The Juxtaposition of Baby Abortuaries and Puppy Millsby Rev. Dr. Diane M. Hoffmann
My husband and I like to go to a local park for a walk every now and then where there are a lot of pooches walking along with their masters. We are always astounded at the many "designer dogs" that people walk along on the leash. It seems that these pets are getting smaller and "cuter" each year. Less and less are the bigger dogs and natural mutts to be seen. More astoundingly is the increase of purchasers of these forcibly bred doggies. We are dumbfounded at the casual obliviousness (if there is a word) of these people to avail themselves of these little creatures in spite of their monstrous sources. As I meditate on all of this, I can't help but to see how mixed-up of a society we are. We abort babies in abortuaries by the millions every year and we buy forcibly bred doggies from puppy mills in the same numbers. There are thousands of puppy mills in the U.S. and Canada, and elsewhere around the world, that produce millions of puppies every year. Because most puppy mills are illegal it is not even possible to guess the real numbers ... including private breeding farms and homes. Puppy Mills exist because people buy dogs that come from them. Let me say that again: Puppy Mills exist because people buy dogs that come from them. Not many people would buy a puppy from a mill if they went there and saw the miserable conditions. Even when these mills allow folks to visit, they only show them a propped up section. The conditions the poor dogs are kept in, and how the poor little mothers are kept pregnant and forced to breed is horrendous. But for the buyers, the old saying "out of site, out of mind" supplies their complicity. Puppy mills are, commercial dog breeding facilities that operate with an emphasis on profits above animal welfare and for the most part in substandard conditions regarding the well-being of dogs in their care. According to "No Puppy Mills Canada", http://www.nopuppymillscanada.ca/canadian_laws.htm "Canada's cruelty laws do not protect mill dogs, unless they are in terrible conditions! Our government does not regulate commercial breeders as they do in the U.S., so they cannot even be tracked, so we don't know who they are, where they are and what they are up to!" From "Helping Homeless Pets", http://www.helpinghomelesspets.com/puppymills/index.htm , "During the fall of 2008, three large scale puppy mills in the province of Quebec were raided by Animal Welfare authorities and the animals there were rescued." And there are similar reports of rescues in Ontario, BC, the Maritimes and other places. Those rescued animals need to be treated for worms and other diseases and be spayed or neutered before the rescuers can find homes to place them in. Some are so sick they have to be destroyed. In other cases, there are medical conditions that have been caused by years of being in the mill and other horrific conditions that cannot be treated or that can only be treated by a compassionate, dedicated place such as "Dogtown" in the U.S., where one can find those animals who are the outcasts of society - unwanted, lame, too traumatized by past abuse, or too old, handicapped, or ill. For these lovable, innocent creatures, "Best Friends" at http://www.bestfriends.org/atthesanctuary , is a unique home and haven. The compassionate rescuers who take these poor creatures in their care are underfunded and can only salvage the tip of the tip of the iceberg. Their desire is to be able to show these animals that not all humans will mistreat them and that there are people out there that will protect them and love them. But, very few would-be pets get to that place. The rest of the forcibly-bred animals are caught in the large iceberg of puppy mills that abuse, mistreat and perform horrific handling on these innocent dogs - especially the little mothers who are used as breeding machines. It makes one sick to think about it. I know someone who sought and bought a puppy on the Internet. The poor animal was put in the baggage area of a noisy and scary plane like a lifeless article, to be "shipped" to its buyers hours away. When the small dog arrived, he was very sick and, guess what the new "mom and dad" did? They shipped the poor sick thing back to the breeders "because she was sick". That poor animal had not endured enough pain and suffering, she was returned to the very place that caused her miserable condition in the first place, and for what? To be further abused and mistreated. How, I ask, how can human beings do that... return a poor sick puppy back to its inflictors of physical and emotional pain? I was so disturbed at these people that I paced the floor up and down, my stomach in knots, crying out to God for wisdom on these purchasers. My heart was aching for a long time and I wanted to give these selfish people a mouthful of chastisement. But I couldn't, in order to keep the peace and the relationship. But I have never forgotten what they did and it still hurts me as much now when I think about it. And that is only one sample in the life of these little creatures. The strangest thing of it all, about the purchasers of these poor animals, is that when you meet someone who has one of these forcibly-bred dogs, they feel at odd to try and explain that they got it from a reputable place. That is not the issue. Reputable or not they are forcibly bred. And they are part of the whole puppy mill horror factories. They know. But they want it for themselves. They look at the "cuteness" and gratify themselves with emotions, looking away from the many, many sacrificial innocent animals that gave their miserable lives to get that "one" doggy that is well and pretty enough to make it to the ticket price. And there are other mills who specialize in other types of animals besides dogs. I tell you, in my personal opinion, it is sick. It is sinful and totally selfish and criminal to be part of that whole wide and increasing experimental laboratorium. It is very simple, the ones who keep these horrific places going are the buyers - everyone individually. If they stopped buying, these places of horror would dry up. Another site to look up for more information and facts, "Prisoners of Greed - Puppymills Breed Misery": http://www.prisonersofgreed.org/Commercial-kennel-facts.html I have a very soft spot for helpless animals whom God created and gave to us for care and protection. Then, of course, I think about human babies who are abused. If we feel compassionate about animals, how much more do we feel about little people. Many are abused also in homes where they are'nt loved or weren't wanted. We hear horrible stories in the news. And, there is also the millions who are killed before they are born out of what should be a safe womb. There too is a story of horror and abuse inflicted upon helpless creatures whom God has given to us for protection. But, here our responsibility is even more so, because we're talking about real human beings. According to "National Right to Life", http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/abortionstats.html , there are millions of babies aborted each year in the United States and Canada and other countries around the world. The following abortion methods are used regularly. I have summarized the details of each from the web site. For more info you can visit the link below. * D & C (Dilation and Curettage)/Suction Aspiration—6-12 weeks-the fetus is dismembered with a knife-sharp metal rod called a curette. * D & E (Dilation and Evacuation)—12-24 weeks. This procedure requires 2-3 days and I will spare you the gruesome details which you can see at the link below. * D & X (Dilation and Extraction or Partial Birth Abortion)—24-36 weeks-as the fetus grows more gruesome procedures are required. * Prostaglandin or Live Birth Abortion—second or third trimester-this procedure induces violent labor which leads to the birth of a child usually too young to survive. * RU-486 (Early chemical abortion)—up to 56 days gestation-this procedure requires at least three visits to the clinic and again for details you can visit the link below. And some are aborted even later in their formation. For more on these and the risks of abortions, see this link: http://prolifeaction.org/faq/abortion.php#methods For Canada information: http://www.abortionincanada.ca/methods/index.html I cannot describe the horrendous activities that go on in these abortuaries and leave it to you to read it for yourself at the links given above. What kind of a society have we become? Barbaric? Yet we make it look as if it is nothing and as if we are innocent of it. In the book of Joshua, we read of a time when the people were in battle against the enemy. They were losing, and Joshua couldn't figure out why. He inquired of the Lord and was told that someone in the camp had sinned. Because of one person, the whole camp was punished. You can read it in the Bible. Just go to the book of Joshua, in the Old Testament. Imagine today, if it wasn't for the fact that we are living under Grace in the New Covenant, how much we would be punished with all the millions who are living in rebellion to the law of God and nature. But, let's not kid ourselves, God will not be mocked, He will avenge and we will pay for our rebellion. It's just that now, we are under a time table, under a blueprint that needs to unfold. As a society - regional or global - we will pay the consequences. But I have to add that God is always willing and ready to forgive us of our sins, individually and nationally, if we genuinely repent. We may be affected by the actions of the rest of our human society, but we can be forgiven personally. We need to personally repent of our wrong doings -- one individual at a time. There is no such thing as "collective salvation", but society needs to repent also if we want to live peaceably. We need to repent of our juxtaposition of forcibly killing babies and forcibly breeding puppies./dmh Article copyright(c) Diane M. Hoffmann. You may reprint this article without changes and including the following author's name and resource box. Dr. Diane M. Hoffmann is president of the Link School of Ministries, a Christian Correspondence & Internet School and Theological Reading Room that can be seen at http://www.linkschool21.com . She is the author of numerous Christian books, e-books, seminars and theological articles and tracts, including the 300-page book "The Horizontal Chronology of the Four Gospels". |
