This is Lily, and here is her story.

Puppy Mills

Cruelty thrives in dark places
smelling foul in confined spaces
secrets kept with our consent
living creatures we do torment.

Through the mill they’re forced each day
crushing and grinding their lives away
expelled when breeding life is done
mechanized profits dearly won.

Puppy mills sound benign.  But here’s what a mill is and does:

to mill (v):  to subject to some operation or process; to shape or finish; to crush or grind; to hull; to stamp; to pass through a roller; to beat with the fists; to thrash; to pulverize;

mill (n): a machine that manufactures by the continuous repetition of an action; an institution that turns out products in the manner of a factory or machine; an experience or process that has a marked effect (as of hardening, disciplining, or disillusioning) on the character or personality, usually used in the phrase through the mill.

Webster’s Third New International Dictionary

“Puppy mills” conceal horrific reality.  These mills disgrace our laws and notions of human decency.  Let’s outlaw them.