Minnesota Pet Store/Puppy Mill Connection

©Bailing Out Benji 2022
All research and information was done by the volunteer team at Bailing Out Benji and must be cited as such when shared or quoted!
To view the rest of our CVI data, click here.
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“We don’t buy from puppy mills.”

“All of our puppies come from small, local breeders.”

“We visit every breeder we buy from.”

We have all heard these sentences come from the mouths of pet store owners and their employees. They paint this beautiful picture of puppies running by a pond and parents frolicking in the fresh, green grass… Sadly, 99% of the time that is false. The pet store owners know it, the employees might know it- but the customer is completely in the dark.

This is why we are here.

Bailing Out Benji is a small nonprofit that started in Ames, Iowa and now has volunteer teams all over the country who are dedicated to raising awareness about the puppy mill industry.

Volunteers from Bailing Out Benji devote their free time to researching puppy mills to create puppy mill maps for the worst states, as well as raise awareness about notorious pet stores and breeding operations with huge violations. This includes obtaining CVI data (Certificates of Veterinary Inspections) and making those reports public. To learn more about the puppy mills in your location, you can also go to our interactive website and search engine. 

NOTE:

-Before an animal is transported out of state, a veterinarian, accredited by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), must examine the animal for signs of “infectious, contagious or communicable disease” and, if no disease is found, sign the certificate for approval to transport.

To make this easier, we will be breaking our research down alphabetically by each pet store and connecting them to the various facilities they use. All of this information has come from the Department of Agriculture and the USDA. All of the breeders listed as associated with the pet stores sold puppies or kittens to them in the years 2021, 2020 and 2019.

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This research can be extremely costly, please consider making a donation to help us continue exposing the puppy mill industry. Every dollar helps us!

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A Maze’N Farmyard- 57645 Hwy 55, Eden Valley, MN

  1. Bob Hughes, Southwest Auction. Wheaton, Missouri- in 2019 this store bought puppies from a puppy mill auction company in Missouri. 
  2. Ellen Roberts, Rocky Top K9’s. West Plains, Missouri- 101 adult breeding dogs and 68 puppies. This breeder has been named one of the worst puppy mills in the country during the years 2020201920172016 and 2015.
  3. Paul and Sheila Haag, Valley View Kennel AKA A Maze N Farmyard. Eden Valley, Minnesota- at their last USDA inspection for their breeding license, the Haag family had 528 adult breeding dogs and 510 puppies. This facility was also named one of the worst puppy mills in the nation in 2014. 

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Faribault Animal Center –  1818 Grant St, Faribault, MN

This store sells puppies but we don’t currently have a list of breeders they source from. 

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Four Paws and a Tail – 120 Northtown Dr, Blaine

  1. Christy Graber, Kountry Lane Kennel. Hillsboro, Wisconsin- 28 adult breeding dogs and 32 puppies. This facility hasn’t been inspected by the USDA since 2019. 
  2. David Bontrager. Hillsboro, Wisconsin- 17 adult breeding dogs and 8 puppies. In 2022, this facility had two violations and one teachable moment pertaining to veterinary care, failure to keep dogs secured in enclosures and failure to keep records on incoming dogs. 
  3. David E Miller. Hillsboro, Wisconsin- 30 adult breeding dogs and 4 puppies. This facility hasn’t been inspected by the USDA since 2019. 
  4. Elmer Jr. Miller. Hillsboro, Wisconsin- 27 adult breeding dogs and 31 puppies. Miller had USDA violations in 2021 for failing to clean up the feces in outdoor areas that contact mothers and their litters. 
  5. Floyd Miller. Hillsboro, Wisconsin- 34 adult breeding dogs and 14 puppies. This facility hasn’t been inspected by the USDA since 2019. 
  6. Jacob Miller. Hillsboro, Wisconsin- 32 adult breeding dogs and 32 puppies. This facility had violations in 2018 pertaining to animal care. One shitzu was limping and had visible bruising on her hind leg and wasn’t provided veterinary care. Their second violation was due to wire flooring that had holes big enough were the puppies’ paws were falling through. 
  7. James Miller. Hillsboro, Wisconsin- 48 adult breeding dogs and 9 puppies. This facility hasn’t been inspected by the USDA since 2019. 
  8. Jonathan Chupp and Jolene Chupp. Hillsboro, Wisconsin- 19 adult breeding dogs and 2 puppies. 
  9. Nathan Otto. Hillsboro, Wisconsin- 17 adult breeding dogs and 5 puppies.
  10. Orva Miller. Hillsboro, Wisconsin- 18 adult breeding dogs and 26 puppies. 
  11. Philip Bontrager. Hillsboro, Wisconsin- 32 adult breeding dogs and 19 puppies. In 2022, this facility received a USDA violation for not including a veterinary plan for complete physical exams from head to tail of each dog by the attending veterinarian and a plan for sampling of parasites.
  12. Titus Yoder. Hillsboro, Wisconsin- 46 adult breeding dogs and 28 puppies. This facility hasn’t been inspected by the USDA since 2019. 

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Pet stores below this line are closed or have stopped selling puppies. 

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Har Mar Pet Shop – 2100 Snelling Ave North, Roseville, MN

Blue Bird Pet Shop –  1305 1st St S, Willmar, MN

Petland St Paul –  2123 Old Hudson Rd, St Paul, MN

 

For more ways you can help the dogs trapped in puppy mills, click here.

We also have educational materials that you can print to hang up in your own area.

©Bailing Out Benji 2022
All research and information was done by the volunteer team at Bailing Out Benji and must be cited as such when shared or quoted!
To view the rest of our CVI data, click here. 

To those consumers that have bought a family member from any of the area puppy stores, and are wondering about their actual background -please feel free to fill out the form below with any questions or paperwork that you have and we will confidentially research the breeder your pup came from.