By HOPE PATTI
Harley is a smart, sweet and lovable dog. The Bloom family of East Brunswick adopted her in January of 2015 after searching for another addition to their family for some time. Harley’s mom, Mercy, was rescued from a high kill shelter in North Carolina.
After being rescued, Mercy, gave birth to 12 puppies on the back of a pickup truck that was heading 500 miles north to Pennsylvania. Three of the puppies did not survive the trip. One of the puppies, the only male and also the runt of the litter, was born with a heart murmur and other birth defects, but still ended up finding a loving home.
“I would rather adopt because a lot of times purebred dogs have health issues and with the media lately, showing how many pet stores have had problems with the treatment of animals, I would rather rescue,” said Jessica Bloom, one of Harley’s owners.
Mercy’s story is not uncommon and is only one of many about a dog that was placed in a shelter.
What are Puppy Mills Actually Like?
It has been estimated that there are over 10,000 puppy mills operating in the United States. Between the 10,000 puppy mills, come 2.11 million dogs that are sold through pet stores annually. Those are just the dogs that make it to a pet store, there are even more dogs that are kept at the puppy mill for the rest of their lives, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
Dogs may find their way to a shelter for multiple reasons. Many times, it is because their owners can no longer take care of them, but there are also instances in which dogs are rescued from a hoarding situation, which occurs when an owner takes in more animals than they can properly care for, or from living on the street.
Arlene Jurovitsky, vice president of the board of trustees at Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge Inc. said that “the biggest benefit of adopting is that you are saving a life.”
Adoption is the best choice when it comes to looking for a dog. Not only are prospective owners saving a dog’s life, but adoption discourages the growth of puppy mills. Even when a pet store provides documentation of a dogs registration it is likely that the dog came from a puppy mill.
Buying from pet stores only aids in the continuation of puppy mills. Puppy mills use pet stores as their main outlet to sell the dogs that they breed. Each time a puppy is sold in a pet store, a spot opens up for another puppy that comes from the same puppy mill. According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, more commonly known as PETA, the issue is “a simple matter of supply and demand.” An issue that can only end if consumers stop purchasing puppies from pet stores.
Often times, dogs that come from pet stores will have severe health complications because of the inhumane conditions at puppy mills.
“Most people don’t realize how bad puppy mills are,”said Carol Chapman, photographer and volunteer at Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge Inc.
“When you go to a pet store to pick out a dog you just think ‘oh this one’s cute,’ you don’t see the dogs that are missing teeth and that have severe problems. The dogs that don’t make it to the pet store are thrown away, killed or they spend their whole lives in a cage,” added Chapman.
Jurovitsky and Chapman both agreed that it is important to be aware of the conditions of a puppy mill before ever going to a pet store.
The main priority of a puppy mill is to make money off of the dogs that they are breeding. Therefore, the health and quality of life of the dogs is disregarded. Dogs are forced into living in unsanitary and crowded places. Due to the poor living conditions, most dogs living in puppy mills will have diseases like mange, pneumonia, parasites, heart disease and many more.
Most of these dogs spend the entirety of their lives in a stacked wire cage, where they are very likely to injure themselves. The dogs that make it out of the puppy mills are ripped away from their mothers at only 8 weeks old. Making them more likely to suffer from behavioral problems.
Since the main priority of puppy mills is to make a profit they don’t take care of the dogs. Dogs may go without food, water, or shelter. They don’t have the chance to socialize with people and veterinary care is out of the question.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or ASPCA, female breeding dogs live an even more crippling life. They are solely used for breeding. They are bred at every possible chance and have no time to recover between litters. Not only does this harm the dogs physically but it also puts a great deal of stress on them. Once the dogs are no longer able to breed they are killed.
A Local Issue
Since the beginning of 2016, a local pet store owner has been under scrutiny for the treatment of his dogs.
According to several sources including The Record, The Patch of Paramus and East Brunswick and Central Jersey News, Vincent LoSacco, the owner of Just Pups was charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty along with his brother Leonard LoSacco, who helped transport puppies from Missouri to New Jersey. Just Pups has four locations in New Jersey and one in New York.
The puppies that LoSacco sold at Just Pups came from his own puppy mill in Missouri. An inspection in Missouri showed that there was no proper documentation for the puppies, including health records and licenses. The puppies also received minimal veterinarian care and were housed in damaged crates.
[GOOGLE MAPS: See the location of Vincent LoSacco’s stores and puppy mill]
After several investigations, protests, petitions and complaints, two of LoSacco’s four New Jersey stores have been shut down.
Just Pups of Paramus was charged with 134 counts of animal cruelty and was immediately shut down after officers found 67 puppies in a van behind the store. The living conditions the puppies were subjected to was inhumane. The temperature inside the van was only 38 degrees, there was not enough food and water and up to four puppies were forced to stay in one cage making it difficult for them to move around.
Before the Paramus incident, Just Pups of East Brunswick was charged with 267 counts of animal cruelty and the town revoked LoSacco’s license. The East Brunswick store was overrun with illnesses that killed multiple dogs after they were purchased and during an investigation of the store three dead puppies were found in a freezer.
LoSacco has denied the cruelty and neglect of his puppies yet this incident alone speaks to the disregard that puppy mill and pet store owners have for their dogs.
Puppy mills may never be fully eradicated, but it is important to be cognitive of what is going on and make sure you don’t help keep them in business. Adoption should be your first and only choice when looking for a dog.
“You’re actually saving two lives,” Jurovitsky said. “You’re saving the dog that you adopt and you’re saving another dog who needs a spot in the shelter.”
Back to Harley
When the Bloom family first rescued Harley she was a mere 8 pounds. She was all white with a few spots here and there and she loved to sleep all day.
Harley has grown quite a bit since she was first adopted, in both appearance and personality. Today, Harley is a muscular 80 pound dog with dozens of spots covering her white coat. Harley is one of five dogs that live in the Bloom home and she loves to run around and wrestle the other dogs. She also enjoys going outside to splash around in her very own kiddie pool as well as to chase soccer balls around the Bloom yard.
[SOUNDSLIDES: See Harley’s life in her new home]
Adopting a dog can be incredibly gratifying, not only for the family but for the dog. Harley has brought the Bloom family a lot of laughter and happiness in the year and a half that they have had her.
Great, heartwarming story about dog adoption! The slideshow of Harley is adorable. After reading certain details, I am curious to hear from a family who may not have been as lucky as the Bloom’s, a family who may have purchased a diseased dog from one of these pet stores that may not have made it. The details of puppy mills may be gruesome, but some other info on the specifics of these mills would be interesting.