ABC's Bachelor Lorenzo Borghese speaks out about pet stores and puppy mills
New York - You might not be a fan of ABC's show, "The Bachelor," but if you're an animal advocate, you'll love the message that former Bachelor Lorenzo Borghese is spreading.
He's trying to raise consumer awareness about where puppies in pet stores really come from, as well as the cruelty of puppy mills. It's amazing how many people still don't know the connection between puppy mills, backyard breeders, and online sites that sell puppies to pet stores. We can't seem to say it enough.
Borghese went to pet stores all over New York to investigate where they got their puppies. He speaks about the cruelty of puppy mills and the deception and greed of pet stores, who have no regard for the health and living conditions of puppy mill breeder dogs, which is where all pet store puppies come from. It's all about the almighty dollar to them.
I know personally that pet stores will not give you a straight answer, as Borghese also explains. You can tell it's a scripted response to your question. They paint a lovely picture of how the puppies' parents are living the good life, while in actuality they are living a lonely, neglected life in a cage, without clean food and water, covered in feces in wire cages, never allowed out, and inbred over and over.
Many online pet stores have images on their sites of bright green grass, with happy dogs running freely and enjoying the sunshine. This could not be farther from the truth, and it's simply a way to deceive the consumer. These dogs have never even felt grass under their feet. If they showed you what was really going on, you would be appalled.
And when these dogs serve no more purpose to the puppy miller, they are sometimes killed.
Often the puppies from mills develop serious health problems that end up costing their owners thousands of dollars. This is a result of the terrible conditions their parents lived in, and the fact that they are inbred.
Does that sound like a good life to you? I have been told by pet store owners, "Oh no, we don't buy from puppy mills." They won't share the truth, so the lies never end.
When Borghese asked, "Is there a kennel name, something I can look up?", their response was, "That I can't give you. Not until you buy the dog." That should be an unacceptable response for any consumer. That should make anyone receiving that answer turn and walk out immediately.
In fact, you should never step foot into a pet store that sells animals, even to purchase supplies for your pet. Always shop at a store that only sells supplies or works with shelters to adopt homeless animals.
Make no mistake. If you buy a pet from a pet store, online brokers, or backyard breeders, you are buying a puppy mill dog and you are contributing to a money-making industry that condones cruelty and the inhumane treatment of animals.
Instead, please go to Petfinder.com or your local animal shelter to find your next pet. There are millions of dogs and cats killed in shelters every year who would have lived longer and healthier lives if given the chance.
Please pass this information to your family and friends so they will be able to make the right decision when looking for their next four-legged family member. This message cannot be shared enough. In fact, we can't stop sharing it until every consumer knows the truth about that "doggy in the window." Hopefully that will be when we will finally be able to say "goodbye" to these large scale commercial breeding operations, called puppy mills.
examiner.com
