We've all seen those cute, adorable puppies playing with each other in pet shops, walking up in their enclosures with the delight of human interactions. But have you ever thought about where these puppies might have come from?

The owners who sell you these cute little puppies and their parents fail to disclose that that some of these dogs come from puppy mills. Puppy Mills are dog farms or factories in which the dogs are tormented, abused, and killed. According to the USA TODAY, puppy mills were established for the purpose of breeding dogs on a mass scale to become pets - and often in poor conditions.

According to many animal welfare organizations and veterinarians puppy mills are incredibly inhuman and vicious. They house dogs in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions without proper veterinary care, food, water, or socialization.

Because of these poor living conditions dogs face many health issues, according to an article by Krysten Kenny in the Albany Law Review (http://www.albanylawreview.org/issues/pages/article-information.aspx?volume=75&issue=1&page=379 One of these health issues includes overgrown nails, which can get caught in urine and feces-covered cage wires and dig back into the skin. As a result, bacterial infections often occur to other parts of the body because the nails are covered in that waste matter and can spread to other parts of the body.

In addition, female dogs are bred frequently and whenever possible because the earlier they start, the more puppies they can produce. They are given steroids and hormones to increase birth production, which can lead to side effects, including detrimental effects on memory retrieval, cellular immunity (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/14303913_Modulatory_effects_of_glucocorticoids_and_catecholamines_on_human_interleukin-12_and_interleukin-10_production_clinical_implications_Proc_Assoc_Am_Physicians and the induction of metabolic changes in most tissues (American Journal of Medicine).

However, it is not only the dogs who endure hardship from puppy mills. The owners must also pay extra expenses for treatment of illnesses. A report from the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association stated that 2,479 puppy buyers in 2011         complained that 40% were ill, 34% had health defects, and 15% had died. But it isn’t just dogs, but also their cat friends.

Along with this social issue, there is an economical incentive to stop these practices. A criminal bust of a single puppy mill (for failing to comply with animal welfare regulations) can result can cause taxpayers  in significant taxpayer expense, as the costs of shelter, food and vet care for animals can add up to tens of thousands of dollars within weeks.

Euthanizing animals has a toll in tax payers as well, roughly one million cats and dogs ended up in California. It was estimated that roughly one “were euthanized (killed)” (socialcompassionlegislation). This lead to the cost of  “nearly $250 million annually (or nearly $7.40 per capita)” This overpopulation of animals needs to stop because at this rate wer are only breeding them to kill them (socialcompassionlegislation).

There is current legislation that helps the grotesque process of puppy mills however, although there is legislation at hand, there are several loopholes which allows for their existence to remain. In the recent decade, governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill which would stop the despicable puppy mills left in the state.By signing this petition, we can influence Jerry Brown and the California Government to act now to ban puppy mills.