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Alejandra Jimenez
Professor Mitchell-Wagner
English 1C
May 27, 2013
Puppies for Sale!
There are 78.2 million dogs owned in the United States. Out of this large number, only
21% were obtained through adoption programs. Instead, the vast majority are bought from either
pet stores or directly from breeders because Americans are not aware of the cruel practices that
go into breeding dogs. Owners have come up with many reasons to justify their decision why
they choose not to adopt, but these often prove to be false. One common misconception is that
shelters do not have purebreds. According to the Humane Society 25% of the dogs brought to
shelters are purebreds. Another objection people have is that there is too much paperwork
combined with additional financial fees. The reason shelters require so much paperwork is that
they are trying to determine if the animal is being placed with a responsible and capable owner.
People also assume that when they purchase their dog from a store or breeder that they are
dealing with an ethical person. They don’t take into consideration that the female dogs are often
killed by their owner once they are no longer able to bare puppies. If people took the time to
really dig into where their dogs come from they’d be shocked! Dogs have become part of a
highly profitable business that neglects the well being of the animals involved. It wasn’t until my
brother became a breeder himself that I learned about the culture of dog breeding.
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My brother, Hector, got into the business of dog breeding at the age of seventeen. He
breeds American Bully’s, a specific breed, of pit-bulls bred to be short and stocky. He bought his
first breeding dog, Gorda for $1500. It wasn’t long before Gorda was bred and became pregnant.
She had a total of 12 but only eight survived. New born puppies need to be watched at all times
to make sure they all get a chance to eat because some of the puppies may not be as aggressive as
the other puppies. Some puppies will wander away from their mom and the mom can’t always
get up to get them if the other puppies are eating. Other times the mom will accidentally crush
them by laying on them or sitting on them. Gorda accidentally sat on one of her puppies and it
died.
After a few months my brother sold most of the puppies except for two because they
were sick. They ended up dying of Parvovirus on Christmas. A month or two later my brother
took back a puppy from one of his buyers. The owner had kept the puppy malnourished and
would only let it out a few times and would allow his other two dogs to fight it for his
amusement. When my brother came back with the puppy it was very skinny and beat up. We
named him White Paws. White Paws grew to be a beautiful dog. He was very playful and would
get very excited when he’d see us. My brother didn’t sell him because he didn’t have the “look”
of the American Bully, and selling an ugly dog is bad for business. White Paws was placed in a
shelter. I’ve always hoped that White Paws got adopted but the chances of him getting adopted
are very low because most pit-bull don’t get adopted especially if they’re full grown. Pit-bulls
are the number one euthanized dog because people are misinformed about them and are often too
afraid of them. Their fear of pit-bulls based off of misconceptions of the media.
My brother bought his second dog, Lady, after he sold Gorda. When Lady became
pregnant the first time watching her trying to go up the steps was very amusing because her belly
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dragged. Lady, and other American Bully’s, needs to have a c-section to have their puppies.
Their bodies are so small that if they attempt to have their puppies vaginally they can die and so
can its puppies. Most dog breeders make their dogs have c-sections because the puppies are
more likely to survive this way than if the mother delivers them vaginally. My brother took her
to a veterinarian who would perform c-sections and other procedures at his house so he could get
paid under the table. The man charged less than if it was at his animal hospital. My brother ran
the risk of this man not doing something correctly though. At animal hospitals, vets have
assistants but at his house, my brother who had no experience in any surgical procedures was his
only assistant.
When dogs are pregnant they become much more affectionate. They want to be petted
more and don’t want to be alone. Lady would follow me around and curl up in my lap at any
chance she got. She was lucky! Most dogs used for breeding are confined to small spaces and
aren’t allowed in the house. When Lady was ready to have her second set of puppies she was
taken to the same man from her previous pregnancy. The veterinarian gave her a very strong
dose to sedate her because she wouldn’t fall asleep with the normal amount. When she came
home she wasn’t moving because she was so drugged from the C-section. She couldn’t really
keep her eyes open and couldn’t control her body. Lady wasn’t able to feed her puppies and was
still sedated to the point where she wasn’t aware she even had puppies. She wouldn’t go near
them. From the five puppies she had that day only three survived the first night.
Taking care of puppies is no easy task. The puppies were getting cold very fast. They
were placed right next to each other in warm blankets and had a heater next to them. They would
often stop breathing and we had to rub them and shake them to make them breath. My brother
had to breathe into their mouths several times. The puppies wouldn’t eat. He had to buy plastic
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tubing for fish tanks and stick it down their throats to their bellies. With the plastic tubes he was
syringe feeding them. After a couple of days they were able to drink from Lady and survive. My
brother took excellent care of them. Why? Because each of these puppies was worth at least
$12,000! By losing two he had lost at least $25,000 and couldn’t “afford” to lose any more
money.
My brother bought another dog, Petoonia. Petoonia had been confined to a small cage her
whole life and was obese because she’d never been walked. At first Petoonia we couldn’t pet her
because she’d cower and whine. When Petunia had her puppies we were barred from the living
room. She wouldn’t let us near her or her puppies. We had to place a wooden board in the
hallway to keep her from attacking us. My brother knew he couldn’t breed her anymore because
she was too dangerous but many times breeders will still breed an aggressive dog. He sold her to
a veterinarian in San Francisco. She updated us with Petoonia’s progress and reported that
Petoonia loves to walk and even won a dog show!
My brother has dog sat several of his acquaintances dogs. Once he had to dog sit a dog
that was pregnant. The dog, Thumbelina, needed a C-section because she was about to go into
labor. She had 16 puppies! She ate one or two of them. She would growl and was protective of
them but she wouldn’t care for them. We would try to gather them together and place them at her
nipples but she’d get up and walk away. Some of them were going to be put down because they
had cleft palates, but they died before they were taken to the vet though. Puppies born with cleft
palates are put to sleep because they can’t be bred and they need surgery to survive. The puppies
cried all day and night out of hunger and coldness. We worked hard trying to keep them alive but
all 16 puppies died. When my brother removed the last dead puppy, Thumbelina let out a tragic
cry. She knew what had happened and she whimpered and howled. Dogs can sense when their
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puppies are sick. If their puppies are sick they tend to leave them alone. We found out that her
owner had bred her with her grandfather. The puppies born with cleft palates were the result of
the inbreeding. Inbreeding in dogs leads to mutation, sick puppies, and infertility in male dogs.
Most pit-bull puppies get their ears “cropped”, or cut, at about 8-12 weeks, for cosmetic
reasons. They go under anesthesia and get their ears snipped by blade, or with scissors. After
their ears are clipped their ears are stitched and held upright by string tying the two ears. The
stitches remain there for about two weeks. To get their ears clipped one is supposed to take them
to the vet but many people take them to other dog breeders or vets who will do it at home for a
much cheaper price. Our dogs always get their ears cropped unless the owner request them to
have their ears intact. Often we have to shoo away flies and put ointment on them from
becoming infected. Other dogs get their tails cut off, which is commonly known as “docking”.
They either cut off the blood supply by tying a rubber band on the tail or they cut it off with
surgical scissors or a scalpel. Another procedure done for cosmetic reasons involves cutting off
the carpal pad.
These dogs, though well cared for, are primarily used to make money. Our dog Lady has
had 4 litters so far. She’s going to have one more litter but after that she’s no longer “useful”.
Our dogs live in paradise compared to a lot of other dogs that are used to breed. They get cleaned
after and fed each day. They live in large kennels, have their own dog houses, drains in each
kennel, their own dog bowls, have a small tub to cool themselves in, and they have a mist hose
that runs along their kennel to keep them cool during the summer heat. My dad made a shady
area too for each of them. Our dogs rarely get played with and don’t get walked because they
could be stolen. They lack the social skills that pets have. Their sole purpose is to have puppies
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and make money. The very few times they are taken out it is by my brother, no one else is trusted
to care for the dogs outside of their kennel.
There are different types of breeders: puppy mills, backyard breeders, and hobby
breeders. Puppy mill breeders are the worst. They keep their dogs in the most inhumane
conditions! These dogs never set foot outside their cages unless someone buys them. Most dogs
from pet stores come from puppy mills. The new owners of these dogs aren’t aware that the dogs
they are buying, used to live in filth with about three other dogs in a tiny space.
I believe my brother is in between a backyard breeder and a hobby breeder. Backyard
breeders don’t care too much for their dogs and often post ads in the classified sections and sell
their dogs for a very cheap prize. Backyard breeders cannot provide papers for their dogs some
of the time. Hobby breeders have written contracts and pay special attention to who they breed
their dogs with. Though my brother doesn’t treat his dogs like most backyard breeders he still
hasn’t made decisions that were for the benefit of the dogs rather than making money. He does
have written contracts with the customers and he does take the dogs to animal clinics for shots
and if they appear sick but he cares more about his money than the actual life of the dogs.
When breeding dogs get pregnant they don’t do it with sex. They have a minor operation
where semen is inserted inside of them. The semen is bought from the chosen “stud.” The stud’s
owner takes it to the vet and the vet, with a glove, retrieves the semen by masturbating the dog.
After that they are able to perform the minor surgery on the female dog. She receives stitches and
they remain there for days. Later when she has a c-section they reopen in the same spot. You can
see and feel the scars on dogs who are bred. Female dogs who are bred are sometimes bred up to
twice a year and rarely live to be past five because of the stress put upon their bodies.
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Not all breeders are inhumane but many are. There needs to be harsher sentence and laws
that are enforced in regards to breeding. Only 26 states regulate breeding and in those 26 states
the laws on breeding aren’t enforced like they should be. There are groups that raid puppy mills
and inhumane breeders but dogs are being over bred and the rescued dogs end up without a
home, again. Some cities like Los Angeles, have banned pet stores from selling puppies that
come from puppy mills or breeders. Instead pet stores in Los Angeles have to sell dogs that come
from shelters.
Pet stores selling dogs from shelters helps save the lives of dogs. Each year anywhere
from 3-4 million get euthanized because the demand on shelters is too high and they don’t have
enough money to keep all the dogs alive. Dog breeders don’t want to admit the role they play in
the massive killing of the dogs in shelters. Dogs bought from reputable breeders rarely end up in
shelters they argue, but they may be taking away the chance of a dog in a shelter and shortening
the life of another.
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Appendix
Figure 1. Dogs at a puppy mill often get crammed into tiny cages like these. "Advocacy For
Animals." Advocacy For Animals The Shame of Puppy Mills Comments. Encyclopedia Brittanica: Advocacy
for Animals, 27 Aug. 2007. Web. 30 May 2013.
<http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2007/08/the-shame-of-puppy-mills/>
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Figure 2. A dogs ear a few days after being cropped. Why Do People Get Their Dogs Ears
Cropped? Digital image. Why Do People Get Their Dogs Ears Cropped? N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2013.
<http://askville.amazon.com/people-dogs-ears-cropped/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=17693972>.
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Figure 3. This is Lady. Jimenez, Hector. Lady Compact. 2012. Photograph. Backyard, Pasadena.
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Figure 4. Internet sensation, Lentil, who has a cleft palate. Condefer, Lindsay. Rescued Pup with
Cleft Palate Becomes Internet Sensation. Digital image. TODAY. N.p., 9 Apr. 2013. Web. 30 May 2013.
<http://www.today.com/pets/rescued-pup-cleft-palate-becomes-internet-sensation-1C9268930>.
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Works Cited
"Advocacy For Animals." Advocacy For Animals The Shame of Puppy Mills Comments. Encyclopedia
Brittanica: Advocacy for Animals, 27 Aug. 2007. Web. 30 May 2013.
<http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2007/08/the-shame-of-puppy-mills/>.
Condefer, Lindsay. Rescued Pup with Cleft Palate Becomes Internet Sensation. Digital image. TODAY.
N.p., 9 Apr. 2013. Web. 30 May 2013. <http://www.today.com/pets/rescued-pup-cleft-palatebecomes-internet-sensation-1C9268930>.
"Facts About Animal Sheltering - Petfinder." Petfinder Facts About Animal Sheltering Comments.
ASPCA, n.d. Web. 30 May 2013. <http://www.petfinder.com/pro/for-shelters/facts-aboutanimal-sheltering/>.
Isenberg, David. "Lawbreakers at War: How Responsible Are They?" Time 18 Jan. 2013: 18-21. Print.
Jimenez, Hector. Lady Compact. 2012. Photograph. Backyard, Pasadena.
"Pet Statistics." ASPCA. ASPCA, n.d. Web. 30 May 2013. <http://www.aspca.org/about-us/faq/petstatistics.aspx>.
Puppy 1. 2007. Photograph. Encyclopedia Brittanica: Advocacy for Animals. Encyclopedia Brittanica:
Advocacy for Animals. 27 Aug. 2007. Web. 27 May 2013.
<http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2007/08/the-shame-of-puppy-mills/>.
"Puppy Mills: Dogs Abused for Trade." Peta.org. PETA, n.d. Web. 29 May 2013.
<http://www.peta.org/issues/Companion-Animals/puppy-mills-dogs-abused-for-the-pettrade.aspx>.
Why Do People Get Their Dogs Ears Cropped? Digital image. Why Do People Get Their Dogs Ears
Cropped? N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2013. <http://askville.amazon.com/people-dogs-earscropped/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=17693972>.