An old friend from highschool years is on my personal facebook and she made me blubber today with her heartfelt posts about these beautiful animals she continually helps and rescues. I had tears streaming down my face. I have had dogs since I could walk. I have bred dogs and I have been involved with dog rescue. She’s about to stand up for something she believes in strongly today. And I support her.

Puppy farming is legal in Australia and although I am not living over there at the moment I would be at this rally in a heartbeat. Today people are gathering to try and put a stop to this disgusting practice. So I can’t be there, instead I am doing my bit through here. It’s wrong, it’s cruel and it’s based on money hungry assholes who don’t care about a dog as a loving member of a family but as a means to put money in their pockets. It has to stop.

A puppy mill is a large-scale commercial dog breeding operation where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dogs. Unlike responsible breeders, who place the utmost importance on producing the healthiest puppies possible, breeding at puppy mills is performed without consideration of genetic quality. This results in generations of dogs with unchecked hereditary defects.

Due to the frequently poor breeding conditions in puppy mills, puppies bred there often suffer from health and/or social problems. Puppies raised in a cramped environment shared by many other dogs become poorly socialized to other dogs and to humans. Dogs are then transported over long distances in poor conditions, sometimes resulting in animal stress and death. The vast majority of puppy mill animals are sold to pet stores by “dealers”. Some puppies are sold by dealers masquerading as authentic breeders.

Puppy mills usually house dogs in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, without adequate veterinary care, food, water or socialization. The dogs don’t get to experience treats, toys, exercise or basic grooming. To minimize waste cleanup, they’re often kept in cages with wire flooring that injures their paws and legs—and it’s not unusual for cages to be stacked in tall columns. Dogs used for breeding often spend their entire lives outdoors, exposed to the elements, or indoors, crammed inside filthy structures where they never get the chance to feel the sun or a gust of fresh air on their faces.

In order to maximize profits, female dogs are bred at every opportunity with little to no recovery time between litters. When, after a few years, they are physically depleted to the point that they no longer can reproduce, breeding females are often killed. The mom and dad of the puppy in the pet store window are unlikely to make it out of the mill alive—and neither will the many puppies born with overt physical problems that make them unsalable to pet stores.

These puppies are exposed to conditions and situations that are not normal in the critical first few weeks of their lives. Their parents are exposed to even more shocking conditions. If you can do something then do this … adopt. Sign petitions, join a rally, one more voice is always welcome.

Do not buy a puppy from a pet store—in fact, do not buy a puppy from any place that does not allow you to see its entire facility and meet the mother dog. This includes websites that sell pets online. Anyone can put up a great-looking website boasting the highest standards of breeding and care, but you really have no way of knowing if such businesses are what they claim. Truly responsible breeders want to meet you before selling you one of their prized pups to be sure that he or she is going to a good home.