In light of Puppy Mill Awareness Day on Sept. 21, the San Diego Humane Society is urging community members to “think adoption first” when considering adding an animal to their family. Adopting a shelter pet comes with considerable benefits for the adopter — but most importantly, it saves lives!
With record numbers of puppies and dogs currently in Humane Society shelters, community members can find pets of nearly every size, shape, age and breed available for adoption. The impact of adoption has a ripple effect: By giving one pet a second chance, you open space in the shelter for another life to be saved.
Plus, every pet adopted from a shelter or rescue has been microchipped, vaccinated and spayed or neutered — services that can easily cost a pet family over $1,000. And the Humane Society also offers an adoption guarantee, meaning you are welcome to return the animal to their care if it’s not the right match for you or the pet.
Puppy Mill Awareness Day serves as an important reminder of the importance of adoption. Bella’s Act, a law passed in 2020 and sponsored by the Humane Society, ended the practice of selling pets from puppy mills in pet stores throughout California. But, there are still individuals in our community profiting off of animals who come from puppy mills or backyard breeders.
If you are committed to purchasing from a breeder, take steps to make sure they are reputable and humane.
- Do your research. Be sure the breeder is a reputable, licensed business. Avoid purchasing animals from Craigslist, social media sites or locations like swap meets.
- Ask questions. Inquire about their business license, how many mothers the breeder keeps on-site, how frequently litters are available and what their living conditions are.
- Make sure the animal has been seen by a veterinarian. Request the pet’s vaccination records from the breeder and confirm the records with the veterinarian. If the pet seems ill or lethargic, these could be signs of serious medical problems as well as neglect.
- Pay with a traceable form of payment and ask for a receipt. The receipt should include the breeder’s name, address and license number. It’s a red flag when a breeder will only accept cash.
- Do your part to stop unethical breeders. Consumers have the power to put an end to irresponsible breeders by not buying pets from them. You can also report them by calling the Humane Society’s law enforcement team at 619-299-7012 (press 1).
Together, we can keep animals safe and ensure that San Diego County can Stay at Zero euthanasia of healthy or treatable shelter pets by thinking adoption first and supporting only responsible breeding.
Veterinarian Gary Weitzman is president and CEO of the San Diego Humane Society
