Governor Hochul Signs Bill To End Puppy Mills In New York

Puppy mills are awful places.  Today, Governor Hochul signed a bill to hopefully bring an end to the puppy mill pipeline that keeps them alive.

It seems innocent enough - a place whose sole purpose is to breed puppies for families to love.  But if you've ever seen what some of these pets go through that are part of puppy mills for any period of time, you'd understand why they're so bad.  Dogs just become pieces of property that are bred over and over again as long as they produce litters that are worth selling.  But once they're done providing new puppies, the mothers are often discarded.  They're either euthanized or given to rescues to deal with.

We have two rescued mill mamas (as they're often called) in our house.  They were bred over and over again and then just given away.  Once they find a family that shows them love, they're incredibly loyal.  But the effects of their time in the mill stay with them.

Today, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill to ban the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits at retail pet stores in New York State.

"Dogs, cats and rabbits across New York deserve loving homes and humane treatment. I'm proud to sign this legislation, which will make meaningful steps to cut down on harsh treatment and protect the welfare of animals across the state." - Governor Kathy Hochul

The goal is that if they can't sell them to retail pet stores, they'll have to sell them on their own (which is much harder than simply selling them to the stores and letting them deal with them).

If you are buying a pet this holiday season, make sure you always get to meet the parents.  Buy only from certified breeders or do what we did and rescue a pet.  There are plenty of them that need love and will give you more than you could ever expect.