The other day, I wrote about a new law about to be enacted in Philadelphia in regards to the fate of animals picked up on the street.  In effect, any animal, whether stray or a house pet, would be put to death within 48 hours of being placed in a shelter.  This is patently obscene.  I'm part of a network that helps to place relinquished animals and, no doubt due to the failing economy and job losses, we've seen an up-tick in larger, pure breeds.

But it's not just the financial world that is leading to the needless murder of countless animals.  It's an awful thing to live right by the Puppy-Mill Capitol of the world.  What am I talking about?  Lancaster County, home of the oh so quaint Amish.   There is the source of most of the puppies that are sold in such big box stores as our local Monster Pets.  People come in and see a cute puppy.  It's an impulse buy, because it's hard to resist a young animal.

These animals sold in "Pet Stores" are not healthy.  They have not been socialized.  They may carry illness, as a result of their bad care.  The pets end up costing the ignorant buyer money that they never thought about, and become badly behaved, because the owner is not informed about the exercise needs of their new pet.  I strongly believe that people should only take in an animal with a full understanding of it's needs.

The problem with animals from a puppy mill, is that they are inherently neurotic.  When they were young, they were removed from the bitch that bred them and placed in cages, as a holding pen.  Young dogs need to be "socialized", or they will have a fear reaction to other dogs and people.  This can manifest in everything from complete cowering to overly aggressive behavior.  As I've written before, the answer lies not in murdering animals from the street, but in regulating breeders.

Spend the money that's available on shutting down on puppy mills.  Make 'em illegal.  Shut down stores that sell animals as pets and enact real laws that license breeders.  I have a friend who bred his Belgian Bouvier.  He made sure that all the people who took a puppy were vetted by him.  In his case, he ended up keeping four of the puppies that would have cost the new owner between $12,000 to $15,000.   He is a shining example of how breeders should and far too often, do not act.

One way that you can help, is by going to a site that is active in fighting puppy mills.  I'm about to quote them, as they know far more than I do:


Monster Pets, an independent Philadelphia pet store, is making money from the suffering of the parents of the puppies they sell.  Although many puppy mills have been cited by the US Department of Agriculture for violating the minimal standards of the Animal Welfare Act, they are still allowed to operate.  The only way to stop puppy mills is for people to stop buying puppies and even supplies from pet stores that sell puppies.  YOU have the power to stop puppy mill cruelty-


www.BoycottMonsterPets.com.

Please, take a couple of minutes to check out the links.  It will cost you nothing, but it will hopefully save countless animals from an horrendous life.  Also, if you could send a link of this post to your friends, so that they can become involved, that would be so wonderful.  There's also a protest scheduled at the end of this month.  Please go to the site for more information.

Thanks, Dano.