On Dec. 29, Oprah Winfrey aired an update to her previous show focusing on puppy mills. Winfrey said several puppy mills have shut down or have been raided since that first show.
A mill in Tennessee was raided and 747 dogs were rescued from the horrible conditions and sent to shelters in seven states.
It was also reported a mill owner in Wisconsin, one of the largest in the country, retired. Rather than allow the 1,200 dogs there to be sold out to other operations, the Wisconsin Humane Society purchased the kennel and the dogs.
A judge in Pennsylvania banned a mill operator from ever reopening after the business was raided and charges filed. We need this sort of justice across the nation.
More recently, a puppy mill in West Virginia was raided and about 1,000 animals saved.
Sadly, another operator in Pennsylvania shot 80 dogs rather than be forced to take them in for veterinary care. Because this act was perpetrated prior to the new Pennsylvania laws going into effect, this individual was not charged.
New laws are now in place there to improve conditions in mills, force owners to offer veterinary care for the dogs and make it illegal to shoot dogs. Again, laws such as these really need to be in place nationwide. And the goal should be to shut down all puppy mills.
I know I read at times like a broken record, but we can't stress the problem enough. It seems more news on the puppy-mill issue hits the Web with regularity now and that's a good thing.
In more ways than one, education is a powerful tool. |