Ms. Dug Hanbicki

But 90 percent of the puppies sold in pet stores do come from commercial puppy breeders, according to Dug Hanbicki, issues specialist for companion animals at the Humane Society of the United States.
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They're separated from their mothers and their litters at eight weeks of age, they don't socialize with their siblings, and they don't get much socialization with humans," Ms. Hanbicki said.
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Then they're disposed of," said Ms. Hanbicki.

But the thoughts that really jump to mind when the words "puppy mill" are mentioned are of the graphic photos of malnourished and injured animals, inadequate and overcrowded housing, and outright abuse that have been the subject of the television exposés and humane society campaigns.

"By the very nature of them, because they're large commercial breeders, it's pretty typical to see bad conditions at all of them," Ms. Hanbicki said."There's no way to properly care for that number of animals."

Much of the public's perception of so-called puppy mills is due to the Humane Society of the United States' campaign against them, which began in the 1990s.The Humane Society led a nationwide boycott of puppies from the seven "worst puppy mill states"-Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania-that captured a great deal of national media attention.

"The basis of our campaign is to educate the public about the connection between puppy mills and pet stores," Ms. Hanbicki said.

"I think a myth or old wives' tale prevalent in our society is that AKC [certification] equals very high quality-a measure of worth or importance," said Dug Hanbicki, companion animals issues specialist for the Humane Society of the United States.
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Ms. Hanbicki's judgement is harsher."A lot of these animals don't even look like the breed they're supposed to be because of all the problems bred into these dogs," she said.
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Don't fall for the trap of believing "the dog has papers" or the registry label means more than it does, Ms. Hanbicki said.

"I think a myth or old wives' tale prevalent in our society is that AKC [certification] equals very high quality-a measure of worth or importance," said Dug Hanbicki, companion animals issues specialist for the Humane Society of the United States.
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Don't fall for the trap of believing "the dog has papers" or the registry label means more than it does, Ms. Hanbicki said.