A lot of people want to stop 小狗 mills, but they don't know how. But if 你 follow these 8 steps correctly, 你 and everybody else who did this will be one step closer to ending 小狗 mills, for good.

Do Not Buy Your 小狗 From a Pet Store

That 小狗 who 圣女魔咒 你 through the pet 商店 window has most likely come from a large-scale, substandard commercial breeding facility, commonly known as a 小狗 mill. In these facilities, parent 狗 are caged and bred as often as possible, and give birth to 小狗 who could have costly medical problems 你 might not become aware of until after 你 bring your new pet home.

Make Adoption Your First Option

If you’re looking to make a 小狗 part of your family, check your local shelters first. Not only will 你 be saving a life, but 你 will ensure that your money is not going to support a 小狗 mill. There are many 狗 waiting for homes in shelters all across the country—and an estimated one in four is a purebred! Your 秒 option is breed rescue. If your 心 is set on a specific breed 你 haven’t been able to find in a shelter, 你 can do an Internet 搜索 for a breed-specific rescue organization.

Internet Buyers, Beware!

Buying a 小狗 from the Internet is as risky as buying from a pet store. If 你 buy a 小狗 based on a picture and a phone call, 你 have no way of seeing the puppy’s breeding premises 或者 meeting his parents. And those who sell 动物 on the Internet are not held to the Animal Welfare Act regulations, and so are not inspected 由 the USDA.

Share Your 小狗 Mill Story with the ASPCA

If 你 have—or think 你 have—purchased a puppy-mill puppy, please tell us your story. Every bit of evidence gives us 更多 power to get legislation passed that will ban 小狗 mills.

Speak Out!

Inform your state and federal legislators that 你 are disturbed 由 the inhumane treatment of 狗 in 小狗 mills, and would like to see legislation passed that ensures that all 动物 bred to be pets are raised in healthy conditions. 你 can keep up-to-date about current legislation to ban 小狗 mills 由 joining the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade.

Tell Your Friends

If someone 你 know is planning on buying a puppy, please direct them to our 小狗 mill information at ASPCA.org. Let them know that there are perfectly healthy 狗 in shelters waiting to be adopted.

Think Globally

Have a webpage, a MySpace page 或者 a blog? Use these powerful tools to inform people about 小狗 mill cruelty 由 adding a link to our 小狗 mill information at ASPCA.org.

Act Locally!

When people are looking to buy 或者 adopt a pet, they will often ask the 建议 of their veterinarian, groomer 或者 pet supply store.Print flyers and ask to leave them in the offices of your local practitioners.