A puppy mill dog spends their life used for breeding on an intensive basis with little to no human comfort. In inhumane conditions these animals are used solely for profit. Puppy mills often go undiscovered due to a lack of tracking of these mass breeders and the minimal changes to Canada’s Cruelty to Animals Act from 1892.
Oakridge Animal Clinic Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) Mandy explains that there is a broad range of diseases these centers can breed. Mandy understands that with today’s technology, puppy mills have new ways of selling their dogs more easily. Through online sale sites like Kijiji, puppy mill owners are able to more easily fly under the radar when selling dogs. Mandy wants people to realize that “the pictures of the parents shown online are not necessarily the actual dogs,” there is no credibility necessary to post online and “the conditions could be very different from what they appear,” Mandy says.
Online listings of “puppies for sale”
Rescue initiatives like London’s Second Chance Auction Animal Rescue, also known as SCAAR, are working towards helping to give puppy mill dogs a second chance at life. SCAAR member Jason Gibbs has seen many diseases brought by puppy mill survivors. He wants to focus on “adopt, don’t shop” and creating homes for dogs in need, rather than making new puppies when there is no place for them.
Although dogs are being rehabilitated after leaving the puppy mills and hopes are high for better lives, RVT Mandy asks us to remember the dogs that live the entirety of their lives in the mills. Currently, while it is illegal to willfully permit pain to an animal under Canadian law, puppy mills are not closely watched over and often go overlooked. Educating oneself in proper breeders and resisting buying from unreliable sources is the first step to helping these animals.
WATCH: Preventing your contribution to puppy mills
