LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Puppies from puppy mills. The Humane Society of the United States just released a national report listing 100 breeders and kennels where it found abuse and horrid conditions.
"A dog with a head wound, severe dental disease. Dogs whose water is all completely frozen."
Those are just some of the documented findings from federal and state inspections of suspected puppy mills nationwide. The Humane Society published its annual Horrible Hundred list with a simple message.
"We want to discourage people entirely from going to pet stores and buying dogs, cats, potbellied pigs,” Jeff Dixon, Nevada director of the Humane Society, said.
The organization identifies breeders who supply pet stores with puppies that in many cases are found to be abused and in bad health.
"Sometimes they're sold with parvo. Some stores will even claim some dogs are born with parvo. Not true,” Dixon said.
The Humane Society foundeight different breeders supplying four different pet store businesses in our valley. Those are Puppy Town, Puppy Boutique, The Puppy Store, and Puppy Palace. We went to all of those stores. At the time of our visit, three of the stores were unable to comment and did not respond further. However, one store Puppy Town did talk to us on the record. Manager Kayleen Olsen says she is part of the recent change in management at the store. She says in October, Puppy Town began using different breeders.
"The three that are listed here, you don't use those?" "We do not use those. All of the breeders that we use are USDA-approved breeders,” she said.
She says the recent decision to drop certain breeders came after the discovery of inaccurate breed records and health information. Olsen says the store closely monitors the health of all puppies offered for sale.
"We watch when they get delivered in just to make sure everything is okay. Things like parvo and kennel cough can fester in their bodies for at least fourteen days,” she said.
Olsen says her store gives customers a choice of breed. The Humane Society encourages adopting not shopping, saying adoption provides a better investment for potential dog owners.
"They're already born. They need homes and you can find one for every lifestyle and you can have a great bond with those animals,” Dixon said.
The Humane Society says they ultimately would like to see an ordinance across Clark County prohibiting retail puppy sales. Their Horrible Hundred list can be found here.
