Back in the day, it was always a memorable time picking out your very first pet from the pet store. But that was also a time period that puppy and kitten mills, and other disturbing establishments, enslaved these beautiful creatures for their offspring.

Now it's the year in 2016, and now everyone from celebrities to people from small towns recommend adoption -- then purchasing. "Why is that?" you are probably wondering. Allow me to explain.

Puppy & kitten mills are a breeding location where purebred dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens are living in tight conditions, share a itty-bitty living space with too many canines and felines, have no medical attention at all and often live in their own toilet. The dogs and cats that are able to breed will continue through these harsh conditions until they are no longer able to reproduce, which ends to the result of them getting killed, given away, or dumped somewhere. These animals suffer from infections, deformations, starvation and parasites, and often are the end result of inbreeding. The mill owner isn't even concerned with the health of the animals. They see the animal as property and for only having one purpose, their main goal is selling the offspring as soon as possible, before they show signs of illness. When these pups and cats can no longer produce offspring, they simply get rid of the animal like they are a pile of trash, to make space available for a new animal that can breed. Money is the makes this cycle continue for irresponsible and profitable breeding, As long as somebody continues buying pets in pet stores or from breeders they do not research, mills will continue to exist.

But if you are planning on going to a breeder you should always look for these red flags:

• Are the animals healthy and happy?
• Do they have enough room to roam around?
• Do they have clean food and water?
• Are they injured, walking with a limp, missing eyes or extremities?
• Is there an overflowing odor of ammonia, air fresheners or chemicals?
• Are there piles of cat hair on the floors or in corners?
• Is the fur matted covering their entire body?
• Are the nails overgrown?
• Are you permitted to see the parents of the puppies or kittens? If so, do they have excellent healthcare?
• Does the breeder always seem to have puppies or kittens available?
• Are rare or expensive breeds being sold for suspiciously low prices?
• Are veterinary records, vaccinations and health/genetic test reports available?
• Can the breeder explain the generic breeding standards and its genetic issues?
• Is the breeder willing to show documentation from a local vet or provide the vet’s name?
• Ask for registration papers or health certificates, If a health guarantee was given, it will often be very short — even if the puppy or kitten becomes ill or dies, getting a refund may be impossible.

It's not just puppies and kittens that are suffering in mills.What's shocking is that any animal can be milled: ferrets, rats, guinea pigs, hedgehogs, farm animals, hermit crabs, and many more are abused and neglected in search of profits by bad breeders. I know, this probably makes your skin crawl and you'd probably want to cry and find out how to stop these mills, well here's the answer:

The only motivation for breeders to start or continue breeding animals is money. The key to stopping the mills and irresponsible breeders, we need to stop the cash flow. Laws are not strict enough to prevent the cruelty. The best assault is education and awareness.

The more people who are aware that pet store animals are treated this way, they will begin to avoid those stores, research breeders, and turn to rescues and shelters. You can also report irresponsible breeders and mill operators, talk to your local legislators about tougher penalties for animal abusers, If you’re a vet, pay attention to pet owners continuously bringing in pregnant animals, Sign animal petitions, and lastly try to urge pet stores to stop selling animals and start featuring pet adoptions.

For example, there's an organization in Brazil called Quatro Patinhas aka "Four Paws", and they secretly stocked a pet shop with rescue animals. Then the cameras were set up and captured families' reactions when they found out that the sweet puppies and kittens were actually shelter pets, which cost nothing to adopt them.

I personally would love to see this happen in every pet store because I believe that there's no difference if a pet is purebred or not all that really counts is they'll become your best friend. It really causes me so much pain knowing that any animal is in pain and suffering, it breaks my heart. Which is why I implore you to please continue sharing information about puppy mills and kitten mills. By spreading awareness, we can all help to decrease sales to mills and work together to shut them down while pushing for tougher legislation, And we can remind people that dogs and cats are not the only victims.