Three tiny puppies born last year at an Ohio breeding facility were just 3 days old when they took their last breath. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection report, the breeder noticed they weren’t gaining weight but didn’t bother to seek veterinary care.

Three days later, a fourth puppy from the same litter reportedly died. The USDA issued a mere warning. PETA called for state criminal charges to be brought against the breeder, but none ever were.

Such indifference and pervasive cruelty define the puppy-breeding industry and its puppy mills.

Driven by profit, puppy mills are notoriously dismal operations fraught with suffering. They repeatedly breed female dogs and keep them in squalor, doom puppies to a lifetime of health problems and fuel the companion animal overpopulation crisis, in which some 70 million animals are homeless in the U.S. alone.

In honor of Puppy Mill Awareness Day (September 21), let’s take decisive action to end this cycle of cruelty. The power lies in our hands.

How do puppy mills get away with such blatant cruelty? It starts at the top: The federal Animal Welfare Act sets minimal welfare requirements for dogs in mass-breeding facilities, and a recent analysis found that the USDA penalizes only a paltry 1% of the puppy mills it cites for violations of these already meager standards. Breeders exploit loopholes in the law, subjecting animals to deplorable conditions: cages barely larger than their bodies, exposure to extreme temperatures, limited medical care and relentless breeding until their exhausted bodies wear out.

Because veterinary visits are required only once a year, unchecked, untreated illnesses and injuries are the norm. Animals with crusty, oozing eyes, raging ear infections and mange that ravages their skin languish untreated. Abscessed feet bear the scars of unforgiving wire floors. Advanced dental disease torments dogs with unbearable pain. Vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia and lethargy debilitate animals suffering from contagious diseases.

The profound psychological impact is equally devastating. Exercise, playtime and companionship are rare, causing severe anxiety and depression. Dogs circle frantically and pace endlessly, driven insane from constant confinement. They tremble in dark corners of feces-encrusted cages, fight for limited resources and bark constantly in distress.

Barely weaned puppies who have been torn away from their mothers grapple with behavioral issues that haunt them for life. Genetic defects and deformities run rampant as breeders inbreed animals and intentionally create dogs with distorted physical features, such as flattened faces.

Breeders sell these animals to unsuspecting buyers online through flashy websites and alluring classifieds. What’s more, most pet stores knowingly obtain puppies from these hellholes — which they’ll keep doing as long as people keep buying them.

And there’s something else to consider. Not only do breeders inflict anguish and deprivation on dogs in puppy mills, but they also harm homeless animals. Every puppy they sell represents one less available home for the millions of homeless animals who already exist in shelters or are struggling to survive on the streets.

Refusing to support the businesses that profit from this privation strikes a blow against their cruel industry. Start by choosing to adopt animals rather than purchasing them from breeders or pet stores. You can find virtually any breed for adoption at shelters or on Petfinder.com, though mixed breeds are just as loving and often healthier than “purebreds.”

Never buy supplies — toys, food or anything else — from pet stores that sell animals. Every cent spent at such places funds cruelty.

Inform everyone you know why buying animals from pet stores or breeders perpetuates cruelty. Initiate conversation. Post on social media. Shedding light on the truth empowers others to make informed choices.

A growing number of cities and towns throughout the U.S. are passing ordinances that prohibit retail animal sales, and you can help. Sign petitions, call and email local legislators and push authorities to hold breeders accountable for neglect and abuse.

Together, we can help prevent cruelty to animals and end the companion animal overpopulation crisis by taking action to shut down puppy mills.

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Melissa Rae Sanger is a licensed veterinary technician and a staff writer for the PETA Foundation, 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; www.PETA.org.

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