United States Moves to End Puppy Mill Imports

[pnwmom]

9. There IS a shortage of available dogs in Seattle, which is why they're imported from other places.

http://www.seattlehumane.org/adopt/pets/dogs/all/sort/available

We live in a metro area of more than 2.5 million people, and there are currently only 14 available dogs in the City/County humane society -- even though some of the dogs here come from shelters in California. Only 1 dog is under a year old, and only 1 dog is between 1 and 2. Of those, one is considered okay for children ages 8 and up; and the other is supposed to have no children in the house. Of the total of 6 dogs under 5 years old, 3 can only be adopted by adults-only households.

And where do you think most of the dogs in the shelters come from? From the poorly bred dogs in the puppy mills. Since I don't want a puppy mill dog, and I want a puppy, the option is buying from a small breeder so I can see the parents and how the dogs are being taken care of. And these dogs won't ever end up in a shelter because the contract at purchase requires me to return the dog to the breeder if I have to give it up, so she can find another family for it. (But this will never happen in our case because we have family members who would be ready to step in.)

And yes, when we need a dog, I want a boutique dog. We want a puppy, and one that doesn't aggravate our allergies. Size and temperament also matters. So we don't limit ourselves to the handful of dogs in the local shelter, and we don't consider dogs that have to be shipped here from around the country. We don't get a puppy unless we meet it, and the parents, first.