A Cause for Paws

Your mission: Learn proper dog care, promote improved conditions for dogs in puppy mills, and raise community awareness about how to get a dog without supporting cruelty.

Why? Puppy mills, mass dog breeding operations, house dogs in shockingly poor conditions. What's worse, puppy mills churn out puppies for pet stores while dogs in shelters wait for loving homes. There aren't enough homes for them all!

Life is particularly bad for the adult dogs who live their entire lives in cages, without human companionship and with little hope of ever becoming part of a family. These dogs receive little or no veterinary care and never see a bed, treat or toy. Many of the puppies who are born in puppy mills have behavior and/or health problems.

How? Write letters to your lawmakers. Educate your family, classmates, and community about proper dog care and the cruelty of puppy mills using the steps below.

1. Know your stuff. Because a puppy mill is a business, it is designed for profit, not for the well-being of dogs. Dogs in puppy mills receive little or no exercise or veterinary care and never see a bed, treat or toy. At the federal (national) level, the law states that dogs in puppy mills should have basic care, but puppy mills often don't follow it. There are few inspectors and minor fines which make it easy to violate the law. Puppy mills can also get around the law by selling puppies directly to consumers through the Internet instead of pet shops.

Every state has different laws regulating the care of dogs in puppy mills. Some require kennels and breeders to be licensed and inspected, while other states do not. How does your state define proper care? Are puppy mills required by law to give proper sanitation, ventilation, or nutrition for their dogs? Learn the laws for your state.

Get to know the steps that people can take to be sure they bring healthy pets into their families while not supporting cruelty. Read our Stop Puppy Mills HOTSheet.

2. Write on! Write letters to your state and federal lawmakers. Let them know that you are concerned about how dogs in puppy mills are treated. Ask them to make the puppy mill issue a priority. Or thank them if they have supported these laws in the past. Visit humanesociety.org/leglookup  and enter your ZIP code to find your elected officials. For tips on writing to legislators see page 9 of the Mission: Humane Action Guide. You may also want to consider sending a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. (See page 7 of the Mission: Humane Action Guide for tips.)

3. Entertain and educate. Think about the things that all dogs and puppies need in order to be healthy and happy. Then create a puppet show to educate your community about proper dog care and how puppy mills fall short. See if you can perform the show for your class, other students in your school or church, or other community group. You may want to find a friend or two to help you present your puppet show.

 ● Prepare a script for the play you will present. You can write the script on your own or you can use our story starter. Here are some important words you may want to include in your script:

 ● Construct puppets for your presentation. These sites may help you find ideas and patterns:
Puppet Craft Projects 
Puppy Puppet 
Doggy Hand Puppet  
Paper Bag Puppets

 ● Practice your play before you present. Be sure to cover the basic needs of dogs. Talk about what a puppy mill is and how people can make sure that a new puppy is not from a puppy mill. Emphasize that the number one way consumers can help shut down puppy mills is to avoid purchasing dogs from pet stores, and adopt from a local shelter or rescue group instead.

4. Pass it on. Print the Puppy Buying Tips and flier, or make your own flier. You can also print them and pass them out to classmates and family members. Tell everyone to make sure they are bringing healthy pets into their homes.

5. Tell us about it. Fill out our Mission: Accomplished form. Send it to us along with copies of your letter, fliers, and the play script. We'll send you a T-shirt!