The horrors of a breeding kennel

A few weeks ago, we went to a breeding kennel again to rescue 4 more dogs; two adults and two handicapped puppies with deformed back legs. 

Bred, used and discarded

It was a disturbing sight.

Hundreds of dogs were kept in small cages, stacked on top of one another, all for the sole purpose of breeding and making money from selling them. And this is just one breeder. Not forgetting, there are MANY breeders in Singapore. 

You cannot even begin to imagine what the dogs have gone through - poor ventilation, lack of proper nutrition, standing on metal grilles all their life, drinking from an algae filled rabbit bottle tied to the cage, never smelling fresh air, never even knowing what sunlight is, never ever seeing their puppies grow up because they were taken away as soon as they turned two months. Before you know it, the mother dog is put back into the cage at the far end of the kennels, waiting for her next heat to mate and make money again. 

Dirty, matted, hip dysplasia 

If you think about it, might well be possible that father is mated with daughter, brother is bred with sister. The thought makes us sick. In humans, it would be called incest. Dogs are no lesser beings than us and definitely more magnanimous than humans. Despite their neglect and sorry life, they still love and trust humans, and are absolutely the sweetest souls, ever so grateful to you for saving them from a life of hell. 

Badly decayed & rotten teeth at just 4 years old 

Badly decayed & rotten teeth at just 4 years old 

Many of these breeding dogs that we rescued, at a young age of 3 or 4, have rotten teeth, receding gums and often require a full mouth extraction. This stems from poor nutrition. Some also have fractured ribs on xray, possibly due to lack of calcium from constantly giving birth. Imagine! How healthy can the puppies be? Yet, suckers continue to buy because puppies are cute. You can imagine our concern if an inexperienced or unprepared owner buys the dog home only to discover these issues. 

Spinal issues / pain from years of standing in a small cage on metal grills

Apart from their physical and emotional abuse, these dogs suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and some take years to overcome, such as fear of walking on leash, or fear of showering because they were jetted with water when workers washed their cages. Some are so fearful to make eye contact because they have not been socialized.

The two handicapped puppies that we took out, are a mere 3 months old, with back legs so deformed, they look like mermaids. What would have happened if we hadn't taken them out? Kept for breeding? Produce more handicapped puppies? Or sold at a low price to an unwitting buyer. We shudder to think.

So, don't call yourself a dog lover if you know what goes on behind closed doors, and yet buy a puppy.

Paris, an ex=breeding dog, on the day of her rescue 

By the way, a registered breeder does not equate to being humane or ethical in our view. In the first place, we question the morality of keeping dogs in cages and forcing them to reproduce.

About tightening breeding rules; we all know enforcing rules is the biggest challenge. Behind closed doors lie the possibility of terror and the unknown.  Our next question: how many inspectors are out there to ensure the breeding dogs and puppies needs are met adequately, that pups are given vet checks when they look ill, and in-breeding is not carried out? We have vaccination cards of these ex-breeding dogs, the stated breed was incorrect and even the birthdate was questionable. 

Badly matted fur and skin problems

Our other concern - what is going to happen to the many many breeding animals who have to be retired by the age of 6 years old, and the specifically bred pets who can't be sold? Remember, the breeding farms are businesses prioritizing money over welfare, so space, time and costs are a prime concern. Unsold dogs become a liabilty. 

Puppy mills are legal. They are allowed. But, that does not make it right.

Which brings us to our next point. 

With the rising number of animal abuse cases, why is there still no tightening of the laws on abuse, neglect and abandonment? A person who is fined and jailed for abusing an animal can serve his sentence, go out and buy a dog, and abuse again? 

The left front paw and hind legs are deformed, from poor breeding.

Not only are our animal welfare laws lax, it is also upsetting that our regulator is slow to take enforcement action. Small animal welfare groups like us end up saving these grossly neglected dogs like Caitlyn  and Archie, spending thousands on their medical treatments when perhaps their sufferings could have been avoided if stricter laws were in place. 

Too fearful to even make eye contact

And increasingly, it seems to be the case of people no longer willing to take care of their pets when they reach advanced age, neglecting them, or surrendering them to a shelter and taking the easy way out because it is cheaper to buy a puppy than to pay vet bills for an older dog. 

Dirty. Smelly. Fearful. Neglected.

Just look at our rescue stories over the past 2 years.

So, on the upstream, we have breeders churning out puppies, and downstream, enforcement officers and animal groups like us have to deal with the aftermath.

Current efforts are not good enough.