Iowa Friends of Companion Animals by Morgan McLaughlin

On Thursday, May 1, the Rotary Club of Waukee had Mary LaHay present on behalf of the Iowa Friends of Companion Animals non-profit charity. This charity’s main concern is about the welfare of our pets. LaHay spoke mainly about the puppy mills in Iowa and what we can to do help put a stop to unfair animal treatment.

Puppy mills are a place that ship and sell puppies all across the country. She shared with us that Iowa is number 2 in the country on highest puppy mill concentration. The biggest problems with puppy mills are their environmental surroundings, owners and treatment.

The environments some dogs are forced to live in are horrendous. This includes not proper sanitizing within the facility, major health risks between the dogs and much more. This fault falls directly on the owners’ shoulders. The Iowa Friends of Companion Animals believes everything is entirely because of the owner. Dogs are in great shape and look healthy? It is because the owner was properly treating them. Dogs have lost eyes and possess infections that can potentially be fatal? It is because the owner did not treat them with the right care that dogs should be treated, which leads into the last problem, how the owners treat the animals. The information LaHay shared with the Rotarians were surprising to most. One fact being that some puppy mill owners power wash their facility to remove waste and such, being done so while the dogs are still in cages.

After LaHay’s presentation, the Rotary learned the severity of some puppy mills across the state, understanding the charity’s mission statement in great detail, “To advance the humane and responsible treatment of companion animals through collaboration and public awareness.” Thank you to Mary LaHay for sharing some insight on puppy mills and telling people there is always something they can do to help.

 Morgan McLaughlin