Puppy mills originated in the post-World War II era. Midwestern farmers looking for an alternative crop reacted to a growing demand for puppies, resulting in the development of the first commercial puppy mill business.

A puppy mill can be defined as:

• a filthy, trashy place where one or several breeds of dogs are kept in deplorable conditions with mostly no medical care and puppies are available at all times
• any high-volume breeder whose cash crop is puppies
• any high-volume breeders who breed pets as their livelihood and keep them in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions
• a place where lots of dogs are raised, where breeding is done solely for financial gain rather than protection of the breed, and where puppies are sold to brokers or to pet stores

Puppy mills are able to stay in business due to the high demand for purebred dogs and buyers who purchase puppies without understanding the cruelty that they are supporting. Here are some warning signs that help in identifying high-volume breeders.

Does the breeder/seller:

• Advertise in classified ads in the newspaper or on the Internet
• Use handwritten road signs to advertise puppies for sale
• Advertise that puppies are ready for Christmas, Easter, etc.
• Advertise a variety of different breeds for sale
• Tell you that the sale can be completed by phone or e-mail
• Make up excuses why you can’t meet the puppy’s parents
• Refuse to allow you on their property

• Tell you to meet him/her and the puppy at a public location

• Offer stud services to the general public
• Sell puppies less than 8 weeks old
• Sell the puppies at a public place like a flea market, dog auction, yard sale, out of the back of a pickup, etc.

What you can do to help

There is no need for animals to be inhumanely bred and sold for the pet-store trade. Stay away from buying puppies from pet stores, over the internet or from newspaper ads. Buying puppies from these sources will help to keep the puppy mills in business. Instead, adopt from your local shelter or work with a legitimate breeder who is working to improve their breed. If you know of an inhumane breeding operation, contact The SPCA's Humane Investigators. Speak up and spread the word about puppy mills to your family and friends.  This will save lives.

ANIMAL HOARDING
Special thanks to the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC)

Animal hoarding is not about animal sheltering, rescue, or sanctuary and should not be confused with these legitimate efforts to help animals.  It is about satisfying a human need to accumulate animals and control them, and this need supercedes the needs of the animals involved. 

Animal hoarding is a poorly understood phenomenon which transcends simply owning or caring for more than the typical number of pets.  It affects every community in the United States, including Monterey County.  It has serious consequences for people, animals, and communities.  It is cruel to animals, it can devastate families, it can be associated with elder abuse, child abuse, and self-neglect, and be costly for municipalities to resolve.  Without appropriate post-intervention treatment, recidivism approaches 100%.

HARC uses following criteria to define animal hoarding:

• More than the typical number of companion animals
• Inability to provide even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter, and veterinary care, with this neglect often resulting in starvation, illness, and death
• Denial of the inability to provide this minimum care and the impact of that failure on the animals, the household, and human occupants of the dwelling

In a typical hoarding situation, the hoarder will put their own needs to be surrounded by animals ahead of providing even the most basic care. Although professing great love for the animals, they are often oblivious to serious illness, animals in desperate need of veterinary care, starvation, and even death of the animals. Few if any animals are ever adopted or placed, and new animals are never turned away, even in the face of rapidly deteriorating conditions. There are often substantial efforts to acquire even more pets.

Please click here to view frequently asked questions about animal hoarding.

You can help make a difference by reporting animal hoarders to The SPCA or by learning more about animal hoarding.