MUTTS TARGETS PUPPY MILLS

In his Mutts, Patrick McDonnell, who has often touted animal shelters in the strip, now takes after the puppy mill industry. He may have done this before, but if he did, I’ve missed it; it may be a new crusade. In the Sunday strip for June 14, we see a cute but miserable dog, who says: “I’m a breeding dog at a puppy mill. I’ve lived in this small cage my entire life. My feet have never touched God’s earth. I’ve had eleven litters of ‘pet store pedigree puppies.’ I’m matted, filthy and drained. This is no life. I had no human contact or kindness — until Scotlund rescued me,” he concludes, now pictured cuddled in the arms of his new owner, who may be an actual person leading the campaign against puppy mills. It won’t take anything more than this strip to make a convert of me.