Puppy Mills & Overpopulation: The Critical Link

Consider these facts:

1. 6 to 8 million dogs and cats enter US shelters each year
   
2. 3.7 million animals were euthanized in US shelters in 2008 (approximately 10,000 animals per day).
   
3. 2 to 4 million dogs are produced each year by Puppy Mills in the United States.
   

In a high-production year, puppy mills add more dogs to the US "supply" than the total number of animals euthanized in 2008. While spay/neuter is a necessary step to prevent overpopulation over time, prohibiting puppy mills would immediately and significantly reduce the canine population by a number equivalent to the "excess" homeless dogs in this country.

What are Puppy Mills?

Puppy mills are large-scale breeding operations that often keep upwards of 50 adult dogs for the sole purpose of breeding. Such operations apply the principals of business economics to the breeding of puppies – maximize profit through low-cost and high-volume production. This amounts to limited expenses on veterinary care, shelter, food, and space, and a high volume of dogs that breed continuously (regardless of health effects).

Puppy mills primarily supply pet stores and animal dealers. Millions of families each year unknowingly purchase puppy mill dogs from pet stores or directly from the puppy mills or animal dealers who present themselves as expert family breeders online. Puppy mills across the country are continuously found in violation of the minimum requirements set forth by the Animal Welfare Act, including basic safety, sanitation, and confinement regulations.

Why do Puppy Mill dogs need protection?

The Humane Society of the United States' footage of puppy mill rescues shows the horrendous conditions that dogs are kept in for the sake of profit: http://stoppuppymills.org/. Puppy mills over-produce "purebred" dogs for profit without regard to their health or emotional well-being. These dogs are viewed as reproductive factories, often spending their entire lives in cramped cages, or in isolation from human and animal contact. Few breeding dogs ever experience a loving home environment; many times when they are no longer able to breed, dogs are simply left in their cages to die.

Responsible breeders carefully select the mother and father based on a variety of factors including optimal health and balanced temperament. However, puppy mills are focused on volume, not quality. Many of their breeding dogs have severe genetic health conditions that are inherited by the puppies. In addition, unsanitary conditions and improper or absent veterinary care make the puppies more susceptible to other health conditions like Parvovirus and Heartworms. Dogs who are rescued from puppy mills often suffer severe physical and psychological trauma as a result of abhorrent conditions and a life of seclusion. Extended periods of adjustment are often necessary as the dogs need to learn basic dog behaviors - many have never been held by a person, socialized with other dogs, walked on grass, or experienced life outside of a metal cage.

Puppy mills are a serious detriment to the dogs they breed, the families who unknowingly purchase sick puppies, and the millions of homeless dogs who are euthanized each year as a result of overcrowding in shelters. The issue of overcrowding is exacerbated by the economic downfall, which has led to a dangerous combination of more pet surrenders and less funding for the organizations that take responsibility for these animals. Many puppy mill dogs end up in our shelter system because families are unable to afford the medical bills associated with their severe health defects. Stopping puppy mills would significantly reduce the dog population, decrease euthanasia rates, provide shelter dogs with a greater chance at adoption, prevent the intentional breeding of sick puppies, and will allow breeding to remain in the hands of responsible and knowledgeable dog owners who breed family pets in a healthy, loving, home environment.

Breed Bans Work Against Pit Bull Rescue Operations

Following cases like that of Diane Whipple, who was attacked and killed by two Presa Canarios in her apartment complex, people's fears about dog attacks were understandably heightened. Although cases of dog attacks naturally bring into question the need for stricter regulations of and punishments for irresponsible dog owners, breed bans are an extreme and misplaced political response to the public's fear of violent and aggressive dogs. This policy simply will not work because it is banning the symptom rather than the cause. Dog attacks happen because the dog in question is violent and unstable, not because it was born a certain breed. Violence and instability is largely a product of nurture rather than nature (with the exception of mental or chemical imbalance), which means that the source of these issues is the human, not the dog. By banning breeds of dogs, we are ignoring the primary issue and reinforcing that abusive owners are not responsible for their actions or the actions of their pet. This is not the message that we want to send. Accountability for aggressive dog behavior needs to be placed on the people who cause the fear and pain that lead to the behavior.

Pit Bulls are the primary target of the existing breed bans. Although dogs of all breeds have caused injury or death to humans, Pit Bulls have been an easy target because of the breed's reputation as violent killers and popularity among violent and criminal dog owners. This reputation has not been earned, it has been given to them and promoted by many irresponsible pit bull owners who benefit personally or financially from the rough-and-tough reputation that Pit Bulls now have. Many of these owners like the idea of having a "killing machine" as a pet, since it lends a certain 'machismo' to them as owners. Others use Pit Bulls and market their killer reputations for profit, using them in underground dog fighting operations. One of the most frustrating parts about the ongoing breed discrimination and breed bans is that they reinforce the negative reputation of many power breeds like Pit Bulls, which serves as free promotion for the despicable owners that benefit from their Pit Bulls' violent image. The result of these bans is that the dogs are punished by being banned from a nice life with loving family members in these select cities and counties, while the real criminals (the people who abuse & fight the dogs) get free advertising, higher prices for pit bulls as a result of black market demand, and no consequences for their crimes. This is sending the wrong message!

The Michael Vick case brought dog fighting into the foreground of animal issues, inspiring a number of changes in laws and in strategies for bringing down dog fighting operations. A sense of victory spread throughout the animal advocate/activist community earlier this month, when the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and other animal rescue organizations worked with the federal, state, and local authorities to seize over 400 dogs from an 8-state dog fighting operation. Thankfully, many dog rescue organizations have opened their doors to dogs rescued from the Vick case and from this recent raid. There has also been a great deal of progress made toward giving these animals a second chance. In prior years, it was believed that dogs with fighting backgrounds needed to be euthanized because they would be unable to recover and be introduced to normal family life. Thankfully, we have evolved and realized that dogs are individuals and although some may be too damaged to fully recover, many of these dogs were just waiting for the opportunity to love and be loved. Rescue organizations like Best Friends Animal Society even takes in dogs who cannot be placed with adoptive families, and help them to live the remainder of their lives as happy and healthy dogs with people who are trained to care for them.

Recent and positive news about rehabilitation of the "Vicktory dogs", as the dogs from the Vick raid are now referred to, has proved that dogs are astoundingly resilient. Dogs react to their environment and the people who care for them (or abuse them). Their behavior, good or bad, is a product of their human's behaviors and how they treat the dog. In addition, the Vicktory dogs teach us that Pit Bulls, even ones that have been abused and exposed to dog fighting, can be sweet and loving family members. This is the greatest evidence against breed bans and discrimination. But now that these dogs are rescued and need homes, where should they go? In a time where rescue organizations are making great strides toward rescuing dogs from violent and horrific circumstances, certain counties and cities are closing their doors to the dogs that are most in need. In order to accomplish the goal of bringing an end to dog fighting rings, and encouraging the proper treatment of dogs to create healthy, happy, and well-balanced pets, we need people to be more open than ever to getting involved and embracing the misunderstood breeds. We need more adoptive families to be available to provide forever homes for these second-chance pups, and a community that embraces them and supports their progress.

Banning dog breeds that are most affected by abuse and dog fighting hinders the progress of rescue and humane organizations that are trying so desperately to save them. Casting these dogs aside does more harm than good by decreasing the amount of available homes for rescued dogs, encouraging the social stigma and fear surrounding specific breeds, and forcing the dogs deeper into a world of crime and violence via black market sales and dog fighting operations. Further, bans do nothing to address the criminal actions of these dog owners. Our representatives and law makers need to focus on setting and enforcing the proper punishments for these individuals in order to cut the circle of dog abuse that leads to violent incidences between dogs and humans. With open communication and collaboration between government, law makers, and humane rescue organizations, I believe that we can create the properly aligned incentives, punishments, and deterrence necessary to eventually end this cycle of dog abuse, and to re-establish the human-animal bond.