UF Veterinary Forensic Sciences Program

On Veterinary Appreciation Day, we’re recognizing the veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and animal care staff whose work can help identify injury, document evidence and support investigations involving animals.

In this field, care and science often meet in difficult moments. So today, we’re grateful for the professionals who bring compassion and careful attention to this important work. 🐾

Thank you for the work you do to help animals be seen, heard and protected.

A puppy in a pet store or online listing may have passed through more hands than most buyers realize. In the U.S., an estimated 500,000 dogs are kept solely for breeding purposes in puppy mills.❤️‍🩹

Puppy mills are large-scale breeding operations that prioritize profit and volume over animal health and welfare. While the puppy may be sold through a polished website, pet store or friendly-looking listing, the breeding dogs behind that sale may be living in crowded, unsanitary conditions with limited veterinary care, little socialization and repeated cycles of pregnancy.

That matters because puppy mills are not only an animal welfare issue. In cases involving suspected cruelty, veterinary forensic work can help document neglect, examine an animal’s physical condition and medical history, and connect those findings to larger patterns involving housing, transport, breeding practices, brokers and sellers.

Puppies should never be treated like inventory. And the dogs used to produce them should not disappear behind the business model.

🐾 Learn more about puppy mills and how to help stop them here: https://bit.ly/4tYqfZk