I love dogs – if it weren’t for the fact that we were constantly on the move, Nil and I would have gotten ourselves a lovely Retriever from a breeder or simple rescue one from the shelter. My family and I have never had to buy a puppy; we would take in strays or simply adopt one from someone who was giving their dog away. But there are countless of others out there who would never think twice about buying a puppy from the petshop…unaware that every time they do so, they support a cruel system known as the puppy mill.

This video, taken from Youtube, is the first of a seven/eight-part series (Youtube upload la) done by Oprah on the topic. Puppy mills are just places where people breed dogs without a care in the world – females are constantly pregnant, adults & pups are kept in small cages (think rabbit cages) and just treated cruelly. We would never condone a woman constantly getting pregnant, year after year, pregnancy after pregnancy and neither would we condone acts of abuse like jailing our children and adults in cages out in the hot sun with little fresh water or food. But why do we do so for animals who deserve so much more for the things that they give us?

If you think this only happens in the West, think again. I used to live near this guy who was breeding his shar peis and cocker spaniels like crazy. The females were ALWAYS pregnant and he never takes them or the puppies out. They were kept in small zinc cages out in the sun and the stench was…just…well, unbearable. His idea of bathing them was using a hose and spraying them with it. If you’re genuinely concerned about this issue or know of anyone who is running a puppy mill, contact SPCA or any animal-related NGO about it and let them know.

These mills simply shouldn’t exist!!!!