Unit one

In writing my rhetorical analysis, I chose an issue that is currently getting lots of press. Puppy Mills. It astounds me that there are still people out there that don't bother to think about where that cute little puppy in the window of the pet store came from. Oh sure, the pet store employee assures their customers that all of these puppies come from responsible breeders that do it for the love of the breed. Um, NOT! Seriously, no responsible breeder would EVER sell their puppies to a pet store.

So let's see....who are the culprits in this nasty industry.

First off, the people who run puppy mills. Oklahoma is number 2 in the number of puppy mills within it's borders. Wow, #2. The "honor" of first place is Missouri. A puppy mill is an absolute horrible place. Not just a little dirty, or a little drafty. Animals are kept in small wire cages, often stacked on top of each other, and never taken out. They eat, poop and live in these tiny cages. I personally have seen the effect of this cage stacking. One smooth fox terrier puppy that was rescued from a puppy mill is missing toes because his paw was stuck in the wire and the dog below him chewed off his toes. Don't believe me? It happened. It happens all the time. The dogs are given no medical treatment, are hardly fed or watered, are given no exercise and their only contact with people is when they breed. The females are bred every single opportunity. In my opinion, (and that is the only one that really counts on a blog, right?) these people are scum and deserve physical punishment for this crime against nature.

Second, the pet stores. Stupid pet stores. Enough said.

Third, and sadly the driving force behind the other two are the people that walk into a pet store and walk out with a dog they bought for little Susie's birthday. I am not talking about adoption fairs. I am talking about the pet stores that keep the dogs in little cages with windows day after day waiting for someone to pay big bucks to take them home. I am sure the consumers are not active participants in this horrific crime, but still responsible for the mistreatment of man's best friend.