Puppy Mills: Why is the number 60% so important?

Last week I wrote about the minimum size requirements for puppy mill kennels. The key number in that post was “6” – as in the 6 inches of additional kennel space your dog is allowed in a USDA-licensed breeder’s facility.

This week I would like to share a new number with you. This number came to me courtesy of Animal Folks MN – an excellent resource for finding out more on puppy mills and the puppy mill bills and laws in the state of Minnesota.

The number? 60%

As in….

60% of the USDA-licensed breeders and brokers in MN have dropped their USDA license over the past 6 years. 

You might be asking yourself, “Why does that number matter?” or “Why should I care?”

Let me go back to something I wrote at the bottom of my post from last week:

Many mill owners like to tout their USDA license with unsuspecting buyers to give them an air of legitimacy. Don’t buy it. “USDA licensed” does not equal “responsible breeder”. Having a USDA license only means the puppy miller is required to meet certain minimum care standards. Puppy millers who sell over the internet do not have to be USDA-licensed (as of today). They are not subject to any minimum care standards at all. This is why we are seeing more and more puppy millers moving their business to an internet-based one. As sellers of puppies over the internet, puppy millers are not subject to USDA inspection, nor do they have to follow any minimum care instructions when it comes to their dogs.

When 60% of Minnesota’s USDA-licensed breeders and brokers drop their USDA license, people should take notice. This is not some arbitrary statistic, especially when Minnesota used to be in the top ten list for USDA-licensed breeders. This is a warning shot across the bow. This is a sign of what is to come. This is where the puppy mill business is going in Minnesota and throughout the United States. As dog lovers, we should all be worried.

In the past, much of the drive to stop puppy mills has been focused on stopping pet stores from selling puppy mill puppies. But, as the public has gotten more educated about the pet store-puppy mill connection, pet stores are finding it harder to sell their pups. Many are closing down or switching to hosting adoption events in place of selling puppies. This leaves puppy mill operators in the precarious position of trying to sell enough puppies to make a profit. Turning to the internet is the most a logical choice.

How convenient that there are very few, if any, state or federal regulations around the internet sales of puppies. As consumers, we all need to be aware.

Puppy mills who only sell over the internet:

• Are not subject to any minimum care standards for the dogs they breed (unless they happen are in a state with strong breeder laws on the books – good luck on that one.).
• Ship sick puppies to unsuspecting dog lovers who assume they are working with a “responsible” breeder. (Nothing could be further from the truth.)
• Ship underage puppies.  (A responsible breeder will not ship a puppy and certainly not one that is under 8 weeks old. In many cases they will even wait until they are 9-12 weeks old.)
• Will ask for a deposit before they ship and then never send the puppy at all.
• Ship the wrong puppy or the wrong breed puppy to unsuspecting buyers.
• Sell to anybody for any reason. (They do not care who buys their dogs because it’s not about the dogs, it’s about the money).
• Sometimes import sick puppies from other countries and represent them as their own. (You can see more information on this at TheWrongPuppy.org.)

A puppy miller that drops their USDA license to avoid inspection is not someone I would ever want to trust with the care of my future puppy. How about you?

Please spread the word:

Every puppy someone purchases over the internet is a vote to support puppy mills.

Every puppy purchased over the internet is supporting puppy millers who are not subject to minimum care standards for their dogs.

Every decision made to buy a puppy from one of these places is supporting a cruel practice of keeping dogs in cages, with wire bottoms, and six inches to spare.

My continued thanks to Animal Folks and Animal Folks MN for always keeping me, and many other Minnesotans, updated on what is going on in our state. While the statistic I shared in this post is a horrible one, I am grateful for your continued work to educate the public and influence change in our state.

If you can donate money to help Animal Folks, please do. They are a small organization that is doing really big work. They have already researched many breeding facilities in Minnesota and have pictures and stories to share with you and our legislators, but they can only continue their work if you help. Don’t have a lot of money? How about $5? Every dollar counts.

Here is how Animal Folks MN will use your money:

• conduct research (gather photos, stories, affidavits and documents to illustrate the problem);
• file complaints against dog and cat breeders where animal neglect or abuse is suspected; and
• educate authorities and the public throughout Minnesota about problematic dog and cat breeding.

Black & White Sunday #8: Little Marley’s Muddy Face

It’s Black and White Sunday. This week I thought I would do something a little different and share a picture of one of my former clients, Marley. She is the most adorable little dog. As you can see, she had gotten into some mud this day.

My thanks to our hosts for this blog hop You Did What With Your Weiner, My Life in Blog Years and Dachshund Nola.

Unfortunately, WordPress.com doesn’t allow Java script so I can’t provide a direct link to the linky, but you can join here.

Favorite Video Friday – Someone’s sleeping in my bed

Two days ago it was 80 degrees out. Today? The high is expected to be 47 degrees. Tomorrow? Snow flurries. Brrrr!!!!

Is it any wonder that I chose a video that shows exactly what I would like to be doing this Friday morning? Not in the least.  I’m guessing I’m not alone today.

I hope all of you stay warm this first Friday in October.

Have a great weekend!

Enjoying fall colors with the dogs

It has been a beautiful fall in Minnesota this year. The lack of rain has not meant a lack of beautiful fall colors, just more leaves falling quicker than expected. Or maybe I just forget every year that they fall this early.

I thought I would share a few of my favorite fall pictures from this year. (Okay. I was watching the debate and forgot to write a post. I hope you like them anyways.) 🙂

Clover

Armand

Wordless Wednesday #109

Dangerous Dog Registry – Are you for it or against it?

Today, I saw an interesting article in the Miami Herald, Miami-Dade could require online “dangerous dog” registry. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.

Most states already have online registries for sex offenders, and that’s a good thing, but a registry for dangerous dogs? I’m not sure. Maybe for the dangerous dog’s humans? No. That probably isn’t right either.

Part of me thinks it’s a good idea. It puts dog owners on notice that they need to train their dogs, and if their dog is deemed dangerous and attacks again, they can be confiscated. But posting the dog’s picture and owner’s address can also lead to harassment and an increased likelihood that a false report might be filed by neighbors who are now scared of having the dog in their neighborhood.

And, then there was this sentence (found in the article):

Under county law, a dog can be declared dangerous if it attacks another animal or a human without provocation and causes severe injury or death, or if it approaches a human in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack.

I wondered. Who gets to decide if the attack was unprovocated or provocated? Most people don’t know dog body language. They are not likely to recognize a provoked or unprovoked attack because they wouldn’t recognize the signs that a dog is warning them to get away. Who gets to decide if a bite or attack was unprovocated if there is no one around who understands the warning signs?

And, what about breed discrimination? Is that likely to go up in Miami-Dade county if this passes? Will we see more pictures posted of a particular breed leading to people wanting to ban all dogs of this breed? Possibly. The only thing I know for certain is that pitbulls won’t bear the brunt of that discrimination. Pitbulls aren’t allowed in Miami-Dade county. (Oh wait. I guess that means they are already discriminated against.)

Having dealt with our own dangerous dog issue at the dog park recently (thankfully, we never came across the owner or the dog, who have since been banned), I can’t help but think maybe we just need a registry for the really dumb dog owners. The ones who continue to put their dogs in situations in which they are likely to attack again. I know I am being sarcastic, but honestly I don’t know. Maybe having one would be a good thing in some situations.

What do you think? Is a dog registry a good idea or a bad one?

Puppy Mills: Do you know what size cage would your dog live in? I do.

I was all set to write about Puppy Mill Awareness Day on Sunday, but I was still mulling over some information I had learned from a link someone sent me. The link,  “According to the USDA, how much room does a puppy mill dog need?”, is to a page on the website for Animal Ark Shelter.

It’s a page that allows you to calculate the minimum amount of cage/kennel space your dog would need to meet the minimum USDA standards for licensed USDA breeders (i.e., puppy millers).  With just one number –  your dog’s measured length in inches, you can see what size cage your dog would live in if it were living in a puppy mill.

Keep in mind that this is the size cage your dog would live in for its whole life, as it bred litter after litter of puppies, puppies that are then sold in pet stores, and over the internet.

Having two former breeder dogs, both from puppy mills, I was more than interested to learn what the USDA deems as adequate housing (in this case, kennel space or cage size) for a dog owned by a USDA licensed puppy mill owner.

I measured Lady first. Using the visual guideline on the Animal Ark page, I measured her from nose to butt  – 32 inches. I then put the number into the calculator on their page and hit the Return key. Immediately, I got back the following information:

Lady = 32 inches

According to USDA regulations, she could live in a cage measuring   3.17 feet by 3.17 feet (or 38 inches by 38 inches), or 10 square feet of cage space. (For those who use the metric system, that is .96 meters by .96 meters.)

Next, I measured Daisy. She is approximately 37 inches in length.

Daisy = 37 inches

According to USDA regulations, Daisy could live in a cage measuring 3.58 feet by 3.58 feet (or 43 inches by 43 inches), or 12.84 square feet of cage space. (For those who use the metric system, that is 1.09 by 1.09 meters.)

What struck me first was the number of extra inches the USDA afforded Lady and Daisy (beyond their own body length in inches). The number was the same for each – 6 inches. That’s it. As puppy mill breeding dogs, Lady and Daisy were only required to have 6 extra inches in length and width, beyond their own actual body length. Wow. Can you imagine your dog living its whole life with 6 inches to spare on either side? I can’t.

In addition to that fact, the page also tells you that dogs in USDA licensed puppy mills are only required to have six inches of head room in their cages. Double wow.  So, dogs get 6 extra inches of head room and 6 extra inches in which to turn around in. How could anyone not think that was cruel? Add in the wire flooring that almost all puppy mill dogs stand on, and live on, for their WHOLE lives and you just have to wonder why anyone would want to support an industry like this. And yet, in the United States we do support it  – every single day.

Puppy Mill Awareness Day was created to educate people about the horrors of puppy mills. This post might seem like such a small piece of that bigger message we are trying to get out, but I hope it does one thing for those who read it. I hope it creates a visual of what life is like for those dogs sitting in puppy mill cages with 6 inches to spare.

Every puppy someone buys in a pet store is a vote to support puppy mills.

Every puppy someone purchases over the internet is a vote to support puppy mills.

Every decision made to buy a puppy from one of these places is supporting a cruel practice of keeping dogs in cages, with wire bottoms, and six inches to spare.

Please note: Many mill owners like to tout their USDA license with unsuspecting buyers to give them an air of legitimacy. Don’t buy it. “USDA licensed” does not equal “responsible breeder”. Having a USDA license only means the puppy miller is required to meet certain minimum care standards. Puppy millers who sell over the internet do not have to be USDA-licensed (as of today). They are not subject to any minimum care standards at all. This is why we are seeing more and more puppy millers moving their business to an internet-based one. As sellers of puppies over the internet, puppy millers are not subject to USDA inspection, nor do they have to follow any minimum care instructions when it comes to their dogs. Don’t buy over the internet.

Lady – Puppy mill survivor (cage space: 38 inches)

Daisy – Puppy mill survivor (cage size: 43 inches)