It may seem that purchasing a dog from a pet store is a logical approach to buying a dog that is purebred and healthy. However, it is a person's moral obligation to know where those dogs truly come from. Almost every pet store will receive their dogs from a puppy mill; they will tell their customers that the dogs came from loving breeders. If this statement was true, the massive number of puppy mills would not exist. Some people may have heard the expression of a “puppy mill”, any person who is even thinking about owning a dog owes it to themselves, the entire human race and every creature of God to know what a puppy mill actually is.

Puppy mills are factories in which dogs are bred; they are mass produced exactly as factories will mass produce household items. Puppy mills do not acknowledge that a dog is a living creature; that they can feel pain and sorrow. The way in which dogs are bred, born and live until they are shipped off to pet stores is an evil process that must be acknowledged. The dogs that survive a puppy mill and are sold to pet stores are often bought by people who act on impulse; many of these dogs will be given up by owners and brought to shelters. The majority of shelters twist the very meaning of the word; as they are indeed kill-facilities. Most shelters will inhumanely murder a dog if a home is not found within a week, sometimes days.

A puppy mill is a cold and malevolent factory. Dogs are continually forced to breed, with no regard to a dog's age or health. A female dog will be forced to continually give birth to puppies, even to the point of her dieing. This does not trouble the owners of puppy mills; as all that matters to them is that the dog was able to give birth to as many litters as possible, thus making them optimal money. To obtain as many puppies as achievable, cross breeding is practiced; as a result there are many puppies that are born less than perfect. Puppy mills have no use for those dogs as they do not hold monetary value for them; in an effort to save money they will often choose the most inexpensive method for killing the puppies. They have been known to suffocate the puppies with plastic bags; for this is much cheaper than euthanizing them. Innocent puppies; slaughtered in masses; because they were forced to be born in brutal circumstances.

Puppies that are not murdered will be put into cages. USDA requirements for the cages call of the cage to be only six inches from the top of a dog's head. The length of the cage is required to be only six inches longer than the dog's body. To abide by USDA laws, to provide a dog with exercise, a puppy mill only needs to place a dog in a cage that is twice the standard size, for a short amount of time. If a puppy mill wishes to avoid the “hassle” of doing that, they will follow the other USDA option: If more than one dog is placed into a cage, it is legally considered to be “positive physically contact” and constitutes “exercise”. Up to twelve dogs may be placed in a cage, and the cage will be no larger than the total measurements that are required for each dog.

The cages are made of metal wire. The puppy's paws are never allowed to touch solid ground. In an effort to optimize space, the cages are stacked on top of one another. The puppies live in the feces that drop down from the cages above them. If humans were ever treated in this manner, it would be considered the most appalling act ever inflicted on living souls. This is happening ever moment of every day in every puppy mill that exists.

If a person understands the horrifying practices of puppy mills and does not wish be a part of this evil; there are options to owning a dog that will allow a person to have a pure-bred dog, a dog that will provide unconditional devotion and at the same time the owners will be true saviors to dogs in need of a warm and caring home.

Rescue dogs are dogs that are saved from shelters and from owners who are not responsible enough to care for them. Each dog has their own personal story as to what dreadfulness led up their placement in a shelter. However, one aspect is clear, the dogs are amazing animals, they have been left all alone and are desperately seeking a person who will offer a loving hand, a warm home and allow the dog to be free to enjoy their life; free from abuse, neglect, malnourishment and the genuine likelihood of a ghastly death.

These innocent dogs that only wish to please, to love, to be part of a family; are most often taken to shelters that outwardly admit to being kill-facilities. The majority of shelters exist to make money, just as puppy mills do. When a dog is in a shelter, they are only given a week at most to be saved.

The Friends of Penny Min Pin Rescue will rescue any Min Pin from a kill-shelter, no matter what it takes. With unsurpassed devotion and deep respect for living creatures of God, Friends of Penny will undergo any obstacles to quickly save a Min Pin from their fate in the hands of the shelter. If a dog was ever not rescued; the result would be one that Friends of Penny refuses to let happen. The dog will be killed.

Some people will accept the fact that it is moral acceptable for a dog to be euthanized. Truth be told, many shelters not do choose to kill the dogs with this method. Many times, a shelter will force the dogs into a gas chamber, they will lock the door. They will pour carbon dioxide into the chamber. The dogs, instinct taking over and in a vain attempt to escape, will begin to fight each other to find a way to get out of the chamber. Those dogs that are weak from malnutrition, suffering from illness or older dogs will often be knocked unconscious in the brutal battle that ensues for escape. Once the hatch is unlocked, all dogs are placed in body bags, including the ones that are unconscious but still alive. They will suffocate from the enclosure of the plastic bags. Some dogs will not die from the first round of the gas chamber; they will be thrown back into cages and given a few more days of life before the next scheduled massacre.

Anyone who has the love, compassion and open heart to want to have a dog in their lives will most certainly understand that it is going against the very moral fabric of human existence to obtain a dog from a puppy mill and see the need for saving a dog from a merciless life in a shelter.

Friends of Penny is a powerfully strong and dedicated rescue team that saves all Min Pins from shelters. Volunteers foster each dog until a loving home is found. Every dog that is saved is completely vetted before going to their adoptive home. Friends of Penny ensures each dog will be heartworm negative and receiving monthly treatment, all vaccinations will be up-to-date, dogs will be spayed or neutered, they will be micro-chipped and any medical issues will be addressed.

The goal is not to place a dog in a home as soon as possible; the goal is to perfectly match each individual Min Pin with an adoptive home. Every dog has their own wonderful personalities and traits; this will all be considered when placing a dog. In addition, homes are visited by volunteers to ascertain perfect placement. When choosing to adopt a rescue dog, a person is choosing to save the life of a dog that is craving love, a dog that has endured so much sadness they cherish every moment they have in a loving home. A person should never forget the alternatives.