By: Krystal White
We have all seen the ASPCA commercials with the Sarah McLachlan
song chiming over pictures of caged animals, but have you really thought about
what is happening to that puppy? Puppy Mills by definition are, “an
establishment that breeds puppies for sale, typically on an intensive basis and
in conditions regarded as inhumane,” according to Merriam Webster.
The word puppy mill is familiar in
the Cobb County vocabulary, with our neighboring county being home to one of
the largest puppy mill raids to date. 357 puppies were rescued from inhumane
living conditions in Cherokee County, with their future market being possibly a local retailer,
PetLand.
PetLand?
The place we all play with puppies when we need a stress break? While the
owners of PetLand and their employees say that their puppies come from
respectful breeders, that isn’t always the case.
The Conditions of a Puppy Mill
Sadie
Flesher, a former PetLand employee and sophomore at Kennesaw State, says the
conditions are worse than words can explain. “The dogs are bred every single
time they go into heat, living in the small cage until they are pregnant with
the next litter,” Flesher remarks. “These cages are smaller than the
recommended crate size and are the only home they know.”
With floors covered in feces and
the dogs not being groomed properly the lavish breeds are not as glamour as
expected. Many of the dogs become ill due to the conditions but are still sold
off to local pet shops to be taken home.
Purebred dogs not purely healthy
While
the puppy in the window may look energetic and full of life, that little dog
may be sicker than you know. With the living conditions of the pet store
similar to that of the puppy mill diseases like mange and kennel cough are side
effects of the tight confined space.
“I
got Olly from PetLand knowing she came from a puppy mill,” Flesher said. “This
little puppy stole my heart, and I knew the problems she could have later in
life.” Olly, Sadie’s now 8-month-old Australian Sheppard had kennel cough, a
discovery she made shortly after bringing her home.
Sadie Flesh, former PetLand employee (photo by: Krystal White)
The
cost to having a sick purebred puppy holds a similar price tag to purchasing
the animal. Sarah Potts, a senior at Kennesaw, too got her puppy at PetLand. “Bella
had mange shortly after I brought her home, it cost me a few hundred dollars
and countless months to get her healthy,” said Potts.
Veterinary
bills are a tremendous portion of owning any animal, and should always be taken
into account before getting any animal. But when being promised a healthy
animal from pet stores, these unforeseen medical cost can become a heavy
expense.
PetLand, and why Kennesaw wants it gone.
There is currently a Facebook Group seeking to shut down
PetLand due to their connection with puppy mills and the living conditions of
their animals. Driving by the store on any given day presents an opportunity to
see a protestor standing on the sidewalk in front of the stores shopping
center.
“We
were trained what to tell the customer regarding where the puppies came from,”
stated Sadie. “While working there I could never admit to knowing where the
puppies come from. We would have large amounts of puppies come in sick and sell
them to the public as a healthy dog. It made me feel terrible.”
The
hope behind the Facebook group is to promote enough public interest to shut
down PetLand and promote other ways of getting pets. The conditions with which PetLand contains their animals is
not healthy, safe or in the best interest of the dogs. Just remember when
looking for animals there are plenty of alternatives.
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