December 15, 2010

Do Not Enter - Puppy Mill Ahead?

Puppy Mill??

        I've been thinking about posting this for a few days and today I finally made the decision to do it. A few weeks ago I was reading the news paper at lunch and came across this ad in the paper. Being a Weimaraner owner this caught my eye immediately, especially since I've been thinking about getting an weim puppy or another rescue. I showed this to Amy to look at and we decide to call them to find out what's the deal. Now let me set the story straight before I explain this story...we would NEVER BUY a puppy from anyone other than a respected breeder or a rescue...period. As I thought about this ad for a few days I finally decided to call them to feel them out .. you know, kinda wanted to see what was going on... 

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Here is a little how the phone call went.

Me: Hello, I'm calling about the Weimaraners you have in the paper. Can you tell me about them?
Them: Sure, we have 10 available

Me: Wow 10
Them: Yes, we have a little from August and one from September.

Me: Oh, so they're older?
Them: Yes

Me: Are the parents on premise?
Them: Yes

Me: Are they silver or Blue or both?
Them: Ahh...ahhh... they're your standard grayish color.

Me: Do they have hip OFA certificates with them?
Them: Hip certificates? what do you mean?

Me: You know, have they been certified or the parents been certified?
Them: No, sorry they have not.

Me: Are they AKC registered?
Them: Yes they are

Me: Where are the puppies?
Them: They're kept in a kennel. We have a kennel in the garage

Me: How about socialization?
Them: What do you mean/

Me: How have they been socialized?
Them: ugh.. uh... ahhh.. My husband and I carfe for them.. well, my husband and I have been working a lot lately so they haven't really been well socialized. They're a little shy.....

Me: Okay, goodbye - CLICK

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     My wife called MWR to see what if anything can be done... and unfortunately nothing can be done. All we can do is keep the number on hand and contact these people to see WHEN they'll be getting rid of the pups. As they get older it gets more difficult to sell them... and without being socialized the dogs are headed for disaster...
These people have like 10 puppies, all are almost 5-6 months old already!!  We fear the worse for them.

What would you do? I personally have been thinking I should go see them and talk with this lady to let them know if they run into any issues they can let me know and I can help them surrender the dogs to a rescue.....

What to do? I look forward to your comments.

3 comments:

Linda said...

Tough situation. I think educating them about rescue & offering help would be a positive step. Also, maybe advise them to spay/neuter their adult dogs to prevent future litters & find low cost options for this.

The pups are still young enough that they would be in high demand for adoption so maybe tell them that because as they get older, the will be harder to deal with plus the expense of food & vet care for all those dogs.

To help others find reputable breeders, the WCA has an excellent article: http://weimclubamerica.org/puppies/pdf/HowToChooseABreeder.pdf

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Sagira said...

Most of these people are just in it for the money and will not release the dogs to a rescue unless someone pays them and rescues are not in the business of buying and supporting breeders like this. I know my rescue keeps a list of breeders that are doing stuff like that. Poor puppies. :(

Sean said...

The problem is they'll end up euthanizing them if they dont sell....

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