Dear Future President:

        Have you ever thought about how much in common we have with animals? First, we both love each other and second, we are both living things. Some people, though, think otherwise. These people think of animals like they are objects and hurt them. They are called animal abusers. There is a certain kind of animal abuse called puppy mills. A puppy mill is “an establishment that breeds puppies for sale, typically on an intensive basis and in conditions regarded as inhumane.” Doesn’t that sound horrible? This is why putting a stop to puppy mills in the United States is a matter that you must address.

        The first reason I have to support my argument is that it is a horrible thing to do to animals. There are about 167,388 dogs that are being bred in mills in the United States. This is significant because there are only about 10,000 puppy mills in the U.S. The data averages out to about 17 dogs per ‘mill’. Secondly, almost 1.2 million dogs are euthanized every year because of the poor quality they are kept in when born. What is also surprising is that female dogs that are not able to breed anymore also are often killed. Next, dogs are often kept in cages with wire flooring that injures their paws and legs.

        The second reason I have is that the USDA standards for care are allowing puppy mills to keep running. The standards of care only state that “dogs in commercial breeding facilities can legally be kept in cages only six inches longer than the dog in each direction”, even for their entire lives! It is legal (as crazy as it is) to keep dogs in cages that have wire flooring. It is also legal to breed female dogs at every opportunity. Lastly, the USDA members aren’t enforcing the standards well enough.

        Thankfully, there are ways that we can stop it. The National Mill Dog Rescue (NMDR) is a non-profit organization that rescues and cares for dogs in puppy mills. The director, Theresa Strader, started NMDR after she had had an encounter with a dog named Lily. Lily was a Greyhound who had spent the first 7 years of her life as a breeding dog in a mill. When she was a breeding dog, she was kept in a cold wire cage in a pungent smelling barn, and got no exercise or socialization. When Theresa found her, the roof of Lily's mouth and the bottom of her jaw had rotted away from the improper care and her chest was riddled with mammary tumors. She was also very scared of people. Lily died in May 2008. This shows that the dangers of puppy mills can affect a dog even after they are rescued. There are many other dogs that are in this state and worse. There are currently 11,241 dogs rescued. You can read more about this story and donate by going to the website here. There is a video below.

        There is a point to be made that the government should not interfere with businesses. Even so, the evidence is clear that if the government doesn't interfere, more puppy mill dogs will get abused and hurt.

        Again, dear future president, putting a stop to puppy mills in the U.S. is a priority because of the inhumane ways and how the USDA standards let  it happen. 

                                                                                                                                             Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                         Ari S.