Many people romanticize about rescuing a dog, or puppy, from a puppy mill. While a noble cause, many people who intend to do this, actually make the situation worse, and contribute to the puppy mill industry as a whole.  Learn how to correctly rescue a dog from a puppy mill!

What is a Puppy Mill?

A puppy mill is any place where puppies are produced for the pet store industry. Not all puppy mills are filthy and over run, but many are. One of the reasons why they are bad is that the breed for quantity, not quality. They use dogs that are of poor, to medium, genetic quality (unproven at shows, not tested by a veterinarian for genetic health defects). Be aware in many areas puppy mills are legal – however when mills are found with neglected dogs they can be shut down.

Most places that are running as puppy mills do not advertise themselves as such – rather they call themselves “breeders” and often sell to “brokers” who in turn sell to the pet stores (as such pet stores can say they are not buying from puppy mills).

Why Rescue from a Puppy Mill?

As most puppy mills are run cheaply (in order to sell at the low prices pet stores pay) the dogs are poorly cared for. Breeding dogs are often underfed, poorly socialized, and sometimes warehoused in tiny cages for their lifetime. People desire to rescue these dogs to give them a better life and free them from such horrid conditions.

How to Rescue a Dog from a Puppy Mill?

The best way of rescuing a dog from a puppy mill is by contacting a local dog rescue, SPCA, or other, such as dog town in the USA. These groups often get called in when a 'bust' is made on a puppy mill and dogs are confiscated. These rescue groups often have dogs from puppy mills that desperately need homes. If you adopt one of these dogs you can say you rescued a dog from a puppy mill.

Otherwise a true rescue would be if you went to a place operating as a puppy mill and persuaded the owner to surrender the dog to you, free of charge. This is not uncommon, older dogs who are beyond breeding are normally killed, so giving it away is just as easy, however if money is exchanged, then the dog has been “bought” not rescued.

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These are NOT Rescues from a Puppy Mill!

• Buying from a pet store.
• Buying from the puppy mill itself.
• Buying pups sold out of the back of a truck, van, or at a flea market.

In all cases you have rewarded the puppy mill, and not “rescued” the dog at all, rather you have “bought it” and condemned other dogs to live in horrid conditions.

Stealing a dog, or puppy, is also not rescuing - you have committed theft.

Be Aware when Rescuing from Puppy Mills

Puppy mill dogs often have behavior, and genetic, problems. Very often they eat their own feces, and are not house trained. Puppy mill dogs tend to have poor (or no) social skills with humans or other animals. They are often not house trained, and may even be terrified of grass.

If you see anyone keeping dogs in terrible condition, call your local SPCA, police, or veterinarian at once.  Do not buy a pup from them, if possible act unalarmed and take pictures of the "cute" puppies, telling the seller you need to think about which one you want overnight.

Authors Note: I once worked with a old dog rescue who rescued a breeding dog from a puppy mill. The dog was riddled with cancer and terrified of grass, and other dogs (indeed she only met other dogs when they were placed in her cage for breeding). It took months for her foster family to make her into a nice pet dog, but by then the cancer had taken its toll.

Related Links

How to Start a Dog Rescue Business

Why Buying Pets from Pet Stores Supports a Cruel Industry

Keeping Dogs on Chains is Cruel for Many Reasons