tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164642.post1109350365424337979..comments2008-01-16T17:43:59.962-08:00Jinkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07426661459735324657noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164642.post-29209750431444108382008-01-16T17:43:00.000-08:002008-01-16T17:43:00.000-08:00Is there any solid proof that these puppies at Posh Puppy are coming from abused puppy mill dogs? Just wondering....because puppy mills are awful but I wanted some proof to back up these alarming accusations.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164642.post-24047298701299434162008-01-08T08:05:00.000-08:002008-01-08T08:05:00.000-08:00The pet stores and puppy mills all work with pet industry lobbying groups that help them hide, deceive, lie, and attack those who expose their crimes.<BR/><BR/>Just for a little insight into some of the people involved in these lobbying groups, see http://www.cchs-petshelter.org/id84.html<BR/><BR/>The entire dog breeding business is a very corrupt one, and yes that includes the AKC. The AKC now makes of its money from registering puppy mill dogs, so they and their clientele are involved with pet industry lobbying groups like this.<BR/><BR/>Above all, they don't want exposure and they don't want laws!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164642.post-5456102166219128172008-01-02T14:25:00.000-08:002008-01-02T14:25:00.000-08:00Hi guys! I haven't seen you in soo long, we missed you when you were in New York. I think that it's great how you closed down that puppy store, I'm sure you know how much I love my little mutt. Talk to you soon!Emilynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164642.post-20467909176609377652007-12-31T21:14:00.000-08:002007-12-31T21:14:00.000-08:00Hello again. I am sorry. I didn't realize that the second part of Steve's article wasn't clickable.<BR/><BR/>Here it is.<BR/><BR/>Agency Faulted For Not Cracking Down on Violators<BR/><BR/>July 12, 2006<BR/> BY STEVE NEAVLING<BR/><BR/>DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER<BR/><BR/><BR/> OVERSIGHT OF BREEDERS: Agency faulted for not cracking down on violators<BR/><BR/><BR/>Dogs peered out of filthy, overcrowded cages, their fur matted and covered in feces. Not far away, flies flitted around two dead Pomeranians. Pups shuttered in a dark pen. <BR/><BR/>Animal welfare activists say those conditions prompted them to press the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2001 to shut down a dog-breeding facility in southwestern Minnesota operated by Reuben Wee.<BR/><BR/>But for four years, they say, deplorable conditions persisted and dogs died before local authorities -- and not the USDA -- intervened and charged Wee with animal cruelty. Wee was convicted in September 2005 before being sentenced to 30 days of house arrest and barred from breeding dogs, according to Paul Malone, a Murray County attorney who prosecuted Wee.<BR/><BR/>The USDA's inaction predictably drew fire from animal welfare activists. But it also highlighted complaints from within the USDA's ranks that the agency is simply not enforcing the Animal Welfare Act, which bans the inhumane treatment of animals held in breeding and research facilities.<BR/><BR/>In recent years, the USDA has opted to educate breeders about requirements under the Animal Welfare Act instead of imposing fines or shutting down facilities. <BR/><BR/>For example, the USDA in 2004 opted not to fine Heartland Kennels -- which sent at least 123 pups to local pet shops in 2005 -- after citing the facility for repeated violations that include confining dogs to cramped, dirty cages that offer no protection from the wind, rain and snow.<BR/><BR/>In a letter to the facility, the USDA said its run of violations used to result in fines or closure, but current policy "is to encourage compliance through education and cooperation rather than legal action."<BR/><BR/>"The more we educate them, the more likely they are to be in compliance," USDA spokesman Darby Holladay said. "Once they are educated, we see a decrease in noncompliance."<BR/><BR/>U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who said the USDA has failed to protect dogs, plans to call for an oversight hearing this month into the agency's handling of breeding facilities. <BR/><BR/>"I think there is a desire by the USDA to let the industry regulate itself," said Kucinich, who has two dogs. "Where is the compassion? These are poor, defenseless creatures who rely on human kindness and trust for their own survival, and it is the worst type of cruelty to subject animals to these kinds of conditions. The cruelty is compounded when you understand it's all for profit."<BR/><BR/>U.S. Rep. Joe Schwartz, R-Battle Creek, the only Michigan representative on the committee that oversees the USDA, acknowledged enforcement problems at the agency and said he supports an investigation. <BR/><BR/>"We need to get the enforcement of this more teeth," Schwartz said.<BR/><BR/>The USDA's Office of Inspector General has criticized the agency since the 1990s for failing to adequately crack down on violators. And in a blistering September 2005 report, the inspector general found an ineffective monitoring and inspection system and concluded the USDA failed to take action against "violators who compromised animal health."<BR/><BR/>That report -- and earlier investigations dating back to the 1990s -- found that the USDA has issued insignificant penalties to violators and often made no follow-up inspections. In those reports, inspectors and USDA veterinarians complained that breeders exploited the lax enforcement and endangered animals.<BR/><BR/>The Inspector General's office would not discuss its reports. USDA officials referred questions about the investigations -- and the agency's work -- to Holladay, who said the agency has stepped up its enforcement in the past year.<BR/><BR/>Frustrated with lax enforcement, the nonprofit Companion Animals Protection Society (CAPS) sent its own investigators undercover to almost 1,000 facilities in the past six years and found most violated the Animal Welfare Act. The investigations were documented with pictures and videos, and many, they said, came soon after USDA inspectors reported no violations.<BR/><BR/>CAPS' videos show sick and dead dogs, animals crammed into wire cages and puppies covered in feces and mud. Gaping wounds and lesions marked matted dogs. USDA inspection reports for those same facilities show minimal violations and penalties. <BR/><BR/>Deborah Howard, CAPS president, said she has made seven trips to Washington D.C. in the past four years, most recently this month, to urge lawmakers to start a federal investigation into the lax enforcement, but to no avail.<BR/><BR/>"The lack of enforcement is an old issue because enforcement efforts have increased," Holladay insisted, saying the number of cases handed over to the agency's investigative division has doubled in the past year.<BR/><BR/>But a USDA inspector, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the agency does not allow employees to speak to the media and he fears retaliation, said he and his colleagues are beset with low morale as leadership demands second and third chances for some of the worst offenders.<BR/><BR/>"When morale is low, you have inspectors doing half of what they normally can do," the inspector said. "Animals are dying for no reason. It's despicable."<BR/><BR/>"It's hard to get sympathy from the USDA," Howard said. "The USDA is contributing to the puppy mill problems. If the USDA properly enforced the Animal Welfare Act, there would be 1% of the puppy mills that operate today."<BR/><BR/>About 100 USDA inspectors are responsible for monitoring more than 6,000 commercial dog breeders and dealers across the country and an additional 14,000 zoos, carnivals and research labs. <BR/><BR/>Ed Green, a Washington D.C. attorney who lobbies for more USDA enforcement, said the agency has a "cumbersome, incompetent bureaucracy" that fails to use its limited resources wisely. <BR/><BR/>"The USDA has a broken culture," Green said. "They just do things the same old way because that is how they've always done it."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164642.post-63187128446312533832007-12-30T13:07:00.000-08:002007-12-30T13:07:00.000-08:00Who wrote the anonymous comment? I want to thank you!<BR/>Carolejinkywww.hollywoodjinky.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164642.post-81928610055079024132007-12-30T09:53:00.000-08:002007-12-30T09:53:00.000-08:00Steve Neavling of the Detroit Free Press wrote one of the best exposes of the USDA collusion with puppy mills.<BR/><BR/>http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=81241248&blogID=147816311<BR/><BR/>The USDA and state Departments of Agriculture perceive that their job is to help these puppy millers abuse dogs for profit.<BR/><BR/>That is why the mills that supply these pet stores are located in states like Missouri, Arkansas, Viginia, Ohio, most southern states, etc- they get the double whammy of protection from the USDA and their State Departments of Agriculture. Not to mention the legislators and officials they have bought (or that are connected to related hunting or farming interests. Or the AKC, that nows makes most of its money registering puppy mill puppies.)<BR/><BR/>And the fact that there are NO or few laws in these states, and what laws there are are not enforced.<BR/><BR/>Heck, in some of these states, dog breeder lobbyists ARE animal control or legislators or whatever.<BR/><BR/>Rotten to the core.<BR/><BR/>And as far as Yoons's claim that these dogs are "Mercedes?" If anyone wants to look at these dogs as objects, then these puppy mill dogs are defective, genetically impaired sick stock raised by hillbillies in shacks and outdoor cages. <BR/><BR/>It's a complete con.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com