How much is that doggy in the window? Have you noticed that the petstores are getting more and more puppies and kittens lately? Have you ever stopped to wonder, where do they come from...the momma dog is no where to be seen. The sad truth is, just like every product in that petstore, those puppies and kittens have been mass produced in a puppy mill. What does that mean? A female dog is kept in a cage, with no socialization, no affection and likely no name. She is constantly pregnant, often abused and is left to lay in her own filth since she never gets to play outside. Then the puppies are taken away at least 3 weeks too early (should be with mother until 8 weeks old) and shipped to petstores. The momma dog is then quickly impregnated again to keep up with the demand of the petstores and goes through the painful process over and over again with no break until her body stops being able to make puppies, and what happens next to dispose of her is often unimaginable. Most people do not know this of petstore animals...I didn't until I got Guppy. The best thing you can do to help stop this process is to get your next pet from a breeder (found in the newspaper or from friends) or from your local animal shelter like www.petfinder.com Please do what you can to stop puppymills...tell everyone you know where petstore puppies come from, because just like you and me, they probably don't know about puppymills and the torture the animals are put through...they only know that the puppy in the window is so darn cute!!!