Many people are not aware of puppy mills, commercial dog breeding facilities, that keep dogs in wire cages with minimal space and breed them as often as possible. When female breeding dogs reach the point where they can no longer reproduce, they’re often killed. Puppy mills are dangerous and unhealthy places.

The federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) requires breeders who have more than three breeding female dogs and sell puppies to pet stores to be licensed and inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), but it’s estimated that there are about 10,000 puppy mills in the United States–including legal and non-legal facilities. Dogs in puppy mills often spend their entire lives locked up in cages with no space to play or exercise and no human interaction.

Puppy mills are located across the United States, but are concentrated more in the midwest. Things to watch for to avoid puppy mills are when the dog doesn’t have parents, if the breeder asks to meet somewhere else, and when the breeder has several different breeds available. Buying  puppies online can also be a red flag.

Puppies that come from puppy mills are horribly mistreated and often have health and behavior problems because of it, such as joint disorders, kidney/heart disease, blindness, deafness, fear, aggression, light sensitivity, etc.

The Humane Society highly recommends adopting animals instead of buying them from pet stores because 99% of dogs that come from pet stores have come from puppy mills. They also say to “Avoid the temptation to rescue dogs from puppy mills” because your money goes back to the operator of the facility so you’re basically still “supporting” puppy mills.

Take this all in and take caution before purchasing your next animal because there’s a good chance they could be from a puppy mill and supporting puppy mills will just spread pain to other animals stuck in these terrible facilities around the world.