Avoid puppy mills this holiday season

With the holidays quickly approaching, I want to remind my fellow Iowans to be careful when buying a puppy from a pet store, newspaper or website without meeting the parents. Puppy mills and online scammers use this time of year to take advantage of unknowing customers.

Don O'Brien with the national Better Business Bureau warns, 'If your family is begging for a pet this holiday season, the Better Business Bureau advises you wait until a less hectic time of year. Puppies can be expensive and require a lot of time and effort. When you do decide to get a puppy, the BBB wants you to beware of unscrupulous puppy mills and online scammers.”

Iowa has appeared on the Humane Society's Horrible Hundred Puppy Mill list 56 times since 2013. All of those breeders have violations, yet sell to the public through sophisticated websites.

If you aren't meeting the parents of the puppy you are buying, then you are likely supporting a puppy mill.

Don't forget your local shelter or rescue is full of amazing animals looking for their forever homes. Please consider adoption or do your research and make sure you aren't supporting a puppy mill when buying.

Mindi Callison

Executive Director/Founder

Bailing Out Benji

Ames