Nel Liquorman, Health Editor / TheDogPress © Sept. 2008 - The event was more a “rescue for ransom” than it was a rescue of dogs in trouble. Wallace Havens, owner of the puppy mill operation, claimed that he had given them old and sick dogs in the past so it appears that they had a working relationship. Why would a puppy mill owner take sick dogs to the veterinarian or bother to care for old dogs that could no longer be used for breeding when a non-profit organization is willing to assume those responsibilities and instead of costing him, he gets paid?

Mr. Havens’ decision to sell out at age 72 and retire seems reasonable enough. But, the fact that he sold out to WI Humane certainly got the attention of a lot of folks.

When Corey Smith of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), told news organizations that this was the first time a chapter had taken such an action, many thought that WI Humane was a chapter of HSUS. WI Humane does not seem to be connected to any group but itself so it appears that HSUS just wanted to harvest publicity and undeserved credit.

WI Humane Society spokesperson Angela Speed is reported to have said that that they paid pennies on the dollar but she stipulated the puppy mill was not a “small potatoes” operation.

If the action taken by this group starts or reveals a trend, a rescue group may be viewed as a personal retirement plan for the puppy mill owner. Or a puppy mill in financial trouble could view any rescue group as a potential bail out, one that uses funds derived from caring people, loving donations made to rescue and re-home dogs, not to engage in puppy mill reselling!

WI Humane plans to sell the dogs bought from Havens. Although some dogs may be adopted quickly, they indicate that it could cost them up to $2,500 per dog in expenses. This makes it look like, in addition to spaying or neutering, these dogs are in need of medical attention. This sends the wrong message to puppy miller owners – that their responsibility for the animals will be assumed by a rescue group that has tons of money due to the generosity of its donors.

WI Humane will be selling the dogs for $125 to $450. This puts them in direct competition with breeders who lovingly raise their dogs and spare no expense to produce sound, healthy, temperamentally correct dogs. Clearly these actions are hypocritical and an affront to breeders.

Rescue and humane groups spend a lot of money convincing the public not to buy dogs from breeders. Does it seem right that this group would purchase dogs from a mass breeder and then resell them to the public? Is this in violation of Fair Trade Regulations? Remember this is a non-profit group. Where is Internal Revenue? Where are the agents who oversee non-profits? Even if non-profit groups get animals for free, should they be allowed to charge “fees” equivalent to or higher than the selling prices hobby breeders charge? Shouldn’t they use donations to just find good homes for homeless dogs?

Since WI Humane Society agreed to have meatless events starting in 2002, should we wonder if they are an animal welfare group or if they actually share some of the views held by animal rights groups?

Non-profits are not always clearly defined and regulations at the state level vary, however, at the federal level, IRS and the Excise Act for goods and services tax, come into play. Could it be that the purchase and resale of dogs is a violation of non-profit rules? Perhaps what we need to sort all this out, is an investigation by John Stossel and the 20/20 group.

http://www.thedogpress.com/Columns/Humane-Society-PuppyMill-0809_Liquorman.asp