Ohio Amish Country Hosts 300 Dog Puppy Mill Auction
My tail is wagging for Kristina Lang and her colleagues for calling out the puppy millers!
Thanks to WKYC for this update on this horrendous practice.
Animal rights activists protest Holmes County dog auction
HOLMES COUNTY — Animal rights activists in Geauga County scared away the Buckeye Dog Auction earlier this month.
So the controversial event went back to where it began in Holmes County.
On the serene Amish roads of Holmes County, an outburst of anger, greets dog-breeders in horse-drawn buggies. Protesters gathered Saturday, outside what they call a “puppy mill.” More than 300 dogs are caged and up for auction.Animal rights organizer Kristina Lang says this group is against what she calls “puppy mill operators,” people who load breeding dogs onto trailers and haul them off to be sold at auctions.
The group’s mascot is Marilyn Monroe, one of two breeding dogs Lang rescued. Lang says her pets exemplify how dogs are mistreated.
Lang says Marilyn Monroe’s vocal chords were cut out and there nothing the vet can do to fix it.
Cameras are not allowed inside the building. The auction owners declined an interview. But they let Channel 3 inside and we looked at all the dogs, which appear healthy and clean but protesters say that’s because they knew we were coming and had strict orders to clean them up.
Protesters say they want the public to know that this is a behind the scenes look at some puppy sale places.
Protestors in disguise mixed in with the breeders who came to bid on dogs. They go around to various dog auctions to rescue the animals and take them to shelters.
Follow this link to watch the video.
My puppy face is making a big frown right now. Why don’t people go to the shelter to get a doggie? That’s where my human found me and I’m a real gem!!!
I was a rescue pup – from a puppy mill. At twelve weeks, too old to be cute. I was ready to be disposed of.
Please help shut down these horrible places, ‘don’t breed or buy while shelter animals die’ sums it up.
Bravo!! To each and every individual who took the time to demonstrate today. Expose the millers. Shame the brokers. Spread the word to everyone you know that this hideous practice that affords high volume breeders the ability to continue to profit from greed by pumping out puppies while our shelters are overflowing must come to an end. BOYCOTT STORES THAT SELL PUPPIES!
[...] <b>Ohio</b> Amish Country Hosts 300 Dog Puppy Mill Auction [...]
I am a rescue from a puppy mill, a breeder dog. The puppy millers certainly don’t have to be Amish, and not all Amish raise puppies to try to support their families.
The puppy mill that my puppies supplied bred pitts for fighting. I was more horribly abused than the animals you are showing, and when I wasn’t pregnant, I was used as a ‘practice’ animal, with some permanent and serious injuries because of it.
The Amish, being peaceable people, are just too easy of a target for ‘activists.’ The Amish are ‘low hanging fruit’ and the activists don’t bother going for the really dangerous ones, because they are far more hardened to serious injuries and much more likely to retaliate.
Furthermore, by lazy and noisy activists trumpeting the name AMISH all over with a ‘puppy mill’ tag, the reputation of ALL Amish people is seriously damaged unfairly. There is a BIG DIFFERENCE between treating dogs like other farm animals, and the puppy mill I came from!!!! Most people seem to notice that except the activists, which is a big reason why activists are losing credibility all over the place.
I suggest that activists go after the REALLY NASTY PUPPY MILLS that not only cage up the animals, but use them in terrible ways. I myself have been permanently disabled from a very young age because of it, and now I have a lifetime of pain to look forward to. There are NO ACTIVISTS outside that puppy mill, and there never will be, either.
Venus
I am very sorry for your early experiences and very glad that you have been rescued by caring people.
I appreciate your commets but in fact the Amish are not “low hanging fruit.” They hide behind the image that they are peacable people. Its only now that animal actiivists have been able to take them on in regards to their puppy mills because those not in the know about their activities would try to pooh-pooh the depth of their craveness.
The very first blog post on the Amish puppy mills I ever wrote incurred the wrath of a certain religious advocacy group because they did not want me to go after the Amish. I was accused of “racism.” Well, since being Amish is a religion usually held by Caucasians that was an obvious way for that group to try to slap me down, albeit a rather ridiculous one since I am Caucasian too.
As someone who lives in a state with way too many Amish (and other) puppy millers I have heard the horror stories from those who work to close them down and who rescue the dogs they toss out. The insular Amish make a habit of moving their “stock” between various farms to avoid being caught by the few inspectors who actually try to check them out. They, like other puppy millers, force their females to ahve litter after litter as fast as possible until their bodies break down (sometimes as young as 2 or 3). And if you don’t think that locking a dog in a cage for their entire lives is not as evil as other forms of abuse I would encourage you to take a good, long look at the dogs in those circumstances. That is the human equivalent of locking a young child in a small, dark closet and never letting them out.
So while I agree with you that we should go after the more openly violent breeders and abusers, we cannot forget that the systemic violence of the Amish is just as evil, ruthless and damaging. All of it must be stopped. If it takes not buying their jams, quilts, wooden furniture and hypocritical show of “peacefulness,.” then its money well-saved
Once again, thanks for barking in.
My chocolate lab came from that acution. She was an absolute mess! She was purchased for $50 and in horrible shape. I boycott everything having to do with the Amish because they are horrible hypocrites!
Puppy Mills…….Blah…Yuck!
wtf? i thought that amish people were supposed to be all about the bible & treating animals & humans fairly. BOO on them
Looking for help with knowledge of puppymill behaviors.I have a 8 month old that has had lots of medical test (neurologist)and nothing can be found as to why she walks in circles.Many Thanks
Geanne,
Thanks for barking in.
You haven’t given us much to go on but I’ll toss out a few ideas.
I would advise you to check out some of the vet sites or speak with an animal behavioralist but it sounds like your furbaby has a compulsive behavior based on life in a small space. She also could have an overabundance of energy and need an outlet.
If anyone else has other possiblilites please bark in.
Thanks Joy! I got her when she was 4 mths.My little one was kept in a box shes gone from not looking at us to never taking her eyes off us.not knowing what a toy is to loving them.she now will eat and drink out of bowls.her little tail just wagged for the first time when she was 6 mths. old she has made so many improvements.When she is outside she will run and walk straight at times.however in the house she circle walks to get where she wants.Nothing medical can be found wrong w/her how can I help her just to walk straight. many thanks
Also wanted to add.I walk her with a harness on and she then will also walk straight but if left on her own she will circle.she is very smart loves everyone.We have taken her w/us everywhere we go since we brought her home because if we leave her she circles and circles.Could this be anxiety and compulsive?There are no vets w/puppymill experience in my area or behaviorist.When I took her to the vet upon her arrival the vets I took her to said to put her to sleep.Glad I trusted my instincts and trusted god.she just had to learn and be shown what to do.
Hi Geanne,
I can’t say for sure without watching her but I strongly suspect that her circling behavior is a compulsion learned while she lived in a box. It probably helped her keep from going crazy and is why she can be your furbaby now. If there were true neurological issues I would expect her to try to circle walk while in harness or on lead.
As for your vets who said put her down, I hope you have found new vets. From what you’ve said, your little girl has made major behavioral improvements. You are to be highly commended for how well she’s doing!
As for continued circling. Are you seeing a decrease in that behavior in general? One suggestion I’ve seen used is to interrupt it as she’s starting it. How this works is that you come up with something that doesn’t scare her but gets her attention like a dog whistle. Just as she’s starting to circle, make the sound. It’s not to scare her; the sound can break the pattern of behavior. So she starts to circle, you blow the whistle and in so doing you stop her actions.
It takes a while to fully break an action (and I suspect she may never completely stop circling) but it can help to reduce the time she circles. And as she gets older with more of your excellent loving care, she can feel less stressed and have less need to comfort herself with a compulsive behavior.
Please stay in touch (you can bark at me directly through the “bark back” to the right of this column) and let me know how your girl is doing. From everything you’ve said, I expect she will be fine.
I have been there lots of times and it is just like adopting those dogs need a home to i have adopted and we are planning on posably getting one from there