Report: Washington Pet Stores Get Puppies from Puppy Mills, Backyard Breeders

Last year, the group Bailing Out Benji released a report showing several Western Washington pet stores buy their puppies from puppy mills and backyard breeders.

Lynnwood-based PAWS provides good descriptions of how these puppy mills operate:

Puppy Mills

“Puppy mills are commercial breeding facilities that mass-produce dogs (and cats in cat mills) for sale through pet stores, or directly to consumers through classified ads or the Internet. Roughly 90 percent of puppies in pet stores come from puppy mills. Many retailers who buy animals from such facilities take the wholesaler’s word that the animals are happy and healthy without seeing for themselves.

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In most states, these commercial breeding kennels can legally keep hundreds of dogs in cages their entire lives, for the sole purpose of continuously churning out puppies.”

PAWS also explains how that puppy mill owners treat their puppies like cash crops:

• They are confined to squalid, overcrowded cages with minimal shelter from extreme weather and have no choice but to sit and sleep in their own excrement.
• Animals suffer from malnutrition or starvation due to inadequate or unsanitary food and water.
• Sick or dying animals receive little or no veterinary care.
• Adult animals are continuously bred until they can no longer produce. Then they are destroyed or discarded.
• Kittens and puppies are taken from their mothers at such an early age that many suffer from serious behavior problems.

Backyard Breeders

A backyard breeder is someone who breeds puppies in his/her home to make money. They usually breed dogs continuously for years to maximize profits with little concern about the dogs’ welfare.

PAWS says these red flags can help you identify a backyard breeder:

• The seller has many types of purebreds or “designer” hybrid breeds being sold at less than six weeks old.
• Breeders don’t want to show potential customers where they keep and breed their animals.
• Breeders who don’t ask a lot of questions of potential buyers.
• No guarantees. Responsible breeders make a commitment to take back the pet at anytime during the animal’s life, no matter the reason.

Fortunately, some state and local governmental leaders have begun to take action to shut down the puppy mill/backyard breeder pipeline to pet stores.

Over 300 U.S. cities and counties have passed legislation banning the sale of commercially bred puppies in pet stores.

So far, these municipalities in Washington passed bans: Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, Poulsbo, Gig Harbor, Olympia, and Kitsap County.

Three states, California in 2017, Maryland in 2018, and Maine in 2020, also passed bans.

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Washington Pet Stores Get Puppies from Questionable Sources

Bailing Out Benji is a small, non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public with the most current and accurate data about the puppy mill industry.

The report Bailing Out Benji released last year identified puppy mills by state.

The report also identified pet stores that get at least some of their puppies from puppy mills and/or backyard breeders.

Because pet stores usually refuse to provide names of the breeders where they get their puppies, the group obtained the data by combing through the national and state Department of Agriculture websites.

Bailing Out Benji also reviewed Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (CVIs) which are required to transport animals from one area to another or for animals to participate in certain events, such as specific shows, rides, or sales.

CVIs help to ensure that the animals being moved do not carry illnesses or parasites that would be harmful to the people or animals that are in the destination area or that are participating in the same event.

Here are the pet stores in Western Washington along with the puppy mills and/or backyard breeders from whom they buy their puppies:

Fairwood Pet Center – Renton

1. Karen Highland, Rocky Ridge Kennels. Milan, Missouri- 71 adult breeding dogs. 
2. Sherrye Swenson. Backus, Minnesota- 31 adult breeding dogs, 77 puppies. 
3. Ida Lewis, Ida’s Toy Box. Graham, Washington- 154 adult breeding dogs and 63 puppies. Lewis received a direct violation in 2019 for having a puppy who’s right rear leg that was missing. The licensee stated that the dam had chewed off that portion of the leg shortly after birth; however, no one discovered it immediately. According to the attending veterinarian, the licensee contacted her by phone. However, as the licensee stated the leg was not bleeding and did not appear painful, there was no treatment provided nor was the puppy physically seen by the veterinarian. The licensee was required to have the puppy examined by the attending veterinarian by 8/30/19. Subsequent to this exam, the puppy began having seizures and was euthanized on 9/4/19. Numerous dogs were also noted as having extreme tartar and brown buildup on their teeth; Building 1 for the whelping dogs and puppies had the strong odor of ammonia present. Although the building has a ventilation system, the area around the filter was rusted, and the filter needed replacement; and five dogs that housed in the outdoor facility died during the period 12/19/18 to 2/15/19. The licensee stated the dogs had died due to severe cold weather conditions.

Farmland Pets and Feed – Silverdale

1. Sharon Monk, BJ’s & Guys. Menlo, Kansas- 703 adult breeding dogs, 484 PUPPIES!! Not only are they a very large scale puppy mill, but they have a history of violations including too many dogs in cages, and structurally unsound cages. They were also named one of the worst puppy mills in the entire country.

Pocket Puppy – Duvall *

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1. Sharon Monk, BJ’s & Guys. Menlo, Kansas- 703 adult breeding dogs, 484 PUPPIES!! Not only are they a very large scale puppy mill, but they have a history of violations including too many dogs in cages, and structurally unsound cages. They were also named one of the worst puppy mills in the entire country .

* The corporation Pocket Puppy, LLC has been dissolved; however, Bailing out Benji told me that someone with the same phone number is putting up roadside signs around the Eastside and placing ads in various newspapers around the region advertising purebred puppies for sale.

Puppyland – Puyallup

1. Jolyn Noethe, JAKS Puppies, Britt Iowa – 233 puppies. JAKS has also started their own “rescue” in order to lie to the public about not being a puppy mill. You can read that information here. JAKS was also named one of the worst puppy mills in the country. To see where JAKS Puppies buys their dogs from, click here. 

Puppyworld – Olympia

1. Jolyn Noethe, JAKS Puppies, Britt Iowa – 233 puppies. JAKS has also started their own “rescue” in order to lie to the public about not being a puppy mill. You can read that information here. JAKS was also named one of the worst puppy mills in the country. To see where JAKS Puppies buys their dogs from, click here. 

Pet Stores Provide Misleading Information

Pet stores usually refuse to provide the names of the breeders where they buy their puppies. They do this to prevent potential customers from discovering they get their puppies from mills or backyard breeders.

Instead, pet stores say they buy their puppies from USDA licensed breeders. That sounds reasonable, right?

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But if you look a little deeper, you’ll see the USDA doesn’t closely monitor its licensed breeders. According to the group Puppylands:

1. There are only 120 inspectors nationwide. That allows for an average of 2 inspectors for each state.
2. There are not enough inspectors nationwide to inspect these facilities on a regular basis. Due to the lack of inspectors, the amount of inspections have significantly decreased over the years. “From October 2015 through September 2016, the agency initiated 239 cases under the AWA. Yet from October 2017 through June 2018, a nine-month window, the agency initiated only 15 cases.”
3. The USDA makes it almost impossible to connect a specific breeder to an inspection report.“Since early 2017, the USDA has removed almost all identifying information from the inspection reports it posts online. As a result, there is no feasible way to connect a specific breeder to an inspection report.”

Furthermore, pet stores like Puppyland and Puppyworld use puppy brokers like JAKS Puppies in Britt, IA to conceal their breeders’ identity.

These brokers buy thousands of puppies from puppy mills and then distribute them to pet stores around the country.

The paperwork says the puppies came from JAKS Puppies. However, most actually came from questionable breeders.

According to Puppy Mill Free Washington, “Puppyland in Puyallup has purchased over 1,200 puppies” from JAKS Puppies from 10/18/18-1/6/20.

Iowa Sues J.A.K.’s Puppies for Creating Fake Dog Rescue Group

Last year, Iowa’s attorney general filed a lawsuit against JAKS Puppies, its owners, and another person for creating a fake dog rescue nonprofit called Hobo K9 Rescue.

The lawsuit claimed that “the state is home to a national “puppy laundering” ring that sells puppy-mill dogs by claiming they’re rescue dogs.”

The lawsuit also noted that “Some are creatively attempting to thwart anti-puppy mill initiatives and consumer protection laws by engaging in the practice of ‘puppy laundering’ … the purposeful masking of the genuine source of merchandise puppies from consumers and law enforcement.”

The fake rescue then sold the puppies to pet stores in states/cities that banned the sale of commercially bred puppies by claiming they were rescues despite the fact they actually came from puppy mills.

Specifically, the suit noted that the fake rescue “paid for-profit commercial breeder JAKS Puppies in exchange for animals provided by puppy mills.“

The suit also said that “the puppies — including Pomeranians, Shar-Peis, Alaskan Malamutes, Poodle-Yorkies and other breeds — were allegedly sold for $714,510.”

I assume a good chunk of that money went into the pockets of the 2 owners of JAKS Puppies.

Early this month, the Iowa Attorney General’s office filed a consent agreement that dissolved Hobo K9 Rescue and another fake rescue the defendants created.

You Have Other Options

Make no mistake, buying puppies from pet stores supports backyard breeders and the puppy mill industry.

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If you desperately want purebred puppy, find a responsible breeder.

Here are some tips from the Humane Society that can help you find one:

1. Responsible breeders only sell puppies to people they have met in person—never through pet stores or online to people they haven’t met.

2. Responsible breeders encourage you to visit and see where the puppy was born and raised.

3. Responsible breeders will not keep dogs in crowded spaces or cages. Their dogs will be in clean, roomy, comfortable areas.

4. Responsible breeders breed sparingly. They specialize in only one or a few breeds and don’t always have puppies available.

5. Responsible breeders will show you individual records of veterinary visits for your puppy and the parents.

6. Responsible breeders will want you to sign a contract and will ask you to return the puppy to them if you are ever unable to keep the dog.

If you have your heart set on a puppy and don’t care about the breed, check with local shelters and dog rescues. They often have puppies.

And those designer breeds that pet stores and backyard breeders sell like Cockadoodles (cocker spaniel/poodle and Cavachons (cavalier king charles spaniel/bichon frise)?

The American Kennel Club doesn’t recognize these “breeds,” so you’ll pay thousands of dollars for a mutt!

You can find plenty of mixed breed puppies in local shelters and rescues for a few hundred dollars.

So before you buy a puppy from a pet store, remember that where you choose to spend your money has consequences.

If you don’t want to support the puppy mill industries or irresponsible backyard breeders, please consider the other available options.