Stop animal cruelty; shut down puppy-mill pipeline

Shut down the puppy-mill pipeline

Thousands of puppies from out-of-state puppy mills pour into Florida every year, then sit in pet store cages marketed as healthy dogs from responsible breeders.

But the reality of where these dogs come from is much different.

Records show that puppies sold in pet stores, including here in Manatee County, come from Midwestern dog brokers, middlemen who buy puppies in bulk from commercial breeders and then resell them to pet stores.

In the breeding facilities, dogs are kept in horrific conditions. Although most of us will never see the puppy mills, we all can see the puppy sitting in filth in a pet shop or may know someone facing heartbreak or financial hardship after buying a puppy that turned out to be sick.