It may seem like an easy and practical way to buy a dog: You visit a pet store or website, find the perfect puppy, and within minutes you’ve got your new best friend. But just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. That’s because most puppies for sale in pet stores and online are born and raised in factory-like, inhumane settings called puppy mills, where people see animals as a cash commodity rather than the way you do — as a valued animal deserving of a home that fosters health and well-being.
Puppy mills turn back the clock on , as well as the work Best Friends and our partner organizations are doing to ensure that all homeless pets find homes. But there is hope. By stopping puppy mill sales and encouraging adoption, together we can put an end to this cruel industry once and for all.
What is a puppy mill?
A puppy mill is a commercial dog breeding operation that values profit and maximum production over the health and welfare of the animals. Even though more and more Americans are taking a stand against puppy mills, the U.S. still has thousands of them.
So why do we continue to manufacture dogs in mills when so many dogs are losing their lives every day because they can’t find homes? The answer, of course, is profit. And those who typically make the largest profit are the retailers who buy puppies for sale at a low cost and then resell them after a high markup.
Puppies for adoption vs. dogs for sale
More than 970 healthy and adoptable dogs and cats were killed in animal shelters across the country each day in 2021. A solution to this problem is also simple: Adopt rather than buy your next pet.
Because puppy mill pets are raised in deplorable conditions with little human interaction, they run the risk of having significant behavioral issues that may not be apparent to the buyer until the new pet is brought home. In addition, puppies for sale from mills have a high chance of suffering from physical health issues due to malnourishment and poor or even no health care.
Unlike pets for adoption, puppy mill pets are often sold online or shipped to pet stores, where unsuspecting buyers are not informed of the conditions under which they were bred. This can cause heartache and expense for those who purchased them with the mistaken belief that they were buying a healthy pet from the best possible source. So, this is not just an animal welfare issue. It’s a consumer protection issue, too.
Pet store cover-up: Different names for puppy mills
Common alternative names for puppy mills include pet mills, commercial breeding facilities, commercial dog breeder, backyard breeders or factory farms. But the fact is that no puppy mill will advertise the reality of its business. Instead, puppy mills attempt to pass themselves off as reputable, caring and responsible breeders. Because puppy mill laws vary from state to state and city to city, it’s important to check state and local legislation to learn what laws regulate breeders in your area.
Pet stores that sell dogs from puppy mills don’t usually disclose the origins of the dogs, but instead use marketing jargon like “USDA-licensed” or “raised by a professional breeder.” Here’s an important thing to remember: The Federal Animal Welfare Act does not consider humane standards for animals’ quality of life. For example, it is legal and common practice to keep dogs in small cages for their entire lives.
Beware of pet stores that sell puppies (and websites, too)
Make no mistake. Almost every commercially bred dog for sale at a pet store has come from a puppy mill. And now, pet stores have a tough competitor: the internet.
All you have to do is Google “puppies for sale near me” and you can see that buying dogs online and selling dogs online is a new phenomenon. And despite the obvious risks that come with purchasing anything on the web — let alone a living, sentient being — there is no denying that we’ve evolved into a point-and-click culture.
Unscrupulous puppy sellers exploit the opportunity to hide behind attractive websites and slick catalogs that feature stock photos of adorable puppies frolicking in fields or napping in wicker baskets. Consumers who receive puppies shipped to them never see the true conditions of the breeding facilities they came from. They also have no way of knowing whether the puppy they purchase will be healthy or anything like what they thought they were buying, thus elevating the risk of consumer fraud. It’s a game of retail Russian roulette, in which the odds favor the seller.
History of puppy mills
The first puppy mills, opened by Midwest farmers in the post-World War II era, were an attempt to recover from widespread crop failure. Backed by the USDA as an easy and quick way to earn money, farmers turned their attention away from their fields and instead began loading dogs into chicken coops and selling them to retail outlets with pet departments.
As the demand for purebred dogs grew, puppy mills began to grow larger. And just like it is today, the puppy mill dogs of the 1940s were housed in crates, exposed to the elements and left with almost no human interaction or veterinary care. And unfortunately the Animal Welfare Act that went into effect August 24, 1966, did little to change history for the better.
Dog breeders: Can they be trusted?
Best Friends is committed to saving homeless pets. And until our mission has been achieved and every pet has a loving home, we urge everyone to adopt their next pet from a shelter or rescue organization.
Best Friends understands and recognizes that there are responsible puppy breeders who adhere to high standards of care for their animals. However, many commercial dog breeders who are breeding dogs to sell wholesale to pet stores and distributors follow only the minimum required USDA standards of care, which do nothing to protect dogs and to promote responsible, quality breeding.
The fact is that a responsible breeder would never sell to a pet store. This is a basic tenet in every reputable breeder’s code of ethics, including those of the parent breed clubs of the American Kennel Club (AKC). And even if breeders were inclined to sell AKC dogs to pet stores, the high cost of breeding responsibly means that a pet store could never afford to buy AKC puppies from a reputable breeder, because the profit margin would be significantly less than it is when they buy from mills or brokers
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