Sunday, March 23, is National Puppy Day. It’s a special day to celebrate the magic and unconditional love that puppies bring to our lives. But more importantly, it’s a day to help save orphaned puppies across the globe and educate the public about the horrors of puppy mills.
National Puppy Day was founded in 2006 by Celebrity Pet & Home Lifestyle Expert, Author, and Pet Lover Extraordinaire Colleen Paige, who is also the founder of National Dog Day, National Mutt Day, National Black Dog Day, National Cat Day and National Wildlife Day, among many others. She has devoted her life to creating special days of recognition that improve the lives of animals and their people. And now that Puppy Day has trended internationally on Twitter since 2012, it is considered a Worldwide event as well!
Why We Should All Say No to Puppy Mills
According to the Humane Society of the United States, there are over 10,000 puppy mills in the U.S., and 70% of those operate illegally. This includes many businesses that call themselves breeders such as “backyard breeders”, people who purposely allow their dog to get pregnant in hopes of selling puppies through their local paper or online. Over 2 million puppies come from these mills each year from an estimated 500,000 dogs kept at these facilities for breeding.
Puppy mills, even licensed ones, are notorious for their filthy, overcrowded conditions, and the unhealthy animals they produce. Many of the dogs suffer from malnutrition and exposure, usually remaining outside year round in tiny cages, enduring both freezing temperatures in the winter and intense heat in the summer and denied basic veterinary care. These dogs are often bred until they are no longer useful, and then are simply disposed of like garbage.
Pet stores that sell designer puppies are the number one reason that so many puppy mills exists today. To end puppy mills, you can peacefully organize and convince each and every pet store to stop selling puppies and the mills will go out of business. Another method is to contact your government representatives and get legislation passed to outlaw puppy mills once and for all!
Choose Responsible Breeders
Responsible breeders have a limited number of litters per year, they care for their animals like their own and help to keep bloodlines pure. However, people need to do their homework if they want to buy a pure breed puppy from a breeder. They need to make sure that the breeder is licensed by their city and state, has a good reputation, no BBB complaints, no law suits, valid customer testimonials, a health certificate from a reputable vet and no signs of illness with their puppies. If you’re thinking about getting a puppy from a breeder, you should always visit and see the dogs and conditions for yourself. Never buy a puppy online! When you go to visit your prospective puppy from a breeder, be wary of the following:
Bad odor/unhealthy conditions in kennel
Breeder unwilling to allow you to see the puppy’s mother and father
Puppies with weepy eyes and overall lethargy
A puppy that shows no interest in interacting with people
A skinny puppy
A limping puppy
The American Kennel Club offers tips for finding a responsible dog breeder here.
Adopt Don’t Shop!
Better yet, there are many pure breed puppies and young adult dogs that are orphaned for one reason or another and there are plenty of pure breed rescues that you can visit to give one or more of them a forever home. Thanks to overbreeding, the Humane Society stats show that a quarter of the dogs that end up in shelters are actually pure breeds, and there are plenty of pure breed rescues across the country to help you find your ideal pup. If you want a German Shepherd, there’s a rescue for that! Corgi? Yup!
And if you’re just looking for a puddle of puppy love to add to your family regardless of breed, shelters and rescues are there to help you find your perfect pup!
National Puppy Day encourages you to always consider adoption first and don’t forget the importance of spaying and neutering to reduce the overpopulation of unwanted pets and unnecessary suffering.
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