Puppies are wonderful. Puppy mills are places no dog or puppy should ever experience — and where no dog lover should ever get a pup.
As photos and video of cute puppies break the Internet in celebration of National Puppy Day tomorrow, March 23, let’s not forget the horrors being experienced by the parents of some of those puppies who are left behind in puppy mills.
Our pro-puppy, anti-puppy mill position is why Maddie’s Fund® has provided over $4 million in funding to The Humane Society of the United States’ Stop Puppy Mills campaign.
In their research for this campaign, HSUS learned that even those aware of puppy mills did not know of the abuse and neglect that occur in them. They also discovered most consumers do not associate puppy mills with puppies available in pet stores and over the Internet. As a result, the online campaign, featuring messages like Same Day Pups and Don’t Buy into Puppy Mills, was designed to raise awareness of inhumane conditions in puppy mills and encourage consumer change.
The campaign focuses on reaching consumers at the critical moment when they are considering buying a new dog, to communicate with them about puppy mills and adoption. Based on the numbers, it seems to be doing just that. Since its launch in April 2015:
- The campaign has intercepted 97,051 shoppers searching for a puppy online.
- ‘Same Day Pups’ has received 166K unique visitors with a bounce rate of 4.04%
- ‘Don’t Buy into Puppy Mills’ received 238K unique visitors, 27% of which were from the hoax site.
- The video has been viewed 5.9MM times.
Maddie’s Fund Senior Grants Manager Shelly Thompson says, “We’re thrilled that more and more people are becoming aware of the horrors of puppy mills and are choosing adoption. The numbers show that we’re reaching them at that critical moment in the decision making process. This awareness is a vital part of becoming a no-kill nation. Let’s keep spreading the message and saving lives!”
The campaign will run through December of this year. If you haven’t seen the video, you can watch it now. And, in addition to posting adorable photos of your puppy (or former puppy) on March 23, be sure to share the video to help raise awareness for puppy mill dogs everywhere!
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