They are so cute, your kids have been nagging you, and you feel it’s time to get a family dog. So you head on down to the mall and visit your local pet store and pick out a pup.
That’s how you do it right?
You want a purebred so you can be sure there won’t be any problems, right?
And pet stores have guarantees, and they show you all the wonderful paperwork about where they puppy came from, and that is better than just getting a puppy of unknown origins from a shelter right?
What do you think I am going to say now?
Have you ever heard of a puppy mill? If you haven’t, they are basically puppy making factories. Dogs live in tiny, unsanitary cages with minimal medical attention and put out litter after litter until they outlive their usefulness. Then, they are either sold at auction or shot. These dogs live in barns or sheds that are barely adequate to keep the weather out, can barely stand from being in the tiny cages and usually have had no human interaction.
If you have heard of puppy mills, and knew they were bad, did you know that most (all) pet shops get their puppies from puppy mills? Oh, they claim they don’t, because puppy mills are actually legal and are inspected by the USDA, but even those that don’t live up to the minimal standards required by the federal agency, often continue to operate. Pet stores do a good job of disguising where their dogs come from, but if you do the research, armed with a little bit of knowledge, you can find the truth.
For more info about puppy mills, you need to check out PetShopPuppies.org and NoPuppyMills.com. You will be shocked at the reality of it all.
If you are not sure why you should listen to me, well, I know firsthand the problems with puppy mill puppies. You see, our Golden Retriever Simon came from a breeder in Missouri called MAM Kennels, through the Hunte Corp. (a puppy broker) all the way to Malibu California where we adopted him. You should watch this video about an investigation by the Humane Society of puppy mills. If you listen carefully, you will hear mention of MAM Kennels and Hunte.
On the outside, Simon was beautiful and everything we wanted in a Golden Retriever. Here he is as a puppy:
Cute, huh? Cuddly and lovable, and full of puppy fun. He was perfect.
Until he turned 8 months old and we noticed that he was very clumsy and his hips made noise and seemed to pop in and out as he walked. We had him checked out by 2 vets and were told that he had severe hip displasia and would be lame by the time he was 2. Over $7,000, 2 surgeries and rehabilitation later, he has made a complete recovery. Unless you count the nail infections, the skin allergies, the repeated ear infections and the seizures. We easily have over $10,000 invested in this dog. We never could afford the hip surgery today, but 6 years ago before we had kids, we worked it out. Everything else has been small amounts, but $200 every couple of months adds up.
Here are some photos of Simon after his hip surgeries:
I am asking, no…begging you to please not buy a puppy from a pet store. Every purchase made there will help continue to keep puppy mills in business. If you have to have a purebred with “papers” (that you likely will do nothing with except file away) find a reputable breeder. You can find all sorts of great information on HOW to local one at NoPuppyMills.com. A puppy from a REPUTABLE breeder may cost a bit more (but not much) but in the long run, it will be worth it (did you read the part about Simon having cost us $10k so far in his 6 1/2 years with us?). You can often find purebred dogs at the shelters too, so always start there first.
If you have an questions, concerns, doubts, comments, feel free to leave them here or email me at kim@accidentalmommies.com. If I don’t have the answer, I can put you in touch with someone who probably does. If you would like more details about Simon and his story, I started writing in detail here a few years back: The Whole Story, but it is still unfinished. Maybe one day I will go back and complete it. For now, we’ve got to figure out why he doesn’t seem to be eating much anymore….
About Kim
thats horrifying kim!
what should we do about it
My hole family wants a puppy but my mum dosint think wewill look after it.
Robyn,
Getting a puppy has to be a family decision. If your mom is not ready then it’s probably not time. They are a lot of work.
But if your family decides they are ready, please go to a shelter or the Humane Society to get a puppy. Or you can get a little bit older dog who maybe is already house trained. Maybe your mom would go for that.
Good luck!
You are idiots…First of all the Humane society is a “Non Profit” that pays HUGE salaries to their CEO’s way before any dog ever sees the money. So they want to play on your sympathy so you give them MONEY!!! Uhh..I believe ten cents of every dollar goes to the actual care of the dogs, if that much…WOW…the rest goes to pay salaries and company expenditures. you know, those bonuses, health expense, travel expense..pretty office expense, car allowances.
Second, stop the misuse of puppy mill – what the heck does that mean anyway…so you got a large breed with hip dysplasia…did you over exercise your dog??? did you feed him good food??? or crappy grocery store food..hip dysplasia is NOT always congenital, people have to take responsibility of the dogs they purchase. I purchased a pup from “best in show” dad, the day the dad got a blue ribbon…AKC SHOW DOG…4 months later, diagnosied with severe hip dysplasia. Never did any surgery..just put her on a good diet, kept weight down, glucosamine supplements all her life..she lived until she was 16 years old with no problems at all…
I am not a fan of Hunte Corp, he is a broker..but it seems that anytime someone has a problem with a dog, it automatically is a “Puppy mill” dog. Well, I guess anyone who breeds should be called a puppy mill, cause guess what,,,these are living creatures and NO ONE can tell you the dog will be healthy, and free of illness all his life..We are not GOD. Stop blaming people for things that are beyond anyones control…Shit just happens
Janet,
You’re a polite one, aren’t you?
First of all, we had an 8 month old puppy with plenty of exercise and the best food money could buy that had his hips popping in and out of his joints as he walked. He fell when he ran. He could not stop running from the pain…he would just fall down to stop himself.
He has epilepsy.
Skin cancer.
Infected claws.
Allergies.
Skin cancer.
He basically has every disease and problem that a golden retriever can have.
We did our research.
Where our dog came from has hundreds of dogs, has routinely been cited by the USDA and has multiple breeds on the premises and no one who cares about their dogs sells through a broker like Hunte anyway.
Don’t accuse me of not doing my homework and certainly don’t come here calling me an idiot. We spent hours and hours researching this and over $10,000 in medical expenses.
And while no one can guarantee health, good breeders test their dogs before breeding and DO NOT BREED the ones with certain genetic markers. Your chances of having a healthy dog buying from a reputable breeder are exponentially better than any other way.
A puppy mill is a place where dogs are bred in quantity with no concern for their health, both the breeding dogs and the puppies. My dog came from a puppy mill and frankly most dogs that are bought in pet shops came from puppy mills.
Yeah, we took responsibility for our dog. We still are. And we are using our experiences to help educate others and maybe help prevent dogs from living their lives in tiny cages, never even being allowed to WALK on the ground acting as puppy machines churning them out over and over until they outlive their usefulness. And maybe we will prevent puppies from being inbred and born with inherent illness and medical problems that will cause them a lifetime of pain and their owners a ton of money.
Or maybe you’d prefer that people who buy these sick dogs just abandon them at the Humane Society…