Letter: With shelters full, why sell animals?

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 1998 | 11:49 a.m.

Kept in crowded, filthy conditions in tiny cages in dark warehouses their whole lives, females are bred over and over until they can no longer reproduce. Once they have a litter, their puppies are taken away from them sometimes as young as four weeks of age, packed several to a crate and transported to pet stores across the country.

The people who buy these puppies think they are taking home a healthy, well adjusted companion animal. But in reality many times discover they have purchased a dog that has a personality problem, disease, or genetic defect --- caused by overbreeding or the unsanitary, squalid conditions of the "Puppy Mill."

People looking for companion animals should adopt from the local Humane Society or shelter. Only when people choose to adopt animals instead of buying them will we be able to see a reduction in the millions of companion animals tragically killed in our nation's shelters.

Linda Faso

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