Oprah adopts puppy from shelter
SF Dogs Examiner: Oprah adopts puppy from shelter
March 5, 8:53 AM
Oprah is known to change people's lives by showing them a better way to live. This week, Oprah herself has made a change in the way she finds her canine family members. Instead of buying a new puppy, she adopted one instead.
Usmagazine.com reports that Oprah and her longtime boyfriend Steadman Graham visited PAWS, a non-profit animal shelter in Chicago. From a litter of six cocker spaniels, Oprah chose a blond female named Amanda.
During the past year, the Oprah show opened the public's eyes to the horrors of puppy mills. These " dog factories" churn out millions of so-called pure bred puppies each year to be sold in pet stores around the country. The female "breeders" are dogs whose lives are spent in outdoor, wire cages, living in extreme weather conditions, with little or no veterinary care, forced to produce litter after litter until their bodies stop functioning.
Puppy milled dogs are often sick with genetic defects and other diseases. But the sellers know that once a consumer purchases these defective dogs, chances are the "merchandise" won't be returned for a refund since hearts would be broken.
The Humane Society of the United States has a pledge consumers can take to staunchly oppose the breeding and selling of puppy milled dogs. Oprah appears to have taken the pledge. Won't you?
HSUS Pledge to Stop Puppy Mills
I will do my part to help stop puppy mills. I pledge to help end this cycle of cruelty by:
• Choosing not to buy my next pet from a pet store or Internet site
• Refusing to buy supplies from any pet store or Internet site that sells puppies.
Next week I will feature a story about a woman who has dedicated her life to ending the sales of puppy milled dogs in the San Francisco Bay Area. Darlena King is motivated by compassion and will stop at nothing to save lives and end suffering. Stay tuned!