Dogs bring so much joy to a family. The excitement that your dog shows to seeing you after a day of work, always lifts your morale. There are many reasons to have a dog in our lives. 

What if I said the same dog that yearns for your affection when you come home, never had any in their earlier years. What if I said the dog that jumps with excitement and run around with you, never had any place to run. What if I said the dog that licks you in the morning, had very little food and water to drink in their earlier years. 

I would like to pose a question to our readers today. Do you know your dog’s life before you got them?

What is a puppy mill?

Puppy Mills, also known as breeding mills, are dog-breeding facilities where the primary goal is to make the most amount of money with the least effort.

So why are puppy mills bad? These owners neglect the welfare of the dogs and their puppies just for monetary gains. To maximize profits, female dogs are forced to continually breed more puppies. Most of the time, these dogs have no rest. They are viewed as tools rather than dogs. When these dogs do not perform to the owner’s expectations, they are viewed as spoilt tools and will just be abandoned, or worse, they will be killed.

What about the puppies? These puppies are brought up in that same environment. What’s worse is that they are all placed in tiny cages with little space to move, restricted with no freedom to roam. Some of these puppies also rot in their own fecal matter. They grow up without any affection and are just waiting to be sold for a good price. 

Most of us may think that this is not present in Singapore. Sadly, that is not true. We do have these illegal puppy farms that are close to home. For example, on 14 June 2017 onToday, a woman was fined for unlicensed pet farming and ownership. She had 10 unlisted adult dogs, which she later admitted to using them for illegal breeding.

How can we stop puppy mills?

These puppy mills are created to make that quick buck. These illegal dog breeders can do this because of the growing demand for cute puppies. However, these dogs are just helpless and really need a voice. We need to stand up against this dog abuse . If you suspect that you have found a puppy mill or an inhumane dog breeding operation. Help these ill-treated dogs and notify the authorities (AVS) immediately.

How do we avoid getting our pups from puppy mills?

We should all instead consider adopting. Adopting not only stops these illegal puppy mills, but also helps dogs that are already abandoned and in need of love. We can save two lives just by adopting. These poor dogs are all yearning for a family.There are many Animal Welfare Groups in Singapore that has these lost and lovable dogs. Some include: SPCA,CAS,ASD,ALL,OSCAS,Madam Wong’s Shelter and Friends andUncle Khoe k9 Shelter.Do check them out.

Final Thoughts

Here at Good Dog People, we are advocates of adopting your furry friend. The abandoned dogs out there need your help and a home. If you are interested in increasing your family size with a 4-legged cutie, I hope you consider adoption.

If you have a dog that you adopted, we would love to hear your story! Share it with ushere and stand a chance to walk away with a signed copy of We Adopted! by Daniel Boey.

I think we can agree that puppy mills may be around for some time as they run on the demand of the general public for cute puppies. To me, loving cute puppies is not wrong. However, we can still tackle these illegal breeding ground by educating the public on how to avoid puppy mills.These poor puppies' lives matter. They should not just be abused and forced to stay in absurd living conditions for the owner’s monetary gains. The next time you see a cute puppy, I hope you can ask yourself this question: Where did this puppy come from?

P.A VERGHESE

Verghese - a self proclaimed foodie who loves to experience new things in life!