Any visitor to Petland (or any other pet store) knows that their biggest commodity is their puppies. It is quite the lure: a haven filled with adorable and floppy-eared puppies for you to look at, cuddle with and maybe even bring home. Except for the fact that it is no haven whatsoever. Odds are the puppy you buy from Petland came from an extremely problematic system and was not brought into the world under the right conditions or circumstances. The heinous truth behind these pet stores is that the majority of these puppies come from puppy mills. According to the Humane Society, there are an estimated 10,000 puppy mills in the United States and less than 3,000 of them are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For those who do not know, the promotion of these puppy mills is detrimental to the ongoing problem of homeless dogs and indirectly lead to the increasing euthanization rate in shelters. To add insult to injury, the dogs in these mills live in terrible conditions. Puppy mills are treated like mass production factories. The well-being of the dogs is not taken into account at these "puppy factories." Puppy mills have one priority and that is profit. These dogs are not seen as living creatures with high-ranking emotional intelligence and social needs but instead as means of production. This mass production of dogs only exacerbates the problem of homeless animals ending up in shelters (that ultimately end up euthanized).

The puppies that do end up at the pet store -- while undeniably precious on the outside -- come with myriad physical and psychological health problems. Since the health of the birthing mothers are not taken into account, they could pass hereditary illnesses to the puppies. Not to mention, the overcrowding and unsanitary conditions the puppies are being raised in creates a petri dish for puppy ailments. Often, too, puppies are distributed to pet stores when they are way too young to be separated from their mothers. This could lead to other developmental issues. Dogs are very social creatures but are treated like disposable raw materials in the puppy mill industry. Odds are, a puppy adopted from Petland or a similar type of store will add up to several outrageous veterinary bills. There is also a chance that the puppy could die within weeks or months after purchase from a silent underlying disease.

Strides are thankfully being made in the fight against puppy mills. Earlier this year, New Jersey passed a bill that required all newly licensed pet stores to only accept puppies from rescue shelters rather than breeders or puppy mills. While this doesn’t address the existing pet stores that get their puppies from mills, it is still a step in the right direction. There are some dissenters from the pet industry who claim that this will make it difficult for new pet stores to open up and would ultimately hurt the pet industry. However, research shows that pet stores can still be successful without the promotion of puppy mills. I know it is difficult to resist the urge to take home a puppy you see at the pet store -- and while these unwitting dogs deserve homes just as much as any other -- it is important for the overall well-being of dogs everywhere for us to put a stop to the promotion of this disgusting and inhumane industry.