This Is NOT OK, Helping the
Next Page of a Dog’s Life

“As I speak to you, I’m on my way to Buffalo to pick up dogs that need to be rescued,” Stacie Haynes, Executive Director of the Susquehanna SPCA said.

“The puppy mill pipeline bill has been around for a while; we are really fortunate the Assembly and Senate both back the bill. It seems like a no brainer but there are lots of politics and other things involved,” Ms. Haynes said.

“We are hoping to apply some extra pressure now by having a press conference at the shelter soon. Libby Post is the executive director of the New York State Animal Protection Federation and she was instrumental in getting this legislation passed in the assembly. We will also hopefully have Senator Oberacker here, they have all supported the bill. We are so grateful to them.”

These dogs need to be saved. Puppy mills sell their dogs to pet stores, and thankfully our region has very few.
“The puppy mill owners breed the dogs until they can’t be bred anymore. Then they get rid of them in a number of ways that I don’t want to talk about. They can’t make any more money so they dispose of them,” Ms. Haynes said.
“We work with an organization in Buffalo that picks up these dogs at a moment’s notice,” she said. “Then, shelters like ours pick them up and try to get them adopted.”

In Otsego County, there is a diverse group of people that run puppy mills, most are in it for the money.

“Good breeders have to register with the state and get inspected by the New York State Department of Agriculture. Until the Puppy Bill Pipeline Bill is passed, the threshold that breeders can sell is 25 dogs. If you are a breeder and don’t sell more than 25 dogs, you don’t have to register with the state,” she said.

How does the inspection work if you want to be a breeder?

“The Department of Agriculture visits and makes sure the kennels are clean, they make sure no feces are around, and they make sure animals have vaccine records, no diseases, and are treated humanely,” Ms. Haynes said.

“We’ve gotten some pushback lately from breeders. Some of these people we are talking about don’t treat their animals like living, breathing things. We also have a lot of breeders here who are wonderful to their dogs. That’s great, but other people who are breeding dogs and have no regard with no compassion is just not acceptable,” Ms. Haynes said.

Treat your animals decently. The dogs they are getting right now are called “retired puppy mill dogs”. “Some have never been outside of a confined cage with a wired bottom. They’ve lived a horrible life. It takes time to acclimate these dogs to people and the outdoors. It’s sad but rewarding,” she said.

“We get mad when we rescue these poor dogs, but we look at it as the next part of the dog’s life. It’s nice to see the transformation. We keep in touch with the people who adopt them to make sure it’s all good.”

“I try to tell people we aren’t only going in and rescuing these dogs that would get thrown away, but we are working on legislation to try to get to the root of the problem. “We have an obligation as the SPCA to make sure that people are aware of where their animals are coming from. Stay away from people saying they will fly a dog in for you. Go to our website to look at questions to ask if you want a specific dog.

One of the important questions is to ask to see the mom and dad of the puppy. “If the breeder won’t tell you about the parents or won’t let you meet them, it’s a big red flag. There are good breeders in our area and others, but know the questions to ask,” she said.

The Puppy Mill Pipeline Bill is a way to make New York State a leader in not selling puppies from a pet store. If someone wants to sell puppies, Ms. Haynes wants them to go through a shelter like the Susquehanna SPCA.

“We have a great relationship with Petco in Oneonta, it’s a wonderful model. The pet supply industry is making tons of money right now with pet supplies, there isn’t any reason why we can’t all partner with our pet stores to help get animals adopted. Partnering is great, we just want to ensure that puppies being sold are not coming from puppy mills,” she said.