Information Library > Information for Pet Owners > Puppy Mills, Pet Stores & Designer Doggies

Backyard breeders - continue to con pet buyers

People naively believe that answering an ad in the paper is still a good way to buy a family pet. They just don't realise that, at best, people trying to make money by breeding their pet are completely irresponsible and at worst, they are supporting a cottage industry that leads to hundreds of dogs just like Lily.    Read more...

Mixed breeds can fool you

Lots of us have wondered what different breeds of dogs together might look like, but most of us are not in the habit of playing these games and conning people into believing they have something rare and priceless.   Read more...

Channel Nine's Sunday program - Death Row Pets

A showdown is looming between the RSPCA and the Australian Veterinary Association on puppy farms and how they should be regulated.   Read more...

Australia 'puppy mills' under fire for cruelty

A public appetite for accessory dogs has encouraged the growth of "puppy mills", where animals are bred in cramped conditions before being transported across long distances. The farms, which are legal in Australia, keep puppies in conditions comparable to those suffered by battery hens, critics say.   Read more...

Cruel puppy-farmer Patrick Doran to pay $90,000

A 65-year-old Queensland puppy farmer has been fined and ordered to pay more than $86,000 in compensation for failing to properly look after 67 chihuahuas and chihuahua crosses.   Read more...

The reality of the backyard breeder

Many of the dogs were suffering conjunctivitis, fractured bones, skin problems and the living conditions were "unacceptable", RSPCA inspector Graeme Crowdon told the court. The floor was covered in dog faeces up to 10cm thick and the only source of drinking water found for the dogs was a tyre filled with sludge. There was no food.   Read more...

Ban shops from selling cats, dogs

Animal welfare workers rallied today in support of a bill to ban pet shops from selling kittens and puppies.   Read more...

Want a designer dog? Check the pound..

Ever hear of a floppy-faced Jujitsu? How about a King Daley shepherd? A Germox retriever? Those are just a few of the creative monikers that clever dog owners have come up with to label their all-American dogs mutts, to people with less imagination.   Read more...

Boarding Kennel or Puppy Farm?

Dogs on the property including pure-bred poodles, labrador pups and a pomeranian were in filthy enclosures with matted faeces and urine in their fur and maggots in their orifices.   Read more...

Must see Australian "dogumentary" launches

When most people think of animal cruelty, they don't necessarily think of puppies. But that's exactly what William Wolfenden's documentary is about. b"I'm a dog lover myself so felt compelled to tell the story. There's a huge ignorance in the community about the issue."   Read more...

Pet store blocks Christmas impulse buys

A pet store has made the unprecedented decision to stop selling cats and dogs before what is traditionally the busiest time of the year. The Melbourne store, Pets at Home, has decided to remove all puppies and kittens in an effort to prevent impulse buying of pets and will instead work with the Lort Smith Animal Hospital to encourage people to adopt and "re-home" animals.    Read more...

Lort Smith and Pets @ Home join forces to save pets!

Pets @ Home eliminate pets in store and work with rescue to save the lives of pets!   Read more...

Scales of injustice: meet the 'torture box'

RSPCA Victoria president Hugh Wirth said that despite the fighting fish's ability to breathe air from the surface, the tank was far too small for it to receive adequate oxygen. Dr Wirth said the iPond should be banned but did not expect Pets Paradise to co-operate. "Pets Paradise has had a chequered history with respect to selling live animals from their premises," he said.   Read more...

(US) Expose on puppy mills

An excellent CBS interview with Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society about what a puppy mill is. Includes comments from vet Dr. Debbye Turner, about the health problems associated with puppy mill puppies.   Read more...

(US) Humane Society: Upmarket pet store uses puppy mills

The HSUS said that employees at Pets of Bel Air told customers that the puppies sold at the store were raised by private breeders and assured customers that they do not buy puppies from puppy mills. The HSUS then visited these and claim that these "private breeders" are actually puppy mills that house 100 to 300 dogs.   Read more...

(US) Puppy Mill Action Week: Nov 25 - Dec 1

During Puppy Mill Action Week, learn how animal care organizations are working to put puppy mills out of business and get resources to educate your community about this cruel industry. How much is that doggy in the window suffering?   Read more...

(US) Victories, little by little, mark rescued dogs' new start

Gerti was one of dozens of dogs taken to local animal shelters after officials raided a large-scale puppy mill. "Just the conditions they had to live in, those rabbit hutches out in the cold. . . . Dogs shouldn't be out in the wintertime," Grewe said. "I felt like I could give her a good home."   Read more...

Fury over controversial puppy trade - Australian puppy mills

"It's a factory, a production line with rows and rows of breeding mums," ALV spokeswoman Debra Rigaldi said. "Puppy farms are the ultimate betrayal of man's best friend." ACA Breeders Kennels in Sale, where the pictures were taken and an estimated 300 to 400 dogs are kept for reproduction purposes, have denied the exploitation.    Read more...

Puppy mill raids: the shock + horror of Aussie puppymills

Think puppy mills are just something they have in the United States? Sadly not - everyone needs to read this interview with dog rescuer Debra Tranter about her experiences raiding Australian puppy mills and reminds us exactly why people should say no to animals in pet shops.   Read more...

Today Tonight story - designer dogs

Like Gucci and Armani, dogs have become fashionable brands, such as the labradoodle and the spoodle: "designer dogs" marketed to yuppies. The clever marketing of these designer dogs is the reason unscrupulous puppy farmers are mass-producing dogs like they're going out of fashion. But don't be tricked: none of the breeders for these dogs can legally be registered.   Read more...

Designer dog breeding disaster

"Our records over the last seven years show a dramatic increase in these designer dogs ending up at our shelter with all kinds of defects." Mr Carter said puppy farms had become money-making ventures where thousands could be paid for "what is essentially a mongrel. We're talking hip dysplasia, eye problems, temperament problems - all kinds of things. These people have no conscience - they aren't dogs to them, they are animals," he said.   Read more...

Clover Moore's pet shop bill

Like any commercial enterprise, pet shops exist to make profits. Site location and shrewd marketing are as essential to a pet shop as they are to any other retail business. I cite a pet shop guide produced by the Entrepreneur Business Centre: "The scenario is simple: Someone will walk by, fall in love with an animal and buy it. These sorts of impulse sales can add dramatically to your profits".    Read more...

Bred to death

Now think about costs over the span of a dog's life, and add up how much hard-earned cash goes into caring for a pet. We pay this because we love our pets, and it would be impossible to put a price on the love they give back. But in the world of commercial dog breeding, the money flows the other way. Dogs are there to make money. Riddled with congenital defects, arthritis, infection, tumors, and advanced age, the dogs are kept breeding anyway.    Read more...

MP tries to ban dog and cat pet shop sales

Ms Moore said pet shops promoted this impulse buying and irresponsible breeding for profit, and led to the backyard breeding and puppy farms. She said animals were often kept in appalling conditions where they are forced to breed until they cannot breed anymore, before being killed.    Read more...

What does a puppy mill look like?

More than 240 dogs seized from puppy mill - amazing footage from a puppy-mill in Texas.    Read more...

Think puppy-mills don't happen in Australia?

More than 70 mistreated and sick chihuahuas have been seized by RSPCA inspectors in a raid on a property in south-east Queensland. The RSPCA shelter at Fairfield is feeling the strain of a number of mass raids. "This is the third lot of over 50 dogs we have had in a month, which puts a huge strain on our resources," he said.   Read more...

(US) Vick case brings attention to abused puppy-mill dogs

The Michael Vick case has prompted outrage among animal lovers everywhere. But many people do not realize that dogs are abused every day in what are known as "puppy mills." When you go to buy a dog, you may find a litter of cute, healthy puppies. But what you don't see are their parents -- abused and neglected animals who've been turned into breeding machines.   Read more...

Profit and loss - life in a puppy mill

Puppy mills and pet stores depend on each other. It's estimated that 90 to 98 percent of dogs sold by pet stores come from puppy mills, according to a Best Friends study. The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council estimates that 3,700 of the nation's 11,500 pet stores are selling dogs from puppy mills - about 300,000 to 400,000 puppies per year.   Read more...

A relationship with a pet shop is like a pact with the devil... for vets, that is

"You know damn well where these puppies came from." So true. A consumer can be forgiven for his ignorance but a vet has a pretty good idea what goes on behind the scenes. There's no excuse for getting into bed with puppy mill purveyors. The devil may or may not wear Prada... but he certainly knows how to sell puppies.   Read more...

(US) A new life for puppy-mill dogs

The commercial mass breeding of dogs is not illegal, underground or small scale. Most of the dogs were suffering from severe health problems; there were dogs missing an eye or an ear, dogs with inguinal hernias from having too many litters, dogs with evidence of botched do-it-yourself C-sections. There were dogs with ruptured and missing eyes, and a standard poodle covered in mats and crusted with ticks.    Read more...

Dog shoppers should beware

Take a Labrador retriever and breed it to a poodle. What do you get after the 60-day gestation period? A Labradoodle. But what do you really get? Why a mongrel, of course. If the sire and dam are purebred but of different breeds, crossing them does not make a new and different breed. It's a mutt.    Read more...

"Puppy mills" group's pet peeve

Ms. Shain said people often want to rescue puppies from pet store cages, but she said what they consider a good deed is actually a bad move. "That $700 you spend just opens up the cage for another puppy mill puppy to come in," she said. "If people didn't buy these puppies, then puppy mills wouldn't exist."   Read more...

UK - Leading pet shop stops selling animals after welfare pressure

The country's second biggest pet retailer has decided to stop selling thousands of live animals, from rabbits to cats and parakeets, amid complaints from welfare campaigners.    Read more...

Puppy e-mills churn out sick dogs, big profits

Like almost every product, a brand-new puppy is now just an Internet connection, credit card and a click away. However, a dog is not a "product" and professionals agree that buying a dog online is irresponsible, dangerous and contributes to the problem known as puppy mills.   Read more...

US - Calling all animal lovers: take 'the pet store challenge'

'The Pet Store Challenge' - a consumer action campaign from The Humane Society of the United States, will give pet stores an opportunity to be open and honest about how and from where they get their puppies. The Challenge, which takes place from June 15 to September 15, 2006, will also empower consumers to make a difference in the lives of millions of dogs who are victims of puppy mills.   Read more...

I never knew her name - puppy mill tragedy

This article is a true story with graphic images and has been written by a person who works in the legal end of animal issues and also works very closesly with rescue. The the images that accompany this story are extremely graphic and upsetting.    Read more...

Human Society issues

We want consumers to understand that so-called "hybrid" puppies are not protected from genetic diseases. They are just as likely to have the same problems that other puppies have who come from large-scale, high-volume breeding, especially since the demand is massive and puppy mills are responding by pumping out the hybrid-du-jour as quickly as possible.   Read more...

Designer dogs, expensive mutts

But these days, dog owners are not just going to the pound. People are spending thousands of dollars for mutts. They are a cross breed just like anything you would find at the SPCA.   Read more...

Designer dogs are latest rage

All you need is the adoption fee and you can have any of our designer dogs - and, you can save a life. You see, designer dog is basically another word for mutt, and nobody has more of them than your local Humane Society.   Read more...

Senate weighs regulation of 'puppy mills'

The colorful, hand-painted signs offering puppies for sale at farms in scenic Lancaster County only add to the allure of Amish country. But animal activists say many of these seemingly innocent farms are actually a front for lucrative, virtually unregulated operations that crank out hundreds of puppies amid miserable conditions.   Read more...

Family loses pet bought at store

After Maggie's death, Loeser researched the kennel where the dog came from. What I found is that it is not actually a puppy mill, but a funnel for puppy mills, Loeser said. They take in truckloads of dogs from all across the country and ship them to pet stores. I feel like the pet store lied to us.   Read more...