City piece on a protest planned by a group called Mainers Against the Exploita

City piece on a protest planned by a group called Mainers Against the Exploitation of Pets (MAPE) to draw attention to the plight of dogs raised in puppy mills, which are defined as large, breeding facilities that turn out improperly bred, poor socialized, badly handled puppies, a lot of which are taken from their mothers far too young, shipped across country . . . and plopped into pet stores at too young an age. MAPE plans to hold demonstrations outside Greater Portland pet stores sometime early next year, and plans to work for state legislation that would restrict the sale of factory-bred pets. Barbara Skapa of Mount Vernon, the unofficial head of MAPE, quickly brought the group together when she learned that Pet Menagerie in the Maine Mall, purchased its dogs from the Hunte Corp., the largest seller of puppies in the country. Joseph Pio Jr., the owner of Pet Menagerie, defends Hunte as a first class operation