After the Puppy Mill - Life of a Breeding Dog        ~Sheri-lyn Shepler                

By the time this story is read, Igloo will be gone. A long life of misfortune and now a stronghold of cancer will inevitably cause her demise. Igloo is a Puppy Mill Dog. But, not the kind of puppy mill dog that ends up in a pet store or classified ad. Igloo is a breeding dog for a puppy mill. Igloo is the dog crammed into a filthy cage that no one ever sees. Igloo is a cash crop, a beautiful, but very unfortunate Siberian Husky born with little chance of ever being loved or having a nurturing and happy life.

You see, life is particularly bad for “breeding stock,” dogs. They live their entire lives in cages and are continually bred, over and over, for years, without human companionship and with little hope of ever becoming part of a family. These dogs receive little or no veterinary care and never see a bed, a treat or a toy. After their fertility wanes, breeding animals are commonly killed, abandoned or sold to another mill. The annual result of all this breeding is hundreds of thousands of puppies, many with behavior and/or health problems. The very puppies people see in pet stores or in classified ads in their local paper. Igloo’s luck would change though, well, so it seemed.

After 3 years of breeding, the mill was done with her and instead of going to the auction block to be sold to another mill, she was dumped on the streets of San Diego where the Humane Society picked her up. Her teeth were ground down and broken from the constant attempts to chew threw her caged prison. The pulp of her canine teeth was exposed and most certainly, was quite painful. Her toes were unnaturally spread apart from the cage wire (breeding dogs usually never, ever touch the ground.) To say the least, she was snappy, independent and unsociable. She would be euthanized the next week. Igloo’s luck would change again though, or so it seemed.

An artist named Grace Ann Piano happened to be donating her artistic talents to the Humane Society in order to beautify the rooms during Igloo’s stay. Grace currently had a 13 year old German Shepherd named Malachi that was very dear to her and thought another “friend” would be a good addition to the house, especially since Malachi was getting old and may not share her space for much longer. She decided to have Malachi meet Igloo at a local park to see if they would be a match and they were. As luck would have it, Igloo was run over by a car in the parking lot after the meeting and had to be rushed to an emergencyveterinarian. Thankfully, she didn’t suffer any broken bones and was sent home with Grace the next day. With time and lots of love, Igloo became the sweetest and most compliant dog she had ever known. But, Grace would later find Igloo to suffer from degenerative arthritis, an allergy to fleas, benign mammary tumors and a foxtail that had caused an infection in her ear and had to be surgically removed along with the tumors. Because of the arthritis and aggravation from the accident, Igloo was slow moving and clearly in pain. Rimadyl was prescribed to ease it, but she had a bad reaction to the drug. The reaction caused one of her blue eyes to turn the color of acid green and she went into liver failure. 4 days in the hospital and $8,000 later, Grace took her home and gave her love and a new found life. She began acupuncture treatments along with a regimen of Chinese herbs and tinctures. This would be the first time Grace actually saw Igloo happy. She had a spring in her step, jumped on and off the bed, loved her walks and visits to the park and could not wait to see the doctors at the Animal Healing Center for her bi-weekly treatments.

Igloo’s luck was changing again, or so it seemed.

Time passed, Igloo was happy and Grace was in love with her beautiful rescue dog. But, a visit to the doctor found another mass in her mammary gland. She thought it was just a benign tumor like before so she had it removed along with a possible lymph-node. But, it turned out to be cancer. Chemotherapy was started immediately.

After 7 months of treatment though, Grace decided to give Igloo more quality of life and wanted her to enjoy her last days unclouded.  She stopped the chemo.

Unfortunately, the cancer spread to her lungs. Grace had come to realize her wonderful days with her were diminishing. There was nothing more she could do expect love her. Grace can only assume that Igloo’s horrible days as a breeding dog contributed to her lack of good health. Pain, frustration, loss, lonliness, filth and other unimaginable things had to have contributed to this cancer, didn’t it?

Here is an opinion and then some!
It’s deceptively easy to say that John Jones or Mary Smith run a puppy mill or that pet store puppies come from puppy mills, but the label is tossed about so frequently and with so little regard for accuracy that each prospective dog owner should ascertain for himself whether or not he wishes to buy a dog from John Jones, Mary Smith, a pet store, or a hobby breeder.

 
Here are the Dog Owner’s Guide definitions to help you decide:

Hobby Breeder:  A breed fancier who has a breed or two (or even three); follows a breeding plan to preserve and protect each breed; produces a limited number of litters each year; breeds only when a litter will enhance the breed and the breeding program; raises the puppies with plenty of environmental stimulation and human contact; has a contract that protects breeder, puppy, and buyer; raises dogs in the house or runs a small, clean kennel; screens breeding stock to eliminate hereditary defects; works with a breed club or kennel club to promote and protect the breed; and cares that each and every puppy is placed in the best home possible.

Commercial Breeder:  One who usually has several breeds of dogs with profit as the primary motive for existence. Commercial breeders that are inspected by USDA, state agencies, or the American Kennel Club should have adequate conditions. Commercial breeders that sell directly to the public fall through the regulatory cracks unless they do business in a state that licenses commercial kennels. Dogs in these kennels may be healthy or not and their conditions may be acceptable or not. The dogs are probably not screened for genetic diseases, and the breeding stock may or may not be selected for resemblance to the breed standard or for good temperament.

Broker:  One who buys puppies from commercial kennels and sells to retail outlets or other kennels. Brokers ship puppies on airlines or by truckload throughout the country.  Brokers must be licensed by USDA and must abide by the shipping regulations in the Animal Welfare Act.

Buncher:  One who collects dogs of unknown origin for sale to laboratories or other bunchers or brokers. Bunchers are considered lower on the evolutionary scale than puppy mill operators, for there is much suspicion that they buy stolen pets, collect pets advertised as “Free to a good home,” and adopt unwanted pets from animal shelters for sale to research laboratories. USDA licenses and inspects bunchers to make sure that they abide by the AWA.

Amateur Breeder:  A dog owner whose pet either gets bred by accident or who breeds on purpose for a variety of reasons. This breeder may be ignorant of the breed standard, genetics, behavior, and good health practices. An amateur breeder can very easily become a hobby breeder or a commercial breeder, depending on his level of interest or need for income.

A Real Puppy Mill:  A breeder who produces puppies with no breeding program, little attention to puppy placement, and poor health and socialization practices. Conditions in puppy mills are generally substandard and may be deplorable, and puppies and adult dogs may be malnourished, sickly, and of poor temperament.

Prospective buyers should keep these definitions in mind when seeking a puppy to add to their lives.

If you think you’ve found a real puppy mill with trashy conditions and sickly puppies and wish to report it, see “How to stop a puppy mill.” www.stoppuppymills.org

Please Call and save the innocent!

Again – Prospective buyers should keep these definitions in mind when seeking a puppy to add to their lives.

If you think you’ve found a real puppy mill with trashy conditions and sickly puppies and wish to report it!

What To Do if There is a puppy mill in your area.

How can I get the authorities to investigate and have it shut down?

First, be aware that operating a commercial breeding kennel may not be illegal in your area. But if you have seen specific evidence of cruelty or neglect, such as animals without food and water, sick dogs who are not being treated, or dogs without adequate shelter from the elements, the first agency to contact is a local agency with law enforcement powers, such as the breeder’s local humane society, animal control agency or police or sheriff’s department.

Prepare specific details of your complaint in advance, and get a case number or contact information related to your case. If you do not hear back from the local authorities within a week, call them back to ask for an update. If you can’t get local help for the situation or are not sure who to call, please contact the HSUS at:

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A list of currently licensed breeders is available on the USDA/APHIS website.