Amish Country's Dirty Little Secret...

Today was a very sad day. I went down to Holmes County for the puppy mill protest at the Holmes County Flea Market. There was a good turn-out and we met some great protesters who drove hours to be there. (The picture above is of some of the protesters who came out today). There are over 400 puppy mills in Holmes County, where dogs are mass produced, born into filthy and unsanitary conditions. Breeding dogs are bred for most of their lifespan, and are "put down" once they cannot be bred anymore. Most often they MUST be put down because their uteruses explode from the non-stop breeding. The method used by the Amish to "put down" dogs is bludgening them to death with a blow to the head. They opt not to shoot them because they are "put down" in such great numbers, that it's more cost effective to them to do it this way. This is a horrible death for dogs that have suffered and existed in unsanitary and dirty conditions most of their lives, without any human affection. Their sole purpose was to be used for making money. Being used for profit and shown no real care let alone love, and being unable to stop their own suffering, makes for a very sad and lonely life. Many puppies are also born with deformities and health problems due to the excessive and incestual breeding of the dogs. These puppies are also "put down" since they are of no use to anyone looking to make a profit. A few of the lucky ones get rescued, but many of them are not so lucky. They are discarded as if they don't deserve a chance in this world. Dog shelters are crowded, and dogs are being euthanized daily in large numbers, while puppy mills are mass-producing more. They are making huge profits, while dogs in shelters are being killed to make room for more dogs in need of homes. It's really very sad, because thousands of animals don't have a choice in choosing life. By mass-producing more dogs, we are taking away the lives of dogs that are already in need. It really makes me feel like there is no hope for a humanity that turns over lives in exchange for something as meaningless as money. If there is a devil, a humanity like ours has already sold its soul to him. I just keep hoping that people will someday realize that the biggest fight in front of all of us is the preservation of life. Anyways, I got down to the protest around 9:15, and people were allowed in to see the dogs for auction until 10:00. The first thing I heard as soon as I got there was that there had been a German Shephard inside who was do to be "put down" after the auction, and it had a broken jaw and part of its lip was missing. The Amish had finally agreed to surrender the dog over to a Humane Officer, and the dog was taken away. I was disguisted, and unsure whether I'd be able to go inside after hearing that. I get very emotional very easily, I just love animals so much and they are so widely mistreated and abused by people, it really gets to me sometimes. I had gone to a puppy mill protest at the same flea market earlier this year, but have never gone inside to see the dogs, though I've heard of the poor conditions. Today I decided to go inside and see the dogs. I walked in and immediately I was overcome with a rush of emotion. There were dog cages EVERYWHERE, stacked one on top of the other, the dog cages were filled with feces, the dogs from the top cages were urinating on the dogs below, and none of the cages had food or water. This is an all day auction, and these dogs had no water and no food available to them whatsoever. It was so disturbing being in such a dispicable environment and watching people walking around like machines, like what they were seeing was normal. To make it worse, one of the other protesters handed me a really sweet little white puppy that was so tiny it could fit in just my hands. I held it against my chest and my eyes started welling up, and then he tried to climb upward and I bent my head down to let it sniff me. That's when I lost it and had to get out of there. They had locked the front doors in preparation for the start of the auction, so I had to walk through to the auction room, and by all the caged dogs. Some had signs on the cages which said 'Out.' From what I gathered that meant they were not for sale, and were going to be "put down" after the auction today because of injury and lack of sale. I was very overcome with a feeling of utter despair and sadness, I just felt like I had to go away from there, far away where it wouldn't feel so real. People can be so cold, and so much like machines. Desensitized to feeling the pain and suffering of innocent life. Everyone is out to make a profit. We spend our whole lives working to make money, to have things, always more money, always more things. Never stop to take a look around and just feel for a little while. Be a human being. Have a heart. Know the suffering of others. Some days it feels hopeless, like no-one is listening, it's only my own echo out there. Maybe someday life will be more than just chasing the profit at all cost, and maybe more of life will remain...