Everyone has heard the "adopt, don't shop" slogan that urges would-be pet owners to adopt an abandoned animal instead of buying one. But few know the filthy, inhumane conditions that pups undergo on their way to the corner pet store.
A Los Angeles investigation lifts the cover on the puppy mill pipeline that leads from the Midwest to California. Puppies are stuffed into trucks and driven cross-country in the heat and humidity, then imprisoned in garages and other makeshift storage until they make their way -- sick, terrified and hungry -- to pet stores.
California passed a law in 2017 that prohibited pet stores from selling dogs, hoping that would cut off bulk shipments from puppy mills and it later strengthened the ban to make it difficult to pass commercially bred dogs off as rescues.
But instead of eliminating the practice, the law drove it underground, where conditions are worse than ever.
The Times cites a facility in Riverside, California, where puppies are kept in crowded, filthy conditions until they are given a quick clean-up and shipped off to waiting sellers.
Hell in the desert
Ironically, Riverside County -- about 55 miles east of Los Angeles -- holds the dubious title of killing the most dogs and cats in its shelters in 2022. Local officials say that homeless animals are pouring into the shelters faster than they can be adopted out.
Animal rights activists say the county doesn't try hard enough and point to the no-kill Palm Springs Animal Shelter in southern Riverside County as an example of how communities can treat abandoned animals humanely.
In the second quarter of 2024, the Palm Springs Shelter -- owned by the city and operated by a non-profit organization -- took in 947 animals and placed 482 in new homes. The rest are still awaiting adoption or, in a few cases, died or were euthanized because they were fatally injured or incurably ill.
Riverside County operates four shelters and said that in the first quarter of 2024, it took in 6,825 animals and euthanized 1,230. The others were returned to owners, died or are awaiting adoption.
No way to know
It's not generally illegal to import an animal for the purpose of selling it but dogs brought in to the state to be sold require a certificate issued by a federally accredited veterinarian listing the animal’s origin, intended destination and verification they are healthy to travel.
But that doesn't help pet buyers or the puppies because the state is routinely disposing of the certificates without making them avalable to local officials or consumers.
The result often is that consumers wind up buying an animal that is ill from an infectious disease or that has a genetic defect that will become evident as it grows older.
So a consumer ends up paying thousands of dollars for their puppy and thousands more for medical treatment when the dog gets sick.
To get a handle on the scope of the problem, the Times asked all 50 states for travel documents issued since the travel ban went into effect, and received 88,000 documents.
"These travel certificates show how a network of resellers — including ex-cons and schemers — replaced pet stores as middlemen. Dogs brought from out of state are often rebranded as California-bred, fetching hundreds to thousands of dollars each," the Times found.
More than 70% of the dogs coming into California were from Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma and Iowa, according to a Times analysis of travel certificates.
The dogs often end up in places like Norco, a small town near Riverside. Recently, officials there found more than 50 puppies in stacks of cages and containers in a garage. The temperature in the building was 95 degrees and smelled of urine, according to a Norco Animal Services report reviewed by The Times. The ceiling fan and mounted air conditioning unit were off.
The owner of the garage was fined $725. An angry pet owner sued her in Small Claims Court and won $2,855 but the woman never paid, the Times found.
What can you do?
The simplest way to avoid feeding the animal abuse machine is to adopt animals from a non-profit shelter or rescue organization. You might also adopt a dog or cat from a neighbor or relative who needs to "rehome" their pet because of illness or a lifestyle change.
Most shelters across the country are bursting with animals, partly because millions of people began working from home during the pandemic and adopted a pet to keep them company. When they went back to the office, the dog or cat was dropped at the shelter.
You can also donate to your local animal shelter or work there as a volunteer. Many people who can't fit a pet into their busy lives find that working with animals at the shelter is a satisfying substitute.