The shame of Puppy Mills

Born to questionable parents into inhumane, dirty and crowded surroundings. Raised like a crop, and subjected to the minimum care necessary to keep them alive, beset by disease, parasites and hunger, a puppy born to a puppy mill breeder has a bleak existence.

Then shipped at a young age to a mass commercial retailer, crammed into another small cage, and receiving minimal care, they are sold like commodities to unsuspecting new owners. Along the way they will be handled by numerous wannabe window shoppers, and tended to often, not always, by  persons whose only stake in the entire process is their paycheck. These are the formative years of a new life from a puppy mill.

At each turn, the young puppy may somehow experience hope, or excitement, that they have found a home, only to once again be relegated to the small crowded cage to sleep with their parasites.

When this weak and in need soul is finally sold, it is often to an owner that either does not have the resources to care for them, or who lacks the will to do so. Often impulse buys, often for children, the new puppy fortunately does not know what a bleak future  may lay ahead.

But, just as often, the new puppy is sold to a loving and nurturing family. A family that will invest the time, money and love that it deserves. But, it is a weak puppy. Ravaged by disease and poor conditions from birth, the new owners may not realize what care it really needs until it is too late.

To watch a person, family, or especially a child, bond with their new friend, lavish it with care and affection, and welcome it unselfishly into their lives, and then experience the heartbreak of losing that new friend weeks or maybe months later to an unidentified disease, is to know one more of the horrors of puppy mills.

We need to stop bringing living, breathing, sentient beings into this world, only to peddle them for the almighty dollar. We need to stop the abuse. We need to end the suffering of both these creatures, and the people who eventually welcome them into their lives and hearts.

We need to stop Puppy Mills, and we need to shut down the commercial retailers who support them.

While there is a place for legitimate breeders. Puppy mills are illegitimate. They exist, not for the lives they create, but only for the profits they generate. With all the millions of abandoned and unwanted pets overflowing shelters and rescue organizations, there is no reason for puppy mills to exist, and there is no reason for pet stores to sell their product.

Do not do business with pet stores that sell commercial Dogs and Cats. Do not buy Puppy Mill Puppies. Do not support this ongoing travesty.

Most responsible Pet stores do not sell these commercial pets. Instead, they  support rescue organizations, and make space and resources for those organizations to seek out responsible and loving new homes for abandoned and neglected animals that are already out there. These are the stores we should support. Research before you commit to any puppy. Find out where it came from, and why. Visit Shelters, and adoption centers. Most shelters and rescue organizations have already taken whatever measures are required to ensure the health of their charges.  Never the less, have your new dog or cat checked out. Most organizations require this as part of the adoption process. They will also require spaying or neutering.

And, above all, remember a new pet is a LIFELONG commitment. If you are not ready to make that commitment, you do not need a new pet.

Let’s do what we can to stop this. Below is a link to the Humane Society’s investigation into PetLand – one of the most flagrant abusers.

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/timelines/petland_investigation.html

Our sun is gonna shine in 2010

Two Thousand Nine, the year of the suck. A year that saw us fall deeper and deeper into debt and financial disaster. A year that saw us not living, but simply existing. My second year consumed by a fruitless search for employment, and little else. A year that was punctuated and defined by the sudden and heartbreaking loss of Zeke over the Thanksgiving holiday. A year that should not have been, and hopefully will never be again.

Yet, even in this, the worst of years, there were two bright spots. Deb has finished her first year at a wonderful Company. She has hit her stride, doing what she loves and does best. Her future looks very bright. The second was the inspiration and challenge of the Harmony Project. A solid reminder that with some effort, an incredible leader and motivator, and a spirit of giving, a group of disparate people can make a difference, and find joy,  fulfillment, and, yes, harmony, along the way.

It is with the knowledge that Deb is finally where she needs to be professionally, with the memories of the  Harmony Project fresh in my mind, and with the understanding that good can not only happen, but triumph, that I present my list of ten goals for 2010. It is a new year, a new decade, and a new hope.

Some of these goals are prosaic and mundane, some are lofty. Some I know I will achieve, some I will have to try very hard to make happen. All are equally important.

To paraphrase, I choose to do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard – and because they are necessary to return me, us, and our family, once again to the land of the living.

1 – I will be a much better communicator. I will reach out, re-connect, and stay connected with friends and associates. I will strive to at least say Hi regularly, even if there is nothing new to report.

2 – I will find significant employment. I will find myself in a challenging and rewarding position, one that allows me to do the things that I enjoy and that I am good at, and one that allows me to make a contribution, and a difference.

3 – I will return my own self to my roots. What I love best. I will find the time, and the resources, to once again  build things, experiment, and educate myself. I will return to the “Mr. Wizard” I once was.

4 – I will write more. From the letters I am putting off, to my blog. I will make time to write. And I will write about the things that really interest me. I will NOT couch everything as an advertisement for my employment, or whine about our situation.

5 – I will find a way to continue creating and expanding my long abandoned web site. With a desire to inform, entertain and pass on knowledge about technology. It could, should, serve as my outlet, my voice, my little place in the internet world. I will strive to make that happen.

6 – I will better myself . I will find ways to pursue further education and certifications, and expand my knowledge and skill base, wherever possible, through any means available.

7 – I will once again put my personal life in the order I am most comfortable with by organizing, fixing, improving, and cleaning out my home and physical surroundings. I will find ways to continue and finish projects around my home even if the finances are not readily available. I will endeavor to reduce and simplfy my collection of 40 years worth of technical things by responsibly passing them on to those who can use them.

8 – I will find ways to allow Deb and I  to return to the land of the living by once again doing things that we enjoy doing together. A movie, a restaurant, garage sales, time with friends, walking the dogs in a  park, or a drive through the country side. All things we have forgone in the past two years because of a perception we cannot afford to do them. These are things we no longer can afford NOT to do.

9 – I will network more and better. I will seek out more ways to connect with people and I will not stand in the sidelines when I find them. I will actively pursue these people, connections and resources. I will expand my professional and entrepreneurial horizon and generate new opportunities. I will seek out many and diverse ways that I can be more productive both financially and personally. I will learn to give back more fully and to nurture those connections. I will strive to better be an asset, not an add-on.

10 – Conversely, I will strive to remember that although the search for employment is a very high priority, it is not the only thing that living is about. I will remember to make time for myself, for my wife, for my family and for our life. I will make time to pursue my interests, hobbies and ambitions. I will remember to make and to make use of  “personal time” “family time” and “us time”. I will make the effort to smell the flowers on a regular basis, not just worry about how to pay for them.

Ten Goals. Ten things that I will do, must do, to move on. I have hope, I have conviction, I have a new enthusiasm for the new year. Our sun IS gonna shine in 2010. I just know it.

My wishes for your own wonderful New Year.

Michael Corder