Puppy Mill Question

[mugsy]

Ok, I need your help. A fellow teacher knows of a puppy mill here in Indiana and was told by a vet that everyone knows about it and nothing is ever done. Any suggestions on how to deal with this lack of enthusiasm by the local authorities. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!! I HATE stupid people.

[gotta_hava_dog]

I can only speak from my experience around here and suggest that you contact your animal control department, or the police directly. It would probably help if you could give them some substantial evidence to support your concerns, too. At least they could pursue animal cruelty charges if conditions there warranted it. Good luck!

[aly]

If you figure something out, let me know because there also needs to be a way for someone to stop the policemen from betting at dog fighting rings.

[sammi]

Aly, Really the police bet on dog fights????? Who can you depend on anymore? That is sick

[lizbud]

Mugsy,
Please tell us the facts,Who,Where,When,
etc? I've heard of some disreputable animal
breeders in Northern Indiana who have on-
again-off again brushes with the Law on
Animal Neglect charges..The woman breeder
involved is educated & well connected
with the local vets and county law officers.
Please tell me some specifics & I'll try
my very best to help. Liz.

[mugsy]

Liz,

Ok, here we go, Her last name is Beer and she is in Syracuse (which is up by Lake Wawasee). She only deals in small breed dogs. My friend got a Scottie from her. Now that she is more educated on the matter, she won't deal with her. Does any of this sound familiar?

Thanks!

[lizbud]

No that is not the same person I was
thinking of;This one is Ms. Mullins-Murphy.
She has bred all breeds but mainly large
breed ,Shepherds & Golden Retrievers. She was
driven out of the Indianapolis area(Legally)
and moved her business to Tippecanoe County,
(Lafayette).After much legal manovering &
public outcry( when the local Press exposed
the horrid conditions in which the dogs
were kept)She again left that area & now
operates in Rob Roy, Indiana(Fountain Cty).
The are some excellant articles about this
www.geocities.com/Heartland/Woods/4423

Warning...The press did an excellant job
with the pictures of her "kennel set-up"..

[ November 27, 2001: Message edited by: lizbud ]

[jackiesdaisy1935]

I think contacting the local TV station and the newspaper would help. Usually they are looking for a new story and perhaps they could run an article which would force the animal control and police to do something.
I'm always amazed at the lack of concience these people have who feel money is more important than life.
Jackie

[purrley]

Aly - I'm horrified - are there really dog fighting rings here in the U.S. They must be really hush hush - I thought this practice was outlawed years ago. I do know that every now and again a cock fighting ring gets busted. How can we eliminate all these horrid practices all together?

[aly]

Yes, there's a dog fighting ring in my city If you go to the city shelter, you can walk through and see some of the losers from the fights, covered in scars. Then last week I found out that at the shelter, before they euthanize the dogs, they will fight some of them.

Ugh, I gotta stop. Its too awful.

[purrley]

Aly - could you find out who your local animal activists are (even though some are really radical, but seems you need them right now) and sic them on these awful rings???

[wolflady]

mugsy and lizbud, being a native Hoosier myself, this hit close to home. Indiana is one of the states where puppy mills are illegal and something should be done to bring puppy millers to justice!! This is a topic that I'm very passionate about, so please bear with me...I just wish we could stop this breeding for profit!!!

There is a no puppy mills site for Indiana at: http://www.angelfire.com/in3/nopuppymills/ and it contains information about Indiana's statues on animal abuse and other info. I got the Indiana link from the parent page at http://www.nopuppymills.com/ There is a lot of great info here about USDA, puppymills, brokers, etc. One thing I found very useful is the Research a website link. It's on the left hand menu, but I'm also going to post the contents here because you may find it immediately useful. It will give you some info about researching a breeder's website and some red flags to look for. There is also a link to the Who Is function that allows you to find out who owns a particular website (and if they have multiple for different breeds of dogs...red flag!!) The reverse phone number tool is also pretty handy!!
If possible, get as much info about this suspected puppy miller and some evidence and bring it to the attention of your animal control!!! Please let us know what happens!
Aly, that's absolutely horrible about the policemen getting involved in dog-fighting!!!@@$#$@# What a disgrace!!!
http://www.nopuppymills.com/researching_a_website.htm

NoPuppyMills.com

Dedication to Education

Researching a Website

Many commercial breeders are now using the internet to sell puppies. They get twice the money they got from brokers and the customer never sees how their dogs are kept. Any puppies that aren't sold by 8 weeks are brokered.

So what is a person to do? How do they know they are not supporting the suffering of adult breeding dogs? How can they tell if a place is a puppy mill?

There are many red flags that you should watch for. Everyone's opinion of a puppy mill differs, so you must decide what is acceptable to you. The most important thing to me is that the adults are properly cared for and the puppies are healthy. Here are some questions to ask of a breeder when considering buying a puppy over the internet:

1. Are you the breeder of these puppies? Many 'brokers' are now online, selling other people's puppies for them.

2. How many adult dogs do you and your family own and co-own? Be sure to ask about the family. Many puppy mills put dogs in friends and families' names so to avoid detection by USDA, state, and AKC inspectors.

3. How many breeds do you have? Some good breeders may raise more than one breed, but these are few and far between. Normally a breeder specializes in one breed and knows everything about that breed.

4. Are you state or USDA licensed? Many states require breeders of all kinds to be licensed, but USDA only requires breeders to be licensed if they have over 3 breeding females and sell through brokers and pet stores. So if someone is USDA licensed, they are probably a commercial kennel.

5. Can I call you and talk? This is the best way to get a good idea what a breeder is about. If for some reason they won't give you their phone number, DON'T BUY A PUPPY FROM THEM. Don't let them call you...get their phone number and call them!

After these initial questions, you should have a feel for whether you want to buy from that breeder. But remember, the internet is full of lies. While one website may show that they raise only Yorkies, the person may have opened up 5 or 6 other websites for other breeds. Here are some tools to research the integrity of a internet breeder:

Who Is--a great way to find out who owns a website. This will only work if the website name is actually owned by an individual. There are plenty of free websites out on the web and you will not be able to find who actually owns a website through free sites (Geocities, Angelfire, etc.). To use Who Is, click on the link below and in the search box, type only the website name, like "NoPuppyMills.com", do not add http or www.
http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois

Reverse Phone Number-- Another great tool. Use this to see who a phone number belongs to:
http://www.infospace.com/_1_4M7FUOP0...m?pgtarg=pplrl

Once you know who you are dealing with, you can use the other links provided on my website for researching breeders, brokers, AKC suspensions, USDA licenses, USDA Press Releases, etc. Don't be afraid to ask questions of a breeder. Ask them if they keep their dogs on wire. Ask them how many times the dam has been bred. When you get them on the phone, ask them the sire and dam's name. This usually throws a lot of commercial kennels because they seldom name their dogs for anything other than paper work. The dogs go by assigned USDA numbers. Ask for references of past puppies they sold. Ask their vet's name and number. You are buying a puppy that will live with your family for the next 10-20 years. Don't be in a hurry. Research your breed. Consider a rescue. Do your research and you should end up with a happy, healthy, loving puppy that comes from a reputable breeder.

[lizbud]

I couldn't find the name or the town Mugsy mentioned on the USDA website listing of registered breeders..What did your co-worker
say that indicated a "puppy mill " rather
than a "questionable breeder"? How many dogs
did the woman have for breeding,what were
their circumstances ?
You know this whole subject is sooo sad &
depressing to anyone who loves amimals,and
we read each story and weep for them; but
really think that there is nothing we as
individuals can do to stop the cruelty &
exploitation of of these Noble , Loyal and
Trusting friends of mankind.. WRONG !
Please go to the site that Marius's Mom
mentioned earlier, www.nopuppmills.com
and if you only read one thing, click on
"People Always Ask Me".It's a 3 min read
that shows us that everyone has a gift to
give back to these animals that give us so much...
We can all help in different ways.

[ November 27, 2001: Message edited by: lizbud ]

[ November 27, 2001: Message edited by: lizbud ]

[lizbud]

Sorry, I was incorrect on the last post.
Please click on "what is a puppy mill".
No Sad Pictures, only Good Information...
Thanks, Liz.