As defined by the Humane Society of the United States, “Puppy mills are breeding facilities that produce purebred puppies in large numbers. The puppies are sold either directly to the public via the Internet, newspaper ads, at the mill itself, or are sold to brokers and pet shops across the country.The documented problems of puppy mills include over breeding, inbreeding, minimal veterinary care, poor quality of food and shelter, lack of socialization with humans, overcrowded cages, and the killing of unwanted animals. To the unwitting consumer, this situation frequently means buying a puppy facing an array of immediate veterinary problems or harboring genetically borne diseases that do not appear until years later.Sadly, some dogs are forced to live in puppy mills their entire lives. They are kept there for one reason only: to produce more puppies. Repeatedly bred, many of these “brood bitches” are killed once their reproductive capacity wanes. Thousands of these breeding operations currently exist in the United States.”The farming of dogs is an American disgrace. Take a stand against this industry. Do not purchase puppies in pet stores or on the Internet. Do your homework before you purchase a puppy. Better yet, visit your local shelter or rescue group and adopt a dog who already has no place to call home. Take pride in rescuing your dog and ask all of your dog-loving friends to do the same. It is high time to put an end to the pain and suffering forced upon the wonderful creatures that we call “man’s best friends”.

Puppy mills exist for only one purpose – to make money. In a puppy mill, there may be as many as 30 different breeds and up to 800 or more breeding dogs. Every female is pregnant with every heat, including their first heat at 6 – 10 months old when they themselves are still a puppy. The puppies receive little to no medical attention, are not socialized with people, are almost always taken from their mothers too young, and often start their lives out in the world sick and scared. There is absolutely no regard to the health and well-being of the breeding dogs and when they can no longer produce puppies, the majority of them are killed.Most often, a reputable breeder has great interest in one or perhaps two breeds. The purpose of their breeding program is to continually strive to bring their bloodlines closest to the breed standard. A reputable breeder spends a great deal of time, effort and money showing their dogs, socializing their dogs, having their breeding dogs tested for genetic defects, and being very careful to place their puppies in permanent, loving homes. A reputable breeder will at any time for any reason, take any of the puppies they’ve bred back into their care for the lifetime of the dog, taking full responsibility for the dogs that they have produced.A reputable breeder wants to know about you and develop a relationship with you. They enjoy updates and photographs of their puppies as they grow and are always available to help with any questions or concerns about their puppies. One of the most important things to know is that a reputable breeder has nothing to hide. They want you to meet the parents of the puppies and see the environment the puppies are raised in.We believe there are many reputable breeders out there, doing a fine job of raising healthy and sound puppies. Buyers must do their homework – contact the National Breed Clubs and find out who the reputable breeders are. Visit the breeder, meet the parents of the puppies, inspect the environment the puppies were raised in, ask lots of questions and if it feels like they’re hiding something, they probably are and you’d be best served to move on.

No. As stated on our homepage, we do not pay the mills to rescue their dogs. These dogs are given to our rescue contacts and in turn, given to us. These are dogs that would otherwise be killed as they are no longer useful to the mill.Some have asked, “When you take dogs from the mills, aren’t you just freeing up space for them to get more breeding dogs?” Again, these are dogs that would otherwise be killed. The breeders don’t really care one way or the other. They will make the space they need for additional breeding dogs, with or without the help of rescue. This is the only chance these dogs will ever have at knowing about the life they always deserved. Otherwise, they die at the hand of the person who made a fine living at their expense.

99% of these puppies come from puppy mills. When you purchase a puppy in this way, you are directly supporting a puppy mill and contributing to the pain and suffering of the parent dogs. Pet store employees will tell you that they only deal with “USDA licensed” kennels and the puppies have AKC papers. Unfortunately, these are the two organizations that give people the serious misconception that these puppies come from reputable kennels. The only thing that AKC papers mean is that the puppy and its ancestors are purebred. AKC papers mean absolutely nothing about the health and temperament of the puppy and nothing about the quality of the breeding establishment the puppy came from.

Do your research. Take a little time and figure out what kind of dog is the best fit for your lifestyle and family. All your research can be done on the internet and if you find a breed that fascinates you, buy a breed specific book. If you want a specific breed, we may have it, the local shelter may have it and of course a reputable breeder will have a litter or two each year. There is a rescue organization for every pure breed that exists. You can find the rescues on the internet as well.

Reputable breeders, do not sell on street corners, nor do they sell dogs over the internet. They may have an internet site however that you can browse. A reputable breeder will want to know a lot about you and your family and will be glad to have you visit them and the parents of the pups. They may even require co-ownership of the dog. This is not unusual. Reputable breeders will often sell pups for less than the pet stores and the backyard breeders (just a lower form of puppy milling).

Our adoption requirements are based on knowledge acquired through years of dog adoption experience. Although most people looking to adopt a dog are well-intentioned, certain circumstances are not the most ideal for adopting a retired mill dog or even a puppy. We go through an incredible amount of time, emotional energy and expense to rescue these dogs and we are completely committed to finding them the most appropriate, permanent home, no matter how long it takes. Adopting a dog is a lifetime commitment and we are very careful to be certain that a potential adopter is in a position fulfill this very important obligation.

First of all, it is important to understand that our rescue contacts have worked with these breeders over time to help them understand that there are “retirement homes” available for these dogs. It’s a very subtle and non-threatening relationship that is developed. Some think the mills that turn dogs over are perhaps those with a bit of heart left for the dogs. Others think it’s just fewer dogs they have to worry about executing. Whatever the reason, this is the only chance these dogs have at getting to know life outside of the cold, dark confines of their wire cages.Dogs are released for a variety of reasons. The most common reason is that the female dogs at 5-7 years old are “used up” for breeding purposes. Their bodies simply can no longer produce puppies and many of these gals are very, very sick upon rescue. I am quite certain that on a daily basis in the mills, many an older female dog is found dead in the cage – unable to fight off the diseases and ailments that years of producing puppies had caused for them.We also see young dogs and puppies. The young female dogs are usually not good at mothering. Most mill dogs are bred on their first heat and some, still being puppies themselves, are unaware of what to do when they give birth and will eat their puppies. If they do this a second time, they are released. We see many young male dogs as it only takes one good breeding male to impregnate many females, so many of the young males are turned over because they are not needed. Finally, we see puppies that are not accepted by the brokers for several reasons: they may have enough of that certain breed in their trucks, the puppies may have gotten too old (10-12 weeks) to sell to the pet stores or the puppies may have health issues. If the puppies are not released to rescue, they are held back for breeding or killed.More information can be found here.