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A Deadlier Breed of Business

Denise Flaim | Animal House

May 2, 2000

HOW MUCH is that doggy in the window?

If you watched last Wednesday's "Dateline NBC" "hidden camera investigation" on pet-shop puppies, that's a moot question.

If you missed the hour-long show, there's no way a bunch of little black curliques on a newspaper page can summon up for you the sight of a half-dozen dogs crammed into a cage, trying desperately to gain a foothold on its wire bottom. Or the Lab whose collar was so tight the skin simply grew over it.

The NBC broadcast "uncovered" what folks involved in the ethical breeding and rescue of purebred dogs have known for years: That most pet-shop puppies do not come from "reputable breeders," because reputable breeders do not sell their precious charges to buyers they have never met. Period. According to estimates by the ASPCA and other animal- welfare groups, nine out of 10 pet-shop puppies-even those sold in ritzy Manhattan storefronts, housed in frilly cribs-come from puppy mills, large- scale breeding establishments where dogs are bred on every heat, or reproductive cycle, eventually dropping dead from the physical strain, which is often exacerbated by maggot-infested food and little or no medical attention.

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Every year, at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club dog show, which is sanctioned by the equally prestigious American Kennel Club, the commentators crow that no animal exhibiting there came from a puppy mill. The irony, of course, is that the AKC nonetheless collects puppy-registration fees and issue papers to puppy millers breeding AKC-registered dogs. Though the organization points out that it is simply a registry service, not a quality monitor, the sight of a neon "AKC Puppies" sign in a pet-shop window sends a different message to uninformed puppy buyers.

Sadly, even informed buyers sometimes go the pet-shop route, like a friend of mine who shall remain nameless because he's too embarrassed to be otherwise. When he told me he was thinking of adding a certain breed of trendy terrier to his family, I told him I'd ask around for a good breeder, someone who was into dogs for the love and improvement of the breed, not for the profit, and who would do the important-and expensive-screening of their dogs to help avoid genetic defects such as hip dysplasia.

But one Sunday afternoon, on impulse, he drove his family down to a popular pet shop and plunked down $1,200-more than some people I know have paid for a first-pick, show-potential puppy from a reputable, top-notch breeder.

If you ever wondered how easy it is to be a disreputable breeder, consider the AKC's system for registering a litter: Breeder says he bred AKC-registered Dog A to AKC-registered Dog B, and 10 puppies resulted. Breeder sends the AKC a flat $20 "litter registration fee." The AKC then mails the breeder 10 registration forms, which the breeder fills out and sends back with an additional $10 registration fee per puppy. Because this is essentially an honor system, the potential for abuse is enormous, which is precisely what a "Dateline" producer found: Using the AKC numbers of a deceased and a spayed golden retriever, he registered two 13-year-old cats as puppies with the AKC.

Regarding the AKC's position on puppy mills, the organization's director of communication, Nancy Matlock, quoted to us directly from its Web site: "The AKC does not support the random, large-scale breeding of dogs for commercial purposes."

The AKC is making some moves to discourage abuse of its system: Starting July 1, it will require any breeder whose stud dog has sired more than six litters in its lifetime, or more than three litters in any calendar year, to submit a DNA test on the animal by taking a cheek swab. Upset over the $40 processing fee, members of the Iowa and Missouri pet breeders associations are suggesting their members explore different registries, such as the United Kennel Club (UKC) or the American Pet Registry (APR). (Though puppy-milling is prevalent in the Midwest, it happens here, too: Last May, 140 Pomeranians were confiscated from a cramped basement breeding operation in East Patchogue.)

For their part, ethical breeders, almost all of whom require puppies that are "pet quality" (read: not of breeding quality) to be spayed or neutered, have increasingly started selling them on limited AKC registrations: That means that though the dog is undeniably AKC registered, none of its progeny can be.

Will people ever stop buying from pet shops? Probably not, either because they don't know better or don't want to. Immediate gratification is a tough habit to kick. Finding a reputable breeder takes time and diligence-a process we'll outline for you in next week's column. And, of course, purebred puppies are not the only companions out there: Dogs and puppies-both mixed and pure-in shelters and breed rescue programs also need homes desperately.

As for my friend, the vet check on his puppy brought relatively good news: "All he had was worms," he said off-handedly. His is one puppy-mill story that ended happily: That puppy is now a healthy, happy, well-adjusted member of the family.

"But next time," said my friend contritely, "I'll do it the right way."

It's a lesson he learned one dog too late.