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The Horrors of Puppy Mills
1 A cold, dark room. It smells disgusting. The creatures in front of you shake uncontrollably,
packed one on top of another in tiny wire cages. To eat, they have only crumbs in front of them,
and to drink, only a dirty bowl of water. Many have eye problems, ear problems, diseases, and
3 As a dog lover, I was shocked to discover the horrors of puppy mills across the country as
I researched this speech. I know from my audience–analysis questionnaires that most of you had a
dog or another pet while you were growing up and that you believe they should be treated hu-
manely. Today I’ll show you that puppy mills are not treating their animals humanely and I’ll
suggest some ways of solving the problem.
4 Puppy mills have been around for a long time, but they’ve grown dramatically in recent
years. The Humane Society estimates that there are more than 10,000 puppy mills currently oper-
ating in the United States. According to Stephanie Shain, the Society’s Director of Outreach for
Companionable Animals, of the 7 to 9 million dogs sold in this country each year, 2 to 4 million
come from puppy mills. That’s double the number from only a decade ago.
7 But you can see for yourself what the dogs have to endure. Here’s a picture of a puppy
mill provided by the U.S. Humane Society. As you can see, the cages are stacked one on top of
another and the dogs are packed into the cages like sardines into a can. The dogs are not let out to
go to the bathroom, so the cages are filled with waste and become breeding grounds for the dis-
eases I mentioned earlier in my speech.
390 PERSUASIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
8 You can get a better sense of how disgusting puppy mills are from this photo, taken after
the dogs were removed by animal protection officials. You can see how narrow the cages are and
how they’re crammed one against the other. You can see the filth and debris everywhere.
11 It’s time that we stop the horrors of puppy mills and help dogs and dog owners alike.
Solving the problem requires action on two fronts—legislation and individual initiative.
12 The first step is for new laws that will put puppy mills out of business. Current laws, such
as the Animal Welfare Act, are ineffective at best. This law only regulates a small number of
breeders, leaving countless puppy mills to operate under the radar.
13 Here’s the legislation I propose. It’s based on a combination of proposals that have been
16 First, consider adopting a dog from a trusted animal shelter instead of buying a new dog.
The animal shelter will make sure the dog is free of physical and behavioral problems.
17 Second, if you decide to buy a new dog, visit the breeder’s premises. If the breeder refuses
to let you see the premises, or wants to meet you somewhere else, don’t buy from that breeder.
18 Third, don’t buy a dog from a pet store. The Humane Society has found that most dogs in
21 Yet even as we sit here, millions of dogs are suffering from the horrors of puppy mills.
It’s time to stop puppy–mill breeders from profiting on their cruelty. Even if, as the movie title
says, all dogs go to heaven, we should not allow them to start their lives in hell.
392 PERSUASIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
The Horrors of Puppy Mills
Commentary
“The Horrors of Puppy Mills” seeks both passive agreement and immediate action from the audience—
passive agreement on legislation needed to solve the problem of puppy mills, immediate action on steps
the audience can take to avoid purchasing a dog from a puppy mill. Video of the speech is available
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that action needs to be taken to combat the problem of
puppy mills.
Central Idea: Puppy mills are a serious national problem that can be combated by a combination of
legislation and individual initiative.
Method of Organization: Problem–solution
Credibility: The speaker’s credibility statement appears in paragraph 3, where he states that he is a dog
lover whose research has led him to become aware of and concerned about the problem of pup-
py mills. He builds his credibility through the remainder of the speech by demonstrating that he
Evidence: The speaker opens paragraph 1 with a dramatic scenario that gains the audience’s attention
and introduces the problem of puppy mills. In paragraph 2, he presents evidence from the
Humane Society to define a puppy mill. In paragraph 4, he cites Stephanie Shain, the Society’s
Director of Outreach for Companionable Animals, to quantify the scope and seriousness of puppy
mills. Had time allowed, the speaker could have presented evidence from additional sources, but
given his time constraints, his decision to rely on statistics and testimony from the Humane
Society was strategically sound.
In paragraphs 7–10, the speaker moves from print evidence to visual evidence, which he
presents with PowerPoint. He uses two photographs to document the deplorable conditions
found in puppy mills (paragraphs 7–8), and two photographs of rescued dogs to show what indi-
vidual animals are forced to endure (paragraphs 9–10). When assessing the speaker’s use of evi-
THE HORRORS OF PUPPY MILLS 393
Reasoning: When discussing the problem of puppy mills in the first main point of the body (paragraphs
4–10), the speaker relies primarily on reasoning from specific instances. As recommended in the
textbook, he supplements the specific instances with testimony and statistics that show the in-
stances are representative.
As is the case in many problem–solution speeches, “The Horrors of Puppy Mills” also uses
causal reasoning. Puppy mills, the speaker says, are causing the mistreatment of dogs across
the nation. His proposals should be adopted because they will bring puppy mills under control,
thereby eliminating the cause of the problem.
Emotional appeal: “The Horrors of Puppy Mills” is an excellent example of how to use emotional appeal
effectively and responsibly. The speech is replete with emotional appeal—from the opening sce-
nario in paragraph 1 to the final lines of the conclusion. There is no doubt that the speaker is