Each year, millions of dogs are killed in animal shelters, while at the same time, "puppy mills" breed thousands of puppies a year for sale to pet shops across the country.

In a world of "pregnancy for profit," these dogs are forced to live their entire, sometimes very short lives, in dark warehouses . . . in tiny, crowded, and indescribably filthy conditions.  Females are bred continuously until they die. Between pregnancies, hundreds of dogs compete for attention and food - their bony bodies a testament to inadequate food and water, substandard housing, insufficient exercise and infrequent, if any, veterinary care.  Puppies are taken away from their mothers as young as four weeks of age, packed several to a crate, with little food, water, or ventilation and transported to pet stores across the country.

Their soft and fuzzy faces tug at our heartstrings, compelling us to stop and buy that one lonely puppy.  But beyond that innocent face in the window lies a callous industry fraught with deception and cruelty. Many times the puppies arrive at the pet stores malnourished or ill; some never make it at all.  The people who buy these puppies think they are taking home a healthy, well adjusted companion animal.  But sadly, many times they discover they have purchased a dog that has a personality problem, disease, or genetic defect - caused by over breeding, inbreeding, or the unsanitary, squalid conditions at the puppy mill.

I suggest that people looking for companion animals adopt them from their local human society, shelter, or breed rescue club.  Only when people make a vow to adopt companion animals, instead of buying them, will we be able to see a reduction in the millions of companion animals tragically killed in our nation's shelters.