Wednesday, 21 April 2010

Be Puppy Farm Aware

Today's blog entry isn't about Wiggle, but it is about another subject very close to our hearts - Puppy Farming. And a new website, giving information about puppy farms and what to avoid when looking for a puppy:

http://bepuppyfarmaware.webs.com/

Those of you who have read this blog for some time will know that before this blog was started, I shared my life with 2 very special chocolate girls - Poppy and Dolly.

Poppy and Dolly both spent the first part of their lives as brood bitches at puppy farms - producing litter after litter, from their first season until they were no longer worth anything to the farmers. Luckily for them, Poppy and Dolly were given up to rescue and even though their time with me was short, they both got to live life as pets, loved and cared for in a happy home.

Poppy:













Dolly, with Poppy:













Dolly:











As anyone who's read this blog from the beginning, will know that sadly Poppy died of a heart condition just a few weeks after I had adopted Dolly. Poppy was only 10 years old and had spent 7 years as a breeding machine. Purely by chance, Dolly was given up to the same rescue but due to a massive tumour, only had one year with us before she passed away. She was only 7.

Sadly, their stories aren't so rare. Puppy farms exist, with dogs living in awful conditions, with the sole purpose in life to make money for the owner. There's no health checks to ensure the health of the litters or much regard given to the health or welfare of the mothers. These dogs aren't bred to continue bloodlines - they are bred purely for profit.

Litters of puppies are often passed on to dealers, who sell the pups. Most people know that they should see the parents, or at the very least the mum, but when faced with cute puppies, common sense can just disappear!

The sad fact is, that by purchasing puppies in this way, people are providing an outlet for the puppy farmers to sell 'their goods'. And all the while there are people to buy the puppies, there are dogs just like Poppy and Dolly, living sad and squalid lives, producing litter after litter until they are deemed worthless......

5 comments:

Lucy the Lab said...

How anyone could look into those two sweet faces & relegate them to a life of a breeding machine is beyond comprehension. Thank you, Wendy, for providing them with love, care & compassion in their final years. Mom gets tears in her eyes when she looks into their sweet, trusting faces...
Love, Wiggle's Best Girl,
Lucy the Lab

FerFer1958 said...

Poppy looks very sad but I'm sure he was happy to be loved in his last days.

in the 2nd pic Dolly's eyes are like telling you how much she appreciates her new live with you.

in the 3rd pic Dolly is just content of having such a nice place to rest... she didn't need anything else.

Melita (Woof Beginnings) said...

How true and written from the heart Wendy.
If only these puppy farms could be closed down.
Poppy and Dolly were lucky to have lived with you and experienced, if just for a short time, a loving home.
Melita..x

Linzi said...

Oh my word aren't poppy and Dolly the most sweetest girls, they are the sort that melt my heart.
Thank you for posting the link, may i post a link to Wiggle's blog on my site?

Sophie said...

Great to see that there is growing awareness of puppy farming. The most active group on this is Puppy Love. They carry out investigations and have provided footage to mainstream TV channels for documentaries, they also raise awareness at events and work directly with the Welsh Assembly since Wales has so many puppy farms.

http://www.puppylovecampaigns.org