Have any of you from around here seen the ongoing series on WTMJ Channel 4 nighttime news about puppy mills? Over the last several nights, one of their reporters has filed tremendously disturbing reports on how lax the state of Wisconsin is in regulating puppy mills. It turns out that most states in the union- including all of the states which border Wisconsin- have much stricter regulations concerning these horrific places where puppies are raised as though they are chickens – in small, terribly crowded and uncomfortable cages where they receive almost no stimulation or socialization, scant medical attention, and poor nutrition. . . and then when they’re taken out to be sold , they’re expected to behave like dogs – which is unthinkable. Kathy and I watched these reports with mounting horror- and also with utter shame that a state which we like to think of as progressive would be so terribly backward when it comes to this.
We think of the lovely people from whom we purchased Ellie. They live in or around La Crosse, WI – I think – and i remember that they very carefully screened everyone who was interested in purchasing any of their puppies. And when it came time for Kathy and Kate to pick up Ellie and Pete, brother and sister from the same brood, the dog owner actually cried- so sad was she to see these puppies go yet happy to know that they were going to two families that would love them and properly care for them. And as she cried, so did Kathy and Kate. (I wish I had been with them- although I probably would have needed to wear a raincoat to stay dry.) Now THAT’S how you purchase a puppy- from someone whom you know has loved the little thing and given it all the care it deserves and needs.
These creeps who own and operate puppy mills deserve their own horrific corner in hell – maybe something on the order of a cramped, metal cage where they’re kept from enjoying sunshine and fresh air. In a just world, they would taste a bit of the misery which they have visited upon these innocent animals. I think such punishment is especially deserved by those many puppy mill owners in our state who are of Amish or Mennonite background; how anyone professing to follow Jesus could be so unkind to innocent animals is beyond me. They showed a number of these puppy mill owners and operators on camera, either refusing to comment- or looking right at the reporter and denying it all. If there’s anything worse than a Bad Person, it’s a Bad Person who doesn’t have the guts to own up to what they’ve done.
Representative John Lehman goes to our church and he will be hearing from us. . . and knowing his decency and compassion, I suspect that he will be responsive to this matter. And I am willing to wager that the phones of many legisla tors will be ringing over this, thanks to others who saw the same report and were as bothered as we were. Let’s just hope that something will happen quickly and that whatever is done will be effective in stopping this suffering.