If you read my recent article, Dog Factory, you'll know just how cruel puppy mills are. Puppy mills are dog breeding grounds where dogs are treated as cash crops and are bred at unnatural rates. The well-being of dogs living and being born in puppy mills comes second to the money they bring owners - which results in dogs living in stacked cages outside to face all of the elements, without proper exercise, diet, socialization, and care. Today, there are over 10,000 puppy mills in the country, producing over 2.4 million dogs per year.

While we can all believe that we don't support this kind of inhumane treatment of animals, just going to a pet store alone means you are supporting puppy mills. Today, most pet stores claim to get all of their animals from certified breeders, but that does not mean their dogs were birthed in the McGuire's back yard.

3,000 puppy mills in the United States are legally certified and are considered "certified breeders." So although that title may put your mind at ease, shopping from a pet store means that you are keeping puppy mills in business and support the inhumane treatment of animals and are even willing to pay to keep them in up and running.

This year, something amazing is happening in the world of animal welfare, however. New Jersey just passed a law that requires new pet stores to sell only rescued animals. Though this is a relatively small change, it is a step in the right direction. Every year, 3.9 million homeless dogs are euthanized in the US because they aren't adopted from the pound or off the streets.

Rather than supporting intentional animal abuse, pet stores are now required to sell those rescue dogs that would have otherwise been killed, offering them a second chance at life.