The Horrors of Puppy Mills
The Horrors of Puppy Mills
Gayle Huff
COM/150
March 21, 2010
Alison Bonham
The Horrors of Puppy Mills
Molly is a three-year-old miniature Pomeranian that has been rescued from a puppy mill. She lived her whole life in a wire cage with others stacked on top of her. When she was rescued, she weighed four pounds and was covered in feces from the dogs that lived above her. Her hair was matted, her teeth were rotten, and her nails were over grown. She had never felt grass on her feet or experienced the feeling of running free. Her feet were split from walking on the wire floor, and the only human contact she ever experienced was bad, which made her scared to death of people. Molly now weighs six and a half pounds, has a beautiful coat, clean teeth, and trimmed nails. She comes when called instead of running from people and loves playing in the snow. She was one of the lucky ones, rescued in time. Thousands of dogs of all types and ages live in these horrible conditions their whole lives, being abused, neglected, and even killed in puppy mills each day. The dogs in these puppy mills are prisoners of greed and live in constant fear. They live in small wire cages and are very seldom let out for any reason. Most have never felt grass beneath their feet and in many cases have never breathed fresh air. They are placed in these wire cages to minimize the clean up. Quite often the cages are stacked two or three high, which means the dogs on the bottom are covered in urine and feces from the dogs that live above them. Many of the tiny cages are overpopulated and crowded, so they very often fight with each other and have nowhere to run (ASPCA, 2010). According to Prisoners of Greed (2008), many “lose feet and legs when they are caught in the wire floors of the cages. They are often broken or even cut off as they struggle to free themselves” (Facts, paragraph 6). Puppy mill dogs receive little or no vet care because if they had to pay for a vet it
Gayle Huff
COM/150
March 21, 2010
Alison Bonham
The Horrors of Puppy Mills
Molly is a three-year-old miniature Pomeranian that has been rescued from a puppy mill. She lived her whole life in a wire cage with others stacked on top of her. When she was rescued, she weighed four pounds and was covered in feces from the dogs that lived above her. Her hair was matted, her teeth were rotten, and her nails were over grown. She had never felt grass on her feet or experienced the feeling of running free. Her feet were split from walking on the wire floor, and the only human contact she ever experienced was bad, which made her scared to death of people. Molly now weighs six and a half pounds, has a beautiful coat, clean teeth, and trimmed nails. She comes when called instead of running from people and loves playing in the snow. She was one of the lucky ones, rescued in time. Thousands of dogs of all types and ages live in these horrible conditions their whole lives, being abused, neglected, and even killed in puppy mills each day. The dogs in these puppy mills are prisoners of greed and live in constant fear. They live in small wire cages and are very seldom let out for any reason. Most have never felt grass beneath their feet and in many cases have never breathed fresh air. They are placed in these wire cages to minimize the clean up. Quite often the cages are stacked two or three high, which means the dogs on the bottom are covered in urine and feces from the dogs that live above them. Many of the tiny cages are overpopulated and crowded, so they very often fight with each other and have nowhere to run (ASPCA, 2010). According to Prisoners of Greed (2008), many “lose feet and legs when they are caught in the wire floors of the cages. They are often broken or even cut off as they struggle to free themselves” (Facts, paragraph 6). Puppy mill dogs receive little or no vet care because if they had to pay for a vet it