Animal Users and Abusers

Do not buy a puppy from Wizard of Claws/Puppy Collection and the Teacup Puppies Store

breeders of designer dogs. Some people are fooled into thinking they are getting a very special dog, hence the high price. What they are getting for hundreds of dollars is a mixed breed dog. There are plenty of these available in shelters all over the country. Visit PETFINDER to search for pure and mixed breed dogs needding homes.

to slaughter of baby pigs.
A schoolteacher from New Jersey had recently watched the movie Babe with her second grade students. She thought that for a surprise she would find a baby pig and bring her to the classroom. The teacher and her husband drove through the countryside looking for a pig farm until they came to a sign that had a pig painted on it. The couple saw pigs in a pen outside so they decided to look around. The husband went inside a building to look for the property owner. When he entered the building he was horrified to realize that the building was a slaughter facility. Pigs were being forced through a narrow system of channel gates up to a stunning area. It was a smaller packing facility and there were men designated to strike the pigs heads with sledgehammers. "The pigs were screaming and trying desperately to escape." He saw several pigs hoisted by one leg hanging upside down who had already been stunned. They were covered with blood all over their faces and he describes them "kicking and visibly conscious." The owner came to ask what he wanted and still in shock the husband described that they were hoping to borrow a pig. The owner reached down and grabbed a pig from the kill line just several feet away from the stunning area. The owner said " bring it back tomorrow morning it has to be in the scalding tank by noon." Dazed and still in shock the man nodded and hurried out of the slaughterhouse holding the trembling piglet. When he got to the car he shared the horrifying experience with his wife. They had no idea what they were going to do with the small pig but one thing was for certain, she was not going back.

Ragsdale: USDA's promotion of dogs as a crop led to puppy mills
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE
Register Columnist
Des Moines Register
04/10/2002

Wouldn't you know. When the U.S. Senate finally gets around to doing something about regulating puppy mills, the legislation is attacked by organizations believed to support the highest standards of dog breeding - the American Kennel Club and breed organizations.

The AKC is supposed to be the Great Upholder of all things relating to bloodline purity and genetic soundness in dogs. It is the pedigree keeper and breed-standard authority. And it is standing shoulder to shoulder with commercial breeders who value dogs for their ability to produce litter after litter for sale.

The Puppy Protection Act was passed as an amendment to the farm bill. It passed with no opposition. It was crafted by many breeder and animal-rights groups and created a three-strikes system within the Animal Welfare Act. Chronic offenders" kennel licenses would be revoked by the USDA. It limits the number of litters females can produce, mandates that female dogs be at least 1 year old before being bred, and requires that puppies be adequately socialized with other dogs and people.

Those are reasonable regulations that have been decades in the making.

It's likely few people remember that after World War II, the USDA promoted raising puppies for profit to farmers whose crops had failed. As the supply of puppies grew, so did the distribution network and retail outlets.

Unfortunately, other than putting the idea of dog production in the minds of farmers, USDA did little to educate farmers-turned-kennel operators about providing humane conditions or selective breeding.

These people were already broke, so their facilities were worse than substandard. They shunned veterinary care, largely because they couldn't afford to pay. The miserable conditions were exposed by humane organizations, and the Animal Welfare Act was passed. But the once-a-year kennel inspection by USDA has done little to repair the damage done by the dogs-as-livestock movement.

It takes only one visit to one of these "kennels" to understand why Iowa Senator Tom Harkin supported adoption of the Puppy Protection Act. And even if commercial dog-breeding interests get this legislation stripped from the farm bill, he has promised to get some language passed to "get to the bad actors and get to the heart of the problem without overreaching or unintended consequences."

Lack of oversight has fostered the ugly and inhumane dog-breeding industry. The treatment of dogs kept exclusively for breeding is the grotesque secret of the purebred-pet industry.

You've likely seen the classified ads that offer AKC-registered dogs. These breeders seem to always have puppies for sale. And when you view the puppies by appointment - maybe in a supermarket parking lot or other public place - they sure are cute.

But back at the farm or garage or back yard, the parents of the puppies live a dismal life.

The kennels may barely comply with the definition. Adult dogs housed in barns or shacks may rarely see the light of day. The adult dogs rarely leave their cage. They may share the cage with one or two dogs.

The puppies are weaned and sold as soon as possible. Wholesale brokers make routine sweeps of puppy mills, gathering a "load" to be offered to pet stores. Being groomed for sale may be one of the few times the puppies are touched by human hands. Brokers or individual buyers pick the best specimens. The breeder is stuck with the lesser puppies and may breed them, regardless of confirmation and behavior flaws.

Iowa animal shelters and humane organizations are called to rescue these miserable creatures, usually when the owner accumulates so many dogs that the cost of care (such as it is) becomes overwhelming. Or there may be a complaint by neighbors about smell, noise or other disturbing activity. Often animals taken from such places must be destroyed because they are beyond help or cannot adapt to a normal life. Federal regulation is so toothless that in Iowa prosecution is framed according to state animal-cruelty statutes.

This sad state of affairs is what AKC (whose motto is "For the Love of the Purebred Dog . . . ") supports.

The same Web page that offers to sell DNA test kits and pedigrees urges "Stop Puppy Protection Act!"

The organization that offers breeder referrals, registration forms and suggestions about buying a puppy has been urging dog fanciers to inundate the farm bill conference committee with form letters that claim that the need for the legislation has not been established.

"The PPA would, for the first time, inject the federal government into controlling the breeding of domestic animals," the form letter states. "The PPA sets a dangerous precedent for the intrusion of the federal government into new areas of regulation that should remain the province of breeders."

Considering the fact that the federal government was the place where the commercial breeding of pet dogs got started, that seems immensely appropriate.

Page updated: January 16th 2025

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