Please also visit the link to the Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project. There you will find additional information, pictures, and details about the dog auctions. Go here to find the active links:
http://www.cchs-petshelter.org/id71.html The Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project, Inc.
Wisconsin Professional Pet Breeders Association
The Wisconsin Professional Pet Breeders Association (WPPBA) held it's first trade show and seminar recently. Claiming to represent the breeders of Wisconsin, the group appears to be an organization of puppy mills.
Please click here to read a report of what took place at this seminar. Alarming information was presented at the seminar which could impact our efforts to enact a Pet Facilities Law.
If you're a breeder, you may wish to be aware of how this group is representing the work that you do. All citizens should be concerned about how they are trying to influence Wisconsin legislation. Please be sure to read this report.
How CCHS is Involved
Wisconsin State Capital in Madison, WI
While it is easy to express our disgust at what is happening at puppy mills and dog auctions, we know that nothing will change unless concerned members of the community step forward.
We at CCHS have chosen to do just that. We are working very closely with the Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project, Inc., in efforts to introduce legislation that would allow for inspection of these facilities.
Efforts have been made to pass a Pet Facilities Law (PFL) previously, but failed due to the political process. We believe that NOW is the right time for things to change!
Chuck and Cheri Wegner from CCHS travelled to the State Capital in Madison on Tuesday, May 22nd, to meet with congressional staff about the PFL. Also in attendance were Eilene Ribbens, Executive Director, Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project; Deb Lewis, Executive Director, Fox Valley Humane Society; Marnie Brown, Executive Director, Washington County Humane Society; Chris Cowles, Director, Washington County Humane Society; Penny Romasko, President, Alliance of Wisconsin Animals Rehoming Efforts, and Dr. Yvonne Bellay, State Humane Officer, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).
We were disappointed that the Senators and Representatives who had agreed to the meeting chose to send their staff aides rather than attending themselves. However, we do understand that the political process has to start somewhere. We appreciated the opportunity to express our position on the need for legislation and to discuss what can be done to improve conditions in Wisconsin.
What You Can Do To Help
While meeting with legislative staff is a good place to start, it has also become very evident to us that it will take a LOT of support for a Pet Facilities Law to be passed. While it seems to be only common sense that no one would ever want to hurt an animal, there is opposition to any animal legislation being passed. We welcome other ideas and suggestions, but we do believe that there needs to be a compromise reached that will end the suffering taking place in puppy mills and dog auctions every day.
The media coverage that has been taking place over the past two months is absolutely outstanding! It has brought the plight of puppy mill dogs to the forefront as never before. Thousands of people have expressed their outrage and demanded that laws change to protect our animals. That is why we need to continue to press forward now. We need everyone's help!
What can you do? Speak up!! Contact your Representatives and Senators today! The more pressure that they receive from their consituents, the more they will realize that they have to do something. If you don't know who to contact, you can go to the website:
Going undercover at a puppy mill....
"When we were first contacted by WTMJ-4 to assist with their undercover story, I didn't know what to expect. I really didn't know if we'd get to see anything, and I certainly wasn't prepared for what we did find. We stopped at a farm that had a reputation for selling puppies. I was stunned at many of the things we found.
First, the home was absolutely beautiful. It was a rather new home, and had gorgeous landscaping including a huge pond and many plantings. We went to the door and inquired about puppies for sale.
The lady who answered the door said she didn't have any puppies who were old enough to be sold. We asked if perhaps we could see some of the puppies she had in order to be put on the list for the next litters coming.
She rather reluctantly went to the shed to show us a puppy or two. We were asked to wait at the front of the building while she went in the back. She reappeared with two Shit zu mix puppies, stating that she was 'just going to sell them today'. They were $250 each. We asked if there were any other puppies available.
She went into the back room again and returned with two Cocker/Bichon mixed puppies. They were $200 each. We were told they were eight weeks old. My heart began to break.
We asked if we could see the puppies' parents. We were told to wait outside and she would bring them out for us to see. She brought out a Cocker and then a Bichon, separately, for us to see. Were they the parents? I didn't feel confident I was being told the truth. We had gone to the puppy mill with the intent of purchasing a puppy and getting the transaction on tape. So we returned to look at the puppies again.
The tiny little Cocker/Bichon mix was really getting to me. The little thing could barely stand up, and it's back legs were so underdeveloped that it couldn't walk. There was a lot of drainage from it's left eye, so it obviously was suffering from an eye infection.
I held the puppy, and that sealed the deal. That little puppy was getting out of there. However, we were determined to get more information. We asked if we could see where the puppies were being raised, as we wished to know that they were being raised in healthy conditions.
The lady refused, stating that her 'USDA Inspector' had told her never to let the public in where her dogs were kept. Yup, this place is USDA licensed. We responded that we certainly understood and that was OK. However, I could not buy a puppy when I could not see it's previous home.
As I began to put my $200 back into my purse, the lady seemed to quickly change her mind and we were permitted to see the next room where the puppies were kept.
God help them, the puppies were living in horrible conditions I could never have imagined. There were rows and rows of wooden boxes, approximately 2' square each, in this room.
Each box was solid wood. And each contained a litter of puppies. There was a lightbulb in the top of the box with a dimmer switch that was used to provide heat.
The puppies never saw daylight, never walked outside of that box, and had nothing else to look at except four walls and a ceiling of solid wood. They were living in little wooden coffins. That explained why my poor little puppy couldn't stand up. It wasn't getting enough exercise to develop it's muscles properly. I was stunned.
We decided to push further and askd to see where the parents were kept. This didn't seem to go anywhere until the money disappeared again. We were told she would show us the room, as long as we only stepped inside the doorway and no further. OK, we're in.
This room was the puppy mill experience I was more prepared for. There were rows and rows of wire cages. Each cage