I cannot believe that you condone a CHILD making a profit from the misery of other living creatures! This boy is no better than a puppymill, and has no business selling what he most likely knows NOTHING about. Worse, if he actually knows what he's doing and doesn't care. Unbelievable that you would this this is something that other teens should aspire to.
Pehaps its time for People to do a story on the important things that kids are doing such as volunteering in shelters to help clean up the mess that little Timothy is creating. How about a story of all the kids who volunteer in various breed rescues to help rehome the dogs that Timothy has so thoughtlessly profitted on for himself and the puppy mills at the expense of innocent dogs costing them their lives.
These kids who are making a difference deserve the limelight.
Janice Cooper
This is not a practice that should be held in high regard and the fact that People magazine promoted it as such is quite a disturbing realization that People thinks that nothing should stand in the way of the almighty dollar...not even the life of an innocent animal.
The fact that people who promote puppymills are hailed as some sort of model entrepreneur disgusts me to no end. Stop puppymills and enact laws that provide real penalties to those who would engage in this practice and other forms of animal cruelty
Bottom line, this is a bad "product" to make a profit from. It would take to long to explain the snowball effect of puppy mills, the cruel conditions under which these poor dogs are forced to breed and and give birth.
I know PEOPLE has a staff of people who could figure this out with very little effort.
Please give equal time to those who speak for the dogs who can not and educate the public on why no one should breed for profit. You are a stong voice, please use it wisely. Thank you.
Why doesn't your magazine show the hundreds of cute wriggly puppies that are gassed, injected or brutally ed each day because some irresponsible person is out to make quick easy money peddling puppy mill animals? Shame on you for encouraging greed.
What in the Hell we're you thinking? Why don't you take a walk through some shelters at all the puppy/mill throw aways. Better yet, how about going and watching the animals being killed before your very own eyes. Duh!!!!!
PUPPY MILLS ARE A DISGRACE TO HUMANITY--GOD CREATED COMPANIONS FOR HUMAN BEINGS-TO BE TREATED AS HUMANELY AS WE TREAT OURSELVES.THREE OF MY 4 LEGGED CHILDREN WERE ADOPTED OFF THE STREETS-THEY GET BETTER MEDICAL ATTENTION THAN I GIVE MYSELF-AND THEY EAT BETTER, TOO! I GET SO MUCH LOVE AND ENJOYMENT FROM MY "BABIES" THEY GREET ME WHEN I COME HOME AND GIVE ME LOVE BEFORE I GO TO BED EACH NIGHT. GOD BLESS ALL THE LITTLE CREATURES AND THE PEOPLE WHO TAKE CARE OF THEM FOR WHAT THEY WERE GIVEN TO US FOR!!
These are living breathing beings, beng sold by "humans" for pure and greedy gain and People Magazine touts this as GOOD? Where are the morals of our society? How can People Magazine PUBLISH this sort of trash?
At the very least a retraction and an article discussing the RIGHT way to buy a puppy and the RIGHT way pups should be brought up is in order!!!
People, I am sure that, had you known the whole story on puppy mills, you would not have published this seemingly heartwarming and inspirational story. The truth is, that puppy mills are a big, ugly, deceptive and cruel business. I have been told by pet store employees that they do not buy from puppy mills and that all of their dogs come from "kennels" that are USDA approved, but that is part of the problem. Even though they have the USDA seal of approval and the dogs wear collars that declare them to be "USDA Livestock", (I have seen them) these mills are not regulated or inspected regularly and the cruel, inhumane conditions are hidden from the outside world. No reputable breeder would sell puppies to a pet store. Pet stores are designed to attract the impulse buyer and frequently, these dogs wind up at the pound because many of them have health issues (due to undisclosed/unknown genetic conditions) that become much too expensive for many people to treat. Even though rescue organizations check the pound regularly to bring dogs into rescue, many are needlessly euthanized. The conditions in puppy mills are a dirty little secret and the millers want to keep it that way. I am sure that the pet store employee that I talked to truly believed that the dogs were not from puppy mills. The truth is, most of us are ignorant to the facts. The only way to stop puppy mills is to stop buying from pet stores because, again, no reputable breeder will sell puppies to a pet store. We were given a pet store dog and loved him until he died at age 4 of lymphoma. This was after putting our whole hearts into getting him through epilepsy and other maladies. We have since rescued two more dogs, both with hip and elbow dysplasia, and one had to have knee surgery. We have fostered unwanted dogs and all but one was from a puppy mill (pet store). We love them all as if they had won best in show at Westminster, but until these mills are shut down and pet stores no lon
Encouraging and promoting "puppy mills" is the worst you can do for animals. How can you in good concience glorify this. This tyope of thing is what keeps puppy mills in business. This young man needs education on the subject. This is the worst way to "make a fast buck", at the expense of innocent pups and uneducated buyers.Does he do home checks or just send anyone with the money a pup? That is excactly what puppy millers do.
Thanks to this article, I'm sure teenagers everywhere will think that the mindless breeding of dogs is a great get rich scheme. Way to go People. Anything for a good story, huh?
As others have stated People mag researchers have dropped the ball! This "teen" could be doing things to help society not hurt it! What a waste of time.
This is disgusting! Why are we rewarding puppy mills, and this is what giving them national coverage does. It should be followed up with a story on the rescue groups that have to deal with this "Teen Titan's" puppies that are badly bred.
I hope this young man will do some research on puppymills; and instead of striving to be a "teen titan" in the careless market of selling puppies, learn the goodness of volunteering to help the millions of homeless pets!
The people in the news should be PEOPLE MAGAZINE..
Poor and little research done when putting this article together. The editor and staff should spend a week at a shelter doing community work or foster a sad soul for 3 months in rescue to see what some of the results are from puppy mills. We need to QUIT using animals as throw aways and making money from their sufferings
after just losing a rescue dog from a ''puppy mill'' due to poor breeding practices found in puppy mills, i am abhorred by the fact that a 16 yr. old is allowed to ''run'' this business -- do these people have a clue??? definitely People Magazine needs to cover both sides of the story and make people aware of the problems being created by the greedy puppy millers.
Selling pups via the internet from puppy mills is a devistating injustice to the puppy and to the dog world.Pups should be sold from Breeders who support the new owner and supply all the information for caring for the defenceless pup.WAKE UP and CARE!
I am surprised that a publication such as People Mag has its editors and publisher so unenlightened that they thought this was a good cause to 'promote'.
The young man has nothing to be proud of. He is nothing but a 'puppy pusher.' Please educate your readers about the cruely of puppy mills and commercial breeders/brokers.
Upholding this puppymill enterprise as an example of a "teen titan" does a disservice to your magazine, your readers, and the untold numbers of teens who are doing good - as well as doing well - in the world.
It's hard to believe that in this day and time everyone is not aware of the thousands of animals euthanized daily here in the United States... shame on you People magazine for covering an article so out of synch with the times!
I sincerely hope this teenager and his mother understand the devastating affects their actions have and will continue to cause. Next time you decide to write about someone doing something worthwhile - look at the animal rescuers (many of whom started as teenagers) and explain to people the utterly repulsive conditions of puppy mills. Exploiting life should never be monetarily rewarded and should NEVER be published in a good light.
I believe that there are many more 'teen titans' that do much more to raise/earn money than resort to carelessly selling animals. Where's PETA when you need 'em?
People needs to write a story on puppy mills and challenge this child to do some volunteer work at a pound to see just what happens to puppy mill puppies.
This boy and his mother are a disgrace to our human species. People who make a 'fast buck' from an innocent animals' lifetime of misery need to be euthanised themselves.
Although the this website encourages people to spay or neuter their own pet, they still are trying to sell puppies which only compounds the problem. This is nothing more than an effet attempt on the part of the website owners to "soften the blow", so to speak, of the consequences of their own irresponsible actions. They are encouraging with one hand, and discouraging with the other. I wonder, does this make them feel better, and who exactly do they think they are fooling? The pet overpopulation problem is a terrible tragedy, and anyone who breeds dogs or cats are responsible for this pandemic of death. When millions of animals needlessly die, and at the expense of billions of taxpayer dollars, then there is no such thing as a responsible breeder.
How about some equal press - take a walk through the pounds across the country and interview some of the people who are trying to save these dogs once they are dumped!
People Magazine should be a little more responsible with their reporting, and spend a little more time investigating before publishing. Not a magazine I'll subscribe to!
Stop this maddness! There are enough animals in shelters who deserve good homes and don't even make it - let's help in not adding to it. These are living creatures being treated as a commodity and needs to be stopped now!!!!
