Puppy mills aren't often associated with good terms and the thought of happy, healthy, and well treated animals. Even people who do not have a strong background or knowledge on puppy mills generally make the assumption that these breeders involve cruelty to animals and inhumane conditions and treatments. The ASPCA defines a puppy mills as "a large-scale commercial dog breeding facility where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dogs."(ASPCA). Puppy mills in the United States are very strongly associated with the inhumane treatments of dogs leading to illness in animals, unfair and wrongful situations for consumers, and much more. The ill and immoral treatments of these animals needs to be brought more openly to the public's attention and solutions need to be a higher priority. Puppy mill use in the United States needs to be shut down and made illegal for the sake and well-being of the breeding dogs in the facility, dogs bred there, and the consumers who buy dogs from these puppy mills.

According to The Humane Society of the United States "puppy mills originated in the post-World War II era".(HSUS) They became more popular for the use of creating purebred puppies to meet the demand from consumers. As the business grew they began to sell to pet departments which led to the creation of pet store chains. Once chains began buying from these mills the demand for more puppies increased which created the ignorance many of these breeders have for the dogs health. Since then puppies and breeding dogs are usually housed in chicken coops or rabbit cages allowing them no room to move, and they aren't let out to play or move around either. Along with poor living conditions when the dogs are ill or injured it is usually looked over and no medical health from veterinarians is received. The Humane Society of the United States began to look further into the animals in these breeders and thus created the Animal Welfare Act which was signed in 1966 and "is the only Federal law in the United States that regulates the treatment of animals in research, exhibition, transport, and by dealers."(AWIC). While puppy mills must meet the requirements of the United States Department of Agriculture to receive their license under the Animal Welfare Act the standards they must meet are much less than what most people think of as safe living standards. According to Jessica Remitz, a journalist for Pet360, having such low requirements, that aren't often even held, leads to the subpar living circumstances in these facilities which is what creates dogs that "are often exposed to and suffer from a broad spectrum of illnesses and diseases including upper respiratory infections, canine parvovirus, distemper and giardia, which can be transmitted to people."(Remitz). With no medical help available to the dogs along with insufficient living arrangements these animals are left to suffer in completely unfair ways. 

A writer for The Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, Kailey Burger, explains how puppy mills are used to "prioritize profitability at the expense of their animals' wellbeing."(Burger). In her article, "Solving The Problem Of Puppy Mills: Why The Animal Welfare Movement's Bark Is Stronger Than Its Bite," Burger also describes how the priority of profitability leads to the breeders, seeking the most affordable means of production possible, [creating] deplorable and unsafe living conditions for their animals."(Burger) As these puppy mills increase their profitability by also forcing these dogs to breed as much as possible to create the most amount of puppies they can increases the amount of dogs that need adopted as well. While these mills are increasingly sending puppies out to pet stores all over the amount of animals euthanized each year is still insane. Over the past few decades pet over-population has decreased, but we're still having around "three to four million dogs and cats euthanized each year for lack of homes in animal shelters,"(HSUS) according to the HSUS. However, the puppy mill industry is sending out about "two to four million puppies per year ...  flooding the market with puppies who are often poorly bred and whose parents will spend their entire lives in small wire cages."(Remitz). 

The living conditions in these mills is what leads to the illnesses and diseases these animals often obtain nowadays. Some of the common illnesses and diseases include: "epilepsy, heart disease, kidney disease, endocrine disorders, blood disorders, deafness, eye problems, and musculoskeletal disorders."(ASPCA). It is not uncommon for the breeding dogs to spend their entire lives pent up in their small wire cage stacked one on top of the other. Slowly beginning to live their lives in their own feces and urine, rarely cleaned if ever, not given the chance to walk around, and facing the fact that once they are no longer able to breed they will most likely be killed. Pamela Sacks, the author of "Puppy Mills: Misery for Sale," found that most of "the dogs are bred during first heat and every six months thereafter until their reproductive capacity drops at the age of four or five; then they are killed."(Sacks) Being a dog rather than a human being does not make it appropriate to be treated in such inhumane ways that clearly ruin their lives. Knowing that animals are living beings, have feelings, and needs should be enough to let society know that it is not moral to put them through this suffering and inhumane treatments when there is no way it would be tolerated if we treated humans in these ways. 

These horrible living conditions inside these mills and breeders can also be linked to some psychological damage done to these animals. Franklin D. McMillian, the author of  "Mental Health of Dogs Formerly Used As 'Breeding Stock' In Commercial Breeding Establishments," describes an experiment that concludes the relationship between the living arrangements of dogs in these mills and their psychological states. The study she describes was the first one to prove that "dogs maintained in these environments [are] reported to develop long-term fears and phobias, compulsive behaviors such as circling and pacing, possible learning deficits, and are often unable to cope fully with normal existence."(McMillan). Along with psychological damage to the animals involved, these puppy mill industries can lead to emotional damage and hurt to the consumers of these dogs. Stephanie Savino, student author of "Puppy Lemon Laws: Think Twice Before Buying That Doggy In The Window," paints a picture of the experience a family may go through while purchasing a dog from a puppy mill or breeder. The puppy the family had bought in the circumstance Savino explains, has a clean bill of health and then "catastrophe [struck]."(Savino). "The new puppy has developed a limp and can no longer run, jump, or play."(Savino) This left the children devastated and the family concerned and confused with what was happening to their newest addition to their family. Not only leaving the family with emotional damage, they had thousands of dollars in medical and veterinary bills due to the condition of the puppy. 

Although puppy mills have a close relationship with inhumane treatments and ignorance towards animals there are some positive sides to them. Alike how they came around to fill the demand for purebred dogs they have that positive factor towards them. Many people who want a specific breed of dog will look into a puppy mill or breeder to find that dog. However, finding that dog could be all they want or it could result in them receiving an ill dog that may not live long or could cause an increase in costs due to veterinary bills for the ill puppy. By purchasing a dog from these places it also signifies the acceptance of how these facilities treat their animals which is not ethical. Another plus of the use of puppy mills is they are often used to create service dogs, but it could still end in the same situation with a sick dog that needs more medical care. 

Considering every argument has more than one side, there are altering views on animal suffering and how we get to that result. Many people in society have the view that puppy mills are one of the things creating the suffering for the animals inside of them. Stepping back a little further and thinking of where puppy mills come from allows for a different view on where that suffering could be coming from though. Tom Reagan, the author of, "The Case for Animal Rights," explains his perspective that we as human beings view animals as our resources"(Reagan) rather than actual living beings. By viewing these animals as being here for us to "eat, surgically manipulate, and exploit for sport or money"(Reagan) we are setting these animals up for inevitable suffering. By taking this stance and seeing the reality of what we as a society view animals as allows us to see the amount of suffering we impede on these animals. However, the use of puppy mills in the United States is still setting these animals up for completely immoral treatments rather than the viewpoint of allowing a farm animal to live and eat and then be slaughtered for food for humans. These puppies are just left in terrible conditions for no reason other than to breed until death which can be seen in a different view from Reagan's claim that we set animals up for suffering by eating them and using them for things like science. 

Knowing how dogs are treated in these facilities, the amount they're neglected, and how they are expected to live allows an insight on how much they suffer each day of their lives. It really cannot be considered moral and ethical in any way to sit back and let these animals suffer in ways that no animal or human should. If you had to think of your own dog being placed in a small cage and used to breed more puppies at an insane rate for the rest of their life it's heartbreaking. Throughout time there have been many cases where a family purchases a dog from a pet store thinking all is well and then shortly after the dog either falls incredibly ill or dies. Often times when they take the dog into the veterinarian after they find out the breeder it had been bred at had several other dogs with the same conditions and illnesses. In those situations all that is gained is a sick or dead animal, emotionally hurt family, and expenses due to the state of the animal. Creating harm to the animal and the consumer in these cases is neither moral nor ethical and can be avoided with the riddance of puppy mills. However the continuing grow of pet stores and people buying their dogs from these pet stores just allows the cycle to grow and increases the flow of animals from mills to pet stores. 

Clearly the puppy mill industry needs to shut down, but until that can be obtained they really need to be regulated more closely to keep the conditions for the animals safer and cleaner. To become closer to the goal of shutting the puppy mill industry down there are many ways to go about it in a way that anyone can join the movement in ways that aren't extreme. By simply making people more aware of the situation and problem it can help create less of an attraction to pet store animals. Allowing people to understand where the dog they're purchasing in the pet stores is coming from and how the animals are treated in those facilities can create more and more people to stop and think before going to a local pet store chain to purchase a dog. Instead of going to the chain pet store they may decide to go to an animal shelter alike the SPCA. 

Making people more aware of the issues with puppy mills can be done in many different ways. Things as simple as posting flyers on a wall of a building you work in, veterinarian office, or a library can help inform people of the problems behind the scenes. There are also more straight forward approaches like going to a pet store chain like PetSmart or Petland and asking them to host an adoption for shelter dogs from places like the SPCA instead of buying the dogs from the breeders. Making donations is an option that requires little to no time at all. By making donations you're able to help support the fight against puppy mills while giving dogs that came from the breeders the ability to have better lives. Many people who receive sick dogs from pet stores or directly from the breeders report the breeder or pet store which helps other people know that they cannot be trusted and should not purchase an animal from their either. There is also the option of taking a direct approach and going to talk to government officials to pass stricter laws on the supply of dogs to pet stores from the dog breeders. 

Many of the ways to raise awareness, the spread of sick puppies, and the use of the puppy mill industry in total are relatively easy and available to everyone. Although so many of these options are doable and non-strenuous many people are left with the question of why should I actually participate and spend my time in this way. It's understandable considering how much does it truly affect our everyday lives? It doesn't change the way you go to work in the morning or what you have for lunch during the day, but it does affect you when you decide you want to buy that puppy in the window and when you bring it home only to find out its severely ill. 

There are so many ways that we can raise awareness and try to fix these issues relating to puppy mills, but the reality of the situation isn't always so simple. Yes, we can hope that raising awareness and taking a stand against the puppy mill industry will create some changes for animal welfare and safety. Stepping back, however, and looking at the reality of the situation we're able to see the struggles that actually come with the regulation of these laws and perspective laws. Karen Gormley and Jim Berry, the authors of the article, "Animal Welfare," describe how as a society we have many hopes for regulating animal welfare, but the reality is that so many "of these position statements are given a cursory glance and then relegated to a position on the bottom of the paper pile on our desks."(Gormley). However hard it may be to actually regulate these laws and changes it still is something that must be done to improve the situations of these animals. By "encouraging [governments] to move on any legislation to eradicate puppy mills is to rally public opinion,"(Gormley) which is where "veterinarians in private practice can use position statements and daily interactions with clients to educate them on the issue of puppy mills and the selection of their new pets."(Gormley). By taking the approach Gormley and Berry address in the example it allows for progressive change in the way puppy mills can sell and maintain these animals. 

Sitting back and thinking that since you aren't directly affected most of the time by the use of puppy mills does not make it ethical to allow these animals to suffer. Taking a stand of some sort whether it be making a five dollar donation or speaking to your government official can dramatically change the lives of these animals while taking a step in the right direction to end puppy mills. It may not be the first thing to come to mind when thinking of how to better the world, but taking the stand to end animal cruelty and the puppy mill industry can change the lives of these animals, animals to come, and it is the right and moral thing to do. Taking advantage of animals for the profit of human beings is not ethical and can be stopped or slowed down in so many different ways that people need to take advantage and start to make a change for the suffering animals. 

