Puppy mills are substandard commercial breeding facilities that operate with an emphasis on profit above animal welfare. Poor living conditions result in the development of chronic health problems, temperament issues and hereditary defects in animals that are bred in these environments. Dogs are usually housed in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions without adequate veterinary care, food, water or socialization, with the females bred at every opportunity with little-to-no recovery time between litters. Most puppies sold in pet stores were bred in puppy mills, brokered through puppy brokers, whose sole purpose is to make money with little to no concern for animal care or welfare.
Another characteristic of puppy mills is separating puppies from their mothers far too young in hopes of capitalizing on the cute puppies as much as possible. Worst yet, once the breeding dogs are no longer useful, they are often discarded like trash, dumped at local shelters, or left to suffer without medical care until they succumb.
Puppy mills exist just about everywhere in the United States. However, some of the worst facilities are found in the Midwest, with five of the facilities on the HSUS 2016 Horrible Hundred list located in Nebraska.
Nebraska also happens to be the home of our friends at Hearts United for Animals (HUA). HUA was moved by the horrible fate of the breeding dogs in puppy mills, and in response, is hosting a Mother’s Day protest honoring the forgotten mothers of puppy mill dogs on Saturday, May 13 from noon to 3:00 p.m. at 4 Corners 66th & O Streets, Lincoln, Nebraska. Posters will be provided.
However, if you are not located near Lincoln, Nebraska, the chances are excellent that there is a pet store near you selling puppies obtained from a horrible puppy mill. This Mother’s Day, gather your mom, your family, your friends, and fellow animal lovers and start a protest of your own. Make signs and hand-outs with maps to the closest animal shelter, and peacefully remind pet store patrons of the animals that were left to suffer for those puppies in the window.
If protesting isn’t your thing, HSUS has a list of other ways you can get involved in helping bring an end to puppy mills here.
Mother’s Day is a great time to remind our moms how much we care. It’s also a great time to think of the poor moms languishing in puppy mills right now. They deserve for someone to remember them, too.
Ah, cats. Never have cats garnered more attention than in the age of social media. The hilarious antics of these cuddly fur balls are the
subject of countless photos, videos and memes. Show us someone who claims they haven’t laughed at a cat on social media, and we’ll show you
someone who has never used social media.
But there is hidden dark side behind all of those adorable cats: they have owners who cared enough to chronicle them, while millions of
cats do not. According to the Humane Society of the United States, an estimated
3.4 million cats enter U.S. shelters every year. Of those, 41% will be euthanized.