10. Puppy Mills

PUPPIES!

Who does not like a cute, little, cuddly puppy (if you don't we can't be friends!)? any dogWhen I was a little girl, I always wanted to parents to buy me a puppy from the puppy shop near my house. I begged and begged but never got a puppy. In a way, I am glad my parents never bought me a puppy even if the reason was because of the huge responsibility. 

Not impressed with our 6 hour car ride

At the age of 10, my parents decided to finally allow my sister and me to get a dog. So we went to the shelter. This is were we got our dog, Oliver. 13 years later and Oliver is still right beside me (even as write this blog entry) like the first day we got him. I truly love my dog unconditionally, borderline unhealthy but hey, he's family. I see the love I have for my "mutt" and wonder, why are people not content with any dog (or cat)? Why do some people want the best breed out there and are willing to even pay thousands of dollars to do so?

Sleeping in til noon...how rude!

My dog is now 13 and we have never had any major health problem thankfully. Yet, my friend who bought her pure breed dog is going through cancer at the age of 6. This is a common thing for her dogs breed, and it is likely due to the amount of breeding this type of dog goes through.

(River Head Loca)

All the dogs we see in pet store windows more than likely came from a breeder, a puppy mill. What most people do not know is what goes on behind the scenes of these puppy mills. Since we talked about it in class, I will attach a short video to recap. 

The pain and suffering that dogs go through so that someone can go buy a cute little puppy is truly horrifying. In a lot of cases little is done to control what goes on behind the scenes of this business and most of the times no one is held responsible. This is why there is a huge move to stop these dog (and cat) breeding facilities and push for adoption. 

Every year millions of animals are euthanized due to lack of space and resources to care for all the animals people toss aside. Many of the animals in shelters are those being used to breed in puppy mills after they no longer serve a purpose. If all animals are capable of showing the same amount of love and affection, why not adopt. Why are adopt rate not going up? 

Below is a campaign on why we should adopt. 

I pledge to never buy any pet and always resort to adoption!