I know many will find my response to this thread a bit shocking, but it seems many of you are about to embark on a very complex path and I advise you to be very careful about what you are advocating and open your eyes to all potential ramifications.
First you better define puppymill. The context being used here is the commercial breeding industry.
Already there has been a lot of misinformation and inaccurate statements passed along. Just from the article:
http://www.lowellsun.com/letters/ci_4196072
Why do Massachusetts and New Hampshire pet stores keep supporting the puppy-mill trade?
Answer - because there is a shortage of pet animals in the Northeast due to the restrictive anti-breeder legislation that has been passed. In Massachusetts this year there was legislation proposed this year with language that said anyone breeding one (that is ONE) litter would be a commercial breeder. (AKA - puppymill - the equivalent of Hunte). So no wonder Breeders are reluctant to have more litters than they want something from to continue on with a very limited breeding program.
Ms. Capone also shows that she didn't do a lot of fact checking for her piece. $500 as beginning retail for a pet shop puppy - not likely.
USDA licensed breeders - those selling to Hunte are subject to federal regulations as set up under the animal welfare act. Missouri (or Mizzery as it is called in some rescue circles and the animal righters) has more inspectors than any other state. There are guidelines in place - laws which must be adhered to.
In order to make a profit and cover costs, corners must be cut, and puppies must be churned out at a furious rate.
This only illustrates how little Ms. Capone knows about reproductive cycles and breeding and bless your heart Nikki, you're understanding is about as poor. Dogs do not have the long term maternal feeling that you are crediting them with. Don't anthropomorphize dogs - they are dogs and do not think and feel the same ways as humans do. You do them a great disservice to do this.
Another inaccurate statement by Ms. Capone:
If you want to know where to go to buy a dog, you can log on to the AKC Web site. There you will find a list of certified breeders.
AKC does NOT certify breeders nor do they give a list of them. They do have a classified section where breeders can list (for a fee) litters for sale, but the way you will find reputable breeders there is when they are attempting to do education and advising against purchasing a puppy in such a way. IF someone claims to be an AKC "certified" or "registered" breeder, I suggest you run, not walk away - because they've already told one lie.
Ms. Capone again caught:
If not for the practice of these puppy mills and broker companies like Hunte, we would not have the overpopulation of dogs like we do now,
In certain areas of the country there are actual shortages of dogs. As much as it grieves me to quote anything from HSUS, even their statistics on the number of purebred animals in shelters is at its highest 20%, with more recent figures at 17%. This means that over 80% of the dogs in animal shelters are mutts and despite what they are labeled as XYZ mix - the odds of one parent being breed X and the other breed Y are very slim. Yet who is getting the blame? - breeders of purebred animals and that blame does extend to the reputable breeding community. All of my rescue corgis had owners at one time, I'm not up to my eyeballs with this recent glut of corgis needing to find homes because of breeders. It is not an overpopulation problem, it is an owner retention and responsibility problem.
In the original post in this thread, it was advised "...get in touch with animal rights groups. "
You best learn and understand what the animal rights movement is about before you get in bed with them. The Reader's Digest version is the animal rights movement wants the end of ALL animal use, and that includes pets - our corgis.
more in a part 2
Debbie