The Puppy Mill Project Hosts “Mothers in the Mills” Benefit
The Puppy Mill Project brought together animal lovers from all over the world-class city of Chicago to share in their passion and love for puppies. Founder of the life-saving project Cari Meyers managed to take a dark cause, set in a downtown concrete warehouse, and fill it with live entertainment, music, an endless buffet, gifts, a humorous slide show of puppy owners, and plenty of love from hundreds of dog lovers. If any of the guests walked into event uneducated about puppy mills, Meyers and her committee made sure they left informed, conscious, and aware.
The description of how the puppies are transported across state lines while chained in cages without proper care, water, food, or air to breathe and sold to pet stores sick, disoriented, and emotionally traumatized sounds horrifyingly similar to the way humans were captured, enslaved, and shipped over to America to be sold from Africa. Puppies that are not bought by an owner, frighteningly similar to the lives of slaves, are drowned, shot, or cast away as if their lives never mattered.
When an unsuspecting family purchases a puppy from the pet store in hopes of giving it a happy home, the new owners have no idea of the torture their new family member has already endured. Many families find themselves paying a fortune in vet bills soon after bringing the puppy home. According to the Puppy Mill Project Education Committee, only a small percentage of puppies purchased from a pet store go on to live healthy lives. Meyers and the Puppy Mill Project are on a mission to put a stop to legal but inhumane puppy mills around the country.
Offering age-appropriate videos, programs, and interactive technology to those eager to learn more and take action, Meyers and her team have organized presentations around the city of Chicago, educating over 500 adults as well as a reported 1,700 children on the cold truth behind pet stores.
Encouraging the adoption of rescue dogs is a huge part of the mission. Many mistake purchasing a dog from a pet store as a way of rescuing. However, once a puppy is sold from the store, it is immediately replaced with another ill cared for puppy. The cycle is never-ending and the problem continues to consume more lives. The Puppy Mill Project welcomes volunteers and donations to further their mission. Though committees, festive events, and social media did not exist back in the days of American slavery to save the thousands of lives that suffered and died much like dogs in puppy mills, acknowledging inhumanity to living beings is a hard pill for most to swallow. Many would rather close their eyes to the bloodshed, turn their backs, and go on as if the crisis is not happening in real-time. The Puppy Mill Project, however, is asking that you open your eyes…and help.
