March 29, 2024

15,000 dogs live in Iowa puppy mills

We are in between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and while you remember your mother and father on these special days, there is another set of parents that I would like for you to remember.

Their special day will not be happy. It will not be filled with warmth and love. There will not be delicious food and yummy treats meant just for them. They will not feel safe and secure in the love of those around them.

No, instead they will be cold. They will be afraid and hungry. Maybe sick or hurt. They will cry themselves to sleep because there is no one who loves them. Their special day will be just another day to try and  survive ... if they can.

Who are these poor parents? They are the breed dogs trapped in a puppy mill. Iowa has the second largest number of large-scale commercial dog breeders (aka puppy mills) in the United States. These facilities house approximately 15,000 adult dogs. Fifteen thousand! That’s not the national number — that’s Iowa’s number. These facilities are deplorable, filth and disease infected hell holes. While the adult dogs live in squalor, the “humans” reap large profits selling their often sick and genetically inferior puppies to the unsuspecting public as pets.

Angry? If you have a dog, or if you have ever loved a dog, you can do something to help these dogs. There is an organization that is working with law makers to stop the inhumane treatment of these dogs and to support good and responsible breeders. Because after all, we love dogs.

During this time when we remember our parents, or for the dog you love or have loved, please check out Iowa Friends of Companion Animals at www.iafriends.org and see how you can help the mothers and fathers trapped in puppy mills. You can make a difference. You just have to do it. Because they need you to.

Donna Jackson

Newton