this country the Humane Society and other organizations get out of control. They run around with guns, operate for profit and need targets to remain profitable.

Never buy a puppy from a Pet Store.

While I understand this sentiment, I disagree with it. Animals sold through pet stores need love, too. They spend their lives (pre-adoption) in small cages and window displays without knowing how to be themselves.

I would prefer the pet stores didn't sell animals, but rather supplies, but since they can, and do, sell animals, I won't begrudge anyone from buying one from a pet store, as long as they treat the animal well.

"buying from a breeder is, in some respects, also rescuing"

Maybe so, but you're also contributing to the demand for bred dogs, thereby making the problem worse. If the reason you're buying is to rescue, you might as well rescue from a shelter.

If the reason you're buying is to rescue, you might as well rescue from a shelter.

Joe, I won't argue that with you, because I agree. Those breeders who are part of the "mill" problem need to be shut down and jailed. I have no problem with breeders who do it for a love of the breed or animals. I'll support them.

The point of my comment is that sometimes good can come from dealing with these people. While I am a huge supporter of rescuing animals from shelters or pounds, I also think it is necessary to have some people out there care for the animals bred by these "people" that run these mills. It is not, after all, the dog's fault that he or she was bred into that situation.

True, someone needs to take care of the dogs bred by mills, but if nobody bought dogs from those people they would stop breeding them altogether and be forced to find a (possibly) more legitimate form of employment. If we keep buying dogs from mills because we feel sorry for them, the problem will never end.

That said, I'll be taking care of my brother's boxer tonight who was bought from a pet store. He's one of the best dogs I've ever met.

Damn!

I thought they were talking about those bible-thumping, "birth control is a sin", whack job bitches that squeeze out a truckload of right-wing retards in the name of god.

True, someone needs to take care of the dogs bred by mills, but if nobody bought dogs from those people they would stop breeding them altogether and be forced to find a (possibly) more legitimate form of employment. If we keep buying dogs from mills because we feel sorry for them, the problem will never end.

Again, Joe, no argument.

What needs to be done is these mills need to be reported and shut down. The dogs they have then need to be adopted into loving homes. I suppose my posts were misconstrued. I take issue with the idea that these dogs shouldn't be adopted because they're "damaged goods". They will have special requirements, to be sure, but they aren't "damaged goods", the owners of the mills are.

Can we put Al Gore in a idiot mill?

Can we put Al Gore in a idiot mill?

Posted by jjdj1187

Only if we can get you back in junior high school to finish a much needed education.

"Can we put Al Gore in a idiot mill?

Posted by jjdj1187

Only if we can get you back in junior high school to finish a much needed education."

What do you mean BACK, AA? We're just trying to get him tutored through 6th grade so he can go on to junior high with the rest of his little friends.

Has anybody else besides I N Cognito ever walked a cat? We got ours because it was a little stray runt that showed up on my in-laws doorstep in the country. It was only a couple weeks old and was eating their birdseed. They took it in and let it live in the garage for a while, and then we took it when we got married. The cat is now probably about a year and ten months old. I think sometimes that she might miss being outdoors, but I've heard that if you let an outdoors cat outdoors after having it inside for a while, it won't come back...athough when we got her she was so young that maybe she wasn't really an "outdoors" cat yet.

Anyway, so I've thought about getting one of those harnesses and taking her outside every once in a while.

I know this thread is about dogs, but I was really curious about that statement...and I tend to ramble.

Can we put Al Gore in a idiot mill?

Posted by jjdj1187

Thanks douchebag, nothing gives me more amusement than when someone can't form a proper sentence while calling someone else an idiot.

Can me put jjdj1187 in an grammar class??
Duuuuuh.

dylanfan:

My girlfriend tried to "walk" her cat once. It's a losing proposition. If you can manage to even get the harness on, the cat will still not want to follow you around. You'll wind up going 100 yards down the block and carrying the cat home. Just get it some catnip.

Thanks Blue Face...or is it Blue Facet? Sometimes I'm so unsure with these SNs.

i read a really funny thing about giving a cat a pill at my vets. About 15 points that lead to the owner having to go into surgery to have ligaments reattached on his/her arm.