ABC's Nightline Investigates Puppy Mills

[BoxerPerson]

They did mention that the pups are sold in pet stores and that buying one there would enable this to continue...I hope it was that show and not the one on channel 13...never did mention how to go about finding a breeder.  Thing is I think they have the right premise going here but 7 minutes is NOT enough time to designate to this issue. I was a bit disappointed since it wasn't even mentioned on Direct Tv menu...just mentioned the investigators, and not the one doing the expose on the puppy mills, so I stayed up to watch and then it was just a couple minutes...mostly talking to a Mennonite breeder, who claimed he was all for Animal Welfare but not Animal Rights! 

If they want to do something about this they need to step up to the plate and do a REAL investigation and they need to discuss REAL solutions...7 minutes just didn't cut IMO!

[Newcastle]

Yes, 7 minutes isn't enough time for anything, really.  I didn't realize it was such a short segment - I found it online and did sneak it in before the boss got here!   Not much meat to it at all; even the facility they showed was better than many, the dogs at least looked relatively clean and weren't huddled up in the corner.  (Though I have to admit, there are some days I might not mind having a Boxer-sized hamster wheel! )  Socialization seemed to be the biggest issue, there (lack of it). 

I do have difficulty sometimes, though, stepping "outside" of the dog world, because honestly I can't imagine there are many people in this country that don't know about puppy mills, and so I have a hard time figuring out why they keep doing "exposes" that do nothing more than say "look, this bad thing is happening".  (Well, I have my sinister suspicions, but taking the ARistas out of it I'm at a loss. ) 

[jinxx]

I was extremely disappointed.
Very non thought provoking, other than the cringe factor.

They barely used the word Puppy Mill but did use the word Breeder more often than not 


What? Were supposed to think the "breeder" interviewed as better than a regular run of the mill Puppy Mill Breeder because of his automated poop cleaning system and hamster wheels?  and that they don't catch diseases from water and dirt because they never go outside- therefor are healthier??

So its ok to purchase his dogs vs the ones a reputable breeder provides?

UGH!!

[BoxerPerson]

agree...SOLUTIONS is what is needed. not more legislation that is doing NOTHING, but more solutions to FIX this.  

There is solutions without legislation...education, low cost S/N, etc.  There is always going to be people that are only in it for the $$ and there are always going to be people that have that "I want it now" attitude...but rather than showing these puppy mills on TV and doing all the exposes...why not a segment on "HOW TO BUT THAT PUP YOU WANT", "WHERE CAN YOU GET THAT DOG", "HOW TO FIND A REPUTABLE BREEDER", "HAVE YOU VISITED YOUR LOCAL SHELTER...DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN GET A PUREBRED DOG..."  OK so the titles are not perfect, but I think you get my drift...

[Samsons Mom]

i couldnt stay up and watch it

[Heidi-n-Koby]

Crap!  I forgot all about it.  I took my pain pills and passed out at like 10:30.

[boxerma]

Here's the link to ABC's website for anyone who missed it.

http://abcnews.go.com/NIGHTLINE

[Bugsys Mom]

Wow, I am so glad I didn't waste my night waiting for that to come on.  All fluff and no real substance IMO. 

[Rubidawg]

I fell asleep waiting for it to come on, but fortunately was taping it at the same time. So I watched it last night and I was soooooo disappointed. Like Claire said....only 7 minutes (if that, it went WAY too quick for me), no real substance, no real solutions, brief talk of what legislation would do to this menonite farmer's business, calling them livestock, deplorable conditions....but again...no meat and potatoes to what the problem really is. Just showed this guy's so called "state of the art" facility, complete with some high-tech pooper scooper, a hamster wheel for their dogs, etc. Honestly, when I watched it....it was hard to tell if they were promoting this guys business or showing the truth behind puppy mills in general. They way they talked about this guys business, it really seemed like they were saying his stuff was better than most puppy mills (showin the cages not stacked, the hamster wheel, etc). I was VERY disappointed. I also tried to take myself away from the knowledge I've learned over the years and put myself in someone who's not so tuned into these problems (for lack of a better word - "regular man") and thought that it was atleast good education as far as alerting to PM's. BUT.....again, I question if they were trying to promote this state of the art, non animal rights activist, animal welfare promoter, puppy miller. I got VERY upset when he said he believed in treating animals the way humans are treated....yet, the only exercise they got was the hamster wheel, locked in cages, and when asked "why don't you let them outside" - his responses were lame (at best) and said...."b/c it's too dangerous" ?? WTF?!

As far as someone who's not that educated on the truth behind these puppy mills.....all I think this did was prompt them to ask better questions when buying at a pet store. (ie. "what kind of puppy mill do you get them from? one's with hamster wheels?)