Stores in Michigan that specialize in selling pet supplies are promoting the adoption of pets and have taken the Humane Society of the U.S.-led pledge not to sell dogs and puppies in their premises. They have also promised to educate their clientele about dog and puppy mills.
Most people who are buying residential properties for sale usually buy dogs and other pets once they move into their new homes. Pet supplies stores owners have stated that some of them are attracted by puppies they see in a window store and are not aware that these pets grew up in puppy mills.
Members of the Puppy Mill Awareness Meetup association in the state have warned buyers of foreclosed homes for sale, who are also planning to purchase a pet that dogs raised in puppy mills often suffer from health and behavior problems. They added that these dogs are kept in poorly managed facilities and most of them are killed after they stop breeding puppies.
They also stated that puppy mill pets are kept in cramped wire cages and are deprived of human companionship. The members of the awareness group, along with the Humane Society, are promoting the adoption of pets from animal shelters instead of getting dogs from puppy mills.
The group started by getting pet supply stores to sign the Humane Society-led pledge. They were targeting only 40 stores, but ended up having 90 store owners joining the awareness society. These store owners have all promised that they will eliminate puppy mills from their store windows and spread awareness of the condition of dogs and puppies in these mills.
Malnutrition and susceptibility to certain diseases are just some of the reasons that members of the group are citing as to why they are promoting awareness about puppy mills. They reveal that most pet buyers go to pet stores because they think that animal shelters do not have the particular breed of dog they want.
The Puppy Mill Awareness group has asserted that adoption of pets from animal shelters can provide pet buyers with a wide variety of breed choices and that it is a misconception to believe that certain breeds can only be found in pet stores.
