BISSELL Pet Foundation encouraged shelter partners to participate in our first national Walktail walkathon, offering a $15,000 spay/neuter grant for the organization that raised the most funds. Stop Online Puppy Mills walked their tails off to earn the Walktail grant!

With an estimated 10,000+ puppy mills in the U.S., Stop Online Puppy Mills educates consumers searching online for puppies to prevent them from falling victim to deceptive breeders and inhumane practices. Puppy mill breeders come in different shapes and disguises, and it is critical to know how to identify them.

Is This Dog from a Puppy Mill? Pay Attention to These Warning Signals.

“Never purchase a puppy over the internet,” said Janie Jenkins, co-founder of Stop Online Puppy Mills. “If you can’t meet the mother, don’t buy the puppy. Websites that showcase puppies from hundreds of breeders are brokers for puppy mills. No reputable breeder would sell a pet this way. Puppies from puppy mills often have health and behavioral issues, but even if your puppy seems healthy, think about the mother’s brutal suffering. Don’t be fooled thinking you found a ‘good breeder’ online when chances are you are perpetuating a business built on the exploitation of animals.”

What Exactly is a Puppy Mill?

A puppy mill is a dog breeding facility where profit is given priority over the health and well-being of the breeding dogs and puppies. These facilities combined produce around 2 million puppies a year, with over 1 million sold online. The breeding dogs are forced to breed twice a year, or at every heat cycle, and are typically kept in overcrowded, wire cages. They are not groomed or allowed to exercise, nor do they know the touch of a loving hand. They are denied veterinary care, and most live and breed with painful conditions that never are addressed. (information courtesy of Stop Online Puppy Mills)

BISSELL Pet Foundation is proud to support the work of Stop Online Puppy Mills. Buying dogs over the internet, or from pet shops that are pipelines for puppy mills, only supports cruelty. Help be a solution to this abuse of man’s best friend by doing your homework. Visit the breeder to meet the mother and see the dogs’ living conditions —or better yet, please consider adoption as your first option.

For more information, visit www.stoponlinepuppymills.org and follow Stop Online Puppy Mills on Instagram @stoppupemills.