Purebred dogs go for top dollar in pet stores around the country, but buyers of cute, cuddly puppies may not know that some come from unregulated breeding mills overseas. So-called puppy-mill dogs are showing up sick and dehydrated at major airports around the country.

In Los Angeles, one recent shipment of dead and ailing puppies from South Korea got the city's attention. Twenty of the dogs in the shipment seized at Los Angeles International Airport either had died or had to be euthanized after the trip. The 10 survivors were turned over to the city's shelter.

Five months later, those survivors — five miniature Maltese and five tiny Yorkshire terriers — were ready for adoption. Hundreds of animal lovers, many wrapped in blankets to keep warm, lined up on a chilly morning in front of L.A.'s East Valley Animal Shelter for a chance to bid on the dogs.

Ed Boks, the general manager of L.A. Animal Services, was thrilled at the turnout. City law requires him to hold an auction when more than one person wants an animal.

"I want to begin with a few facts that you won't commonly hear from your local pet store with respect to where animals, puppies just like this, can often times go for $3,500 or more," he told the crowd.

Boks said the 10 minipurebreds arrived with forged health certificates. The documents put their ages at 5 months, but they were actually only 5 weeks old.

"These puppies are the product of a cruel, factory-style dog breeding operation that produces animals with chronic health problems, temperament issues and hereditary defects, so our message to all of you this morning is buyer beware," he warned.

Overseas Puppy Mills Proliferate

Puppy mills began proliferating overseas about five years ago, at about the same time that U.S. authorities started cracking down on unscrupulous domestic breeders.

Tom Sharp of the American Kennel Club says that's when he started seeing bulldogs arriving from Russia and Yorkies from South Korea. With the help of the Internet, Sharp says, dishonest pet stores and breeders could easily get puppies overseas.

"That way, they don't have to be inspected by the different organizations and the governments here in the U.S., and avoid all the requirements," he says.

Right now, the only federal requirement an importer has to follow is to provide proof of a current rabies vaccine — documentation that is easily forged.

Federal regulators say that rule was written at a time when the only dogs coming into the United States were companion pets. Nina Marano of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Congress just passed a law banning the importation of dogs under 6 months old for resale.

But Marano says it will take at least two years for the ban to be enforced.

"We can try to regulate our way out of it, but another part is, I think, the issue about demand — that there needs to be a lot more public education about the demand that is being created for these puppies," she says.

A Winning Bid

The demand was high for Los Angeles' puppy-mill survivors.

One winning bidder was Debbie Garringer. "I was really lucky, and I'm happy, so happy, and I will take care of it so much and it will have a beautiful home," she said.

All 10 of the purebred puppy-mill survivors got new homes, as did 52 other pets from the shelter. In all, Animal Services raised more than $20,000 and got its message out: Adopt, don't shop.

XxAxX said:

It is sick, disgusting and inhumane but it makes some ppl big bucks.
Sick bastards.

I tried to tell a close friend of mine not to buy her dog from the pet store. She paid $1200 for a Papillon. That dog has had some serious issues since the first week she brought him home.

Bastards

mdiver said:

It is a sick industry. I doubt too many puppy mills supply the UK, they are very tough about letting dogs into this country, unlike the US.
I am sure there are some puppy mills within the country though.

I hope they get a handle on this somehow.

shanti0608 said:

With the KC so involved here it is pretty stringent but yeah the rabies laws stop the import from abroad.

mdiver said:

We have the AKC...means shit really. They do not help the breeding processes either.

shanti0608 said:

Yeah but Brits can be stuck up when it comes to the right papers

mdiver said:

indeed.

shanti0608 said:

Fuck off

This Oprah show about puppy mills will break your heart

- Part 1

- Part 2

- Part 3

- Part 4

- Part 5

- Part 6

- Part 7

Reaction to show

- Part 8

luv4u said:

I am glad she did a show on it. These ppl caught selling puppies from mills to pet stores should be forced to do Community Service at the animal shelters.
This shit has been going on for way too long.

Pupy mills are a HUGE business in the province of Quebec because the provincial government doesn't give a shit what so ever when it comes to animal welfare/cruelty like many other provinces in this country do (sorta).

It's disgusting.

it's just idiotic to buy dogs from a store these days. We got our purebred lab from a farm breeder, parents on site, and are happy as hell with her.

abigail05 said:

how do you know that buying elsewhere you are not buying directly from the puppy mill itself?

Why do people have to buy purebred dogs?! It makes me so angry that there are so many fantastic dogs that need good homes that are overlooked just cos they aren't pedigree. A dog is part of the family not a fashion accessory. If more people took these in there would be less demand from the puppy farms (hopefully putting them out of business) AND the dogs would get a home - everyone wins!! Apart from the farmers of course, but that's a good thing.

Rant over.

horatio said:

You have to do your research. Look into the breeder, get background, papers.
Some times you never really know for sure but if you pay $1200 from a pet store and cannot see the parents, you should think twice, then go to the animal shelter.
[Edited 1/2/09 11:15am]

missminky100 said:

It is sad. If you like a particular breed and live in the states, there are so may breed rescues available.

horatio said:

I'm not sure I understand you. We didn't buy her elsewhere - we bought her on the farm, 1 day after the litter was old enough for purchase. There were gorgeous little puppies everywhere (in a pen in the barn) and mom and dad had free reign on the farm - they even jumped in the swimming pool for a quick dip while making the rounds.

Anyway, as I was saying - buying a dog with an unknown past is just a gamble.

shanti0608 said:

There will always be rescue dogs available - it's sad but you can't save them all. We tried taking on a mixed breed shelter dog - a dalmatian/black lab mix. I loved Molly a lot but 4 years in, she took a vicious lunge at my daughter - only the screen door kept them apart. Had she bit my kid's face either me or my father-in-law very possibly would've done away with that dog on the spot. She didn't stay with us long after that.

Now we have a beautiful purebred golden that's awesome with the kids - we got her locally and love her dearly.

puppy mills suck, NEVER EVER BUY FROM A PET SHOP!!!!!


thanks 2 the orger who told me a while ago what it was, do ur homework as I did!!!!!

don't have a puppy yet but one day will



LOVE M
[Edited 1/2/09 19:30pm]

I have a purebred Jack Russell I got from a JRT rescue group a couple of years ago, and from the information they were able to give me there's a high possibility that he was originally a mill puppy.

meow85 said:

awwwww, how did they know that?

When I first started my research into finding a Maltese,is when I first had ever heard of puppy mills. I made sure I knew the right questions to ask when calling breeders,and I got Bailey from a site called Petfinders.com I emailed the breeder several times,I found a message board for Maltese owners,and they had compiled a list of all the known breeders that were basically puppy mill owners,and the breeder that I had been talking to wasn't on there. So after all that I sent her $1200 for Bailey,and she said that he would receive a vet check,and a grooming before he was sent to me. Since there were no breeders close he was sent to me via airplane from Alabama. He was only on the plane for a few hours,and he was provided with water,and food,and when I got him he had his vet papers,AKC registeration papers,and he was in excellent condition when I took him to get checked at my vet 2 days later (cause I could'nt get him in sooner). I never got his papers though,because I did'nt see the point, he was not going to be doing any breeding.

I watched that Oprah show,and had to turn it off,cause it makes me sick how people can treat these beautiful animals in such an aweful way. Puppy Mill owners are truely a waste of skin.
[Edited 1/2/09 22:12pm]

missmad said:

He's physically healthy enough, but the rescue was never able to track down any pedigree records for him, and he had/has some severe behavioural and aggression problems that go beyond normal asshole terrier behaviour. They didn't know for sure, but it was their guess that he hadn't come from a happy situation.

I love dogs, but at this stage in my life, I cannot commit to getting one, regardless of how much the kids beg.

However, if & when I ever do get a dog, I will adopt from a shelter.

Those Oprah clips were really hard to watch, especially part 5.

meow85 said:

aw that is sad

mdiver said:

You would be surprised at how many Puppy Farmers and BYB are on the Kennel Club books. Having Kennel Club registration papers does not guarantee the animal has not come for Puppy Farmers and BYB neither does it guarantee the animal came from good breeding stock. It is not compulsory in this country to have all relevant health hip, eye, elbow scores etc before breeding. Recently 6 breeders have been kicked out of the accredited breeder scheme for not following Kennel Club guidelines yet they are still allowed to breed and allowed to register new pups.

Some breed clubs are not to be trusted either they know off breeders who have done all health checks, a lot of these animals have terrible health scores with serious genetic illness and are still being breed from and shown in the ring, a lot of the breed clubs are doing nothing to stopping this.

Currently the Kennel Club have no powers to stop Puppy Farmers/BYB/bad breeders registering dogs but people are pushing for change.

After a documentry that was shown on BBC1 "Pedigree Dogs-Exposed" The BBC, RSPCA, Dog Trust, PDSA, Dog Warden Association along with others have pulled out of Crufts this year and it will not be shown on TV. The documentry was a bit one sided but was a long overdue wake up call for the Kennel Club, dog breeders and the show world and has forced the KC and a number of breed clubs to impliment some changes. If you search youtube you may find the documentry I beleive it was in 6 parts if people wish to see why all the animal orginsations have seperated themsels from the Kennel Club.

TypoQueen said:

We watched that. Very disturbing.
The KC has it's own set of issues, right up there with puppy mills.