The following public service announcement is from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). It deals with the sensitive subject of puppy mills.
These are essentially locations that mass breed puppies of popular species for sale at pet stores across the nation. Anyone who’s ever stood before the front window of a pet store and watched a group of adorable puppies climbing over themselves in a large fish tank has watched the product of puppy mills. Obviously, the puppies are lovable little fuzz balls that many people purchase and take home.
So what’s the problem? The problem is that not every puppy gets purchased. Like any retailer, be they clothing, toy store, grocer, or even a bicycle dealer, pet shops are not able to sell their entire inventory of puppies.
If a toy store isn’t able to move all of its inventory of plushy toys, it can discard the remainder to make room for next year’s model toys. Sadly, the same holds true for the pet store puppies. The ones which do not get purchased will likely meet a fate that is better left unsaid. This is because the puppies are literally discarded as if they were refuse.
That is why the message of this announcement by the ASPCA is so timely. With the holiday season only weeks away, dog lovers and concerned citizens everywhere need to eschew these pet store puppy displays. Only by using the “power of the purse” can consumers do their part to deter the practice of running puppy mills.