The strict definition of a puppy mill is a place where dogs are bred as a large, money-making business with no regard to the health and behavior traits being bred into the dogs.However, the operation does not have to be very large in order for the dogs to be living and breeding in deplorable conditions.
Several states in the U.S. are home to puppy mills.Missouri is the worst offender, with Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Ohio close behind.Lancaster County, PA, which is about 30 minutes from where I live, is called the Puppy Mill Capital of the East because it is home to over 300 places which can be called puppy mills.Sadly, most people don’t realize that they are puppy mills, however.All the public sees is a homemade sign advertising dogs for sale, or an advertisement in the newspaper saying “farm raised.”The places are usually farms, and typically owned by the Amish, but are not the kindly places we think.The media depicts the Amish as deeply religious, righteous people but what the public does not know is that many of the Amish treat their animals with disrespect and cruelty.Dogs are just another crop to them, a way to make money.On these farms, the dogs are not running around happily.They are confined to cages or hatches.