“Pet stores are the primary sales outlet for puppy mills and are essential for keeping puppy mills in business” (“About Puppy Mills”). Many mills sell to pet stores without the required license. Some pet stores, like Petco, have made a change to rescue animals instead of buying them from puppy mill farmers. They contact local animal shelters to get homes for animals on death row. Petsmart gets all of their animals from mills. Breeders of puppy mills breed dogs without consideration of genetic quality, which causes many problems for the puppies. Illness and disease are common in dogs because puppy mill operators often fail to apply proper husbandry practices that would remove sick dogs from their breeding pools. However, as a result of careless breeding, puppies can be born with many congenital and hereditary conditions. Such as epilepsy, heart disease, kidney disease, hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, endocrine disorders (diabetes, hyperthyroidism), blood disorders (anemia, Von Willebrand disease), deafness, eye problems (cataracts, glaucoma, progressive retinal atrophy), respiratory disorders, giardia, parvovirus, distemper, upper respiratory infections, kennel cough, pneumonia, mange and intestinal parasites. Puppies often arrive at pet stores and homes with diseases or other problems because of the inhumane conditions of the puppy…
