Puppy mills are networks that breed dogs for money-making only, not for quality or humane care. They thrive on unknowing customers. Puppies in store windows and on Internet/newspaper advertisements are often from puppy mills. The dogs that are used as “breeding stock” have little chance of seeing a home, treat, bed, toy, or veterinary care. The dogs used for breeding are often killed, sold, or abandoned when they lose their fertility. Hundreds of thousands of puppies are born in puppy mills each year. Buyers are often fooled by the breeders' false claims like “We would never sell puppy mill puppies."

In 1994, the commisioner of livestock in Kansas ordered a raid on a puppy mill called Akusa Kennels. There, 124 Akitas were found alive in horrid squallor. The kennels were piled high with dead rats, maggots, and puppies that had suffocated in the mounds of poop covering the kennels. The famished and dehydrated dogs were missing random body parts like tails, tongues, and ears, and they also had internal parasites. A group called the Akita Rescue Society of America gathered funds to take in the surviving Akitas. Akita clubs, rescue groups, and breeders all over the country helped to support the dogs until the dogs found new homes. One dog, named Tootsie, waited several weeks for a home to open up for her. During that time she had to wait to be treated for a swollen foot four times its normal size -- it had had 9 bones ripped from it. Tootsie had to have care for that foot for the rest of her life. You can read more about Tootsie's tragic story at www.akitarescue.com.