I read a lot. I think that in order to be an effective animal welfare advocate, you need to be self-educated. I read a lot of blogs and articles related to animal issues not only to stay informed on what I call animal current events, but just to expand my knowledge base. I do my best to present researched content on my website, but I do not put myself forth as a subject matter expert on any of the topics I cover. I leave that up to my contacts who are much more informed than I could ever hope to be. Some of my reading is of books written by people I consider those subject matter experts. I have a small library made up of my go-to book sources which I find myself going back to again and again, almost like consulting trusted textbooks or treatises. I learned of a new-to-me book recently as a result of a blog I wrote on the topic of animal rescuers who spend thousands (and sometimes hundreds of thousands) of dollars for puppy mill dogs at auctions, outbidding everyone in the tent, while still calling it “rescue.” I do not call it rescue. I call it brokering. In any event, my blog led to a number of comments, some of which were made by my new contact: Becky Monroe. Becky is the author of a wonderful book called “Bark Until Heard: Among the Silenced Dogs I Found My Voice.” I honesty didn't know what to expect when I began Becky's book. A lot of what I read is heavily based on research and studies and philosophies about different issues. Becky's book is nothing like that at all, but in many ways, it was even better in terms of approach. I felt like I was reading about someone just like me. A lot of what Becky wrote about her struggles and her decisions resonated with me not because we have walked the same path, but because we both became outspoken advocates as the result of a single, life changing event. And I came to realize that when others read the book, they may see themselves in Becky’s words and they may have the courage to consider what they can do as individuals. I highly encourage anyone who considers themselves an animal lover, animal advocate, dog lover or just concerned citizen to read Bark Until Heard. I don't want to spoil the book for you, so I'll sum it up in a few short sentences, with no disrespect intended. The premise is pretty simple: Becky ended up at a puppy mill auction somewhat unexpectedly while doing volunteer work for a national animal welfare organization. She was so overwhelmed by what she saw and heard, she ended up saving a small dog she named Thorp and she was forever changed by the process. The wonderful thing about this book is that it helps us understand the reality of what Becky experienced and how it changed her on a very deep level. It shook up her personal beliefs about what was important to her and about who she was as a person. Becky has not told me as much, but I would guess that if you were to ask her about phases of her life, she would probably define them as “before” and “after” the first dog auction she ever attended. As Becky wrote: I had learned so much about life, and in the process, a metamorphosis had occurred. I was braver., louder, stronger. A single event had changed everything I knew about myself and the world I lived in. I would never be the same and I didn’t want to be. It was freeing to be part of a cause - to fight for something I believed in. The simple beauty of Becky's book is the power which stands behind it and how empowering it can be to others. Not only does the book help people understand the players involved in the dog breeding and auction industries, it also helps people realize that they too can find their voice and they too have the power to help change our society and make it a better place for the dogs we say we love and value. I asked Becky to participate in a Q&A interview with me to help people understand more about her, about how things have changed since she went to her first auction and about what her future may hold. I hope you enjoy her input here and I do hope you will take the time to read her book. It is now a personal favorite of mine. One of the most compelling aspects of your book is what you wrote about how you were completely changed by your experiences. You wrote of wishing you could go back to a time when you did not know things you now know. Have you made complete peace with your new life path? I think I have. Meeting people at book signings, who are inspired to act and to help the dogs, has shown me my mission in life. Sometimes I question why MY heart has to be so fragile for animals, but as I dig deep, I realize that it takes that kind of heart to see the real need - to understand how inhumane the treatment of dogs in puppy mills is. Sure lots of people "don't like it," but they can sleep at night. People like me wake up haunted by the images we have seen and are pushed to act. I can't help but believe that although it can be a very painful, my heart and my ability to communicate with people is MY gift to change things for animals for the better. There are those who have written about auctions in sanitized terms, making it sound as though the dogs are not that bad off or are not handled that poorly. How would you respond to those who paint this more positive picture of the auction scene? Last night Alice, my mill dog from September's auction, was snuggled tight against me in my bed. Her tongue hangs out, she doesn't have many teeth, she suffered untreated chronic dry eye for 5 years and will likely go blind in at least one eye. Emotionally, after 3 months of being in our quiet home, she still runs when someone coughs or drops a pen on the floor. She shakes when new people enter our home. She has a long way to go. But, last night as she found her perfect spot next to me, she made the sigh. That sigh rescuers understand because it seems to signal a moment of peace and comfort for the dogs who have never known it. After she sighed, my mind started to spin with all the Facebook posts from the last Missouri auction. Rescuers reporting, "broken legs, split jaws, infected eyes, prolapsed rectums." One rescuer wrote how there were two pregnant sisters and one made it to rescue and one went to an Amish miller. My eyes flooded with tears picturing the broken dogs and my heart just broke knowing that the other sister didn't get her chance at freedom - she would continue to suffer in the cruel hands of more neglect. I don't know how anyone with a heart could report that there a healthy, happy dogs at an auction. I have never seen it nor have I ever heard anyone who loves dogs say it. The mere thought of auctioning dogs (man's very best friend) as products should make a normal person's stomach turn. You wrote in your book that at the second auction you attended, 50% of the dogs were bought by rescuers and that number was 70% at the third auction. Do you have an opinion on how the presence of rescuers at auction has changed the auction process itself? Aaahhh - the million dollar question, literally. I contemplate this issue A LOT. Nearly a decade ago, when I was attending Amish auctions in northest Wisconsin, we went in with really small budgets attempting to get out the most amount of dogs. We also went in "not as rescue." We tried to just fit in with the crowd. We didn't want them to know who we were. We would wear something subtle and in common, like turtlenecks or ball caps, to help recognize each other as rescues. We never felt welcomed or wanted. We felt like such a small part of the whole operation. It was "their" thing, we were just there trying to save a few dogs. Today the arena has drastically changed. While we might have saved 70% of the dogs, I still don't think we made up 50% of the money exchanged because we bought the cheap dogs - the dogs our small budgets could afford. Yes, once in awhile I can recall a few dogs being rescued for a lot of money. Maybe $700-$1000, but I also recall those dogs vividly. One was an English bulldog in such bad shape. He actually had Band-aids on his body to try and cover his open wounds. I also remember a Shar Pei whose eyes were so infected - her eyelids were inside out. There were probably a few more, but those stuck out and every rescuer in the audience understood getting them out. Even then, the controversy over rescuing was present. There were always protesters outside of the auction and many of them disagreed with us giving a single dollar to the evil people. I remember one of the protesters coming into the barn during auction to get warm (it was -20 outside) and she said to me, "My head is out there and my heart is in here." I guess that is what I would say about the current status of rescues buying at auction. My heart completely understands the desire, the absolute need to want to give the dogs freedom, but my head is starting to question the long term consequences of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. Truly, rescues are becoming the primary consumers at auctions. When I hear that rescues are spending that kind of money and saying they will spend whatever it takes, I cringe. Simple economics teaches us that this is not the answer. Back when I went to auction, we would get dogs for $25- $50 on average. Yet at that time, I heard that rescues were getting dogs for PENNIES and NICKELS in Iowa and Missouri. This last auction, I heard the prices were astronomical. I can't help but believe rescue is responsible for raising the prices. If I knew that for a million dollars or even more we could buy EVERY SINGLE mill dog and put an end to the wretched industry, I would be on the front-line raising the money. If I knew that it was the end, I wouldn't even care if the millers all retired millionaires, but the reality is buying up all the dogs at auction is NOT ending it, but perpetuating it and increasing the profitability of it. This is not the solution. You wrote in your book about being at an auction and meeting a woman from Florida who said that she decided to attend an auction after reading your book. What is your advice to others like her who feel compelled to see an auction for themselves? Do you think there is a down side to that? I do think people should go to an auction. I think seeing it first hand makes it undeniably real. And while it is unbelievably difficult to experience, I do believe it makes people act and speak out. We need that in this movement. If every person went to an auction and bought a dog, perhaps that would not be the best solution. We would only be adding to the profitability of an industry most of us despise. Yet, seeing hundreds of dogs bought and sold like a commodity, dogs who are sick and scared and unlike dogs most people can relate to, I think could be a priceless answer to the issue. If I am going to believe in the good of humanity, I have to believe that the majority of human beings in America would stand up and scream, if they saw what I have seen. You blogged recently in your Tails and Truths blog about the Amish related to puppy mills. There are those who have suggested that we should actually help Amish dog farmers financially so they can do a better job. How do you respond to that? I would be the last person to suggest helping the Amish do anything. After seeing them in action, I feel no empathy towards them. The way they treat animals is horrific. I also want to take a minute to explain my opinion because I say in that blog that I am content blaming all Amish for puppy mills. I feel this way because no one in their community is speaking out against it. If no one in the community is against it, I must assume they are all okay with it. Being okay with the mass cruelty and neglect of companion animals, is not something I could ever support. I won't buy a single thing made by Amish or Mennonites. In fact, last summer at a farmers market I was about to purchase some tomatoes. The man (who was not Amish) selling them said, "Aren't they spectacular? I get them from an Amish family down the road." I replied, "oh, I apologize, but I don't want them anymore." He looked puzzled and said, "Why?" I said, "Because the Amish have hundreds of puppy mills across the country and I cannot support a group who believes in such cruelty." He then said, "Well, to be honest, the people who grow the tomatoes are Mennonites." I said, "They do it, too." And I walked away. There are a lot of people who will read your book and feel compelled to take some action themselves to find their own voice. What do you think are the most important things individual advocates can do to help bring an end to puppy mills? Are there any things those people should specifically not do? I hope that is what people do after reading the book. I want to inspire everyday people to act on behalf of the silenced animals. I think there are numerous things people can do depending on what they are most comfortable with. I think education and awareness are at the top. Even just sharing the story with friends and family is beneficial. I think writing letters to the editor and writing to legislators is a great way to show support. If someone wants to protest a pet store who sells mass bred dogs, I say do it! I think people willing to bring forth ordinances in their towns, counties, and states to prohibit the sale of mass bred puppies and kittens is a great way to stop the supply and demand. I also believe that volunteering in some capacity with a shelter or rescue is a great way to get involved. We all know that fostering one dog saves the lives of at least 2. I think that getting involved in any part of the animal welfare movement on a local level, will educate people on the realities of not just puppy mills, but of the 2 million adoptable animals killed for space every year. We have got to get more people on board with adopting not shopping in stores or on-line. Two of your dogs came from mills through auctions, Thorp and Penelope. How are both of them doing today? Thorp and Penelope turn 13 and 12 respectively this year. They are doing well, but still bare some scars from years in the mill. Thorp is a certified Therapy Dog and we still work with kids in our community who are emotionally and behaviorally challenged. Thorp is starting to show his age and often takes naps while we visit with the kids on the reading blanket. Penelope has always been resilient. Recently, we fostered and have since failed, another mill dog, Alice. She is a 5 year old Shih Tzu who was bought at an auction in September by a rescue I know. She was one the tougher fosters and so they asked if I would take her. Alice's tongue hangs out of her mouth due to blunt trauma she sustained in the mill. She suffers from neurological deficits. Her dry eye, a common ailment in Shih Tzu, went untreated for all her life, so we are doing everything we can to save her vision now. Beyond her health issues, she, like so many, suffers from such emotional trauma. She is terrified of humans, didn't understand grass or toys or stairs or common noises. She has come far in 3 months, but we have so far to go. However, I am very hopeful that she can be a therapy dog like Thorp, one day. Kids love her and her funny tongue. :) And, most importantly, she has that unbridled kindness and quietness to her. I also think she might just be the inspiration to a follow-up book! When you have book signings or speaking engagements about Bark Until Heard, what surprises you most about the public reaction to your message? I am always blown away when people tell me they "didn't know." They didn't know about puppy mills. They didn't know how cruel the Amish were. They didn't know pet stores were lying about where the puppies come from. On the bright side, it also gives me the greatest hope because I believe the more people who know the truth, the more likely we are to end the cruelty. I know you volunteered in an animal shelter for a number of years and that has shaped how you view the commercial dog breeding industry. My personal opinion is that the commercial breeding of dogs has a direct impact on how many dogs are destroyed in our municipal animal shelters, not because mill dogs enter shelters but because of how many dogs mills produce and public perception about them being superior in some way. Do you think there is a correlation between puppy mills and how many dogs die in shelters? I do believe without a doubt that the commercial breeding industry plays a direct role in the number of dogs killed for space each year. The millions of dogs churned out in mills secure a spot in a home, while the millions of beautiful, adoptable dogs get killed in shelters- never able to get a second chance. Honestly, I don't know what the supply and demand numbers are, but I don't buy into the concept that we need to mass breed dogs in order to meet demand. We need to stop the mass breeding and market the shelter dogs better. We need to educate people on the number of purebreds at any shelter at any given time. We need to teach people about animal adoption. Not nearly enough people know about Petfinder.com or Adoptapet.com. I find that not enough people know there are breed rescues for nearly every breed in every state. Above all else, I think people need to know that AKC papers do NOT in any way guarantee the health or the demeanor of a dog. The AKC is merely a registry. They will register any dog whose breed is accepted by them as long someone is willing to pay the fee. That AKC puppy could be born in a barn with no heat, no A/C, no medical care, no human interaction. The AKC admitted to me that they do not have the resources to inspect every AKC breeder. Do you have any plans for a new book soon? If so, what do you plan to write about? Yes! I have been mulling around a sort of sequel... I never thought Bark Until Heard would remain so relevant 8 years after my initial experience at Amish auctions, but the business of puppy mills and pet stores remains extremely timely. I have grown so much since 2008 and there are so many more organizations and individuals fighting the fight. I believe I would like to re-visit it all and show our progress and our strength. In 2008, I felt so alone and today I am grateful to be surrounded by so many great people wanting to make things better for breeding dogs. (images courtesy of Becky Monroe)
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We hear the phrases all the time: "Adopt! Don’t Shop!" and "Don’t Breed or Buy While Shelter Dogs Die!" In a perfect world more people would adopt animals from shelters and rescue groups and that would be the go-to option for most families. In that same perfect world, the only dog breeding taking place in our country would be done by responsible breeders who are in it not for the money, but to perpetuate breed standards (as compared to modifying breeds to the point where it is abusive and the dogs either cannot walk or cannot breathe). Ours is not a perfect world. A lot of people get dogs who come from puppy mills or huge dog breeding operations because they are either blinded by the cuteness they see or they don’t want to know where the dog came from or a combination of the two. There are, in fact, responsible breeders out there, none of whom would ever sell a dog in a pet store or in a Walmart parking lot. I know there are those who oppose all dog breeding. I simply do not because I think that’s unrealistic. I oppose irresponsible breeding and breeding with a focus on profit and with little or no regard for the well-being of dogs. We in rescue and advocacy tell the public one thing all the time: do not buy a dog from a pet store. Do not, do not, do not. We tell them that when they buy that cute puppy in the window, they are only perpetuating an industry which enslaves dogs in conditions that would make us sick if we saw pictures or actually went there. We also tell them to not buy dogs from web sites, newspaper ads or street corners and to engage in due diligence in dealing with local breeders to determine the conditions from which the dog came to make sure they are not inadvertently supporting a mill operation. In essence, we are zero tolerance when it comes to people buying puppy mill dogs. We encourage them to "just say no" and we judge people harshly who cave in to that cute little face in the pet store and who buy the puppy, sometimes for thousands of dollars. But what about how we behave as rescuers and advocates? Are we really any better than the public we are so quick to judge? Most of the people I know in rescue are those I would describe as purists. They either pull animals from animal shelters (most of which are kill facilities) to adopt them out to the public or they take animals directly from the public in order to find them new homes. In many cases they are taking the harder-to-place animals as opposed to younger or "cuter" animals and they function based solely on donations and with no taxpayer assistance. These people are surely aware of the concept of a dog auction but they have never attended one and would never even consider going to one. There is a faction in the rescue community, however, which engages in behavior which is not only as bad as buying a dog from a pet store, but is in some ways much, much worse as far as I'm concerned: I’m talking about rescuers who buy dogs at auction. I first touched on this topic very briefly in a blog I wrote in late July which caused quite a bit of uproar from people who don’t agree with me. I was on the receiving end of some pretty strong hostility and a lot of accusations. I’m okay with that. I will not be bullied. My opinions are my own and while I love dogs, my opinions on the topic of rescuers at dog auctions is based on reason and logic and not on my emotional attachment to dogs. I want to be perfectly clear on this subject. As much as those in rescue and advocacy circles are zero tolerance for people who buy a puppy from a pet store, I am equally zero tolerance when it comes to rescuers who pay large amounts of money for dogs at auction and call it "rescue." It is not. I’m not sure exactly what to call it other than a purchase, but it is not rescue. For me, it actually borders on a form of either collecting behavior at the worst and "ego rescue" at the least. I know that saying this will not be popular with many in the rescue community. So why bother? I’m saying it because I think it needs to be said, both for the benefit of some in the rescue community who can be reached and for the benefit of those who donate to rescues, thinking they are doing a good thing by helping a rescue group buy dogs at auction. (click on image to view as a .pdf file) In order to present my position on this topic more thoroughly, I reached out to some of my subject matter experts on the topic. These are people who have decades of collective experience in dealing with the puppy mill issue. They are rescuers and advocates with ties not only in the Amish community but in the dog breeding and dog auction community. They are active in seeking legislation related to mills and they are working hard to educate the public about how their behavior relates to changing or ending the mill industry. If you are a rescuer who is absolutely convinced that it is a great idea to solicit donations to buy dogs at auction, it is unlikely that reading this blog will change your opinion. So be it. If you are a person who has donated money to a rescue so the rescue can buy dogs at auction, you surely did so with the best of intentions. I just ask you to step away from your behavior long enough to consider what it is you really think you are achieving when you buy dogs at auction. The highlights of the input I received from my contacts are as follows. • Rescuers have changed the landscape of dog auctions. As recently as 10 years ago, the presence of rescuers and rescue groups at dog auctions was not the norm in most regions. Most of those present at auction were breeders who were at the auction to buy dogs to add to their businesses. That changed not quite 10 years ago in the Great Lakes region and about 6 years ago in the Midwest. Rescuers had an increasing presence at auction and were often easy to spot from the way they dressed, the way they behaved and the amount of money they were willing to spend on dogs. During this time, it was not uncommon for some in rescue get dogs for free, get "dollar dogs" or to get large numbers of dogs for small amounts of money (i.e., 50 dogs for $3. Yes you read that correctly). The presence of rescuers at auction is now extremely obvious to both the auction companies and to the breeders who are both fascinated by and repelled by the rescuers’ behavior. • The presence of rescuers at auction has completely changed the auction process itself. The rescuers are often paying more for dogs than the auction houses have ever seen before, and in some regions dogs are now brought to auctions with the sole purpose of being sold to rescues. Rescues have created a niche market of sorts due to their obvious presence at auction. They usually come with large sums of money and often announce their intent to "save" dogs "no matter what," sometimes focusing on specific breeds of dogs they favor. • The amount of money rescuers are paying for dogs at auction bears no relation to the amounts breeders are willing to pay for dogs at auction. In one auction, a rescuer paid $9,000 dollars for a female dog and her puppies. It is not uncommon for a rescue group to pay $30,000 to $40,000 at auction for 5 to 10 dogs. This willingness of rescuers to pay such large amounts of money truly leaves the auction houses and breeders laughing all the way to the bank. They don’t talk about it while the auction is taking place or while the rescuers are within hearing range. That would be foolish. They absolutely talk about it after the auction ends and transactions are finalized. The behavior or rescuers is also viewed with disdain by many breeders, some of whom are second or third generation "farmers" who are trying to make a living to pay their bills. For them, spending a thousand or more dollars for a single dog at auction is offensive. Breeders have been known to call the big money spent by rescuers at auction "disgusting" even though the economic benefit to them is obvious. • The types of dogs bought by rescuers at auction may surprise most people. There are some in rescue who have developed relationships with breeders and auction houses which enable them to get dogs who are older or injured for free or for some nominal amounts of money. Most rescuers, however, are buying pregnant dogs, dogs who have just given birth and younger, more appealing dogs, including puppies. They are not buying dogs who are older, injured or sick and who are actually in most need of rescue. Rescuers who pay big money for the "best" dogs are essentially cutting out the middleman in the sales process. They negate the need for a broker to market the dogs to a store or the need for a store to sell the dog since they are getting dogs directly from the source. In the process of doing that, they make the sale more profitable. • On a scale of 1 to 10, the behavior of rescuers at auction related to advocacy efforts to end puppy mills is a 10. When rescuers buy dogs at auction for large sums (as opposed to seeking relinquishment of dogs to them for no cost), they are paying way more than any breeder would pay and they are simply providing more funding to breeders (and the auction house) to make milling operations larger and more profitable. The argument that buying a dog at auction prevents a breeder from profiting off that dog is one-sided and completely avoids the reality of the business aspects of breeding dogs for profit. When a rescuer pays $2,000 for a dog which would ordinarily sell for $20 or even $200, they may have removed that dog from the breeding operation, but they have put more money in the breeder’s pocket to buy even more dogs and make even more money. • When asked my contacts what rescuers should be doing instead of buying dogs at auction, I was provided with this input which I have paraphrased: Rescues should avoid auctions completely. They should contact breeders and ask them to relinquish the dogs that they are done with, including the old dogs, sick dogs, disfigured dogs and puppies that they cannot sell. NO money should change hands. The rescues can then raise funds to provide the medical care these dogs will need. Only then will they truly be saving dogs. Dog auctions are a tragic embarrassment to our society and to humane-minded citizens. We have been asked if people should "buy" or "rescue" dogs at auction. Buying at auctions simply means that it will be profitable. If it is profitable, it will continue and more dogs will be bred for sale at future dog auctions. We understand compassion for the dogs being sold and know that there will be some who will buy. We understand both sides of the situation. We hope that in the long run, not buying will produce the best outcome to end these auctions altogether. Rescuers who buy dogs at auction should take a long, hard look at what they hope to accomplish. They should look at the "why" of what they are doing and ask themselves, "what is the grander plan for these dogs?" Anyone who is willing to pay $9,000 for a puppy has an ego problem. They will never be able to recoup the money paid for that dog and they have paid a breeder much, much more money that the dog may be worth to another breeder. As far as people who donate to rescues who buy dogs at auction, they should ask themselves how much good could be done with that same money to help dogs in other ways and while working to educate the public about why they shouldn’t buy mill dogs. They should consider how much good could be done to care for older, more challenged dogs obtained from breeders for free and to give them a good life. There are three kinds of rescuers: rescue as a business, rescue for ego and rescue as purity. Buying dogs at auction is not good business and it is not pure rescue. It is a purchase and it is more about ego than it is about helping dogs. When you rescue for ego, you are putting yourself before the welfare of dogs and you are putting your personal need to feel important in the way of slowing or ending the very industry you say you oppose. I believe that at the heart of every true rescuer is a desire to save animals and give them a better life. I also believe that those who donate to rescues presume that their money will be used in the best possible way to help the most animals in need. That’s how I view the donations I make. It’s time to stop enabling the puppy millers and the commercial dog breeders who treat dogs as a farm commodity to be bred, sold and bought like equipment, cotton or corn. We do that not only when we persuade the animal-loving public to say "no" to buying mill dogs. We do it when those in rescue walk away from the auction tent and focus on helping other dogs in need, educating the public and promoting legislation which changes our society related to the commercial farming of dogs. If you are a rescuer and you feel absolutely compelled to save dogs at auction, please don’t go there with your bankroll in hand and a determination that you will outspend anyone who gets in your way. Take the time to develop and foster relationships with the breeders and the auction companies so that you can arrange to have older, injured or challenged dogs relinquished to you for free. By doing that you are helping the dogs who need you most, you are not making the dog breeding industry more profitable and you staying true to the pure form of "rescue" which your donors no doubt expect from you. And then you can go back to the very important business of educating the public and supporting legislation at local, state and federal levels which seeks to make life better for mill dogs until the day that puppy mills become part of our shameful past. (images courtesy of Hector Parayuelos, Nicole Mays, PetShopPuppies and National Mill Dog Rescue) NOTE: I have continued to receive comments on this blog almost five years after I first published it which disagree with my opinion and criticize my logic. I am no longer taking comments on this blog.
If you are a rescue group that buys at auction, you are a broker and you must be licensed by the USDA for that purpose. If you support a rescue group which goes to auctions and buys dogs, ask yourself why the rescue is not saving dogs from shelters and from the public who may need help while at the same time engaging in political efforts to modify the dog breeding industry. I see soliciting donations to buy dogs at auction as a form of emotional blackmail. You can try to categorize the purchase of dogs at auction as honorable. I do not agree. It is harmful. More then two years after I published this blog, a very thorough article in the Washington Post covered it in much more detail, based on years of research. I encourage you to read that article to educate yourself. I engage with a lot of animal welfare advocates across the country on a variety of issues. I've had conversations with advocates in multiple states recently about two issues I consider our national shame related to companion animals: puppy mills and killing in animal shelters. The two issues may seem unrelated, but they are absolutely related. The puppy mill industry produces millions of dogs each year, infusing them into the supply system as a result of public demand. The public has been bamboozled into believing pure bred dogs are superior to mixed breed dogs or dogs in our sheltering system and has confused cost with value or worth. At the same time those dogs are being marketed as superior, we are destroying great dogs in our antiquated animal sheltering system, often just for space or convenience. This continued slaughter of dogs using our money simply serves to perpetuate the stereotype that something is wrong with them and that we have no choice but to destroy them. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Beyond this connection between puppy mills and shelter killing is issue of what is being done about both problems. A lot of people think that national animal welfare organizations are working hard to eradicate the evils of the puppy mill industry and working hard to reform our tax-funded shelters. Not so much. There is some good being done by what I call the alphabet soup of animal welfare (since most organizations are known by acronyms we all use to describe them). But the truth is this: the greatest good being done across our country to bring awareness to the topic of puppy mills is being done by grassroots advocacy, by the people "in the weeds" of putting this topic on the public radar. The same is true for the animal shelter issue. If you seek reform of your local animal shelter, don't look to a large, national organization for help. Your best help and support is going to come from other advocates like you who can guide you regarding effective advocacy. We will bring an end to shelter killing when enough of the public knows what is taking place behind closed doors using their money and while they are blamed for the process. We will bring an end to puppy mills when enough of the public knows what takes place in the supply chain before that cute puppy ends up in that pet store, on the internet or in that newspaper ad. So, what can you do about puppy mills? The answer is pretty simple: Just Say No. • Say no to dogs in pet stores. Even if you are told they come from a USDA licensed kennel, they are from a puppy mill. When you buy a dog in a store, you are simply creating demand and are making the industry profitable. • Say no to dogs on internet websites. It is easy to make a good looking website while having the dogs live in absolute squalor and while receiving no veterinary care. If you believe a website is run by a reputable breeder, do your due diligence to learn more about that breeder to determine how many litters they produce each year and about the health of their dogs. • Say no to dogs in newspaper ads. While some reputable breeders do use newspapers to sell dogs, they are ordinarily very transparent about how they function if they are legitimate. Make plans to meet the parent dogs, see the conditions in which the dogs live and ask questions about how many dogs are sold each year. • Say no to dogs in store parking lots. It is easy for someone who is running a backyard breeding operation which would horrify you to bring a box of cute puppies to a parking lot near you and spin some tale about a dog who got loose, resulting in an unexpected litter. It is very likely that you are supporting a milling operation which the person selling the dogs does not want you to see. If you think the person is being honest, ask so see the parent dogs and the conditions in which they live. • Say yes to adopting a puppy or a dog from an animal shelter or rescue group. You will have saved a life and you’ll get a wonderful companion in the process. If you want to get involved yourself on a grassroots level and become part of the advocacy effort taking place across our country, consider getting involved with Harley's Puppy Mill Action and Awareness Project. Harley was the 2015 American Hero Dog and while he is no longer with us, his family is continuing his legacy by promoting grassroots advocacy across the country by small groups of people just like you in order to change our culture. Some of the most productive conversations in our country about puppy mills are taking place not in conference rooms but in grocery store check-out lines, at banks, at parks, at social gatherings and on airplanes as animal advocates look for opportunities to talk about puppy mills and help educate the people around them about the evils of the industry. If you want a wearable conversation starter to make your advocacy easier, please consider supporting the Just Say "No" To Puppy Mills campaign going on now with Bonfire. All proceeds will go directly to Harley's Puppy Mill Action and Awareness Project and you'll be spreading awareness effortlessly. The shirt design was donated by the very talented Morgan Spicer of Bark Point Studio. Thank you so very much, Morgan! Sometimes a shirt is more than just a shirt. It is a way to start a dialogue with others who may tell even more people as we turn the tide on the mill industry and take back the power for the sake of the dogs we say we love and value. Just say No. (image subject to copyright of Bark Point Studio and Rudi Taylor)
National Puppy Mill Awareness Day is recognized in late September of each year. It is a date used by animal welfare advocates across the country to bring awareness to the topic of the commercial dog breeding industry and to what many people now call "puppy mills." I believe, as do many of my advocacy contacts, that once the American public is educated on the topic of mills they simply will not stand for them. I have written on the topic of mills a lot recently in advance of this annual observance and as a result of my volunteer work for nonprofit groups who focus on mill dogs and ridding our society of this insidious industry. Although there are some differences of opinion on what the phrase "puppy mill" means, it refers to two separate businesses for me. For me, a puppy mill is: 1) any dog breeding operation, large or small, where the focus is on profit and where the well-being of the dogs themselves is of little concern; or 2) any commercial dog breeding operation where large numbers of dogs are bred for profit, regardless of the conditions in which those dogs are housed. Although I am not a fan of breeding dogs, I fully recognized that there is such a thing as a responsible breeder. There are people who breed and then sell dogs while taking excellent care of the parent dogs and while doing all they can to perpetuate breed standards and have healthy puppies for people to buy as family pets or to use in some service capacity. There is a continental divide between a responsible breeder and a puppy mill, no matter the size of the mill. Most of the people I know who have companion animals are good people who mean well, regardless of how they acquire their pets. Most of them just don't think about the subject of puppy mills because they don't feel personally affected by it. Those people I know who are not "animal people" and who don't have pets at all consider themselves further separated from the topic of mills because they don't think mills have anything at all to do with them. But, you see, they do. We are all affected by puppy mills and the commercial dog breeding industry due to one factor: money. When it comes to bringing a new dog into a home, people have a lot of options. They can buy a dog at a pet store and will probably be told the dog comes from a licensed USDA kennel (which in all likelihood is still a puppy mill). They can buy a dog through the internet using a website. They can buy a dog from a local breeder who will probably let them meet the parent dogs and see the conditions in which the dogs live. They can get a dog from a friend or family member. They can get a dog from a flea market or from the parking lot of a store or strip mall. They can get a dog through a newspaper ad. Or they can get a dog from a shelter or a rescue group. Although we don't like to think of it this way, the business of marketing and selling dogs is big business. Many of us react to the marketing we see much like we do for other products and with little regard for the fact that we are actually talking about a living, breathing, sentient creature who will spent 10 to 20 years with us and have the cognitive function of a toddler. On one end of this options spectrum we have the commercial dog breeding industry. Commercial dog breeders, both large and small, produce millions of dogs every year. Some are sold at auction much like other forms of livestock, some are distributed to pet stores across the country by Choice Puppies (formerly known of as the Hunte Corporation) in industrial tractor-trailers, some are sold on-line using polished looking websites (which bear little resemblance to the conditions in which the dogs actually live), some are sold through newspaper ads and some are sold in Walmart parking lots. Regardless of how those dogs get to us - the consumer - we're talking about millions of dogs being infused into the pet industry each and every year. Those in breeding circles would argue that the dogs are bred simply to meet public demand and they are, to a degree, correct. They would tell you that there is a demand so they create the supply. The bigger story is that we have been conditioned as a society for more than a hundred years to believe that pure bred dogs are superior to mixed breed dogs. We have also been conditioned to judge dogs the way we do other mass-produced products: be equating cost with value or worth. Surely, the argument goes, the $3,300 dog from a pet store is superior to a dog from a rescue group. Surely the $2,000 dog from a breeder is superior to a dog from an animal shelter. For all of our talk and back slapping to congratulate ourselves for being such an animal friendly society, we really are in many ways just a huge society of dog snobs. We are told that pure bred dogs or certain breeds of dogs are superior (when they often have a host of health issues, many of which have been bred into them to create a certain "look"). We are told that mixed breed dogs or certain breeds of dogs are either inferior or inherently dangerous. And we just buy all of it without exercising any independent thought at all because it's easier and because it's what we've been doing as long as anyone can remember. On the opposite end of the options spectrum, we have shelter and rescue animals. At the same time that dogs are being bred by the millions, we are destroying dogs by the millions in municipally funded buildings we have the arrogance to call animal "shelters" even though most should just be called disposal facilities. Yes. Some of those animals we destroy using your and my tax dollars are truly suffering and for those animals, euthanasia is the only responsible and merciful alternative. There are also dogs entering our animal shelters who are genuinely so broken, for a host of reasons, that they are a risk to public safety and cannot be adopted out into homes in our communities. The rest of the animals we destroy in shelters in all but the most progressive communities are healthy and treatable animals whose only mistake is one of being unfortunate enough to have ended up in a building where they are treated as disposable. (It is estimated that 25 to 30 percent of shelter animals are pure bred.) In some communities, as many as 90% of shelter animals are destroyed using our tax dollars while we call it euthanasia or "putting them to sleep" or "putting them down" or some other euphemism to make ourselves feel better about the process. The vast majority of them either were, or could have been, someone's beloved pet. The consequence of this culture of killing savable animals is dire. Because we destroy them using our collective funds, we are conditioned to believe that something must be wrong with them or that they are somehow not worthy of sharing our homes and our lives with us. Nothing could be further from the truth, but this form of negative bias is incredibly difficult to overcome. When we add to the negative stereotype about shelter animals the fact that they are poorly marketed for the most part and it's no wonder that many people would never even consider adoption a dog from an animal shelter. Back to the connection and why you should care about and learn about National Puppy Mill Awareness Day. Even if you are sure you have never financially supported a puppy mill or you are sure that your dog came from a reputable breeder, the subject of puppy mills and the commercial dog breeding industry affects all of us. We produce dogs by the millions when we already have millions of great dogs already needing homes. As long as we allow dogs to be produced in this volume and we ignore our broken animal sheltering system, people will continue to get dogs from sources other than animal shelters and rescue groups. And we will continue to destroy animals by the millions using our tax dollars for no good reason at all. It is our public shame. But it is also something we can all learn about so we can make better individual choices which affect us all. I encourage you to find a Puppy Mill Awareness Day event near you and attend. Many are family friendly so you can bring your children and help educate them while you are educating yourself. Perhaps if you learn a little more about where our dogs come from, you will consider making better choices in the future which are more consistent with your individual values and with our values as a society. If you are not able to attend an event, I encourage you to learn more about this industry. You may not think you are supporting puppy mills, but in the end, we are all paying for them. ASPCA Puppy Mill Information Dog by Dog Harley, The Little Dog with the Big Dream National Mill Dog Rescue National Puppy Mill Project The Puppy Mill Project The Dog Merchants Every now and then a documentary film comes along which is a complete game changer. I'm talking about the kind of film which serves as the functional equivalent of a slap across the face, but does so with an awakening of the mind to a topic which was previously unknown to most people or just not really on what I call "the public radar." I like to think that most people are more good than bad and that in a lot of cases, we would care more about important topics if they were put right in front of us in a big way. Some documentaries do just that and they become the tipping point for social change. We saw this with "The Cove," which exposed us to the realities of dolphin hunting and slaughter. We saw this with "Blackfish," which forced us to consider the issues created by keeping orca whales captive for our entertainment. We are also beginning to see it with "Redemption: The No Kill Revolution in America" which helps us understand the history of the animal welfare movement which was born of compassion and then lost its way, leading to a culture in which healthy and treatable animals are destroyed in our sheltering system for no good reason and using our tax dollars. I am thrilled and excited to share that there is a new documentary film that's really going to shake things up culturally related to the commercial dog breeding industry. "Dog By Dog" is a documentary that aims to expose the American public to the horrible realities of "puppy mills" by essentially following the money and the power players in what is a huge, global, multi-million dollar industry fueled by our love affair with the canine species. The film has been shown at a number of venues across the country (and in other countries) in the last 15 months and will become available to everyone early next year. As soon as I heard about the public release date, I wanted to help promote the film in advance of the release in hopes that people will treat this film like the game changer it surely is. I have long said that if the dog-loving American public was made aware of the realities of the commercial dog breeding industry and educated on the topic of puppy mills even a little, most people would be both sickened and outraged and would no longer support the industry. All puppies are cute; we are so blinded by the cuteness that we see that most of us either don't know about where those dogs come from or we just don't want to think about it. Dog By Dog has been reviewed by a number of journalists and I wish to take nothing away from that coverage. A simple Google search for "Dog By Dog" will lead you to a host of articles already written about the film by people who write for a living. I felt it would be more helpful for me to do two things as an individual animal welfare advocate: 1) share the trailers for the film (each runs just over 2 minutes); and 2) get some insights regarding the documentary through a Q&A session with Chris Ksoll, the Executive Producer. I would like to thank Chris for taking the time to help us all understand this topic better and to understand how it is that this documentary film became a reality. Please take the time to watch the trailers, read what Chris had to say about the story behind the film and the film itself and then mark your calendars for the release of the film in January of 2017. The website for the film is here and the Facebook page for the film is here. Dog by Dog Trailers
Q&A With Chris Ksoll, Executive ProducerA lot of people have heard the phrase "puppy mill," but they aren’t really sure of what that means? Can you help us understand what that phrase means to you?
Here is the funny thing about that word; the USDA does not acknowledge it. They claim to deal with "large scale commercial breeding operations". The word puppy mill evolved because conditions in those large scale commercial breeding operations are so bad. Generally, a mill is an establishment that breeds puppies for sale, in conditions regarded as inhumane. That is a more accurate description of conditions and the USDA will not acknowledge the reality of the term. The USDA actually says they are insulted when people use the word puppy mill. I am pretty sure the dogs living in chicken wire cages 24/7 feel more than insulted every day. Do you have any idea how big the scope of this issue is in terms of dogs sold each year and dollars made each year? Is there really any way to tell? It is estimated that over 2 million dogs are sold in pet stores. Most of the stores are closely-held so that is a guess. More than 2 million are shipped, however, and not all puppies survive the long ride or pet stores. So it is not just the selling. It is the entire commerce chain that should be considered for total numbers. Let's just use $400 as an average price per dog; then we have an $800 million industry. Almost a billion dollar industry. Given the advent of "oodles" and other mixes, I am guessing the average cost is greater than $400/per. As someone in the banking industry, some people may not understand how you got involved with this topic. How did you first get exposed to the realities of puppy mills? I call it "pure life changing luck". Someone told me my first rescue was a Shiba or at least part Shiba. He is so awesome, I went to the Shiba rescue to get him a wife--at first. A man was sent to do the home visit and when we talked to set up the time, he was telling me about his foster puppy who was living under his couch. He told me no one could touch him and he was terrified of everything. I told him to bring the puppy during the home visit because Louie, my first dog, was like a therapy dog. He did, and Louie never got a wife; he got a son. Brady was the first mill dog. Poor Brady took a whole year to house-train and I could not really touch him for months. Louie did everything. The rescue folks had my name, so one evening I got an emergency call that a woman fostering two breeder girls had something bad happen to her and they needed to place the dogs ASAP. So then I had a puppy mill puppy and a breeder girl in my home. I did not know what fostering was, and while I went on to foster a lot of dogs, Kumiko never left. Meeting her changed my life. I remember the car door opening and a 17 pound ghost almost crawled out. All her female organs were hanging and out; she was missing most of her teeth; her has a tract infection; she had worms; she had bad fur and no fur on her tail; her eyes were almost closed because she was in pain. I knew I had to get her spayed and healthy as quickly as possible. Louie stood guard 24/7, just confirming how sick she was. He is like that. Brady immediately adopted her and also took care of her. So there I was with these 3 dogs, thinking how could this be legal? Was it legal? I couldn't stop crying. and my head hurt--this problem became like a migraine in my head. That is also how we got to the name, Dog By Dog, as that is how the mill dogs are currently being helped. Now it is time to do more. A lot of people have been personally affected by a situation with a puppy mill dog, but very few actually act on that experience in a big way. What led you to become involved with a documentary film? Every day, I was inspired and amazed by Kumiko and Brady. With a lot of care, they got healthy and better. Every day. Plus, their personalities started to come out. My head was constantly spinning about the topic though. It was like a shadow and a migraine at all times. I also started fostering mill dogs that I was going to adopt out. Early in the fostering, I remember two male puppies. The rescue said they needed a foster home asap or the mill would kill the dogs that did not get out. Another fetal position moment. The economy was bad, the pet stores were buying less, and if the puppies grew bigger than the pet store cages, they had no use for the dogs anymore. It was a death sentence. So the puppies came. Then there were 5 but I got the puppies adopted out separately to amazing homes. Then more fosters came and more and more. Every foster had a mill story to tell and inspired me to do more. It occurred to me though, that I could foster until I am dead, and I would not have solved the problem. Fostering just was not enough for me, although it is absolutely important. I started researching-like a banker. I started reading everything I could. I asked questions of anyone who would speak to me. I watched documentaries, TV shows, anything I could to learn. But I kept feeling like the "head of the snake" was missing in all of the the things I was researching. The Oprah special was as close as I could get to feeling like I could see a broad overview. That was outstanding. What it did not do was list the bad guys. Clearly, we hold the actual mills accountable for substandard conditions, but as a banker, everything has a money trail and my job is to understand it and define it and chart it. That is the part of my job I love because then you can really help people. Now that would become the foundation for solving the mill money trail problem. Since we did not know all the vested interest parties in the chain, I was worried about being blocked. So, whatever I came up with could not be blocked. I had 1,000 lists of formats, vehicles, approaches and thought about it and what I could do that would uncover the truth and not be blocked for a year. I would lay on the floor with Kumiko on my belly and talk to her. One day, about a year into my research and analysis, it hit me. It had to be a documentary. It was the only format/vehicle that allows for the tracking and tracing or truth and no one could block it. Then, picking the right Director and company was going to be the most critical decision. I specifically wanted a Director/company that was not tied to animal welfare in any way; someone who was even in their tone, incredibly talented at uncovering information and weaving facts together but in away that is not horrific or graphic or outrageous. Chris Grimes won awards for his documentary "A Second Knock At The Door". It dealt with friendly fire in the military. I spend a lot of time helping veterans too, so it just seemed like we were meant to work together. Because he is not an animal welfare company, he had to his own research before accepting this mission. I absolutely think he is a genius at his craft. He wants to make real and meaningful change, is a Masters of Public Policy from Northwestern, has no inherent bias of any kind and is the very best partner I could ever have asked for to make this film with. It really has been one of the most perfect teamwork opportunities of my life and for which I am so grateful. Your film has been shown across the country and even in other countries to limited audiences. What can you tell us about the release to the rest of the public? Our local/national/international screenings have been part of a strategy we carefully crafted when the film was completed. We felt like bringing the full money trail truth out to the public in an organic way would have special meaning and impact. We have been able to raise funds for 501c3's and also give them a screening to raise their own awareness in their communities. It has been like weaving a fabric together of everyone who cares about the mill dogs or wants to learn the truth about mills. I call that our "Person By Person" part of The Journey for Change. It has been amazing to meet all of the people associated with all of the rescues/shelters etc and learn about the great work being done. That was the foundation layer of The Journey For Change. Now, we want the most amount of "eyeballs" possible and that is happening! While I can't say a lot right now, we do have our distribution that will bring the film out in every format, to everyone. It is the perfect partner for us. 2017 will be the year of truth for the mill dogs. Our amazing distribution partner will begin communications in the not too distant future but please know everyone will be able to see and/or have the film. I can't wait to have copies in my home. Recent history has shown that documentary films can have an incredible impact on the public and often bring people to the table to help affect change. What do you hope the release of your film to the public accomplishes? My original plan has several components/phases. Phase 1 was making the film and getting the truth out. Tactically, for phase 2, I would like to see 1) A rewrite of the Animal Welfare Act, 2) Removal of Companion Animals from the oversight of the USDA and moved to Commerce, to remove the conflict of interest and 3) Move all companion animal legislation from the Agriculture Subcommittee, where it all good animal-helping legislation gets killed. All the conflicts of interest need to be removed. Period. There is bipartisan support for companion animal legislation and it never gets the chance to happen because of the Agriculture conflicts of interest. That is the tactical next part. Socially, I hope "Two Chris's from Chicago" can inspire everyone to find the part in the film they want to act on or take further. Every single person can help a mill dog. Don't buy one from a pet store; hold a fundraiser for a rescue; foster a mill dog; call your legislators and meet them; if you have money--participate in lobbying: connect with me, if you can help there; don't buy any of the products of the companies in our film; make sure your investment portfolios are socially responsible; support small, local family farms only; share information on social media; know your breeder and make sure it is a real, small family owned legitimate breeder; for all the lawyers--we need your help; pro-bono legal to change legislation is critical; there are a zillion ways to have short term impact, while a long term solution is worked on. We all can have impact. Transparency and truth create momentum. A lot of people will be surprised at some of the key players who have opposed attempts to reform the commercial dog breeding industry. Who do you consider the most virulent opponents of reform? Every single component of the money trail has its own accountability. No one is more or less culpable if they are participating in the exploitation of dogs for profit. I would argue though, that people who block legislative help for sentient beings, because of money they receive, have a special place in the bad-guy list. The USDA talks about "self reporting" in our film. The USDA should have self reported their conflict of interest and moved companion animal oversight to another group/dept. Commerce, for instance. They know that their actions and lack of actions are at the top of all of this and yet, don't seem to mind. My brain could not wrap around that. It just couldn't. What do you think the most important things are that the dog-loving public can do to help our society bring an end to puppy mills? The first is to not buy any dogs in pet stores. There are amazing dogs in shelters and rescues. And make sure your dog is spayed/neutered. If you want a breeder dog, make sure your breeder is a real, legitimate breeder. They want you to come over to their homes, where you will meet the parents and see where the dogs are being birthed and live until you get yours. Never ever buy a dog over the internet. Our film has a great case study about that. Educate others as you learn. We are in the process of making Puppy By Puppy, which is the kids version of Dog By Dog and will be made available to educational venues for free. Kids want dogs but they don't support cruelty. This film will help those generations learn and once they know the truth, the kids will automatically do the right things. I first heard about a new film called "The Dog Lover" about a week ago. I had seen something about it on a website and heard about a review by Bailing out Benji, but did not have the time to really delve into the topic. On the surface, the film looks to be a feel good story of a woman who champions the cause of animal welfare for dogs and triumphs over evil. I checked in with a couple of contacts who told me that the film was pretty much "pro mill." When my husband picked up a copy and brought it home, I told myself I would do my best to remain neutral about it when we watched it. I tried, really I did. If you plan to see the film, you may want to stop reading here so I don't spoil the plot for you. I don't go into much detail, but I do touch on some of the story line. The Dog Lover is a film which purports to be based on a true story. It is not. There are very few actual facts in the movie and the rest of the plot is tossed together for effect. The film was produced by a group called Protect the Harvest which is led by oil giant Forrest Lucas. The name of the organization alone tells you a lot. You can do some simple searches to see that their mission is. I will not link to the organization here. But back to the movie. The premise of the film is pretty simple. A woman who works for a large animal welfare organization and who thinks all dog breeding is morally wrong agrees to go undercover working as an intern for a breeder of hunting dogs. She is sure she will find evidence to help shut down what she was told is a "puppy mill." The breeding operation is not what she expected, she ends up liking the breeders and decides that they have been falsely targeted by her employer. Rather than act on her knowledge, she hangs around to get friendly with a boy she likes, only to have law enforcement authorities sweep in to seize the dogs. Many of the dogs get sick only after having been taken from the breeder and a lot of them die. The breeder is later vindicated in legal proceedings and proclaims that he is glad his reputation has been restored. For me, this movie just really served no purpose and it may only serve to confuse the dog-loving American public. I'm not so much hung up on the fact that the movie claims to be based on a true story when it really is not. I am hung up on what our take away from the film is supposed to be. In The Dog Lover, everyone loses. The HSUS loses. In the film, the lead character works for the United Animal Protection Agency. In real life, this case involved the Humane Society of the United States. I am no fan of the HSUS as an organization and I have never shied away from being critical of how they spend their millions. I see them as a self-perpetuating money collection agency which brings in money by playing with the hearts of the American public. The HSUS loses in this film because it is made out to the the bad guy and exposed for being hypocritical. I'm okay with that. It is deserved criticism. It was about 5 years ago that the HSUS did a "raid" on a property not far from where I live. The dogs became known of simply as "The Alabama 44." The short story is that HSUS seized 44 dogs from a rural property under the guise of taking them from deplorable conditions and without the knowledge of local law enforcement officials. The dogs were dispersed to a variety of locations. Some were destroyed in gas chambers in another state, some were destroyed locally, having been deemed "unadoptable," and many were never accounted for. The dog breeder loses. The breeder in the film is just that: a breeder. Although I am not a fan of breeding dogs, the reality is that breeding dogs is perfectly legal in our society even if the conditions in which the dogs are allowed to be housed would make us all sick. The film shows dogs who are fed, have clean water, receive veterinary care, live in pens which allow room for movement and the dogs are socialized. If the reality of the dogs' care and living conditions was anything like what is portrayed in the film, I honestly am not that critical of it. That may not be popular to say. I am well aware that many of the people who breed dogs would otherwise be engaged in some other type of livestock or farming industry and that for them, breeding dogs is the source of their livelihood. It is all they know. I know there are responsible breeders and I know that not every breeding operation is a puppy mill. I long for the day when all, large commercial dog breeding operations end but I really see that as being the responsibility of us as consumers. If we want them to stop breeding dogs, we need to stop buying them whether we are individuals or call ourselves rescuers. In the film, the dogs are taken from the breeder even though they are shown as being well cared for. It is only after the dogs are taken from the breeder that they get sick and a number of them die. The dog lover loses. I am sure that there are people who work for large national animal welfare organizations like the HSUS, ASPCA or even PETA who are simply ethics-driven. For them, this is an issue of morality and they likely count themselves fortunate to be paid to do a job they love. The tide is beginning to turn on these organizations as the donating public learns more about how their money is being spent in the name of animal welfare and often not in ways of which they approve. In the film. the conditions found by the dog lover are nothing like she expected. Instead of breaking off her undercover investigation and reporting back to the powers that be that they are focused on the wrong location, she stays on board and then tries to do damage control later. Shame on her. You can believe in a cause all day long, but with that comes responsibility to think for yourself and not just blindly follow those who possess incredible power. And the worst part. The dogs lose. I think the thing that struck me most about this film was the lack of focus where it should have been: on the dogs. Regardless of whether you think every breeder runs a mill or if you think all dog breeding is wrong or your loathe the HSUS, I would like to think all of us would be focused on the well-being of the dogs we produce by the millions and which we then, as a society, destroy by the millions. In this film, dogs are bred, dogs are seized, dogs get sick, dogs die and in the end, no one really seems too broken up about that result. Although the breeder portrayed in the film says at the end that he's glad his name has been cleared, nothing at all is said about the fact that the entire process resulted in unnecessary death. If you really want to see an educational or empowering film about the dog breeding industry, find an opportunity to see Dog by Dog at a city near you or get your own copy once it is available for purchase. You can see excellent trailers for the film here. You can also pick up a copy of I Breathe which covers the topic of commercial dog breeding and which includes the story of Lily, the dog who inspired National Mill Dog Rescue. My advocacy involves a lot of keyboarding. That isn't all I do, but it's what takes up most of my volunteer time. I have pages and blogs here which cover topics I think are important to most animal loving Americans. And even to people who don't consider themselves "animal people" but who are interested in how municipalities function related to animals. The aspect of my advocacy I enjoy most is creating slideshows and videos for specific nonprofits or on general topics which can be used by any nonprofit. I work in the legal field doing a job that calls for a lot of investigative work and analysis and really no creativity at all. It helps me to have a creative outlet to help people who help animals while honoring my own animals and human family members who have moved on. Probably my longest "client" relationship is with National Mill Dog Rescue based in Peyton, Colorado. I can still recall the very first conversation I ever had with Theresa Strader many years ago while we were working on "Believe in Something" using a Fisher song by the same name. I have never been to the National Mill Dog Rescue kennel and have often thought how wonderful it would be to quit my day job and just become a full time volunteer there. It's just an ongoing joke, of course. Aubrie Kavanaugh - Poop Removal Specialist. Some of my closest contacts in the rescue community are the people who help manage this nonprofit; they work incredibly hard to not only help dogs but to help educate the public. There are no days off. I dare say that their advocacy is not just part of what they do. It is part of who they are. My latest project for National Mill Dog Rescue came at a perfect time for me. We had just had our dog euthanized under terrible circumstances and I was a disaster. When Michele Burchfield asked me to do a project using a Little River Band song in advance of their August 14th concert at Lily's Haven, I was thankful for the distraction from my grief. It gave me something positive to do. As I searched for and saved the images I needed to fit the vibe I was going for, I couldn't help but to smile at all those precious faces, both canine and human. Putting the project together helped heal some of the broken places in my heart. I consider this type of advocacy people helping people helping animals. Thanks so very much to Little River Band for allowing us to use this song. I am sure it won't be the last time we use one of the band's songs. I look forward to more projects in the future using music which belongs to Little River Band, Fisher and Martin Page, my "go-to" music sources. If you are anywhere near Peyton, Colorado, I hope you'll go to the concert. I'm sure it will be a wonderful combination of terrific music and just great people. If you can't go, I hope you enjoy "Love Is" and that you will learn more about the life-saving work of this incredible organization. I do believe theirs is a Higher Calling. And I am simply happy to be associated with such devoted and passionate advocates. When I first decided to move my advocacy to an actual website with content, as opposed to just having a Youtube channel, my plan was to expose people who care for animals to some subjects they might not otherwise know about. I considered myself pretty informed on “animal issues” a decade ago but I just wasn’t. There are a host of serious issues related to companion animals in our country that are just not on the “public radar,” for lack of a better description. Most people who care for and spend their lives with companion animals are focused on what affects them personally and don’t spend much time thinking about issues outside of their own household or community. One of the first issues I learned about years ago was about puppy mills. Most Americans have heard the phrase puppy mill and don’t give it a whole lot of thought. I want you to think about what it means because whether you know it or not, puppy mills affect us all, even people who don’t consider themselves “animal people.” Puppy mills are commercial dog breeding operations where dogs are produced in large numbers for profit and with little or no regard for the “breeder stock.” As I have written about before, this is big business in America. Whether a mill has hundreds of dogs or a handful of dogs, they are infusing dogs into the market and into American homes by the millions each year. The products pretty much sell themselves. Puppies are cute and it is easy for us to either not think about where they came from or not care about it. At the same time that mills are producing millions of dogs a year and making big money off of our love affair with the canine species, millions of dogs are being destroyed in our “animal shelters” each year using our tax dollars. You may think those dogs are sick or damaged in some way. You may even think that they simply cannot be saved because we just have too many of them. The reality is that the vast majority of dogs destroyed in shelters every day are perfectly healthy and treatable and there are homes for those dogs. They are destroyed because that’s what we have been doing in America for about 150 years and it’s just easier to keep doing it than to stop and ask “why?” More and more no kill communities are being created across the country with each passing month and year, but most shelters in most cities are places where animals essentially go to die using our money and while we are blamed for that process. The mind set is that if we were just more responsible, if we cared more, if we spayed and neutered more, if we did not treat our pets as disposable, etc., the animals would not have to die. It is not a coincidence that millions of dogs are bred in mills and then millions of dogs die in our shelters. Millers, both large and small, put millions of products in front of us which we find incredibly hard to resist and we keep buying them. As long as we keep buying them, millers will keep producing them. And as long as millers keep producing dogs by the million, we will continue to destroy dogs in our shelters who have been overlooked or stereotyped, simply because they are unfortunate enough to have landed in our sheltering system. Yes, there are people who surrender animals to shelters and who should never have an animal in the first place. But not every animal entering a shelter is there due to someone’s callousness or irresponsibility. Pets get lost, people die, people get sick, houses burn down, people lose jobs and people often to not make the best decisions about their animals when life gets really hard and they aren’t thinking clearly. Every shelter animal deserves to be treated as an individual and to be given an opportunity for a new life. To do otherwise blames the animal for the failings of our society and of us as individuals. I got an email recently from an advocate in New Jersey named Candace Quiles about a dog auction being held in Missouri on August 6, 2016. A miller with a terrible reputation for abuse is auctioning off his “stock” through a company called Southwest Auction Service and Marketing. I was contacted to see if there was something I could do to stop the auction. I cannot. Dog auctions are perfectly legal in our society and they happen all the time. This is what millers do and this is part of the business of puppy milling. Millers breed dogs, auction them off to brokers, individuals or even to rescue groups. Some in the rescue community have been known to pay thousands of dollars for a dog while describing their behavior as “rescue," leaving millers laughing all the way to the bank. Make no mistake. People who mass produce dogs for a living think no more of those dogs than they would any other form of livestock. The USDA is to thank for the mill industry and it is high time that the USDA got out of the business of regulating that industry so we can work to bring an end to them once and for all. Just because farming dogs is easier than farming cotton or soy beans doesn’t make it right. And just because rescuers can come up with 5 grand to "rescue" a dog in an auction doesn't mean they should.* A sale is a sale is a sale. After I was contacted about the auction, I looked into a little bit even thought I knew I could not stop it. I found the sales list for the auction. If you squint just a little bit and don’t look too closely, you might think this was an auction for used farm equipment or auto parts. It is an auction of living, breathing, feeling, sentient creatures and while those hosting it and attending it may find it perfectly normal business activity, I find it sickening and horrific. Puppy mills may very well be one of the two greatest public shames in the American society regarding companion animals, the second being our broken animal sheltering system. We consider ourselves animal-friendly. We hold ourselves above other cultures where animals we keep as companions are consumed or bred for fur. But how can we possibly claim moral high ground while mills still flourish in our country and while we still kill dogs by the millions with our collective funds? Man’s Best Friend. Made in America. Shame on us. (click on the image to view a pdf copy) *Position Clarification on Auction Payment for Dogs I received a comment on this blog from a rescuer related to my position on rescuers who go to auctions. I want to clarify my position in light of her comments to me.
I fully support organizations and even rescuers who work with millers to have mill dogs relinquished to them and which then turn around and work to educate the public toward ending the mill industry. I volunteer for a national organization which does just that. I even support organizations which pay some small, nominal fee to save breeder dogs through direct contact with the miller. I do not support people who go to auctions and who pay large sums of money for dogs using the label of rescue. I have first-hand accounts from people who have been to auctions and have seen thousands of dollars paid for a single dog. They have seen rescuers buy puppies for huge sums while leaving the parent dogs behind. In some cases, this behavior has driven up the prices. Some millers use shills in order to target those in the rescue community and drive up prices. Any person or organization which pays large amounts of money for puppies or dogs under the name of rescue is enabling the entire process. You are putting money into the millers' pockets and to them you are no different than a broker or than someone who will take the dogs and sell them to a pet store to then sell to the public. For them, this is not an emotional topic at all. By making it an emotional topic yourself, you are helping them breed and sell more dogs. The plight of mill dogs is heart breaking. But if we behave emotionally about a multi-million dollar industry, we will not change it. If you really want to help mill dogs and end mills, saving dog A, B, C, or D is not having the effect you desire and may very well have the opposite effect. I do not need to go to an auction to know that buying dogs which come with a huge price tag is not helpful related to ending this industry. Many of my contacts have first hand experience about auctions and their knowledge is good enough for me. If you think that paying $5,000 for a mill dog to “rescue” that one dog is a noble effort, consider this. You could use that same money to help many more relinquished mill dogs be rehabilitated and find homes while helping to educate the public to stop the industry. And if you didn't pay big money for the sick or injured dogs you see, they may very well be relinquished to an organization which will help them. Some millers rely on rescuers to pay big money for dogs as a result of the very behavior of some in the rescue community. I have written before about the concept of pets as property and how that can be a good thing in our current social climate as it relates to legal rights. Yes, our animals are precious to us and they are not property in the traditional sense because we consider them priceless. Because my dog is my property, I have legal rights related to him being taken from me by law enforcement authorities, related to him being stolen from me and related to him being destroyed unnecessarily by an animal shelter. Until we change our laws so that I have rights similar to rights related to children, I am fine with him being called my property as long as I can protect him from harm. The issue of dogs as a commodity, as inventory and as livestock is, however, a completely separate issue for me and it is one which is infuriating. Puppy mills exist today because we created them. The first commercial dog breeding operations came about thanks to a USDA program implemented decades ago to help struggling farmers. Dogs were promoted as a fool proof cash crop. They are easy to produce and the return on the dollar is high compared to other products. Americans love dogs, so what could possibly go wrong? Everything. Dogs began being produced in huge numbers while being housed in conditions we would normally find inadequate for any animal of any species. The commercial dog breeding industry became big business and it still is today, leading to the creation of a number of organizations which focus solely on saving mill dogs and on educating the public about mills. When we talk about puppy mills, that description encompasses a wide range of businesses and places. Some are large breeding operations with hundreds of dogs who produce thousands of dogs each year. Some are more rural operations managed by those in the Amish culture and yet others are simply backyard operations which go on unseen, unheard and out of the public eye. There is also the distribution system, the most notable of which is a distribution facility managed by the Hunte Corporation which takes puppies from breeders and ships them across the country in unmarked trucks to a pet store near you. A large number of the dogs produced commercially are sold to brokers who then sell them to pet stores. Many dogs are simply marketed through the internet using polished looking websites which present the illusion of proper care and cleanliness. Still others are sold through newspaper ads, on street corners and in the parking lots of large chain stores. Although I am not a fan of breeding dogs, I fully recognized that there is such a thing as a responsible breeder. There are people who breed and then sell dogs while taking excellent care of the parent dogs and while doing all they can to perpetuate breed standards and have healthy puppies for people to buy as family pets or to use in some service capacity. There is a continental divide between a responsible breeder and a puppy mill, no matter the size of the mill. In a mill, the “breeder stock” is housed in unthinkable conditions, often in small wire cages with no flooring. They receive no veterinary care (or very little veterinary care) leading them to develop a host of conditions and diseases. Many have missing eyes from having been sprayed by power washers or tumors from lack of care or nails which have grown so long as to become ingrown. If you were to stop and try to think of a house of horrors for dogs, that would be a puppy mill. The sad truth as it relates to the mill industry is that all puppies are cute and that we are blinded by the cuteness that we see. Even if we know it’s possible that the cute puppy in the pet store may have come from horrific conditions, we really don’t think about that much because the dog is there and he or she needs a home. I have known of some people who are well aware of the conditions in mills and yet they have rationalized buying a dog from a pet store in order to "save" it or "rescue" it. I have often though that if the puppies came with accurate labels, or were accompanied by a realistic image of the conditions in which their parents live, we would be so appalled we would know better than to buy one, cute or not. Here’s the thing. Puppy mills thrive because of us. We make them profitable. We create the demand. And they will continue to dot our landscape across our country, keeping canine prisoners in horrific conditions, until we say “enough” and we stop buying what they are selling. We created mills. We can stop the mills by speaking out against them, by telling everyone we know about them and by simply refusing to purchase dogs which millers see as nothing more than inventory. It is up to us to say, “no. That is not what our culture is about.” We like to think of our country as being animal friendly. The time has long since passed for us to stop patting ourselves on the back for being dog lovers while allowing such an insidious industry to exist in our country and doing nothing to stop it. Adopt-A-Pet, Inc. is hosting a Puppy Mill Awareness Day event on September 18, 2016, at Buchanan Park in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, often called Puppy Mill Capital of the country. It is a day-long event which will have activities geared specifically toward educating children. The guest speaker is Victoria Stilwell who has written a host of books regarding dogs and who is a dog trainer and television host for a number of series about dogs. I encourage anyone who is interested in learning about puppy mills and how to stop them to consider attending this wonderful event. I prepared a couple of projects for Carol Araneo-Mayer for her event and am sharing them here. I hope she has a huge turnout and that people come away both educated and empowered. Perhaps if we adults are too complacent to end the mill industry, our children can. Even children know that puppy mills are bad.
When you hear the word, "legacy," what does it mean to you? Do you automatically think of other people or do you think of your own legacy and how you will be remembered once you are gone? I suspect that most of are so involved with the day-to-day activities of life that we don't give a whole lot of thought to our legacy. Introspection takes time and effort. I think I am more mindful of having a purpose-driven life now that my parents are gone. I know that I'll never be famous and I know I won't change the world. The best I can hope for is to try to be a positive force for change in some way. Which brings me to the subject of Harley Taylor and his legacy. I was at work when I read the news that Harley had passed away on March 20th. It shocked me, I started to cry and I could not stop. So much for being the hardened, crusty old soldier. I was overwhelmed by a sense of loss for a dog I had never met, but with whom I felt a strong bond. Harley was a "client" of mine, for lack of a better description. I had spent so many hours marveling at his advocacy and working with his images and videos for projects, that the loss seemed personal to me. I know that grief is a selfish emotion, but that did not help the wave that came over me. (If you do not know who Harley Tayloris, I encourage you to learn about his life through his website and perhaps by reading some of my earlier blogs about him.) When I was finally able to "get a grip," as mom used to say, my next thought was for Harley's family and friends. Harley lived a very public life and I am grateful his family shared him with all of us. I knew that if I was being so affected by his passing, surely what his family was enduring was beyond description with words. I expressed my condolences in my own ways and hoped that time would bring peace to them somehow. As the days and weeks passed, I wondered about Harley's legacy. How would his family move on? Would they continue his work to educate the public about the evils of the commercial dog farming industry or would it just be too much? How would they really be able to grieve their loss while the rest of us were reminding them of our feelings pretty much every minute? Social media is a great thing, but it can also be a terrible burden and I know that even the most well-intentioned words of support can keep a wound from healing. As Dean Koontz (famous author, huge dog lover and philanthropist) once so aptly wrote, "grief can destroy you or it can focus you. You can decide a relationship was all for nothing if it had to end in death, and you alone. OR you can realize that every moment of it had more meaning than you dared to recognize at the time, so much meaning it scared you, so you just lived, just took for granted the love and laughter of each day, and didn't allow yourself to consider the sacredness of it." In the case of the Taylor family, I think it is safe to say that their grief has focused them and that the legacy of Harley Taylor will be strong. Harley's Facebook page is as active as it ever was and new social media pages have emerged to help people show their support for his advocacy to end the mill industry and their support for his family. The Taylors have also established the Harley Puppy Mill Education and Outreach Fund which will be used to carry on Harley's mission to bring awareness to the commercial dog breeding industry. The money raised will be used to develop educational curriculum materials about Harley’s life for use in schools, fund billboards to raise puppy mill awareness, create brochures and promotional materials, and to complete a documentary film about Harley which was started last summer. I like to think that most people are inherently good or that there is good in them. I also like to think that we all to change the world in our own small ways during our lives whether it relates to our own families, our professions or social issues. For myself, I can only hope that my legacy will be a fraction of the one being forged right now by Harley's family in his honor. And I am happy to be involved in perpetuating that legacy in some small way through our educational projects. If you would like to support Harley's Puppy Mill Education and Outreach Fund, you can learn more about it on his website. |
AuthorI am an animal welfare advocate. My goal is to help people understand some basic issues related to companion animals in America. Awareness leads to education leads to action leads to change. Archives
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image courtesy of Terrah Johnson
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