The holiday season has officially started. This is the time of year where kids pester their parents with the critical question: “Can we get a puppy for Christmas?”

Every year, thousands of well-meaning parents buy their child a puppy at the holidays and unknowingly support puppy mills. Since the Wnternet is so widely used today for everything from buying socks to buying exotic pets, many people use the World Wide Web to find the perfect puppy, without knowing where that puppy is coming from and without taking the time to visit the breeder. During this year’s Puppy Mill Action Week, spread the word about adoption and discourage others from buying from breeders, the Internet, and pet stores (unless they adopt out shelter animals). Here in Santa Barbara, the Montecito Pet Shop in Santa Barbara recently stopped selling puppies from breeders. They now only adopt out shelter puppies.

Puppy Mills 101

Puppy mills are breeding kennels, located mainly in the Midwest, that are notorious for their cramped, unsanitary conditions and their continuous breeding of purebred animals. Puppy mill kennels usually consist of wire-mesh cages kept outdoors where female dogs are often bred continuously without rest between heat cycles. The mother dogs and their puppies often suffer from malnutrition and lack of veterinary care and receive little, if any, human contact. The puppies are taken from their mothers at four to six weeks of age (before they should even be weaned) and are sold to brokers who pack them into crates for transport to pet shops. The female dogs are typically killed once they stop producing litters. Unfortunately, puppy mill breeders are concerned more about the profit they make from puppies than the health and welfare of the animals.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, there may be as many as 10,000 puppy mills operating across the United States.

Last year, The Oprah Winfrey Show investigated Amish farms in Pennsylvania that were running puppy mills. Wire cages filled with dogs were stacked on top of each other and even though the farms spanned more than 60 acres, these dogs never stepped foot on grass. At one puppy mill, the farmer had his dogs running on wheels in fan casings that looked like giant gerbil wheels. The farmer claimed this helped them get exercise as they were never out of their cages.

Bill Smith, of Main Line Animal Rescue, was the one who encouraged Oprah to do a show on puppy mills. Smith and his volunteers rescue unwanted puppy mill dogs and adopt them out to families. According to Smith, “A number of times they’ll call us and give us 45 minutes to an hour to come out and pick up a dog before they shoot it when they no longer want it. It’s always amazing to me when I go out to pick up a dog they’ve had for eight or nine years and it doesn’t even have a name. It’s never been out of the hutch. It doesn’t know how to walk. I have to carry it to the car. It’s heartbreaking.” Smith said that Main Line Animal Rescue has rescued approximately 8,000 animals in its 12-year existence-about 5,000 of those were from puppy mills. For more information on Main Line Animal Rescue, visit www.mainlinerescue.com.

When I first witnessed puppy mills in my husband’s hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, my initial question was, “How the heck is this legal?” The U.S. Department of Agriculture is supposed to monitor and inspect kennels to ensure they are not violating the housing standards of the Animal Welfare Act, but kennel inspections take low priority at the USDA. In addition, many of these breeders are operating without a license and slip through the cracks of the USDA.

What You Can Do

Adopt instead of buy. If you’re looking to get a dog, check with your area shelters first. Not only will you be saving a life, but you will ensure that your money is not going to support a puppy mill. There are many dogs waiting for homes in shelters all across the country, and close to 20 percent of these dogs are purebred. If you are set on a particular breed and can’t find it at your local shelter, try a breed rescue group through petfinder.com. Even Oprah is convinced to adopt next time. After the puppy mill episode aired, Oprah said: “I am a changed woman. I will never go anywhere else but a shelter.”

Research your local pet store. If you must adopt from a pet store, find out where the dogs are coming from. According to Main Line Animal Rescue, 99 percent of pet shop dogs come from puppy mills and if they state the animals came from the Midwest, it’s a good chance that it’s a puppy mill.

Beware of Internet sales. Those who sell animals on the Internet are not held to the Animal Welfare Act regulations, and so are not inspected by the USDA. If you fall in love with a puppy you see on the Internet, make a visit to the breeder in person.

Know how to recognize a responsible breeder. Responsible breeders have their dogs’ best interest in mind. If someone is a responsible breeder, they should be screening you just as you are screening them. Ideally, the mother dog should be part of their family. You should be allowed to see the breeding premises and be able to meet the mother of the puppies you are interested in. A responsible breeder will have health checks on all the puppies and will take them back for any reason if it doesn’t work out.

With so many homeless dogs and cats being put to death every year in animal shelters, there is simply no reason for animals to be bred and sold for the pet-shop trade. Now that you are aware, you can spread the word.

Announcements

• ASAP and K-9 PALS announces their Home for the Holidays Adoption Fair Saturday, December 5, and Sunday, December 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Santa Barbara County Shelter, K-9 PALS, and ASAP (Animal Shelter Assistance Program) will be hosting the event for homeless dogs and cats. There will be a bake sale, face painting, and additional activities including a raffle to help support shelter programs. The adoption fees for both dogs and cats will be reduced for this special holiday fair. They hope to have as many dogs and cats as possible find their forever homes in time for the holidays. Visit the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter at 5473 Overpass Road.

• Visit Animal Adoption Solutions at the Santa Barbara International Marathon this Sunday, December 6, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The nonprofit group will have a booth at Santa Barbara’s first international marathon. Yours truly will be running the booth (after I finish my leg of the relay). Until I finish, loyal volunteers Polly Rice and Brent Sumner will be holding down the fort. All animal groups are welcome to bring adoptable animals to be showcased during this event

Santa Paws will be at Dioji Sunday, December 6, 1-4 p.m. Stop by Dioji K-9 Resort & Athletic Club and have your dog and/or kid’s photo taken with Santa Paws. Photo packages start at $15 and all proceeds go to DAWG (Dog Adoption and Welfare Group). Dioji is located across from Costco at 7340 Hollister Avenue in Goleta. For more information, call 685-6068 or visit dioji.com.

Mitch

Adoptable Pet of the Week

Mitch is an FIV+ cat with no other health conditions. He is a young (2-3 years old), beautiful brown tabby with white feet and a white blaze on his chest, and the most gorgeous, trusting green eyes. He is a real lovebug and craves attention. He would definitely be a lap cat. He is Mr. Social with cats and people. We don’t know much about his history as someone left him in the overnight cage.

Here are some facts about FIV+ cats:

• FIV is a slow virus that affects a cat’s immune system over a period of many years.

• FIV is a cat-only disease and cannot be spread to humans or other non-felines.

• FIV is not easily passed between cats. It cannot be spread casually – like in litter boxes, water and food bowls, or when snuggling and playing with other cats. It is rarely spread from a mother to her kittens.

• FIV can be spread through blood transfusions; badly infected gums; or serious, penetrating bite wounds (these types of bites are extremely rare, except in free-roaming, unneutered tomcats).

• A neutered cat in a home is unlikely to infect other cats, if properly introduced.

• FIV+ cats should be kept as healthy as possible. Keep them indoors and free from stress, feed them a high-quality diet, and treat any secondary problems as soon as they arise.

• Many vets are still uninformed about FIV since the virus was only discovered about 15 years ago.

• Most FIV+ cats live long, healthy, and relatively normal lives with no symptoms at all.

To learn more about Mitch, call the Santa Barbara Animal Shelter Assistance Program (ASAP) at 683-3368 or visit its Web site at asapcats.org. ASAP is located at the S.B. Animal Shelter, 5473 Overpass Road (just beyond the Humane Society). Business hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Closed Sundays.

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