Hi Oprah:
I am the director of Rhode Island SPCA. Everyday, thousands of pets are put to rest because of the problem of overpopulation. Four thousand puppies were sold in our state last year, many of which wind up in our shelter.Most of these puppies are from out of state. Your assistance in shutting down puppy mills and promoting the spaying and neutering of pets can be the beginning of a movement to stop the killing and start saving lives.
I have rescued 2 female dogs from puppymills. They both had been abused, 1 so badly that she was completely psychotic. Please help to inform the public about this horrible money-making business.
Your influence has the potential to make a significant impact, via a learning experience, on the people in this country. So many are ignorant of the fact that puppy mills are abusive and restrictive environments for animals. This is an area where you can truly make a difference!
Puppy mills are nothing new. These mass dog-breeding operations have been around for decades, but they continue to be a problem because unsuspecting consumers keep buying those adorable puppies in the pet store window. Or on some slick Internet site. Or even through an ad in the trusted local newspaper.
But behind the friendly façade of these pet shops, web sites, and newspaper ads, there often lies a puppy mill. These canine breeding facilities frequently house dogs in shockingly poor conditions, particularly for "breeding stock" animals who are caged and continually bred for years, without human companionship and with little hope of ever becoming part of a family. After their fertility wanes, breeding animals are commonly killed, abandoned or sold to another mill. The annual result of all this breeding is hundreds of thousands of puppies, many with behavior and/or health problems.
The puppies will be shipped cross country by truck to be sold in pet shops, but many are also sold via newspaper classifieds or Internet
sites — and are often accompanied by false claims such as, "We'd never sell puppies from a puppy mill."
The Laws Aren't Enough
Because a puppy mill is a business, the facility is designed purely for profit, not comfort. Laws are on the books to provide minimum-care standards for puppy-mill animals, but enforcement has historically been spotty at best. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) licenses and inspects puppy mills for violations of the Animal Welfare Act; likewise, some state laws are designed to protect the charges in the average puppy mill. But puppy mills can successfully navigate around these laws, whether by selling directly to consumers (thereby avoiding USDA licensing requirements) or simply by avoiding the reach of law enforcement (with so few USDA inspectors and minor fines, it's easy to stay in business).
Please let the public know what goes on at puppy mills and how these dogs suffer their whole life.
rosemarie thanks you.
please consider this story on your show. thanks
Oprah...
You are such a leader and it would really help so many helpless animals if you would consider addressing this issue on your show. I know that there are plenty of people that would be willing to help in whatever way possible, myslef included.
Thank you
I work with pug rescue where we receive some of the poor pugs from puppymills. Many are bred over and over never leaving their cages. Some are blind, have horrible tumors and webbed feet from the cages. Their surroundings are horrible
I work with the IMPS rescue group, we really need to educate people on "where puppies come from" and the right morality stand to take....God loves all creature, large and small..
Please Oprah, help educate the public about the horors of puppymills. Show them the parents of that little puppy in the pet store or the one they so conveiniently bought on the internet.
Oprah, you are a wonderful, powerful, person and we want to know if you would help shut down puppy mills? If not, we all want to know why, and why do we have to beg for your help? I don't understand how you could have the power to do so much good, and not air one show regarding the puppy mills. Where do you stand Oprah? Do you support the Puppy Mills or not?
My dogs were rescues from animal shelters but not all are so lucky. The pet overpopulation problem is epidemic but it is disgraceful of the conditions of puppy mills in the name of greed. Please consider this story!
I do afterschool animal clubs in the public schools and try to teach kids about puppy mills and not to go to Pet Stores and buy a dog, cat, etc. Help these poor babies! Noone deserves to live this way. God made us their keepers, doesn't that include you??
I do afterschool animal clubs in the public schools and try to teach kids about puppy mills and not to go to Pet Stores and buy a dog, cat, etc. Help these poor babies! Noone deserves to live this way. God made us their keepers, doesn't that include you??
We all know you are a caring, concerned person. I try to educate my coworkers etc. on the horrors of puppymills and how buying a puppy from pet stores only contributes to the problem. If you would do a show on this, it would certainly help all the poor animals and inform the public of what really goes on. The "Prisoners of Greed" website is very informative and none of this has anything to do with PETA, who are little out there.
You need to educate people on pupply mills and the over population of animals. Millions of pets are killed each year due to people not spay/neutering pets.
Oprah, you have the voice and reputation of a leader. Show your audiance and the world what is wrong with buying puppys from puppymills. Your audiance is the prefect audiance for this. High to middle class woman that make the dog decision in the home. Help put an end to puppy prisons.
I have been involved in several puppy mill rescues. All the animals used for breeding are grossly abused and malnourished, suffering unnecessary ailments too early in life. The people who can do this to animals shearly for monetary gain are deplorable and need to be exposed! In addition, these people routinely lie to the unsuspecting public who buy puppies from them, telling them that these are "rare and unusual breeds" just to jack up the price (when what you are really getting is a mixed breed dog). Exposure is the best way to stop this madness.
Oprah, you have been the voice of so many. Please be the voice of those that can't speak for themselves. Please help us bring knowledge of horrors of puppy mills to the masses. Thanks
Will Oprah and her team of researchers be brave enough to expose puppy mills? If not, I have to ask myself why? Do they support them? They're silence is painful. They're bravery we await. Do the right thing Oprah team....expose the puppy mills.
I have been doing rescue work for the past six years and have spent a lot of time studying the pedigrees and physical problems for Shibas. It's horrible what you run across.
Puppymills are inhumane; they promote genetic disorders in companion animals; they lead to over-population. And ultimately, puppymills lead to overcrowded shelters and mass exterminations.
Our rescue pug Amelia got lucky. Many others don't.
Please help bring this horror to the public eye. It is the only way it can be stopped. Your show reaches and touches so many people, it would be the perfect sounding board to get this out in the open.
There are so many dogs dying in shelters that are unwanted, puppy mills contribute to this and also force the dogs there to live in generally unhealthy conditions with no human contact and unknowing people by dogs with many health problems. It's a disgusting business that is a disgrace to this country and a virtually ignored issue. Please help!
Oprah: We know that you love animals and must be horrified at what goes on in puppy mills. Anything you can do to bring the plight of the animals to the attention of those who can make a difference would be more than appreciated.
