Where Does That Rescue Dog Come From?

Originally published in Inside Sources by Will Coggin on September 24, 2019:

Americans own 77 million dogs, making canines our most popular pet. With high demand for pugs, Labradors, and Pomeranians, to name just a few breeds, everyone wants to make sure man’s best friend has a loving home. But ironically, laws intended to protect dogs may have ended up driving people to puppy mills in foreign countries.

This summer, the USDA estimated how many dogs are brought into the country every year: Slightly over 1 million.

How many of those are regulated? Almost none.

Unknown to many, the federal government has little real oversight over pet dogs brought into the United States from foreign countries. Generally, all one needs is for the animal to appear healthy and perhaps a piece of paper saying the animal has been vaccinated.

Read more of the oped here.