Purrs 4 Peace- Week 13 Announcement: Eliminate Puppy Mills Now

May all that have life be delivered from suffering.
-- Buddha

Perhaps it is not immediately obvious that eliminating puppy mills would have anything to do with achieving world peace. But once one truly knows the horrors that innocent dogs endure in these animal gulags, then the link is inescapable. For when there is such widespread suffering and pain for living beings in the world, there can never be peace.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) defines "puppy mills" as breeding facilities that produce purebred puppies in large numbers. The dogs trapped in them have been called prisoners of greed since they suffer solely for the profit of the humans who run them.

The shocking and inhumane conditions of such places are well documented and include constant breeding of dogs trapped in tiny cages who are covered in matted, filthy hair. They often have rotted teeth, eye ulcers and are chronically underfed. These poor animals are never allowed outside of their cages and sometimes lose feet and legs because of cramped conditions and lack of veterinary care. Dogs freeze in the winter and die of heat stroke in the summer. Dogs who can no longer have puppies are brutally killed. And the puppies produced are often unhealthy and genetically defective.

My mummy’s sister adopted an Australian Shepherd eight years ago who was so ill-treated as a breeding dog in a puppy mill that authorities took her from the owner and they were prosecuted. Sadly, there is not enough enforcement of animal cruelty laws and prosecution of puppy mill owners is not common.

What can we do? The HSUS has created a webpage of tips...chief among these education of the public so that no puppy from such a mill is purchased over the internet, at a flea market, from a pet shop, or elsewhere. See http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/get_the_facts_on_puppy_mills/

There are also a number of groups on Facebook where you can get further information and who update members on specific cases. Once such group is maintained by the HSUS itself.

And this week we are going to take other affirmative action to eliminate puppy mills. We are going to purrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...........

Week 13 of Purrs 4 Peace details are as follows:

• Week thirteen’s appointed time is Sunday, September 6, 2009.
• Participants should purr for three minutes commencing at 3 p.m. EDT (U.S.) which is 8:00 p.m. (20:00 hrs.) BST in the U.K.
• The cat’s human staff should assist their cats with the project by stroking and nuzzling the cat at the appointed time.
• Please post your cat name and the country you purr in at www.confuciuscat.blogspot.com as a COMMENT if you are participating in this historic project. (posting a link to your own website-if you have one-is encouraged.) Or let me know by message on twitter or facebook.
• Posting purrs on facebook ( Acolytes of Confucius Cat or as friend to Alley Mason) and twitter (@ConfuciusCat) is encouraged, since it inspires purring in others, but not required. On twitter please use #purrs4peace in your tweets.

Purring with purpose. Purring for puppies. Purring for peace.