May 27th, 2010
Can anyone explain why the USDA will NOT step in and help the dogs and puppies in the mills? There has been so much evidence of mills abusing and neglecting these animals. Many of these animals are dying horrible deaths. Most people have heard about these atrocities. The flip side, they go into a pet store to buy something for their animal. When they are there they see the poor puppy eyes looking at them. At that very moment they feel they need to buy this puppy and give it a good home. They forget where the puppy came from. It is a vicious cycle. I like what they have done in West Hollywood California. The stores only sell puppies that come from shelters or rescues. Click here to learn how you can do the same thing in your community.
This past week there was a report about the USDA failing to cut down on puppy mills. They detail the horrific conditions and lax enforcement. If you would like to read this article, click here.
There was also a show on Animal Planet that exposed Petland puppies. Since the airing of that show they have had so many people coming forward telling them stories about the health issues, and medical challenges, their puppies have had. In addition, the cost to care for these animals.
So many stories were sent in describing what it has been like for the owners of these puppies since they purchased their new family member. The stories include Bailey, a Cairn terrier (pictured here), who became deathly ill and had to be hospitalized after she was purchased in Texas, and Little Red, who reportedly had the worst hip dysplasia her veterinarian had ever seen.
On the positive side, hopefully this show will get people to do more research on the stores and breeders of puppies. Even people in your community might have a small mill going and you don’t even know it.
If you would like to read more about this, or know of a puppy that you want to report because they have medical issues, click here.
Over the past few weeks I have had so many conversations regarding our world and where we are headed. I have always said, “Humans are blessed with an exceptional brain. We have made wonderful advances in technology, medicine, etc. At the same time, we also seem to use it to destroy the world and harm innocent animals. Right now we are harming and destroying at the same time (oil drilling, polluting the waters and killing all kinds of fish and wildlife).
I came up with the name of my show, “Animal Connection” because I know animals and humans are connected. I never realized the timing of my show would be so perfect with the events going on in our society, in such an extreme way. One major issue, once we destroy this earth that’s it. No matter how much money anyone has, we can’t replace it!
The animals were here long before we were. We should respect them and not use them for profit. Someone said to me, “We should go back to the times of Little House on the Prairie”. I’m starting to believe that’s not such a bad idea, although it was a very hard life!
I don’t know what the answer is. We don’t seem to be able to get along and respect other humans (look at the wars). How do we expect people to respect animals?
I have been horrified by puppy mills for many years and do not understand how they can get away with what they do!!!
The more publicity puppy mills get, the more people are repulsed by them and we will make the necessary changes. This issued needs to stay in media’s face to get the word out. And we need to keep encouraging our politicians on these issues.
Donna, I couldn’t agree with your comment more. Ole and you seem to be saying the same thing. No matter what we do to this planet, it will survive. The Earth survived millions of years being bombarded by asteroids and became beautiful like it is now. Like Donna said, saving the planet really means saving ourselves. Heck, they say in 500 billion years the sun will die out and there won’t be any trace left of Earth.
How you live your life in relation to animals and the Earth is the question. It really doesn’t matter if we’re not here in a billion years, it matters how we act in the here and now.
I saw online today on MSNBC – scientists have found plumes or giant blobs of oil floating under the ocean surface in the Gulf Mexico. The largest is 27 miles wide by 10 miles deep. BP drilled in deep ocean – through ocean depths of several miles – then through 3 miles of bedrock with little provision for fall back if something went wrong – because nothing could go wrong. It sounds like the engineers who designed the Titanic. I am sickened by those who say “accidents happen” – “the government has it’s boot on the throat of BP”. BP consistently puts profit in front of safety and the environment. The greatest gift we has is Plant Earth. And it is all we have. In Genesis it says man is give dominion over the earth. Dominion means to live in harmony.
My opinion? Nothing is ever black and white. People who abuse animals need to be shut down and hit with the book, there is no doubt about it. There is, however, no definition for a ‘puppy mill’.
Some animal rights groups would have the public believe that anyone who breeds animals for a profit is going to abuse and neglect them. Thoughtful people know better. Working with animals and making a living from animal breeding does not make someone an abuser. Owning pets is ok. Selling animals is ok. So is having a steak dinner. There are some larger dog breeders who actually do things right–they are not puppy mills. Their dogs are cared for, exercised, groomed, and kept humanely.
There’s a war brewing, and we’re all going to be in the middle of it. Be VERY careful of whose side you are on, because the enemy wants you to unknowingly be on their side. Their goal is nothing less than the total end to animal agriculture and the total end to pet ownership. They have stated this in publicly recorded comments. Their actions show a progression towards this goal.
They are the animal rights movement, most specifically PETA and the HSUS. Take everything they tell you with a grain of salt–they are experts at social engineering, they are experts are propaganda, and they can be very clever.
These organizations are no friend to pet owners. PETA euthanizes huge numbers of animals, and places scant few in homes. They believe animals are better off dead than in the hands of typical families. HSUS gives less than 1% of its budget to shelters–they do not run any shelters, and they do not care for animals. The majority of their funds go toward lobbying. Among their current fronts of attack are the poultry industry, the dairy industry, promotion of mandatory spay/neuter laws, and an end to the trade in pet reptiles.
Yes, we absolutely need to police our own, as people who work in animal industries. If you see abuses, do not keep silent. Make sure that those who actually abuse or neglect animals are punished. But whatever you do, don’t support HSUS or PETA along the way.
The Earth isn’t being destroyed. Humans don’t have that power. We’re just making it mighty uncomfortable for ourselves. We may end our species and many others, but there have been worse extinction events on Earth, and there will be again. Life will recover. It always does. We’re living in the middle of an ice age for this planet–it’s pretty inhospitable right now, in comparison with some periods in the past. That’s part of the reason why every ecosystem we contaminate or alter is so dire for us. It can’t just spring back.
One thing is more than certain–once we make a place so bad that we can’t survive there….
It often does great. We were actually worse for it than whatever contamination remains behind. Look at Chernobyl. It’s lush, teeming with wildlife…they’re not in perfect genetic condition, not all of them, but they’re doing ok. They’re adapting, and they’re thriving in our absence. Even radiation can’t stop life, it just adapts.
So the Earth will be fine. “Saving the Planet” REALLY means saving ourselves, make no mistake about it. We’re the ones that can’t sleep in a bed we’ve messed in. The Earth has been through periods when there were no ice caps, and through periods when the oceans themselves were completely frozen over from pole to pole, and life went on. We are the ones who can’t adapt.
I am a very successful business owner. Now. in some ways, I see how I have impacted this world as well. I do manufacturing of products that people use in their homes everyday. I am looking at new ways to make the products without doing more harm to our planet. You are 100% correct, once we destroy the world there won’t be anything left. I am not concerned about my generation, but it’s my children and grand children that have to live with this mess. My worry for them is not money, they are set, but what good is the money when their environment is destroyed. Thank you for what you are doing and the issues you bring up.
We are all connected, just like you say.
Have a safe holiday weekend.
I strongly blieve on this concept. One day this earth will be destroyed. No matter how much money anyone has, we can’t replace it.
Find another planet. Wait, we’ll destroy that too. We are just too aggressive and greedy a species to change, I fear. I am not trying to be negative or stir up anything but it is the sad facts as I see them. I am with you, Donna, there needs to be something done. Our government and more people need to become involved. More need to spay/neuter their pets and stop considering animals as commodities! They are living, breathing, feeling beings very similar (not the same) to us!
If more people could be educated to understanding animals and perhaps learn they are emotional creatures, there can be a difference. Most of us wouldn’t think twice about striking our spouse or children. Why not the same about our pets who are also family members? Once that mentality is established, hopefully there would be less abuse and neglect. People may stop puppy mills, dog fighting, etc.
Ignorance is rampant. For all our evolution, we are still an ignorant race.
The earth will be here long after we’re gone. Human overpopulation will end, forests will grow, and ice ages and temperate climate cycles will continue. We’re but a blip on the timeline of space and we’ll be gone before we’re even noticed.
That said, the question is ‘How do we create sustainability, and a great life while we’re here?’ The idea that we shouldn’t use the resources here to our advantage is just silly. That we shouldn’t use animals for profit (and what exactly is ‘profit’ anyway – we profit from the love and affection that we get from our pets, don’t we?) from our relationships with animals is shortsighted.
Where would we be had we not domesticated oxen to plow our fields? Horses for transportation throughout time? Dogs for protection? Have they not benefited from the discovery of medicines that we provide for our pets? Would you go back to a time where feral cats and dogs just roamed freely and packs endangered the weak? I think not.
So, as long as we desire the cutest dog, the most beautiful cat, a ferret that has no reason for being domesticated, store owners will find a way to propogate and sell them to us. And as long as we buy them at all, even from a shelter, there will be more to go into the shelters.
I don’t have the answer. But, the more I read your articles, the less I want to read them. They tend to the alarmist, to the negative that is/has happened, rather than the myriad of things that are wonderful about our relationship with animals over time. They build resentment and disgust rather than love and true affection. I, for one, would like to see more of the other side of the equation in your stories.
You must be living under a rock or you have no idea what is going on in the world because of a brain injury!!!
This is a great site, showing all sides to different stories. That is what I like about it. She brings issues to the public and ALSO gives people like me ideas on how I can make a difference in my own world. This must be the first time you have come to this site. I invite you to continue coming and opening your mind. You will learn what is really going on in the world.
Ole, I cannot help but feel sorry for you. You have such a dim view of things yet you also struggle with even your own opinion. You are correct, the world will continue long after we are gone but there is no harm in making things right. I see no alarmist undertones in this site. However, what I do see is a concerned person seeking support for helping these poor creatures. What you are discussing is perpetuating continued expoitation of these creatures that look to us for help.
The harm is in the conditions many puppy-mills are in. The conditions cause disease and increase the maladies in pets. If we can provide a better quality of life to these creatures, then we should focus our resources on that rather than selfishness and profit. Making a living is one thing. Making a killing on the demise of others is not only inhumane but immoral!
I invite you to open your mind to this concept. Put yourself in the position of these creatures. There is no doubt they suffer at our profit. That’s where profit is wrong.
Humans seem to mess up this world more than help it these days. I also wonder why we are here if we are just going to continue to destroy it? If humans would get out of the way and let the world be the way it should be, we would be so much better off. Thank you for doing your part to make the world a better place to live in.
This article really got my hackles up. Why is it that this country can’t seem to enforce the laws that are on the books. When they inspected these breeders, they knew they were in violation but chose to be lenient. They said that their aim was to educate the violators. The breeders know they are killing these animals – they just don’t care. It seems that no one is has any personal responsibility anymore and our gov’t is too soft on criminals.
Mitakuye Oyasin!
Mitakuye Oyasin is a Lakota Sioux prayer. The phrase translates as “all my relations.” It is a prayer of oneness and harmony with all forms of life: other people, animals, birds, insects, trees and plants, and even rocks.
Aho Mitakuye Oyasin….All my relations. I honor you in this circle of life with me today. I am grateful for this opportunity to acknowledge you in this prayer….
To the Creator, for the ultimate gift of life, I thank you.
To the mineral nation that has built and maintained my bones and all foundations of life experience, I thank you.
To the plant nation that sustains my organs and body and gives me healing herbs for sickness, I thank you.
To the animal nation that feeds me from your own flesh and offers your loyal companionship in this walk of life, I thank you.
To the human nation that shares my path as a soul upon the sacred wheel of Earthly life, I thank you.
To the Spirit nation that guides me invisibly through the ups and downs of life and for carrying the torch of light through the Ages. I thank you.
To the Four Winds of Change and Growth, I thank you.
You are all my relations, my relatives, without whom I would not live. We are in the circle of life together, co-existing, co-dependent, co-creating our destiny. One, not more important than the other. One nation evolving from the other and yet each dependent upon the one above and the one below. All of us a part of the Great Mystery.
Thank you for this Life.
Love it, thanks!
You are so good at directing people to places where we can help and make a difference. I am so excited about your show. If your posts and information are this good, I can only imagine what your show will be like. Thank you for never giving up on the animals and helping everyone with ideas to make the world a better place.
God bless you!
You’re providing a great service here, thank you! Apparently we all need frequent reminders about puppy mills, till they don’t exist anymore. (And kitten mills? I never hear about those. And asimilar situation with the PMU foals, the unwanted ‘surplus’ from hormone manufacturers.)
Please do keep up all your important work!