GorillaOffTopic, Everything But Gorilla Trades

Thinking about buying one of those adorable little puppies from the local pet store? We have all seen them: cute little pure bred puppies in cages or cribs, begging to be loved and touched and cared for. They are so cute you just want to scoop one up before anyone else does- even at the high price of seven or eight hundred dollars. Yes, it is tempting, especially if you love a certain breed of dog. It’s easy, accessible and it’s convenient. But the sickening story about how this puppy came to be lies within the wire cages far away in Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, and many other states across the country.  Yes, that beautiful little Pomeranian or Yorkie you fell in love with in that pretty little pet shop came from a place slightly resembling hell, and from a mother dog who had to be subjected to deplorable conditions throughout her entire life. Conditions which made it so that she never once was allowed to leave the wire cage she lives in, with the wire floors that her little feet get caught up in, causing her pain and anguish on a daily basis.  These puppy mills are overrun with cages and cages of breeding dogs that can barely walk, not that they ever get the chance to in their lives. They literally never leave the cages, which are wrought with filth; urine and feces all over the place and never once cleaned. In addition, the cages are exposed to the weather since they are mostly outdoors so in many cases, the exposure to the elements kills them.  Sickening as it sounds, females will actually give birth to 140 babies in her life and often times suffer from tumors and disease due to having too many litters. It is not just females in the mills. There are plenty of males too, just not as many, since one male can be used to impregnate 20 or more females. Their lives are certainly no better. It is a sick, sad world these poor animals suffer on a day-to-day basis, and when these breeders are “done” with the dogs, they shoot them dead.  That is the thanks these precious dogs get in return for all of the money and service they provide to these breeders.  So what about the pet stores that claim to use only “local breeders?” Don’t be fooled. For the most part, this is simply not true- even when the pet store owner insists it is- don’t believe it. They are getting the dogs from the mills. The Gorilla has been behind the scenes of the puppy mill industry and one could never imagine how horrible of a life these innocent creatures have to endure.  Just recently, Oprah Winfrey did a show on the puppy mills in this country. Many people were glad she finally did this to expose the horrors of this industry. Currently, it is believed that there are as many as 10,000 puppy mills throughout the U.S. and almost all of them subject these dogs to horrendous conditions, as it is just the way of the industry.  

So what can you do to help put a stop to the inexcusable conditions of this horrific industry? Well, to start, don’t buy a dog from a pet shop!  With over 4 million dogs and cats being killed every year in animal shelters throughout the U.S., why would you pay $500 and up for a pure bred, while at the same time, patronizing an industry that does this to animals? You can get just about any kind of loving, cute, puppy or older dog or cat from a shelter, and these animals need homes desperately. Why not adopt an animal who needs you? The other thing you can do is write to your governor and ask him/her to take action to help change the laws that breeders must abide by. We can all help do our part, but one thing is for certain in the Gorilla’s mind; we must help put an end to this heinous treatment of the animals, which we are responsible to look after and protect.