For years I’ve been one of the Wisconsin representatives of Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue, an all-volunteer rescue organization. I’ve taken in and adopted out over 60 dogs but I will no longer accept puppymill dogs.

Here’s why:

Puppymill dogs are extremely difficult to socialize. Think “post traumatic stress syndrome”. These dogs have often been beaten and kept in deplorable conditions. Some puppymill dogs I have accepted will cower down and dump both their bowels and their bladder because they are crippled with such fear. They freak out when they’re allowed outside of a tiny caged area and of some of the puppymill dogs I’ve brought into my home, they are even afraid of grass because their paws have only seen metal cages.

Their life will be shorter than other dogs. They are fed a diet of the cheapest and worst dog foods. Old Roy, one of the worst foods on the market, is often the staple for these dogs. They almost always have to have extensive dental work which includes extractions and that is if they have any teeth at all.

The females have been “bred out”. At about 5 or 6 their litters decrease in count and they are less profitable for puppymillers. Stories have circulated in the rescue community of puppymillers giving rescue organizations the opportunity to buy the dog, otherwise the miller will simply snap the “unproductive” dogs neck and toss it behind the barn to decompose or to be carried away by wild animals seeking food.

I have never paid for a puppymill dog but people who have brought these dogs to me have, just, in their minds, to allow the dog to have a good couple of years if they even have that long left in them. It is my belief that giving money, any money, to a puppymiller encourages them to continue their savage trade.

Amish and Menanites have flocked to Wisconsin because of our lax laws. Their cruelty and neglect of these animals is in direct conflict with what you would think would be the conservative christian doctrines which they proclaim to live by but they treat these animals like livestock.

You can find puppymill dogs in many places. The puppies can be picked up from most pet stores and even the 7 mile fair. Some of these dogs have been so inbred that they do not even have knees.

Before adopting an animal, please be sure to check out animal shelters and rescue organizations. If you feel you absolutely must adopt a puppy from a specific breed, be sure to ask to see where the dogs are raised and what the facilities where the dogs are housed looks like. If you don’t, you may not only be propagating a puppymill business, but you may find your new dog is bringing home a disease which will put you and your family at risk.

The puppymill dogs I have gotten almost all have extreme fear issues and anyone who has a nice house must understand that they will never be able to have carpeting. Rescuers have even changed their furniture so that if they approach a dog that is on a couch they don’t have to worry about a permanent soiled stain and a disgusting mess.