Paws R Us is the largest commercial dog breeder in Canada

And they're proud of it.

From USABreeders.com, a press release on behalf of Paws R Us Kennel:

LARGEST COMMERCIAL DOG BREEDER IN CANADA FOUND NOT TO BE A "PUPPY MILL" BY OTTAWA COURT

Counsel for the Plaintiffs, Luc Barrick, is pleased to announce that the Plaintiffs, James, Charlene and Nicole Labombard, carrying on business as Paws "R" Us Kennel, were successful in their Small Claims Court Action against the Defendant Lorie Dixon, a.k.a. Lorie Gordon.

Paws "R" Kennel is a commercial dog breeder, operating in Shawville, Quebec and run by the Labombard family. They take great pride in their puppies, as well as taking great care of them.Countless visitors and clients of the Kennel have complemented the Kennel for its size and cleanliness, the dogs for their friendliness and social skills, and the family for their sincere concern and care for the dogs. Paws "R" Us is the largest commercial dog breeder open to the public in Canada.

Lorie Dixon is a past client of the Kennel, who wrongfully alleged that the Kennel was a puppy milland proceeded to defame the Kennel on various Internet discussion boards.

In making his decision, which is attached to this Press Release, Deputy Judge M. Galligan, of theSuperior Court of Justice (Small Claims Court) at Ottawa, made the following findings:

• It is common ground that the term "puppy mill" used in this sense is derogatory.
• Having reviewed all of the evidence led by the parties, he found that Paws "R" Us is not a"puppy mill" within the definitions which have been used for purposes of description, and that Paws "R" Us is wrongly described in that respect.
• Not only has the Defendant defamed the Plaintiffs, but the defamation is worsened by the use of the internet, which is said to be not only different, but more serious for purposes of damages than defamation in other media.
• The Defendant's action is particularly malicious in that her purpose was to close the business of the Plaintiffs', notwithstanding that she knew it to be the source of income and support for a family of some eleven persons.
• In view of all of the circumstances, there will be Judgment for the Plaintiffs for damages in defamation, for interference with economic interests, and for interference with contractual relations in the amount of $10,000, plus costs.
• He found no liability on the part of the Plaintiffs in respect of the Defendant's dog's care and the Defendant's Claim is dismissed without costs.
• The Plaintiffs shall have costs of this action against the Defendant consisting of a counsel fee of $3,000, plus $1,000 on account of disbursements and post judgment interest at the court rate from the date from which this judgment is issued.

Any further inquiries can be directed to Luc Barrick, Counsel for the Plaintiffs, by email at lbarrick@barricks.ca or on his cell phone at (613) 282-3553.

We all know this is a travesty.

Lorie Gordon needs to appeal this. She needs to appeal not only for herself but also for the future pups who are going to be born into that place. She needs to appeal in order to stand up for our right to express opinions on-line which are counter to business interests who can afford lawyers to shut people down whenever they so choose.

Update:

An appeal date has been set for May 18 2011. A Toronto firm will be representing Ms. Gordon pro bono.

(For coverage of the Sept. 17, 2011 seizures at Paws R Us, please go here. For post on November 24 court decision against Paws R Us regarding HSI raid, go here.)

The disease and the cure

Disease:

Cure:

From NBC Los Angeles, "Let This Be a Lesson to Shady Pet Stores".

A $4.8 million default judgment awarded to former customers of a now-closed Bel Air pet store should help deter similar businesses from selling sick animals from puppy mills, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said Tuesday.

This is the type of lawyering we need here. It's time for large scale commercial dog breeders (in Canada it's politically incorrect and pretty damn near illegal to use the term "puppy mill" in case someone's feelings get hurt) to be thinking hard about what they're doing.

Now I'd like to think that this is some kind of knock out victory but we all know that's not the case. There are still lots and lots of commercial dog breeders out there pushing their product through pet stores, private home breeder fronts and direct sales. And there's still lots and lots of them getting away with it too, even with passing grades from our esteemed Canadian justices (check this one out - just make sure you're near a bucket in case your last meal wants to make a quick exit).

No, this Bel Air lawsuit is a good step in the right direction but it's just a step. Some people have got their hearts in the right place and enough bulk in their wallets to push this lawsuit through. Oh yeah, it's still all about the money flow only this time it's flowing straight and true.

Public service announcement for commercial dog breeders

Moral relativism is a philosophical term that says that there are no such things as universal moral truths and that morality is solely dependent upon the society that creates it. Let's take capital punishment, for example. In some countries, like China or Iran, capital punishment is widely accepted by the state and by the populace as an ethical and just way of dealing with convicted criminals. Here in Canada or in, say, Sweden, capital punishment is not practiced and the majority of the populace would say that is a good thing. Then you have somewhere like the United States which isn't all that united on this particular issue with some states busy filling up body bags while others just incarcerate for a very long time. Everyone thinks their own practice is morally right and everyone thinks differing practices are morally reprehensible.

I confess. I am a moral relativist. I don't believe there are any universal laws when it comes to ethics. I don't believe there's some cosmic cop out there who says we must treat people or animals or anything else on our dear old planet with a certain level of dignity and care. I don't think the universe actually gives a damn about what happens to any creature, if it lives or dies, suffers or flourishes. Look what happened to the dinosaurs. Did the universe shed a big moral tear for their mass extinction? I doubt it. The universe yawned and then went on and created and wiped out countless more species. As it might very well do with our own (unless we do it to ourselves first).

So, when I examine my own morality, I don't pretend it's based on any universal truths because as far as morality goes, the universe is about as caring as that rock sitting in my front yard. Even though I think I'm a reasonable and logical person, I understand that my morality isn't based on "truth". It's based on feelings. Yikes. I know. If we all went around dictating morals based on emotions, wouldn't this world be in a huge mess? Yes and that's why the world is in a huge mess and I apologize for my contribution to that mess.

Though I don't believe that any morality I hold sacred is the "right" morality, I do know it's the one that works for me. This means that when I impose my moral vision on someone else's behavior and find it less than appealing, it isn't me saying that I am right and the other person is wrong. It's simply me saying, I am against him. I don't like what he is doing. In some cases, I detest what he is doing. It's abhorrent to me. It's a feeling.

Which brings me to commercial dog breeding facilities and their place in a subjective, ever-changing, moral landscape. First, let's look at the spectrum of human/dog relationships. Let's put at one end a place like Toronto, for example, where for the most part, people treat dogs with a certain amount of care, some even considering them to be part of the family. At the other end of the spectrum, we'll put somewhere like Shenyang, China where I once lived for a year, and saw such things as three workers at a university, publicly and in broad daylight, tie a dog to a tree and repeatedly jab it with a pocket knife, making it cry in agony until it bled to death. Obviously, the societal mores concerning dogs between these two places are separated by a wide gulf. Along this spectrum, the societal mores that allow commercial dog breeding facilities to exist and to even flourish, lie somewhere in between.

Of course I'm using the term "commercial dog breeding" because the on-line community has been told in no uncertain terms by a small claims court judge that we are no longer allowed to use the other term anymore in describing certain businesses. But regardless of what any small claims court judge determines and regardless of what commercial dog breeding facilities want to call themselves these days, they still are what they are.

These businesses fail to realize that it's not the naming of their facilities that they need to be worried about. It's what they do. Public attitudes are changing towards the raising of dogs in a manner similar to livestock. Sure, the businesses may be legal and/or unprosecutable in some provinces and, sure, they can call themselves what they want, call themselves Smoochy Poochie Heavenly Happy Farms if they want and sue everyone who disagrees with that term, but the businesses still are what they are.

Thirty years ago, growing dogs in an environment where they spend the vast majority of their time in cages or pens with very limited human interaction, no healthy levels of exposure to the outdoors and few introductions to varying mental stimuli may have been okay, but now, not so much. It's no longer just a matter of physical health, though of course that's still a major concern, it's also a matter of psychological and behavioural health. It's bad enough when an individual is found out to be denying a dog a decent living environment through carelessness or neglect but when it's a business purposely doing it for profit, the distaste is even stronger. These commercial dog breeding facilities are flying in the face of a changing public attitude towards the proper treatment of animals. More and more people are loathing the idea of supporting businesses, from solely-for-profit breeders to certain live animal selling pet stores, who would treat a possible future family member as a mere commodity, valued only for its money making potential.

None of this makes any sense, of course, to someone who has little or no empathy for dogs in general, for someone whose morality doesn't swing that way. For them, dogs will always be viewed as simple property, easy to acquire, easy to dispose of, easy to sell and make a profit from (well, easy if they can take the heat of people talking behind their backs, writing about them, calling them all sorts of nasty names). These newfangled ideas surrounding the care of dogs must seem totally alien to them. To talk to them about a dog's quality of life must sound ludicrous, clownish. It would be like talking about the quality of life for a chair.

So when someone points a finger at them and accuses them of moral outrages against what they consider to be a mere commodity, of course they must think that's a ridiculous insult and of course they must feel wronged but in this morally relativistic world, where there are no absolutes, it's not that they've been wronged. It's that they've been left behind. Society, at least certain segments of western society, are moving along to a different place on the moral spectrum. We've become more tolerant of some things and less tolerant of other things.

Businesses that engage in the profit driven, manufacturing of dogs, will need to change their business models, and not just the name of their type of business, to something more palatable. More and more people are speaking out against them. More and more people are offended by them. More and more people will one day push society along to the point where present day minimal standards of dog care in a commercial dog breeding facility will no longer be tolerated, morally or legally.

The ever changing nature of moral relativity in our society really must suck for the ones who end up holding the slimeball bag. Such is life.

Boxer delivery

This Boxer just got off the van from Montreal to Toronto Animal Services. It's spent most of its life inside a puppy mill cage. Its white furred feet are dingy yellow from living in its own filth for so long. It's not quite sure what to make of the outside world. Noise, people, scents.Mostly, it just watches at first. Sometimes, it wants to run back into the security of a cage. Even the ground beneath its feet must feel strange. No more rusty metal mesh.

It becomes wary of the camera so I put it away after a couple of minutes. And then, what amazes me is that it starts to bond. It comes to me for reassurances. It tries to hide behind me when there is a loud noise. It starts to take comfort in pets and scratches.

This must be innate. How could it have possibly learned this from within a cage? Who would have set the example? Even after only experiencing some of the worst humanity has to offer, it still wants to trust us. We can't let it down again.

Dinglehopper

photo by Michelle

If you watched the CBC Marketplace episode on How Not to Buy a Puppy about the flow of puppies from puppy mills in the States to Hunte Corporation to P.J.'s Pets in Toronto, you might remember Dinglehopper, the little Pomeranian with big medical problems.

As it turns out, Michelle, Dinglehopper's owner, has a very informative website, aptly named Dinglehopper, about all the major health ordeals her young dog has gone through so far including the giardia he brought home from the store, 3 surgeries for his luxating patella and most recently, progressive retinal atrophy which will eventually blind him. In all, he's had almost fifty vet visits so far, the majority of which were in his first year.

The Marketplace angle on puppy mills to pet stores focuses in on the health risks/medical costs of the pups purchased (it is called "Marketplace" after all) but I think most dog advocates would agree that while that is important, especially to the eventual owner, the real story is how buying pet store pups perpetuates the factory farming of dogs. Michelle understood this from the start, even before purchasing Dinglehopper, and this is the part that reveals an even more insidious side to this industry: how it preys on a person's compassion. From her website:

I always said that I would never purchase a puppy from a pet store. I have always been told that by doing so, you are setting yourself up for heartbreak as far too many chain pet stores have puppies that came from puppy mills. However, I had been told by a number of this store’s representatives/employees that this was not the case with their store – that they did not have puppies with a puppy mill background. Numerous employees told me that if their store had involvement with puppy mills, that they would not be working for such a place.

On January 3rd, 2006 I came across two Pomeranians that were for sale. Upon request, an employee led me into a room to meet the puppies, separately. I instantly fell in love with the cream sable Pomeranian. I was told that this Pomeranian had been in the store for a number of months. Furthermore, it was mentioned that nobody had been expressing interest in this puppy as it was “too old” (he was not yet 4 months old) and the younger puppies were more popular. I left that evening not planning on purchasing the puppy as, again, I did not believe that it is right to buy dogs from pet stores. That evening, however, I couldn’t push the thought out of my head how nobody wanted this Pomeranian because he was deemed to be too old. I decided that the next day I would return to the store to inquire further about the dog.

The following day the puppy was not in the window, yet his price tag remained. When I inquired nobody seemed to know where the puppy had gone. After approximately 20 minutes he was found in the back. I was informed that he was “boxed up” ready to be shipped away because nobody wanted him, restating that he was too old to remain at the store. I was told that if I wanted him, I could have him, but if I wasn’t interested he would be sent away. I was not told where he would be sent, but it definitely was not said in a tone that sounded promising. The situation seemed to be urgent, as the Pomeranian needed to continue on its way if I was not going to purchase him. I purchased the puppy for $1,944.99 + taxes (15% GST/PST here in Ontario) and named him Dinglehopper.

I can imagine how hard it would have been, thinking that you held the balance of a dog's life in your hands. How impossible would it be to walk away from that, especially when an attachment has already been made. It's this same strength of compassion in Michelle that makes her continue her care of Dinglehopper. And it's this same compassion that these pet stores use to blackmail even those who are somewhat knowledgeable about puppy mills.

It was only later, after more investigation, that Michelle realized that Dinglehopper did indeed come from a puppy mill and of course by then, it was too late. Their bond was formed.

I'm sure Michelle would never make the same decision again but it was a lesson learned the hard way. Her website tries to inform others of that lesson before they end up in the same situation.

That's another sad thing about this: that in order to stop the cycle of puppy mills, people have to stop buying pet store puppies and that means the puppies in the display cases will end up growing too old, getting boxed, and shipped off.

Michelle tells me that Dinglehopper's next vet visit is today. The blood flow to his retinas is estimated to be at 50%. Due to the progressive retinal atrophy, once there is no blood flow he'll be blind. "There's nothing we can do... just hold on to some hope that maybe it will take years for him to become fully blind. It's sad because this condition can be screened for and if a dog has it, don't breed them... because if they have it, or are carriers it's going to be passed on to at least some of the puppies."

HSUS lawsuit against Petland and Hunte Corp

A couple of weeks ago, CBC's Marketplace did a story connecting U.S. puppy mills with dogs sold by P.J.'s Pets in Toronto. One of the puppy brokers that P.J.'s deals with is The Hunte Corporation which the Humane Society of the United States is now pursuing in a class action lawsuit, alleging that Hunte is conspiring to sell unhealthy puppy mill puppies to unsuspecting consumers in numerous states.

Legally, that's probably the best option because unfortunately, in law, you can't sue someone for being a scuzzbag who perpetuates the sickening conditions that puppy mill dogs are forced to endure their entire lives.

HSUS is not only going after Hunte but they are also going after one of the larger pet store chains that sells the Hunte dogs, Petland. P.J.'s may want to pay attention to this.

In the HSUS video below, they trace back the origins of some of the Petland pups to puppy miller, Kathy Bauck of Minnesota who has hundreds of caged breeding dogs producing thousands of pups a year generating an income for her of $500,000 annually. In 2006, the state of Minnesota found that Bauck was performing surgical procedures including Caesarian sections and botched spaying and neutering on dogs without proper anesthesia. Despite charges of animal cruelty and animal torture, Bauck is still legally breeding and selling puppies.

HSUS Investigator: Is she [Bauck] a good breeder?

Petland Employee: She's a good breeder but I just don't like that she has ten dogs down there ... in her kennel.

Wow, how misinformed can a person be?

P.J.'s, you watching this?

How not to buy a puppy

Did you catch the CBC Marketplace episode on pet store pups? If not, it's here.

I'm especially glad they took on P.J.'s Pets in Toronto. Bunch of wanks.

Also, an Oscar should go to the executive director of PIJAC Canada (PIJAC being a pet industry lobby group), who gave the most realistic performance ever of a man pretending to be a man pretending to be shocked when learning about the puppy mill origins of pet store dogs. Judging from the stony, sweaty response when confronted with the falsehoods pushed by those pet stores he represents, I'd bet that as soon as the interview was over, he went back into his kitchen and gulped down a mug or two of whiskey and ate a couple of puppies for lunch.

More on Dinglehopper, the Pomeranian in the Marketplace episode, here.

On a happier note ...

... well sort of. 93 small dogs were rescued last Friday from another Quebec puppy mill. That's three strikes in three months. I hope this means they're out but I kind of doubt it.

The woman who ran the puppy mill was not arrested but might face animal cruelty charges. Now that's the kind of strong regulation that'll make all the quivering puppy mill operators think twice before they continue with their horrendous breeding practices. Or not.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Dogs+suffering+from+neglect/1074170/story.html

http://unitedanimalnations.blogspot.com/

I wonder if TAS will be getting a shipment soon.

Thanks to Joanne for the heads up on this.

CBC goes undercover

CBC takes a hidden camera into Quebec puppy mills.

video: UC Quebec puppy mills

print: Quebec battles reputation as puppy mill capital

The previous was originally broadcast in French. For the original, more in-depth French version, go here and click on "Regardez l'integrale" under "Emission du jeudi 20 novembre 2008".

... and other news:

Inaction over Quebec puppy mills has created a mecca of abuse: lawsuit

Reason # 491

Remember this little Chinese Crested rescued from the Quebec puppy mill?



He was adopted out by Toronto Animal Services and then he was returned by the owner a few weeks later. Why? Because, the owner said, the dog had diarrhea.

I hope he went in the owner's shoe. A lot.

Weekend update

It was a pretty successful weekend at Toronto Animal Services as far as puppy mill pup adoptions went.

There are still a couple left, though, including this little Chinese Crested.

He's a perfect lap dog with a whole lot of personality so I'm not sure why he hasn't been snatched up. You can actually see him in one of the Humane Society puppy mill seizure videos at about the 1:13 mark.

Lies

Incestuous and impotent

How does an operation like Paws R Us fit into the overall dog manufacturing industry in Quebec? Why are they not shut down like they would be if they were located in another Canadian province? Why are there an estimated 2000 breeding facilities in Quebec (no one knows for sure but I'm guessing these breeding facilities run the gamut from backyard breeders to large scale puppy mills)?

Here are the connections: Many puppy mills in Quebec are due paying members of PIJAC, the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, a lobby group for the pet industry. PIJAC is on the board of Anima Quebec. Anima Quebec is the provincially created body whose mandate it is to enforce Quebec's outdated animal welfare regulations. So, here we have Anima who is supposed to police the pet industry but at the same time has pet industry reps on its board.

Hmm, I can just imagine one of their board meetings now.

Chairperson: This week we are going to inspect the We Aren't a Puppy Mill Kennel just outside of Sherbrooke.

Industry rep: Oh no, I personally know the owner of that kennel and I can assure you that it is not a puppy mill.

Chairperson: But we have dozens of complaints from customers who say they have purchased sick and dying puppies from the place.

Industry rep: Some people just don't know how to take care of their dogs and then they blame the merchandise, er I mean the puppies.

Chairperson: But we also have complaints from nearby residents about the stench and howling and barking that come from the place.

Industry rep: Nosey neighbours. You know the type. Jealous and can't mind their own business.

Chairperson: There are also photographs taken by someone who snuck into the barns where the dogs were being held. The conditions didn't look very healthy and there were a lot of dogs.

Industry rep: Then I suggest you find that person and arrest him for trespassing.

Chairperson: There's also a lot of public pressure to look into this one. I'm afraid we can't avoid it. We have to go in.

Industry rep: Is there nothing I can do to make you change your mind?

Chairperson: No, absolutely not. The public trusts us and we must uphold the law.

Industry rep: Er okay. So when do you think you'll be going in?

Chairperson: Tomorrow. Oh no, actually, not tomorrow. Our inspectors have got their beer and bowling night tomorrow. Let's make it the day after.

Industry rep: Sounds good. Err, please excuse me while I make a phone call.

Chairperson: Of course.

Industry rep (on phone to answering machine): Er, allo? Louie? I just wanted to call to let you know that you need to do your "laundry" tomorrow because the day after "papa" will be showing up for a visit.

A week later:

Industry rep: How did the inspection at We Aren't a Puppy Mill Kennel go?

Chairperson: You were right. The inspector found nothing. As a matter of fact, when he arrived, they told him they had just finished doing their daily clean-up. The place was spotless.

Industry rep: See what did I tell you?

Chairperson: Funny thing, though. There were a couple of other barns there which were locked and the inspector thought he heard whining coming from inside them but he didn't go in because he didn't have time.

Industry rep: I'm sure it was nothing. Probably just chickens.

Chairperson: Yes, I'm sure you're right. Just chickens. Ha ha ha ha.

Industry rep: Ha ha ha ha ha.

Chairperson/Industry rep (together): Ha ha ha ha ha ha ...

Even without this direct industry influence, animal regulations in Quebec are, to say the least, pretty loosely interpreted.

Excerpt from P-42, the Animal Health Protection Act, found on Anima's website:

"The moral element required for conviction excludes mere negligence. In a criminal prosecution, the person who neglects to request the information that someone reasonable and prudent would ask, or who does not know the facts they should know, is innocent in the eyes of the law."

So, even if someone is negligent towards their dogs, as long as they admit that they were negligent due to ignorance and general stupidity, it's okay. Carry on.

How does this fantastic piece of legislation translate into real world numbers? In 2005, the first year Anima started their inspections, they checked more than 200 breeding facilities and out of those 200, only closed down two and even then, they were voluntary closures.

Nicole Blouin, spokeswoman for Anima Quebec, was asked if inspectors who came across obvious cases of animal abuse would prosecute to which she replied they are not prosecuting such cases. "We are applying the provincial law."

It's a good thing, too, that Anima Quebec doesn't demand too much from itself because with only 5 inspectors for all of Quebec (compared to Ontario's 300), they wouldn't want to be overworking their staff.

From Huguette Lepine, director of Anima Quebec:

"The main target of Anima Quebec is safety and welfare of animals - not just to find guilty people. We are in a hurry but going slowly."

No kidding.

Continued here.

French connection 2

Five more from the Quebec puppy mill bust last week. All young, all instinctively joyous when people approach, though God knows why after what people have put them through.

One beagle is calm, gentle.

The other is kinetic until I pay attention to it and then it melts and all is well.

One Cocker Spaniel is playful.

The other one is quiet but determined to be near a person, to approach and seek comfort from anyone who passes by.

Then there is the Shitzu who is like a silly little toy, legs moving so fast they look like a blur but still only barely keeping up to my walking pace.

I wonder if the people who will eventually come and take these dogs home will know what they have saved them from?

James from Toronto Animal Services was up in Montreal over the weekend to check out some of the other dogs taken from the seizures. He immediately noticed the big dogs, the Great Danes, Mastiffs, Labs, Irish Setters but there were also lots of little lap dogs, lots of everything, Boxers, Pit Bulls. Even with all the fostering help various rescues and shelters have been offering, the Montreal SPCA still has over 400 dogs under its care at the moment (this includes about 100 dogs which were there even before the puppy mill seizures).

The illicit dog trade in Quebec is completely out of control. Attempts to curb it have been muddled by the usual folly of human politics combined with lack of will. Here's an article in The Toronto Star about that sad state of affairs.

Addendum: Here's the video report hosted by The Globe and Mail. (When I tried it, it was loading up pretty slow).

French connection

First walk outside, ever.

Quebec's got more puppy mills than any other province in Canada so it's unfortunate but not too surprising that in the last couple of weeks, two puppy factories were raided and hopefully shut down for good. The first seizure involved over a hundred animals and the second over two hundred. That's over three hundred dogs who suddenly needed to find new homes.

So that's what the sun feels like

Toronto Animal Services is helping out with the rehoming and the first batch of dogs arrived on Sunday. I've seen them and they're all pip squeaks. You can probably juggle all of them and eat an apple at the same time. Okay, I'm kidding because if you had them all together in the same room at the same time your head might burst from all the excessive cuteness.

So that's what fresh air smells like

A couple of them are a little shell shocked from the experiences of their past lives but hopefully it won't take long for them to break out of it. I know a little sunlight, fresh air and green grass will help. And being pip squeaks, I'm sure they'd like some warm laps to snuggle into so if any of you have any laps you'd care to bring down to TAS to help with their rehab, please feel free.

Happiness is a patch of grass

In case you're thinking: Hey, these dogs don't look in such bad shape. Maybe those puppy mills weren't so nasty after all... Well, actually, we just got some of the luckier ones. To see where they came from, take a look at the video:

The nemesis

Ever wonder why there are so many unwanted dogs around? Is it because there are packs of stray dogs fornicating like there's no tomorrow and having feral puppies in the alleyways? Not quite. At least 67% of unwanted dogs are produced as a disposable byproduct from backyard breeders, the worst contributor to the overpopulation problem, followed by puppy mills with 20% (http://www.nopuppymillscanada.ca/byb.htm).

Most people know what puppy mills are: disgusting places that make it into the news every so often when they get raided by animal welfare officers. The owners generally get a slap on the wrist fine and then open up another mill a few months later. Just google it if you want all the gory details and there are lots of gory details to be had. Every state, every province has puppy mills, Quebec apparently being the worst in Canada, supplying pet stores everywhere. They are such unwholesome and universally reviled business establishments that even Oprah dedicated a whole episode to the topic - sending in undercover journalists to check out and film the action.

But what about backyard breeders? Who're they? Well, he's the guy at work who lives on a farm and he's got a couple of nice dogs, kinda look like purebred shepherds or something like that, and he just wants to make a few bucks by selling a few puppies or they're the nice couple down the street with a couple of nice kids and they just want to educate the kids about birth and what better way than a live home demo or maybe it's the wacky entrepreneur living upstairs who wants to create the next designer dog sensation by crossing a poodle with a bull mastiff. Some of them may be well-intentioned, some may not but either way the result is more dogs in a world overcrowded with unwanted dogs. And you have to ask yourself, what happens to the puppies if that co-worker doesn't sell the whole litter? What happens to the ones that nice couple down the street can't find homes for? What happens when the entrepreneur upstairs discovers that no one really wants mastidoodles or poostiffs or whatever he decides to call them?

This is what happens. They end up at the pound and they'll probably be killed. Look at the stats (from yesterday Dead dogs). Unwanted dogs don't stand a good chance of making it out alive.

Or, the other possibility is that all the puppies are sold. That means that an equal number of dogs that could have been adopted from shelters are now destined for euthanasia. Plus it encourages the byb to try it again as soon as his bitch is ready.

Most people own byb dogs and the point here isn't to spread guilt, it's to spread conscientious decision making. The best way to get a dog is either through adoption or through a reputable breeder. More on that tomorrow.