©BAILING OUT BENJI 2023
All research and information was done by the research team at Bailing Out Benji and must be cited as such when shared or quoted!
To view the rest of our research, 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 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.
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.
This information was obtained by the s Department of Agriculture.
All of the breeders listed as associated with the pet stores sold puppies or kittens to them in the years 2021 through 2023.
Petland Charleston- 2828 Mountaineer Blvd, South Charleston, WV 63441
- Curt Kokjohn. Fort Madison, Iowa- 74 adult dogs and 39 puppies. Bought from once in 2022.
- Herman Schindler & Tony Schindler, QD Kennels. Frankford, Missouri- Puppy broker in Missouri that had 36 puppies during their last inspection. Bought from them throughout 2022.
- Jera Tilhenor. Wheaton, Missouri- Not USDA licensed. Bought from once in 2022.
- John R. Yoder. Fresno, Ohio- Not USDA licensed. Last bought from in September of 2022.
- Luke Kester. Salina, Oklahoma- Not USDA licensed. Bought from once in 2022.
- Mark Steffensmeier & Gina Steffensmeier, MG Cattle Inc. Salem, Iowa- Puppy broker in Iowa selling to pet stores nationwide. Bought from once in 2022.
- Monica Sheeley & Dan Sheeley, Southpaw Pets AKA Premium Paws. Neosho, Missouri- Puppy broker in Missouri that had 40 puppies during their last inspection. Bought from them throughout 2022.
- Jason Scheetz, Two B Kennels. Fort Madison, Iowa- 155 adult dogs and 173 puppies. Last bought from in November of 2022.
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For more ways you can help the dogs trapped in puppy mills , click here.
For more information, please visit our Facebook page Bailing Out Benji. We also have educational materials that you can print to hang up in your own area.
©Bailing Out Benji 2023
** To those consumers that have bought a family member and are wondering about their actual background -please feel free to fill out the form below with any questions that you have and we will confidentially research the breeder your pup came from.