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"Puppy mills" are target of campaign
(by Kathryn A. Burger - May 20, 2008)
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Photo courtesy of Julie Ogden
Brooke Pittel, left, and Lauren Thau, both seventh-graders at Woodcliff Middle School, have organized a campaign against operators of "puppy mills."
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It all started with a television show. Now, two seventh-graders at
Woodcliff
Middle School have begun their own campaign to help end the inhumane treatment of dogs perpetrated at “puppy mills,” large-scale substandard commercial breeding operations that turn out puppies as products for retail sale.
Lauren Thau and Brooke Pittel first learned about these businesses on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Both girls were horrified by the treatment the adult dogs and puppies endure and set about organizing their own a public campaign to add their voices to the rising tide of outrage directed at operators of these businesses and the retail outlets that sell their puppies to an unsuspecting public.
Their outrage came from their love of animals. Lauren said, “I love animals. I adopted a dog myself. The owner couldn’t take care of him and was going to take him to the pound, we took him in. He’s 12 years old now.” Brooke said, “I really love animals so it really interested me, so Lauren and I decided to raise some money to try to shut down puppy mills.” Brooke has two dogs. “My grandpa is a veterinarian and someone brought him a dog that had been abused. My grandpa couldn’t keep him so we adopted him,” she said.
They did their research and then made posters that were displayed at their school. They began volunteering to walk neighbors’ dogs in exchange for a donation to their cause. In less than a week, they had raised more than $500.
The girls understood that education was the key to raising awareness in their school and community. Julie Ogden, a teacher at Woodcliff, has been supporting the girls’ efforts. Brooke said, “We made posters and put them up all over the school.” At lunchtime, the girls talked to students about puppy mills and collected donations.
Their message motivated a group of sixth-graders to join the effort. They organized a donation drive and spent the following weekend in front of a local supermarket distributing flyers they had downloaded from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Web site about abuses at puppy mills and displaying posters they had made. They collected more than $150.
The members of “Stop Puppy Mills Now” group at Woodcliff say that the best way to end puppy mills is eliminate the need for them. If people stopped buying puppies from pet stores, they say, there would be no need for puppy mills. Lauren said, “If you want to buy a dog, get it from a good breeder.” Better yet, she said, “A good place to find a pet is www.petfinder.com. I signed up as a member of Petfinder and have been talking to different people to see they can help us.”
Lauren and Brooke continue to raise funds that will be used to enforce the animal welfare laws that puppy mills routinely violate and to raise public awareness. The sixth-graders are organizing a letter-writing campaign to let legislators know of their efforts on behalf of these animals and asking for support. Lauren said, “Ms. Ogden found out that there are lots of puppy mills in
Pennsylvania . Tourists go to
Pennsylvania and maybe my family and I might think about going there on vacation but we wouldn’t because of the puppy mills.” Realizing that tourism generates a great deal of money for the state, Lauren said she knew the person to write to. “The governor really has to think about that. They get money when people vacation there.”
Those who would like to support the students in their efforts are encouraged to make a donation. Checks, payable to:
Woodcliff
Middle School can be mailed to: Stop Puppy Mills Now,
Woodcliff
Middle School, 134 Woodcliff Ave., Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677.
A few weeks ago, Brooke’s family adopted their second dog, a Bichon Frise/poodle mix. “We named her ‘Missy.’ We got her from a person who rescues puppy mill puppies.”
For more information about puppy mills, visit www.aspca.org, www.hsus.org and click on “Campaigns and Programs,” and www.mlar.org, the Main Line Animal Rescue Web site.
Kathryn A. Burger's e-mail address is burger@northjersey.com.
| Comments (2) |
On May 23, 2008 Mary said:
KUDOS to Lauren Thau and Brooke Pittel for undertaking this very important issue for our community! It is my firm belief that until the public truly understands and appreciates the cruel aspect - not to mention the corruption and consumer fraud - connected with "dealing dogs", puppy mills will continue to generate millions of dollars for their breeders and distributors.
In addition to the HSUS Stop Puppy Mills website, below are links to some of the best websites on the issue of puppy mills and dog auctions:
1. Ban Ohio Dog Auctions - www.BanOhioDogAuctions.com
2. Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) - http://www.caps-web.org/
3. North Penn Puppy Mill Watch - http://www.nppmwatch.com
4. New Jersey Citizens Against Pet Shop Abuse - http://www.njcapsa.org/
5. Pet Shop Puppies - http://www.petshoppuppies.org
If Lauren and Brooke need to speak with the contact person from any one of these organizations, please let me know and I will be sure to forward them e-mail addresses and contact numbers. All of the puppy mill sites provide powerful video segments.
As a member of the Central Ohio rescue community, I wish these two young activists continued success on their campaign!
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On May 21, 2008 Sharon said:
The parents of these girls did a really good job of raising these fine kids! Even though great kids like this raise awareness of this horrible practice, people continue to buy from petstores. Why? Because they are in denial that the puupy that they just paid 1200.00 to 2000.00 for is actually from a sub par puppy mill. Shoppers refuse to believe that the petstore in the mall would get the puppies from a mill, after all they were told by a teenager salesperson that these dogs are from "champion" lines. People will continue to buy "blah blah a poos" instead of donating money to a shelter for a mixed breed pup who may be a designer dog who was abandoned by the former petstore customer (because dog ownership "wasn't for them") or just a mistake breeding betw. a poodle and some other popular breed. I can only hope these kids make a difference, it has to start somewhere. Perhaps if these girls' friends tell their parents about the real truth behind puppy mills and BYBs, it can make a difference. Again, good job! |
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