“As I speak to you, I am on my way to Buffalo picking up dogs that need to be rescued,” said Stacie Haynes, executive director of the Susquehanna SPCA.
“The puppy mill pipeline bill has been around for a while; we are really lucky that both the Assembly and the Senate support the bill. It seems like a no-brainer, but there’s a lot of politics and other things involved,’ Ms Haynes said.
“We hope to apply additional pressure now by holding a press conference at the shelter soon. Libby Post is the executive director of the New York State Animal Welfare Federation and was instrumental in getting this legislation passed by the assembly. We also hope to have Senator Oberacker here, they all supported the bill. We are very grateful to them.
These dogs need to be saved. Puppy mills sell their dogs to pet stores and luckily our area has very few of them.
“Puppy mill owners raise dogs until they can’t be raised anymore. Then they get rid of it in a number of ways that I don’t want to talk about. They can’t make any more money, so they’re getting rid of it,’ Ms Haynes said.
“We work with an organization in Buffalo that picks up these dogs at any time,” she said. “Then shelters like ours pick them up and try to get them adopted.”
Puppy Mill Pipeline Bill
Prohibits the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits by retail pet stores; authorizes collaboration with entities to provide a space to present cats or dogs belonging to certain entities for the purpose of adoption.
New York State Senate Bill S4234A
(nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/S4234)
In Otsego County there is a diverse group of people who operate puppy mills, most do it for the money.
“Good breeders must register with the state and be inspected by the New York State Department of Agriculture. Until the Puppy Bill Pipeline Bill is passed, the threshold that breeders can sell is 25 dogs. If you’re a breeder and you don’t sell more than 25 dogs, you don’t have to register with the state,” she said.
How is the inspection going if you want to become a breeder?
“The Department of Agriculture visits and makes sure the kennels are clean, they make sure there’s no feces, and they make sure the animals have vaccine records, no illnesses and are treated humanely,” Ms Haynes said.
“We have recently been pushed back by the breeders. Some of these people we’re talking about don’t treat their animals like living, breathing beings. We also have a lot of breeders here who are wonderful with their dogs. That’s great, but other people who raise dogs and have no respect or compassion are just not acceptable,” Ms Haynes said.
Treat your pets decently. The dogs they are getting right now are called “retired puppy mill dogs”. “Some never came out of a confined cage with a wire bottom. They lived horrible lives. It takes time to acclimate these dogs to people and the outdoors. It’s sad but rewarding,” he said. she declared.
“We go crazy when we rescue these poor dogs, but we see this as the next step in the dog’s life. It’s nice to see the transformation. We keep in touch with the people who adopt them to make sure everything is okay good.
“I try to tell people that we are not just going to save these dogs that would be thrown away, but that we are working on legislation to try to get to the root of the problem. “As SPCAs, we have an obligation to make sure people know where their pets are coming from. Stay away from people who say they will bring a dog for you. Visit our website for questions to ask if you want a specific dog.
One of the important questions is to ask to see the puppy’s mom and dad. “If the breeder won’t tell you about the parents or let you meet them, that’s a big red flag. There are good breeders in our area and elsewhere, but know what questions to ask,” she said.
The Puppy Mill Pipeline Bill is a way to make New York State a leader in not selling puppies to a pet store. If someone wants to sell puppies, Ms. Haynes wants them to go through a shelter like the Susquehanna SPCA.
“We have a great relationship with Petco in Oneonta, they’re a wonderful model. The pet supplies industry is making tons of money right now with pet supplies, there’s no reason we can’t all partner with our pet stores to help get people adopted animals. The partnership is great, we just want to make sure the puppies being sold don’t come from puppy mills,” she said.