weird and sad

[Leslie]

As many of you know, I have been doing genealogy work.  Recently I was able to find my ggg grandfather's 1850 homestead in Lancaster County, PA.  Lancaster  is famous for it's "Plain Folk" (Amish) and place names like Paradise and Intercourse.
Unfortunatly, the Amish are also infamous for their puppy mills.  Looks quite likely from my research that the old house, if still standing, it part of a property that at last inspection had 173 dogs and 119 weaned puppies.
Makes me  cry.

I will NOT be making the trip out to find the old house.The excitement at finding this location on the map has turned to grief.

[Anita]

How sad and disappointing after all your research.  You are right about Lancaster County, it's been nicknamed the Puppy Mill Capital of the USA.  I grew up near Holmes County in Ohio and the Amish there are infamous for puppy mills.  Everyone always seems surprised by this but believe me, it is true.  Take a look at their cart horses sometimes, it would make you sick.  They have harness sores and are so skinny they look like they are starving to death. 

[Etta21]

Its a shame that the "movie people" (producers, etc) always paint the Amish as peaceful people who care about their surroundings and every thing is peaceful and neat. What a shame to find something like that out. However, unfortunately, it was the Government that created "puppy farms" or puppy mills and i am sure that is the way the Amish have picked up on it not because of the Government persay but because it is like "farming" crop (sorry to put it that way) and that is how they survive by farming. It is always very sad to hear about puppy mills, even worse to see them and unfortunately too many people are to dumb to understand the difference between a pet store puppy and a puppy from a reputable breeder. Pet stores are for convenience of people and never care a thing about the future welfare of the dog or the breed for that matter. Why just today I read on Craigslist about TWO dogs bought at different times different breeds that had to be put down by the time they were two. What appalled me the most was one of the people said that she bought the pup (Ger. Shep.) and paid so much money "for its great bloodline" I am never negative to naive people but I wanted to ask her How do you know that it has "a great bloodline" because the store told you?    How dumb are you !!!!!! The girl posted because she is looking for the owner of her dog's sister to find out if the girl pup had the same genetic disorder that caused the dog to have to be put to sleep just after he turned 2yrs old, obviously it didnt have such a "great bloodline". The other dog (Eng. Mastiff) died two months before its 2nd barkday. Sadly the only way to get rid of puppy mills is for the Government to get involved and well that is another can of worms I don't want to open. I am very sorry to hear that your ggg grandfather's house is used for such a appalling epidemic. I believe in responsible breeding and i believe in rescues and espically breeders who take responsibility for the dogs they breed, but for every 1 GREAT breeder there are (at least) 50 bad breeders. Sorry for the long post.

[Dee Dee and Hallie]

I had absolutely no idea this was true about the Amish....I too always pictured them as taking very good care of their animals. How tragic. So sorry this happens to be true about your old homestead Les what a disappointment.

[Leslie]

Etta, absolutely true about the government allowing it to happen.  Our current Governor Ed Rendell--who was once mayor of Philly, BTW--is working to create more stringent laws against mills.  I will say that when I went to the website for FOREST HILL STABLE and KENNEL--only because I was searching for their street address--I saw a very immaculate and well organized facility.  IF you were growing PLANTS!!!!!!!!!. Obviously, to the owners the dogs are just livestock and not sentient beings with an overwhelming need for human interaction. It was not horrific on the surface, but you know....

I can tell you from personal experience that the Amish do play by their own rules.  Everyone thinks they are so perfect when in fact they suffer from the same ills as the rest of the 21st century: drug addiction, alcoholism, domestic violence, etc.  And while women's roles are limited, as a whole, they do have a share the power in the family and community.  This is not to paint everyone with the same brush, of course, and I value their commitment to community and their religion in the face of overwhelming pressure.

But dagnabbit, if the government of Turkey can find a way to convince farmers not to grow opium, (They subsidize growing a certain chrysanthemum which is used for medicine.)I think we can find another substitute crop for these folks to make money by.

[Frankys_mom]

So sorry to read about your disappointing news.  It's truly a travesty that one of the most beautiful places in Eastern Pa is home to so many puppy mills.  Sadly they are treated like a cash crop and are never even named (just assigned a number).
My goal in the Allentown area has been to educate people that if they do not purchase these pets through mills or puppy stores, eventually it would not be profitable for the pupper millers.  I will always adopt a rescue or investigate a reputable breeder first.

Dawn