Editorial Draft 1

“The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog”.
Missouri Senator George Graham Vest c. 1855

Picture your dog, and if you don’t have one, picture the cutest dog you can ever imagine. Got that image in your head? Now picture them with 10 other dogs in a cage that is too small for only just one dog. Many individuals are not aware of the existence of puppy mills. Is this really how we should treat “man’s best friend”?

Americans love to walk into a pet store like Petland and look at all of the adorable puppies that are just dying to go to a good home. What most people are unaware of is that the puppies that are sold in these pet stores are puppy mill dogs. America is the place where some individuals are outraged when they hear that there are animals locked in individual cages and are used in drug and makeup testing.

It is amazing the lengths that we go to in order to free these animals and end their suffering. With that in mind, how come we don’t put as much effort into stopping and shutting down puppy mills? The puppy mill business is extremely saturated in Pennsylvania and northern Wisconsin. While there is activism with their ultimate goal being to close down all puppy mills, this illegal “business” still runs strong.

Or course, this is not the only kind of animal cruelty that goes on every day. I once heard a story of a man who was told to improve the conditions of his so called “kennel” or else pay a fine. Instead of spending the money, he decided to take a gun and walk up and down the aisles, killing 70-80 dogs in the process. Only in America will an individual get away with such cruelty without some kind of punishment.

Canines truly are “man’s best friend”, as cliché as that sounds. A canine lives to make its owner happy. They are there sharing in our excitement when we are happy, comforting us when we are upset, and protecting us when we feel as though the world is against us. But the most important thing that a dog does, is put its owner’s well-being ahead of its own, 100% of the time.

It’s a shame that we treat our “best friend” in such a way just because they are animals. Could you imagine walking up to your human best friend and asking them to “sit”, “stay”, or “play dead”? I have a feeling that you and that friend, would not be friends for much longer if you did. I guess the next question that would need to be answered is, why do we expect so much out of our pets, and not out of fellow human beings?

The answer: Control.

Look in the nearest history book and you will see that we have not been really successful in trying to control our fellow man. Take for example, British rule over the American colonies. Such attempts were made, and were faced with strong opposition. We control animals and treat them cruelly because we can. They do not have a voice or a say in what is being done to them. As sad as this is, what is even sadder is that some individuals in this country like it that way.
In puppy mills, it’s all about control for the individuals who run them. They have the control over how often the dogs are bred, how many litters they have, how many puppies are in each cage, and what kind of cages that they are staying in. while this sense of control is very appealing to the person in control, they do not care about the consequences for the animals. The worst part of all of this is the outcome for the dogs.

Female dogs are bred and not long after they have their litter, they are bred again. This happens in constant cycles until the dog passes away due to the consequences of being bred so often. Another consequence of this kind of treatment is the affect is has on the hundreds of puppies. Puppies that are born in puppy mills are taken away from their mothers too soon and are put into cages that would be considered to be too small for one dog. Most of the time, in order to save space, these cages, made of metal, are stacked on top of one another. The end result is unsanitary conditions for the puppies.

The puppy mill problem is not going away. There are many efforts being made by The Humane Society of the United States and the ASPCA. We are the only state in the Midwest that does not have laws stating that puppy mills are illegal. As time passes on, surely we can find ways to put an end to the cruelty.

“He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that encounters the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains.”
Missouri Senator George Graham Vest c. 1855