This is from the Chicago Tribune. I wish there were no "puppy mills" and no irresponsible breeders in this world. Unrealistic, I know. Maybe things will start to improve for the better.
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States begin unleashing crackdown on 'puppy mills'
By Eric Olson
Associated Press
June 4, 2007
OMAHA -- Bob Baker has seen the worst of the worst in his 27 years as an animal cruelty investigator.
There was the Missouri breeder who would skimp on food by skinning dead dogs and feeding them to other dogs in his kennel. There was the South Dakota breeder who amputated the leg of a pregnant Rottweiler, injured in an attack by another dog, in hopes that the Rottweiler would survive long enough to give birth to another litter.
Baker says such cases are the exception but adds that mistreatment of dogs in large-scale breeding operations remains common and troubling.
"Most breeders learn how to keep their standards just above violating cruelty statutes, but the conditions are still unacceptable," said Baker, a St. Louis-based national investigator for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
State legislators across the nation are attempting to crack down on rogue breeding operations and pet sellers.
The week after the May 16 rescue of 173 dogs from the property of a Dawson County man, the Nebraska Legislature passed a law that increased the number of state kennel inspectors from one to four and requires new operations to be inspected before opening.
Mass breeding has been a hot-button issue for decades with animal-welfare activists, who use the term "puppy mills" to describe the most unsavory of operations, which usually are situated in rural areas.
The Humane Society of the United States has long identified Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ohio and Pennsylvania as the major puppy-mill states, said outreach director Stephanie Shain.
Of the 7 million to 9 million dogs brought into U.S. families each year, Shain said, an estimated 2 million to 4 million are products of puppy mills.
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Tips for dog buyers
The Humane Society of the United States suggests looking for dog breeders who:
*Keep dogs in the home as part of the family, not outside in kennel runs.
*Have dogs who appear happy and healthy and excited to meet new people.
*Breed only one or two types of dogs and are knowledgeable about what are called breed standards.
*Provide references from other families.
*Are actively involved with local, state and national clubs that specialize in the specific breeds.
*Provide a written contract and health guarantee.
More information can be found on the society's Web site www.hsus.org
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It's about time
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