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Letter about Puppy Mills

For those of you who follow the efforts to shut down puppy mills in Pennsylvania, the letter below is from Jessie Smith, Special Deputy Secretary for Dog Law Enforcement. This letter was published in today's Gant Daily, a newspaper in the Clearfield, Philipsburg and Dubois areas of PA.

PA Tough on Puppy Mills

Over the last three years, Pennsylvania has worked hard to shed its reputation as the "Puppy Mill Capital of the East." As a result, we now have one of the strongest laws in the nation for protecting "man's best friend" and are enforcing those laws so dogs in commercial kennels are treated humanely.

That's incredibly important when you remember that those dogs will one day be members of a family, so ensuring they're treated properly is vital to raising a friendly, well-behaved pet.

After new commercial kennel requirements took effect in October, the Department of Agriculture immediately began an aggressive enforcement effort. Before the end of the year, each of the state's commercial kennels had been inspected and, as a result, 125 kennels that did not meet the new requirements closed--either voluntarily or because of the bureau's actions. Other kennels that were not already in compliance have acted responsibly and built new facilities or made the appropriate renovations.

In the last three years, department has revoked the licenses of 54 kennels that were cited for poor conditions and closed 16 others; it cited more than 150 illegal unlicensed kennels; and it even went so far as to obtain court injunctions to remove dogs from unsafe conditions.

This work has enabled the bureau to save thousands of suffering dogs from substandard kennels, which has given them a chance at a better life. A prime example is the Almost Heaven kennel in Lehigh County. In its largest enforcement action to date, the bureau and its partners raided Almost Heaven in June 2009 and saved 218 dogs from deplorable conditions. Earlier that year, the department refused to renew owner Derbe "Skip" Eckhart's license, yet the June raid uncovered dogs that were being hidden in his home illegally.

That action was only made possible because of the new dog law. The rescued dogs were placed in shelters around the region and quickly adopted.

Pennsylvanians can rest assured that our dog wardens and kennel specialists, many of whom have prior law enforcement experience, will continue to crack down on bad actors such as Almost Heaven thanks to Governor Rendell, the General Assembly, as well as national, state and local advocates who care about our canine companions. Their work to enact a new dog law has allowed commercial kennel dogs to benefit from required veterinary care, more space in which to live and exercise, protection from the cold, and access to water at all times. Additionally, the new law prohibits wire flooring, which can destroy a dog's feet, and stacked cages that are unsafe and unsanitary.

To be clear, the bureau is not out to close down good kennels. Pennsylvania has reputable dog breeders--in fact, many of the nation's best show, sport and boarding kennels are located here--and more than 250 shelters and rescues that give stray and surrendered dogs a second chance. Remember that if you're looking to purchase a dog from a kennel or shelter, you can view its inspection report first by visiting www.agriculture.state.pa.us and clicking on "Dog Kennel Inspections" under "E-Services."

Our good, law-abiding kennels are a valuable asset to Pennsylvania. That's important when you consider the trust a family places in their practices. When you welcome a new dog into your home, you expect that it to be well-tempered and loving. Pennsylvania's new dog law is making sure that's the case by ensuring those dogs are raised properly and with care.

Jessie L. Smith

Special Deputy Secretary for Dog Law Enforcement

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

Dogs From Haiti

I personally do not know of any rescues or shelters who have received dogs from Haiti, but maybe some shelters in the South are getting them and they may eventually work their way up here. It’s been discovered that many Haitian dogs are carriers of screwworms, a nasty parasite that not only harms dogs but can infest humans too. Screwworms were eradicated in the U.S. in the 1980’s. The screwworm is a grey-blue fly with orange eyes, and it lays its eggs in open wounds and the maggots eat the flesh of its host. Typically, about 400 eggs are laid at a time, and as they hatch and become maggots, the host animal can die within 2 weeks if untreated. Screwworms were a major problem for the cattle industry before they were eliminated.

Screwworms are deceptive and not always easy to detect. When the eggs are laid in a wound and the wound closes up, it can be difficult to detect their presence. USDA veterinarians are supposed to be inspecting animals coming into the U.S. from other countries, but the screwworms can be overlooked if the wounds have healed over. The maggots are still underneath the skin, eating their way out and slowly killing the animal.

If you know anyone who is involved with Haitian dog rescue, please alert them to this problem.

Please Don't Generalize

I'm sure most of you have heard about the Pit Bull who killed the woman in Philadelphia over the weekend. It's very scary and tragic. Without a doubt, this breed of dog with its large jaws and true personality of a relentless, prey-driven terrier can be dangerous if the owners don't know how to train them, or worse, train them to be aggressive. It's a bad combination.

However, have you ever seen the sweet side of many Pit Bulls? I was sitting in one of the cat colonies at the shelter on Tuesday, getting to know some of the kitties and giving them some love. One of the staff members walked in with Angel, a happy female Pit Bull. She had the typical looks of a Pit - large jaws, short ears - and the happy, wagging whip of a tail! With her were two women who were interested in adopting her, but they needed to see how she acted around cats. The staff member brought Angel over to the colony where I was sitting and a couple of brave cats came over to the the fence. Angel took one look at them, wagged her tail, dipped her head down in a submissive posture and turned away. Good sign! Then they went over to another cat colony. One cat wasn't too happy about a dog's face coming near so she reached out and swatted Angel on the nose. I heard the yipping and saw Angel sprawled onto the ground with a look saying, "what did I do to deserve that?!" We laughed so hard at the sight of this "tough" Pit Bull turning into a wimp with just the slightest smack of a cat's paw.

The Pit Bull sadly can have these two sides to its personality. But so can all other breeds! Can you say Chihuahua?!

What Do You Watch at the Dog Park?

Have you seen the commercials recently for Clear.com, a super-fast mobile internet service? One of their ads just blows my mind. It talks about various places that you can watch videos on your laptop using Clear’s service: on your commute home (hmm, wouldn’t watching the road be a better idea?), at the swimming pool (we can table that one for a few more months!) and at the dog park (spring will be here next month and the snow should be gone by then!). It shows a bunch of dogs romping around in the park while this person is oblivious to what’s going on with his/her dog – watching a video instead using Clear’s service. This is such a hot button with me. I’ve heard of many dog fights and bites at dog parks which can be easily avoided if the dogs’ owners simply paid attention to their dogs. But now here comes Clear.com with yet one more reason to be distracted. It’s getting ridiculous – cell phone calls, texting, and now videos wherever we go. Poor doggies, all they have are us! How about some undivided attention at the dog park and save the videos for the living room, curled up with our doggies?

Voice Mail Messages

I worked in a corporate environment for many years with pretty stringent rules. One of them was about the greeting on our voice mailboxes. It was important to say your name, the department where you work and, if you were going to be out of the office, when you will return. This provides the best example of good customer service so that anyone calling has the proper information and expectations. I continue this practice at the ARL, especially since I work part time and am not always there.

Despite the fact that I say in my message, “please listen carefully” that I don’t work in the kennel and cannot answer questions pertaining to the animals, I still get a lot of inquiries about the animals and some are quite puzzling! A few weeks ago, I was out on Friday and changed my message Thursday afternoon before I left, and said I would not be back in until Monday. As I checked my messages that Monday, I was amazed to hear a woman had left me a message on Thursday night that her cat was having kittens. What should she do? And she didn’t leave a return phone number. My next message was the same woman, asking why I hadn’t called her back! Oh dear… This is so frustrating on several levels. First, how did this woman miss my message not just once but twice?? And why would she call the ARL if her cat was having kittens? I felt very helpless that I had no way of getting back to her and now she probably thinks that I’m terribly rude for not helping her! (And I still can't understand why she would call the ARL about this. Call your vet, for goodness sake!)

Other messages I’ve received were inquiries about how someone’s dog was doing while in boarding, did the cats that a woman dropped off get adopted, and why did I cash the check for her cat’s neutering when she said not to cash it for 2 weeks. I didn’t do it! Honest!

Just a little bit of listening goes a long way and saves time in the long-run.

A White Valentine's Day

I’ve never heard anyone sing, “I’m dreaming of a white Valentine’s Day,” have you? But here we are! Historically, we get more snow in February than December in our area. So someone needs to write a song about romantic, candlelit dinners by the fire with the snow whipping around on Valentine’s Day.

And speaking of Valentine’s Day, I read a survey of over 24,000 people. One in five said that they’d prefer to spend Valentine’s Day with their pets instead of their human companions. Hmmmm, what does that tell us? Could it be that many of us get more love and fulfillment from our pets? Maybe. Or is it that our relationships with our pets are less complicated and easier than with humans? Sometimes, but not always. Unconditional acceptance? You bet!

However, the truth is, we need both human and animal relationships. Cherish and nuture them all.

Snow Closing

The big snow on Saturday may have closed the ARL to the public but there were many, many animals here who still depended on people to feed them and clean their cages. The animals don’t understand “my road hasn’t been plowed yet” when they’re hungry! So special thanks go out to Harry, Alison, Beaver, Michelle, Nicole and Jamie who braved the weather and came in to help the animals and clear the snow.

One more thing about the bad weather – it hit on our busiest day, Saturday. As a result, fewer animals were adopted. And guess what? The weather forecast is for more snow this Wednesday, our second-busiest day! Let’s hope that this storm will not be as bad and won’t prohibit people from coming in to adopt. We depend on regular adoptions to make room for more animals coming in which, by the way, doesn’t seem to stop when it snows.

The Life of an On-Call ARL Employee

The ARL is available day and night to help homeless, stray and abandoned animals. When we are not open, we have one on-call person available by pager. But do you know what it’s like to be an on-call person working for the ARL? I had no idea what they go through, so now I’m here to inform everyone! I believe that the public needs to know what typically happens when a staff member is on call. Honestly, it’s not a job I would want but someone needs to do it.

The ARL only has a few people rotating the on-call shift. That means they are often on-call twice a week. That’s a lot. Keep in mind that when they are on-call, they have already worked an exhausting eight-hour day. Frequently, they get several calls each night, so they will not get any sleep and they are expected to be at work for the next eight-hour day! I could not handle this because I am unbearable if I can’t sleep!

Many people do not realize this but the on-call person is not sitting at the ARL waiting for phone calls. They are at home. And if you know the ARL staff, they have lots of their own animals to care for at home. Or they could be out for dinner. Staff members live as far away as Sinking Springs and even Douglassville. And, of course, they are covering all of Berks County. So if someone calls for assistance with an animal, it may take them quite a while to get there.

Why does the ARL have someone on-call after hours? One purpose and only one: to help stray or injured animals that cannot wait until the ARL opens for business the next day. On-call is not to be used to surrender owned animals and not for veterinary emergencies. Many people abuse the on-call number for these purposes and that’s simply not fair to the staff members.

If you must call the ARL after-hours, all strays must be contained when we arrive; we cannot and do not trap animals. If you trapped an animal yourself, it is your responsibility to bring it to the ARL.

The ARL is non-profit and operating on a shoestring so whenever an on-call staff member goes out on a call, it costs money to pay the person overtime, uses gas money plus wear and tear on the ARL vehicle. Please, spread the word – the after-hours on-call number should not be abused and only used in a true emergency.

Pet Dental Health Month

Do you brush your pet’s teeth regularly? No? Well, I have to admit that I’m not as diligent as I should be. But it’s very important to keep your pets’ teeth clean. When the teeth become covered in plaque, inflammation sets in and then periodontal disease follows. The infections from rotting teeth can spread to the pet’s heart, cause diabetes, kidney problems and other disorders. Not to mention the pain from the infected teeth! We see quite a few dogs and cats coming into the shelter with terrible teeth and are a major expense to the ARL to have their teeth treated.

How can you prevent periodontal disease in pets? First, of course, brush their teeth regularly. The recommendation is for daily brushing but try for weekly if you can’t do it every day. Have your pet’s teeth cleaned by your veterinarian per the vet’s instructions. Next, avoid people food and soft pet food. Soft foods collect at the gum line and encourage tartar build up. It’s best to feed your pet dry food. Finally, look for chew toys and treats designed to help keep the teeth clean.

When brushing your pet’s teeth, NEVER use human toothpaste. It’s not meant to be ingested and can poison your pet. Buy specially formulated toothpaste for dogs and cats, available at your pet store. It tastes good (I use chicken flavor) and your pet will enjoy the brushing process more!

Missing Pets

I just found an interesting web site called Find Toto which purports to help you find your lost pet. The idea is intriguing and I wonder if it works? If your pet is missing, Find Toto will place calls to your neighbors, alerting them with your pet’s description and your contact information. The number of neighbors called will depend upon the package that you purchase. The basic price is $85 and 250 neighbors will receive calls. The most expensive package is $875 for 10,000 neighbors called. Wow. Find Toto will also post your pet’s photo, description and your contact information on their web site.

I hope that none of us will need to use this service but nice to know that there are services available to help. The ARL will assist you if your pet is lost. Remember that we have a form on our web site to report lost or found pets.

The Puppy Economy

I am very pleased to be a speaker and part of a panel discussion this Wednesday at Drexel University. The event is called The Puppy Economy and is presented by People for Animal Welfare. Other presenters will be representatives from United Against Puppy Mills, the American Kennel Club, and the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. I am representing Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue (DVGRR) and will be talking about my experiences with rehabilitating mill dogs, DVGRR’s incredible Project Home Life for helping Goldens rescued from mills get acclimated to being in a home situation, and I also will touch on the health and behavior issues of puppies born from mills. Additionally, a clip of the documentary that I co-produced, Uncaged: Second Chances for Puppy Mill Breeder Dogs, will be shown.

Any opportunity to educate the public on why they should not buy puppies from pet stores or disreputable breeders is a good thing and I’m hoping for a big turnout. I wish that colleges and universities in this area would have similar events because, as you know, we’re right in the thick of puppy mill country, sad to say. The majority of people I speak with who purchased dogs bought them from pet stores or farms.

If you know of anyone who lives in or near Philadelphia and would like to attend, here’s the link for more information: http://thepuppyeconomy.eventbrite.com/

Not a Good Sign for Horses

CNN reports that the thoroughbred horse industry is finally seeing the downturn from the poor economy of the past couple of years. The once untouchable wealthiest of the wealthy aren’t bidding as much money to buy race horses as in years past. The article says that auctions brought a whopping 27% less in 2009 than in previous years. They attribute this to not only the economy but an overproduction of thoroughbreds. Oh great. A glut of horses. Just what we need to hear in the animal rescue world. The ARL recently brought in several horses that could no longer be cared for properly by their owner. This situation is not encouraging – if the very rich aren’t buying horses, then who can afford them?

And, if you’ve read our blogs and newsletters, you know that more and more surplus U.S. horses are being shipped to Canadian and Mexican slaughterhouses. Will these surplus racehorses face this fate? You bet. I hope that the decline in revenues from horse racing encourages the breeders to not breed so many horses. But that doesn’t sound like it’s going to happen as more and more foreign countries get into the business.

Fate of Black Animals

Does the public realize that there is something called Black Dog Syndrome? Sad but true, large black dogs are often overlooked at animal shelters, especially older males. There are several theories as to why black dogs are the last to be adopted. It could be that the lighting is dim in some shelters, making it more difficult for the dogs to stand out and be noticed. Another possibility is the misconception that some large black dogs are vicious. It’s unfortunate that movies and TV shows in the past have created that stigma – think about mysteries with black dogs lurking in cemeteries or jumping out of bushes as watch dogs. And another possibility is the unwarranted bad reputations of big black dogs like Dobermans and Rottweilers. These may be the subconscious reasons that people pass by the black dogs.

Black cats also suffer from prejudice stemming from Halloween legends that black cats are associated with witches and the old-wives tale that if a black cat crosses your path, you’ll have bad luck. There’s nothing prettier than the shiny coat of black kitty.

Hopefully, our society has evolved to realize that all of these superstitions and preconceived ideas are nonsense. Come into the shelter and visit with Jingles, the black Lab. High energy, yes, but vicious, no way!! And then there’s Sammy, the black medium-haired cat. What a sweetheart.

I can’t resist the faces of black dogs as they age. Those grey muzzles contrasted with the black fur are so kissable!

Walking Dogs Safely

I like to frequently come out of my office to see what’s going on in the shelter and to chat with staff and visitors. But some days, I wish I hadn’t. Today, I watched as a couple of people were walking shelter dogs through the parking lot. One dog started to bark at another dog and the person handling the barking dog screamed at the dog to stop. He made no attempt to remove the dog from the situation. As he berated the dog, the dog strained more and more and was getting increasingly agitated. The other dog began to bark too, understandably. The person walking that dog proceeded to smack the dog on the muzzle which also agitated the dog more. Neither of these people made any attempts to move the dogs apart. I tried to stand between the dogs to block their views and give the walkers a little coaching but when it was obvious that they weren’t listening to me, I had to go inside. I watched from the window as one man walked up the hill and the other person followed, causing even more agitation to the situation! Dog fights get started this way.

We are deeply appreciative of the people who come to walk dogs here and we try to instruct them to keep dogs at a safe distance. But some people fail to listen. I wish that they understood a few things: 1) If a dog fight occurs, someone may get hurt and one of the dogs will now be labeled as “not dog friendly” and that will diminish its chances of adoption. 2) Yelling at and/or hitting an already agitated dog will only make the dog more agitated and will escalate aggression. The dog will have an even greater reaction when he sees another dog in the future. You are teaching a dog NOTHING when you yell at it or hit it. The dog cannot reason that he is getting hit because he’s barking. 3) Removing the dog from the situation will help the dog to calm down and behave better. A calm dog is a better-behaved dog.

I'm so disappointed in the behaviors of these people, especially the one who smacked the dog. I thought he was a loving, compassionate and intelligent person.

I’m back in my office now, envisioning myself smacking those guys on their muzzles!! Oh, never mind, I guess I need to practice what I preach, huh?

Happy New Year!

Well, it's here again, time to begin anew with a fresh year and a with renewed motivation to make our lives better. From my many years of making and breaking resolutions, I've finally learned to keep my resolutions as achievable as possible - "baby steps" is the catch-phrase I've been hearing on TV lately. I'm wishing that people will include helping the animals into some of their resolutions. It doesn't have to be a huge commitment because every little bit helps.

Will you share your ideas for resolutions to help the animals in 2010? Let's hear them!!

Year in Review

It's time-honored tradition to take a look back at the year that was when the year draws to a close. What a year it’s been here at the ARL! Did you know that over 800 animals came through our doors and were returned to their owners? Yippee!! We’re so happy to see these reunions and glad that we’re here to help. Where else would these sad pets go if we weren’t here for them! And imagine this; we were able to find homes for 2200+ pets this year. That’s so amazing! But we always wish it could be more…

The happy-ending stories are endless. A few stand out: Remember Chip, the dog who ran away and found his way back here to the ARL, a 10-mile trek? How about the rescue of the group of breeder Dachshunds who blessed us with 2 beautiful litters of puppies? All of the breeders and their pups have now found happy homes. Of course, we have brought in breeding dogs from numerous other puppy mills, gave them time to recover while here at the shelter and found wonderful homes for all of them. And we will never forget the group of horses and goats we helped to rescue in Schuylkill County. These are just a few of the many, many ways that the ARL is helping the animals of the area.

Unfortunately, there are the sad stories. No year-end review would be complete without memorializing those who left us. Here at the shelter, we lost two beloved friends and long-time ARL mascots. Pongo, the African grey parrot, passed away in March. Her presence in the lobby brought joy to everyone who visited. We miss her whistles and dancing. The ARL also said good-bye to Mr. Swanson, the turkey who guarded the barn. Who could forget how he displayed his macho feathers if anyone approached his favorite chicken? The barn’s not the same without the sounds of his gobbling.

To all of you who support the ARL, we wish you a Happy New Year filled with love, health and prosperity. Thank you for your encouragement and generosity.

Making It All Worthwhile

This business of animal rescue is tougher than you can imagine if you’ve never worked in a shelter. The lows are tremendously low but the highs can bring indescribable joy. Today, we experienced one of the highs. I am overwhelmingly pleased to announce that long-timers Teddy and Crystal were adopted!!! For those of you who do not know them, Teddy and Crystal came in together as owner surrenders. Teddy is a 5-year-old Golden retriever/Corgi mix and Crystal is a 10-year-old Beagle mix. They have been at the shelter for several months despite our efforts (and many of our supporters too!) to get them adopted. We insisted that they go to a new home together because Crystal just could not stand to be apart from Teddy.

You have no idea how many tears have been shed over these months by staff members as, day-after-day, Teddy and Crystal were passed over for adoption. But the tears flowed even more profusely today as the pair walked out of the ARL’s front door and into their happy new life. We are most grateful to their adopter, and thankful for all of you who spread the word about Teddy and Crystal. Yes, there are happy endings!!

Happy Holidays to the Homeless Animals

I found this poem on the Internet many years ago. It's so well done and very appropriate, and I wish I knew who wrote it so I could give him/her credit. Please pass it along to everyone you know - it sums up our feelings about the animals sitting in shelters over the holidays. Merry Christmas everyone.

A Rescue Animal’s Christmas Poem

( author unknown)

“Tis the night before Christmas and all though the town

Every shelter is full – we are lost but not found.

Our numbers are hung on our kennel so bare,

We hope every minute that someone will care.

They’ll come to adopt us and give us the call,

“Come here Max and Sparkie, come fetch your new ball!”

But now we sit here and think of the days

We were treated so fondly, we had cute puppy ways.

Once we were little, then we grew and grew,

Now we’re no longer young and we’re no longer new.

So out the back door we were thrown like the trash,

They reacted so quickly – why were they so rash?

We “jump on the children” “ don’t come when they call”

We “bark when they leave us,” climb up the wall.

We should have been neutered, we should have been spayed,

Now we suffer the consequences of the errors THEY made.

If only they’d trained us, if only we knew,

We’d have done what they asked us and worshipped them too.

We were left in the back yard or worse, left to roam,

Now we’re tired and lonely and out of a home.

They dropped us off here and they kissed us good bye,

“Maybe someone else will give you a try.”

So now here we are, all confused and alone,

In a shelter with others who long for a home.

The kind workers come through with a meal and a pat,

With so many to care for, they can’t stay to chat.

They move to the next kennel, giving each of us cheer,

We know that they wonder how long we’ll be here.

We lay down to sleep and sweet dreams fill our heads,

Of a home filled with love and our own cozy beds.

Then we wake to see sad eyes, brimming with tears,

Our friends filled with emptiness, worry and fears.

If you can’t adopt us and there’s no room at the inn,

Could you help with the bills and fill our food bin?

We count on your kindness each day of the year,

Can you give more than hope to everyone here?

Please make a donation to pay for the heat,

And help us get something special to eat.

The shelter that cares for us wants us to live,

And more of us will – if more people give.

Stray Cat Problem

Where I grew up in Maryland and where I live now, there are no stray cats. Honestly, I never saw a cat roaming free. I used to hear about alley cats in Baltimore City and assumed that stray cats were a “big city” issue. I didn’t really understand the stray and feral cat problem until I came to work in Berks County. Why is there such a problem here with stray and feral cats? It’s a very disturbing issue that seems to have no resolution. We can talk and talk about spay and neuter, and people turn out in large numbers when we have our spay and neuter clinics. But are we putting a dent in the problem? For several months in the summer and fall, we received over 700 cats at the shelter per month. Ouch! It’s no secret that we don’t have nearly enough room or staff to care for all of them. And it’s discouraging to think that all we do is not enough. Any ideas for what else can be done? I think it’s about education. Sadly, you, my loyal readers, already are educated in this issue! How can we reach the others? The ones who don’t know, and worse, the ones who don’t care.

Occasionally, the ARL will receive a call or email from someone who has brought in stray cats and wants to know if we were able to adopt them out. When they get the sad news that the cats needed to be euthanized, the people are incensed that we did this. Okay, here comes the education part: When the best of the best cats sit in shelters for months without getting adopted, how in the world can you expect a cat who grew up as a stray to be chosen over one who is sociable and litter trained? Yes, some strays can be rehabilitated to make wonderful pets but the very large majority are not adoptable. There simply isn’t room for them all. Even cat rescue groups don’t have enough room for all of them. Some people who drop off the strays will claim that they said they’d take the cats back if we couldn’t find them homes. Well for goodness sake, then you should have kept them!!! People, we need to get realistic here. We all need to work on this problem together. If you really want to help the cats, please do your part by finding them good homes and getting them spayed and neutered yourselves. The ARL needs everyone’s help with this problem. The ARL cannot do it alone.

Puppy Mill Hot Line

It astounds me that so many people still don’t realize that when they buy a puppy at a pet store, 99% of the time, the pup is from a puppy mill. Or even when someone buys a dog who is a mixed breed, specifically like the Poodle mixes, these dogs most often will be from a puppy mill. Good breeders simply won’t breed mixes. But the public is still demanding these dogs due to lack of education on their part. They’re not aware that the dogs come from mills, AND they don’t realize that a poodle mix is not guaranteed to be “hypo-allergenic” like so many people believe. The truth is, when you mix breeds, there are no guarantees that the resulting puppies will have the desired attributes. So, for example, if you’re looking for a larger hypo-allergenic dog and you choose a Labradoodle, the dog may have hair like a Lab instead of a Poodle, therefore making it NOT hypo-allergenic.

New this month, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has set up a hot line to report if you suspect that a breeder is a puppy mill. The number is 1-877-MILL-TIP. The HSUS has had a task force in place since June to investigate puppy mills and work with law enforcement, animal shelters, and other agencies to stop abuse and to ensure enforcement of existing laws. Since that time, the HSUS has assisted in the rescue of more than 1,200 dogs and puppies from abusive situations at puppy mills.