I HAVE AN AKC REGISTERED SIBERIAN HUSKEY AND I ALSO OWN A RESCUED COCKAPOO WHO WAS AT A RESCUE SHELTER I COULD NOT LIVE WITH OUT EITHER ONE. AN ANIMAL CAN NOT CHOOSE WHERE HE COMES FROM HE JUST KNOWS HE IS HERE AND HE NEEDS LOVE.

The AKC will deceive as long as they can get away with it, and people don't look behind their pretty words.

Over eighty percent. That is the amount of AKC income that comes from puppy mill registrations.

And then there is the business of selling microchips to the puppy mills.

Tom, I'm going to call you on it. Put your statistics up for all to see and scrutinize. And I don't mean from "animal lovers" websites or friends of friends. Let's hear where you got that eighty-percent figure.

The AKC reported in their June 2007 delegates report that 80% of its registration revenues comes from the non-fancy. This is posted on their website. How they define the Fancy is unclear, but most regard the dog show community as the Fancy. That leaves the puppy mills and back yard breeders producing the vast majority of their revenues. And boy do they cater to their largest customers -- the puppy mills! They were a Platinum Sponsor to their "breeder symposium", standing side by side with puppy broker, Hunte Corp. They also advertise on the back page of Kennel Spotlight magazine, the trade rag of the mill industry published by none other than the upstanding Bob Hughes. They also introduced a lower registration pricing scheme to compete with the other purebred dog registries, like APRI, who the puppy millers love. You see, the AKC is losing market share among pet store registrations to these other registries so they are fighting tooth and nail to keep those customers supplying the pet stores with AKC registerable dogs. Remember the outragous Petland scheme from last year? That was also part of this same "business strategy". By the way, Hughes also brings you the horror show called Southwest Auctions. This is where the mill breeding stock is bought and sold. It makes you puke your guts out to attend those auctions, but the auctioneers never fail to mention the AKC registered dogs, knowing they will bring in more money. The auction catalogues for my breed show about 40 - 50% are AKC registered.

When did the AKC become the business of the purebred dog and stop caring about the dogs? The reputable hobby breeder, the Fancy, is no longer relevant to the AKC, other than serving as their "marketing arm" to create more demand for puppy mill pups.

I am a breeder of Siberian Huskies. I only produce 3 litters per year, and it is a hobby that I enjoy because of my love of the breed. I am constantly striving to improve my bloodlines and provide the owners with very healthy, sound and well-cared for puppies. Not every breeder is a puppy mill and/or backyard breeder. Most reputable breeders take what they do very seriously and perform the proper health screenings, vaccinations, etc. prior to breeding. The fact of the matter is that if someone wants a purebred dog bad enough, they will get one. I would much rather have it be from a reputable breeder than a puppy mill. I do support animal shelters and, in fact, have adopted my fair share of pets from shelters. However, it is sometimes difficult in smaller cities to find a purebred dog in shelters. I enjoy raising my babies and I have met many wonderful people through my dogs. I have also made families very happy. I have no regrets or apologies for doing that.

PETA and Newkirk have no clue. Most of the dogs going into shelters come from people who can't be bothered to train their dogs. They will go out and buy another dog within a week and throw it out in another 6 months to a year. To stop the shelter from being so full, people should be required to get training to own a dog. The AKC does not go after bulk puppy dealers because of the registration money to made, yes. But they do not contribute to the shelters because of the numbers of dogs being created, but rather that the dogs are sold like a head of lettuce, and not like a live animal that requires proper handling and care.

Sadly, quality breeders of pure bred dogs cannot keep up with the demand for dogs, thus puppy mills exist. Now if people were made responsible for the entire lives of the dogs they buy and they could not just throw them out, then the shelters would be empty. So says a dog trainer and behaviorist. sheila lieberman, member apdt.com

The AKC also has a microchip business called CAR that they sell to the puppy mills.

Another way to get money out of puppy mills.

They will support any kind of cruelty as long as they can get a percentage. Then they just make up stories and try to keep the dream world going. They have AKC self-described "reputable" breeders act as their servants and tell stories for them and lobby and protect the puppy mill interests.

"Don't look at the man behind the curtain!"

Well, behind the AKC curtain it is not the Wizard of Oz, it is hundreds of thousands of dogs caged to be bred to death, it is untreated illness and disease, dogs outdoors in the snow and sun, dogs destroyed by breeders in terrible ways (no vet in sight.)

I think there is a place for truly reputable breeding.

But the problem is that reputable breeders have gotten sucked in to supporting cruelty and puppy mills by some of their own, people that care more about the money than the dogs.

Including getting people in the fancy to attack humane groups and call them enemies.

The AKC and related interests know that if they market humane groups as the scapegoats, they can make reputable breeders turn a blind eye to the mills and the cruelty.

Or worse, support it, which is what too many are doing now.

They have their extremist shills spread gossip and rumors about humane laws or groups, and breeders swallow it down and start lobbying FOR cruelty.

And the breeding world slides deeper into the abyss.

The AKC is responsible for creating the demand of purebred dogs. Nobody else is marketing them. The AKC does nothing to curtial that demand, rather they keep driving it. Notice anywhere on their website that they say NOT to buy from a petstore? (That's because they took it down.) All they need to do is announce during their dog shows on Animal Planet NOT to go to pet stores or the internet for purebred pup and explain WHY (just like Oprah did) you can bet that demand for pet store and internet puppies will plummet and those mills will be closing their shops of horrors. The American Public is not aware that puppy mills are where petstores get their dogs. They are not aware of the atrocious manner in which these mill dogs are kept (and discarded.) It's incomprehensible that Man's Best Friend is treated worse than the slab of beef they ate for dinner last night. This is the KEY to eliminating puppy mills -- educate through awareness using the messages and visuals that Oprah did. Why not put some puppy mill vidieos on the AKC website? Why doesn't every breed club post them on their websites? That's how to educate the potential puppy buyer -- when they are doing research on a purebred puppy.

I have a great respect for reputable breeders who adhere to their breed club code of ethics. But they need to be more proactive in spreading the word about puppy mills.

Good! I cringed when I watched the show and saw the letter from the AKC with no one saying that the AKC gets lots of money from puppy mills. I first read about their involvement on PrisonersofGreed.org a few years ago, a site that is dedicated to puppy mills.

Ah. 80% of their registration revenues as opposed to 80% of their revenues. There's a big difference--it's a classic example of how "statistics" can be used to increase the fog factor.

I suspect that if anybody asked at the various state and local breed clubs, there would be a lot of people also opposed to the abuses of puppy mills and mass breeders. It's to be hoped that they will eventually be able to influence the AKC to return to its core functions and values.

Anonymous, you make a number of very good points. The organization could be a tremendous influence and force for good.

Too many in state and local breed clubs are right there next to the puppy mill lobbyists opposing any kind of regulations.

They share the same propaganda from the mill lobbyists!

Part of the problem is extremist members who spread hysterical untruths to whip others into a frenzy- all with the goal of getting them to support the puppy mill industry so the AKC continues to benefit financially.

We have an AKC reg dog that we know to be anything but purebred since we had her sister before her who had a coyote for a father. When AKC was contacted about this I was told,"There is nothing we can do about your situation because we rely on breeder integrity when they register a litter. A lot of times, people will say they have AKC registered litters when they really don't." When I told them that I have papers for the dog in question, I was then told that I could send the papers and a picture of the dog and they'd review it but they "really rely on the breeder's word about the parents of a litter." Everyone ought to beware of any dog even if you have papers, be they from AKC or any other registry. If a breeder is not at least testing their dogs and have DNA profiling on both the mom and dad of a litter, buyer ought to beware.

I BELIEVE IN ALL DOGS I DO NOT BELIEVE IN PUPPY MILLS THOUGH, THERE ARE RESPONSIBLE BREEDERS AND THEIR ARE FABULAS MIXED BREEDS. A DOGGIE IS A DOGGIE AND WHEREVER HE CAME FROM HE STILL NEEDS A LOVING HOME. BUT GET RID OF THE PUPPY MILLS PLEASE

I have a maltese that i love dearly...when i saw "shrimp" on the show the other day i was amazed at how someone could be so cruel to such a precious animal...I was amazed at the repeat after repeat stating that most of the puppy mills were amish people and that they didn't know any better. They treat dogs as live stock. Well, I disagree. How cruel to put an animal in a cage with little room and to put a chain around their neck and it enbeds in their hair and skin...give me a break ...i don't care if they are amish or christian or what ever. just look at the dogs and puppies. is that not enough to show you it is money not love...our country is so full of greed it is unreal..and to say this is legal. i cant believe that...if a person that did not have a puppy mill, just a person with a pet did this do you not think they would be arrested for "pet abuse" gvie me a break...i have watched this program over and over and i don't care if your amish or what ever...this is heartless and i would love to help anyway i can to stop this..

Responsible AKC breeders are bettering the breed. If they stop breeding, then certain breeds would disappear. Backyard breeders and puppy mills are the problem! Peta doesn't want you to own animals, they kill tons of animals, and support BSL.. they may have started as something good, but that day is long since passed.