Making Humane Choices

Why? Because so many unwanted animals wind up in shelters that 7 million are killed every year for lack of homes. Many people never think of going to the pound—they get reeled in at the shopping mall instead.

Even worse, when you shell out hundreds for that puppy in the window, you are helping keep animal abusers in business. Most pups sold in pet shops come from breeding “farms” called “puppy mills,” where mother dogs spend their lives in small, filthy cages, producing litter after litter. A PETA investigator took a job in a Kansas puppy mill and found dogs living in rusty wire cages with no bedding, no protection from the broiling hot summer sun or the bone-chilling winter winds, and no veterinary care.

Fearful puppy mill dogs get pushed away from the food bowls and try to hide from people.

Our investigator saw dogs with crusted, oozing eyes, raging ear infections, and mange, which turns dogs’ skin into itchy, red scabs. Some dogs’ feet were small enough to fall through the wire of their cages, so they spent their lives hobbling around, trying to balance on the wire.

Saddest of all were the old mother dogs who had lived in cages all their lives. They had never taken a walk or dashed after a stick or even had a pat on the head. Some of them had gone mad from loneliness. They circled in their small cages and paced back and forth—their only way of coping with their sadness.

Hundreds of puppy mills across the country are just like this one. Since the laws protecting animals aren’t strong enough to help these dogs, the best way to put puppy mills out of business is to get pet stores to stop selling puppies.

Here are some ways you can help:
• Hand out information about puppy mills and dog overpopulation in front of your local pet store. PETA can provide posters and leaflets.

• Save a life! Adopt from an animal shelter if you and your family have the time and resources to care for a dog. Have a particular breed in mind? Twenty-five percent of pound dogs are purebreds.

• Write an article on puppy mills for your school newspaper. Contact PETA or go to www.HelpPuppies.com for more information.

“Dogs will be killed in animal shelters until the pet store puppy trade is stopped.”

When Katie, a sweet chocolate Labrador retriever, became too old to produce puppies, the puppy mill operator told PETA’s investigator to dump her at the local pound and say that she was found by the roadside. Instead, our investigator took Katie home. Now, for the first time in her life, she lives in a real house with a loving family.

The Kinleys—country music star twin sisters Heather and Jennifer—raise money at their concerts to help homeless dogs in their hometown. Says Heather, who brings the dog she rescued from a shelter to her concerts, “I’m a huge advocate of shelter adoption. Too many dogs in those places are killed. I tell people to go to shelters and adopt. They have beautiful dogs.”

Tempting as it may be to “save” the pathetic puppies at the pet store, your dollars are what keep these losers in business. The puppy you buy today will just be replaced by another tomorrow. Instead, ask pet store managers to sell only supplies, not living animals. Let them know that you won’t be buying anything from them—even supplies—until they do. Ask them to team up with the local animal shelters and display animals who are up for adoption.

Jesse star Christina Applegate has great advice for people who want to help dogs and cats: “Adopt one! Stay away from those malls!”