Dear Future President,

Ever think that puppies are the most adorable animal in existence? Or that no one could ever hurt or mistreat something so cute and pure? Well, think again. Everyday, puppies are without medical treatment, without mothers, without sanitary food and water, without socialization, and live in crowded and uncomfortable cages. Also, adult dogs are force-bred and reproducing continuously without break. This could seriously hurt the dogs. Now, you might be thinking, “Why should I care about dogs?” or “Dogs aren’t smart, we are. Dogs lives don’t matter." If you are thinking this, then I plead with you to read this essay so that I might persuade you to have second thoughts. If you are not thinking this, then I plead with you to read this essay so that this essay can convince you to do something about puppy mills. I hope that this letter to you will prove to you that puppy mills should be banned.

You might be wondering how the puppies are treated at puppy mills. Well think of it like this: puppies at puppy mills are treated as well as how a person might be treated in prison. Actually, I take that back. People in prison are treated better than puppies in puppy mills. The food and water at puppy mills is very unsanitary, so puppies get sick a lot. Adding on top of that, if a puppy is sick or dying, the puppy gets either very improper veterinary care, or none at all. It haunts my mind every day, the fact that there are animals who are probably so much nicer and cuter than me, locked up in cages. I love all animals and would never encourage the abuse of animals.

The only place the puppies could run around in are cages. Usually, the puppies can do nothing but sit and sleep in their cages with no chance to go into an open area to run around and play. The bottoms of the puppies’ cages typically have wire flooring that can injure the puppies’ legs and paws. Probably the saddest fact of all is that according to PAWS, puppies can be legally kept in cages their whole entire lives. Imagine that the only thing you have ever known was the inside of a cage. You never get to play around in big open areas on a beautiful day, or never get to hang out with the people (or animals) you love. It is sickening, having a cage for a home.

Moreover, puppies can suffer from many other things than small cages and unsanitary food and water. The puppies are taken from their mothers and litter mates at a very early age; about as soon as when a puppy no longer needs his or her mother’s milk. This can lead to lots of fear, anxiety, and behavioral problems. This can also be very hard for the puppies when they move to a new home, because they will probably be frightened by the new things that surround them. I, myself have asked owners to pet their dogs and have been told no because that dog had been mistreated before coming to that owner. I can only assume now that at least one of those dogs was skittish because they came from a puppy mill. This must be true because according to PAWS, roughly 90% of puppies that are in pet stores have come from puppy mills. If all I had known in my life was a place as horrible as puppy mills, I would not have a childhood at all.

Another fact: as said before, according to ASPCA, adult dogs are force-bred (they are forced to mate at the puppy mills) without breaks. This means that the female dogs are continuously reproducing, without breaks. The male dogs might be hurt from the force-breeding, but the reproducing causes a big amount of strain on the female dogs. Even worse, when the adult dogs can no longer reproduce, they are murdered.

If you are still thinking “I don’t care about some dumb dog’s life,” then I think that you should hear this: dogs have done nothing but be our friends for more than 10,000 years. They have hunted with us, played with us, and have made tons of humans’ lives happy. In fact, dogs have given us humans someone to look to for sanctuary when we are sad or lonely. Dogs' lives do matter because they live and breathe like us and there is no reason to put them in cages that hurt their paws. When I was little, all I wanted was a cute puppy who would be my friend forever. It is horrible to know of places that abuse animals when one of them could be the one you might rely on someday.

I plead with you, future president of America, please stop this suffering of animals who are nothing but kind. This issue means a great deal to me and I hope that you really read this letter, take it seriously, and do something about puppy mills. I hope that my time and work on this letter is not wasted and that it gives you something to think about. Help the world stop stabbing “man’s best friend” in the back. Please do not take this lightly and I put my trust in you, future President.

Sincerely,

Calista, age 11

One last note: If you are a cat lover, replace every word that says puppies, puppy, or dogs with the words kittens and cats. Yes, there are kitty mills too!

Sources:

"ASPCA-What Is a Puppy Mill?" ASPCA. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2016. <http://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/puppy-mills>.

Breeders » PAWS. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2016. <https://www.paws.org/get-involved/take-action/explore-the-issues/puppy-mills/>.

"PAWS - People Helping Animals." Buyer Beware: The Problem with Puppy Mills and Backyard