Letters to the Editor: I helped expose a puppy mill pipeline 30 years ago. Nothing has changed

To the editor: Thirty years ago I investigated puppy mills in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma for the Humane Society of the United States. We exposed the California pet store connection and got then-Sen. Barbara Boxer involved. (“Inside California’s brutal underground market for puppies: Neglected dogs, deceived owners, big profits,” Sept. 12)

Clearly nothing has changed. The fact that this is still going on is absolutely shameful.

It’s time for a national referendum to outlaw puppy mills. A rule change petition to rewrite U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations in regard to canine care would be an easy place to start.

We, the people, need to insist on this reform. We need to decide what we want to be: a cruel, money-driven society, or a humane society.

We are better than this.

Lisa A. Landres, Venice

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To the editor: Thanks to the L.A. Times for the excellent investigative report on puppy mills. As a rescuer, I am sickened by the number of dogs and cats dying in our L.A. shelter system every day.

Many times, I have had people tell me they “had to get a dog from a breeder” because they wanted a specific breed. Our shelters are over capacity with breeds of every type, and breed-specific rescues are easy to find.

This article illustrates not only the cruelty and pain these puppies suffer at the hands of greedy out-of-state breeders and local re-sellers, but also the dangers, financial and emotional, of obtaining puppies this way. Most importantly, you have shined a light on the part that buyers unwittingly play in perpetuating this abuse, simply because they wanted to love a dog.

Until we stop the killing and the cruelty, please adopt from your local shelter or rescue group.

Kelli Jo Nicholas, Simi Valley

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To the editor: I am appalled at the capacity for cruelty that humans possess. There is nothing more disgraceful than the abuse of innocent animals. I could not finish the article, because reading it was too painful.

One year ago, my husband and I adopted a Shiba Inu. She is 4 and was rescued from a puppy mill in Ohio, where she was a breeding female. She was skin and bones, and her coat was in such poor shape. She has a sweet nature but still spends her time under our bed, and this is after we have owned her for one year.

There simply must be legislation to stop these puppy mills permanently. Shame on the people who want these fancy pure-bred dogs, Doodles or French bulldogs that come from these terrible places. These mills would not exist if people didn’t buy these dogs.

Please be responsible and adopt a shelter dog.

Meg Fairless, Simi Valley

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To the editor: Thank you for the very in-depth and heartbreaking article about what’s going on in this country with our dogs. No, we are not eating them, thankfully, but we are overbreeding and then killing them for lack of homes.

Contrary to our laws that say animals are property and not persons, we turn these sentient, loyal friends into commodities to make money. This must stop.

Dogs are our best friends, but sadly, we humans are far from being theirs.

Patty Shenker, Woodland Hills

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To the editor: The quality and rigor that went into this reporting is why I — and hopefully many others — will continue to support the L.A. Times.

Those of us who adopt want to think that we are rescuing dogs, and some of us have gotten tricked by bad actors. My hope is that this article results in crackdowns that will ease the suffering of these poor animals and will help divert buyers to legitimate agencies and shelters.

Many thanks for the perseverance and courage of reporters Melody Gutierrez and Alene Tchekmedyian.

Miriam Bookey, Santa Monica