The costs of rescuing, treating and caring for rescued puppy mill puppies and dogs often run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, dollars that come from contributions, donations and our taxes. And far too often, after these dogs are finally healthy and cared for, they are returned to their abusers, back to the life of suffering and torture they were rescued from due to the leniency of the laws.

Approximately 500,000 puppies are ‘produced’ each year from the country’s puppy mills. Right now there are at least 4000-5000 puppy mills in this country. About half the puppies die due to cruel substandard conditions. Even then, the ‘business’ is so lucrative that the losses are just considered ‘part of doing business,’ and they continue. They ‘trash’ (picture up top) their losses and rake in the bucks.

Puppy mill kennels generally consist of small, outdoor wood and wire cages or crates. The animals are cramped into these filthy cages.

Many of the dogs suffer from malnutrition and exposure, usually remaining outside year round, enduring both freezing temperatures in the winter and intense heat in the summer.

Almost as bad as the animal victims are the human victims; the people who buy the puppies either from a pet store, a newspaper ad, an internet ad or right from the puppy millers themselves. So many of these puppies are sick, disease ridden and their tiny bodies are usually dehydrated, malnourished not to mention genetic defects and other problems. People who buy these puppies often wound up spending thousands of dollars trying to fix their new canine companion that they have already grown attached to, only to have them die or live short, painful lives.

Ethical breeders will not sell their puppies to just anyone. They care about what happens to the puppies after they go to their new homes. They provide health guarantees and many will have a contract that if things do not work out, the dog is to be returned to the breeder. Ethical breeders have standards and morals and care about the breed, not just lining their pockets on the misery of living creatures.