Monday, December 19, 2011

Puppy Mills

Is there truth about the Amish and "puppy mills"?
I've heard very bad things about the treatment and the connection to the Amish.


I have only heard a few tidbits through the grapevine about an incident in Lancaster involving an Amish family. I don't know the details or if the whole deal was blown out of proportion or not.

I do personally know an Amish widow who raises puppies to sell as her means of income but after visiting her and seeing how they are raised no one could possibly accuse her of doing anything wrong. She has ten dogs, each with a big comfortable shelter and a large pen where they can run around all they like. Everything is spotlessly clean and she spends hours everyday talking and playing with the dogs. Our children have really enjoyed their visits to her house where she always invited them inside the pens with her to play with the puppies and the mother dogs.

As far as I know there aren't many Amish people who raise dogs for sale.

Lately it seems all you hear is the importance of adopting dogs. I have nothing against finding a dog or puppy at an animal shelter but the people running those places aren't always the saints they would like to be portrayed as either.

Right now we don't have a dog but in the past we have adopted two dogs, and we have also bought a puppy from someone (non-Amish) that raised dogs.

Soon after LV and I got married and we lost our farm dog we went to the Humane Society in hopes to adopt one. We were both appalled at how those poor dogs were living and were feeling really good about rescuing one from those deplorable conditions and taking it home with us until we tried to go through all their red tape. Their adoption fee was ridiculously high, they wanted to know way too much personal information, and insisted we would have to take any dog we chose directly to a vet before they would even consider allowing us to think about taking it home.

We left without a dog and ended up buying a puppy somewhere else. I don't know if our experience was different from how it is at other shelters and agencies across our nation. I hope it is, because until they make adoptions easier there will always be people who would rather not try to deal with those agencies.

14 comments:

  1. First of all, I have to say that the Lancaster Amish have a reputation for being a hot bed of puppy mills. How much truth there is to this, I don't know, but it does tarnish their reputation, and it has become one of those things "everybody knows". A bit of "image polishing" may be in order, as much as they dislike publicity.

    Adoption fees at Humane Societies have gotten higher because public budgets have gotten tighter; they used to be part of the county budget, but now must be self-supporting. Dog and cat food aren't free, and even though most places are staffed by volunteers, the electric company gets sniffy if they don't get paid.

    As for personal questions - well, many of us see a pet as a furry kid. If you were going to adopt a child you'd expect questions. If you have your heart set on a big dog, do you live an an apartment or do you have space for the dog to run, or time (and inclination) to walk him? Chows and Chihuahuas are very unpredicable, and do not make good pets in a house with children. If you are getting a kitten, are your children old enough not to squeeze it to death?

    Humane Societies will NEVER allow adoptions at Christmas; places that sell puppies encourage them. Often, there's too much excitement going on, the family has to leave and go visit grandmom, and the poor pooch is left alone - again. And within a month or so, the bloom is off the rose, and the animal ends up - at a Humane Society.

    Sorry for such a long letter!

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  2. Mary Ann, your post is right on the mark. I would pay for a dog any day rather than buy it from a so-called shelter. Also, we give our dogs their shots and have their rabies done at free clinics. There is way too much money being exchanged for vet services. Some are good, decent vets, but some are like the pill-prescribing doctors that have so many folks addicted to pain-relievers. It's a money-mill on both counts. In case of emergencies we are more than willing to pay for services though. We would not let any animal suffer needlessly.

    As far as reputation goes I think we need not form opinions about any person or group of people unless we are personal eyewitnesses of wrongdoing.

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  3. I live in Wales. There have been many reports about cruel puupy farms here - mostly initially reported by the stable of papers owned by Rupert Murdoch which are under investigation for their inethical and untruthful work.
    I have lived and travelled in Wales for 15 years and have never come across such premises. I have, however, met people who take it upon themselves to remove animals from others because they have decided that the owner is ill-treating them. In one case this led to the death of a much loved family pony that needed regular medication and didn't get it because the 'rescuer' thought it was merely underfed and fed it inappopriately. Another women was caught running round and round my neighbour's field, trying to catch a lame ewe to rescue it. It was being treated for joint-ill, but this takes time to cure and an instant cure is impossible so there are bound to be some cases in evidence in a damp area like this. What she succeeded in doing was to cause the ewe, and several others she terrified, to abort their lambs.
    All this is caused by sensationalist reporting, leading people who have limited, though well-intentioned experience to believe all farmers here are bad and cruel and to take the law into their own hands.

    Don't believe all you read - especially in newspapers where journalists rely on sensationalism to keep up circulation. And PLEASE don't tar all people of one community or group with the same brush. One cruel puppy raiser in a community doesn't mean all people who have pups for sale in that community are the same.

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  5. I adopted my dog from a shelter and it was a great experience. They asked for a donation and i got a puppy that was previously in dire straits and who was bought back from certain death. This was a no kill place and i still go back to use their vets. They are cheaper than other vets and they are always loving and caring about their animals. I guess it all depends where you go. Classifying any one group in a generalized way is never accurate. I am glad that the Amish lady you visit is a great caregiver to her animals. Proves that we should never jump to conclusions about anyone or anyplace before we know for sure. Everyone really needs to do their homework before adopting a dog and once they do then the outcome can be awesome! :0)
    Blessings, Joanne

    December 19, 2011 10:12 AM

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  6. I have rescued the lives of many animals from our shelter, & the cost didn't bother me one bit. They repaid me thousand-fold for that dribble of $$ I spent.

    For the life of me, I cannot phathom any Amish having a bad reputation for raising animals, or doing anything less than stellar. I am sure it could happen, but I just can't imagine the rumor, ever being true.

    Merry Christmas
    TTFN ~
    Hugs,
    Marydon

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  7. I don't know anything about the Amish having puppy mills but I do know there is far too much of this happening in our world. I am totally in favor of the alternative humane society adoptions. In my town it is not as complicated as the Humane Society and red tape is kept to a minimum. There are so many sweet animals who need a home it just makes sense to me to adopt them rathwer than having them destroyed.

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  8. That's how it is over here too; that's why my dogs and cats have either come from people I know or from actual breeders. It costs almost as much to adopt a pet as it does to buy a pedigree pet, and I don't see why they need all the information they do.

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  9. I do not advocate cruelty to any animal. It does seem to me in recent years that certain segments of society have forgotten one key thing though. They are animals ! Spending lavish amounts of money on them and treating them like human children does not mean you are taking better care of them or love them more.
    Cats and Dogs were not meant to wear clothing or sleep in my bed !
    If some of these so called Animal Advocates spent as much time and effort being kind to their fellow man we would all be better off.

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  10. I regret a post that says "How much truth there is to this, I don't know," then continues on to repeat what is not known as truth. It is a simple thing to find the source of such topics - and if the internet sources are solely based on rumor, it does not bear repeating, whether it is something "everybody knows" or not.

    We've not had to go to animal societies. Enough people drop their dogs off in our area and there seems to be a doggie sign that says, "These people will feed you." We got our very best farm dog that way, but hope we never see another." God bless those who see after His creatures.

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  11. My parent's got their dog from a shelter. older dog.

    i am muslim and agree that judging a community or group by a few people is wrong! look at how all Muslim's are labelled b/c of a few. i am a pacifist and non-resistant;) i also do not believe in bearing arms. i greatly admire the plain people; some of my closest friend's are mennonite.

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  12. There are many Amish puppy mills around and they treat their animals horribly. Like livestock. You should never buy an animal from a pet store because it most likely came from one of these mills. The parents of the puppy suffer terribly day-in and day-out their entire lives.
    If you adopt from a shelter most shelters will ask a lot of questions. After all, the animal already ended up in a shelter once and their hopes are for the animal to find a permanent home and not end up there again. A lot of the animals have been mistreated also and they don't want that to happen again either. Most shelters will ask if you own or rent your home. If you rent, they need your landlords approval. They also want the whole family to come and meet the dog. That way they know everyone is in agreement about adopting the animal and there will less of a chance of the animal being returned. They will charge a fee and they will either spay/neuter the dog before its adopted or they will require you to have it spayed/neutered after adoption. It costs a lot of money to run a shelter. Electricity, vet bills, food, blankets, medicine are just some of the costs. And when there are 100 or so animals in that shelter they all cost money to care for.

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  13. I have read a great deal of hate towards the Amish. They are all abuse their animals, whipping, starving, and sell them after their usefulness is over. Many are puppy Miller's, and many people hope they burn in hell or wish them there. With any religious sect you will have good and bad people. No more not less. I am tired of people branding them all together.

    How you obtain your pet, be it through a breeder, pet store, rescue or shelter. Is a personal choice and nobody's business. What right do you have to tell me where I can or not buy my pets? If I want to spend a few thousand on a fru fru dog or cat that is my choice. I am tired of it being villianized for how I choose to obtain my pets. Great article!!! Thank you!

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  14. I have read a great deal of hate towards the Amish. They are all abuse their animals, whipping, starving, and sell them after their usefulness is over. Many are puppy Miller's, and many people hope they burn in hell or wish them there. With any religious sect you will have good and bad people. No more not less. I am tired of people branding them all together.

    How you obtain your pet, be it through a breeder, pet store, rescue or shelter. Is a personal choice and nobody's business. What right do you have to tell me where I can or not buy my pets? If I want to spend a few thousand on a fru fru dog or cat that is my choice. I am tired of it being villianized for how I choose to obtain my pets. Great article!!! Thank you!

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment. I love hearing your thoughts.