Committed to Exposing Puppy Mills

© The HSUS/Kathy Milani
A dog from the Virginia puppy mill with her newborn pups.

You may have read a story on humanesociety.org or read news accounts in the last day or two about the rescue of  hundreds of dogs at a Hillsville, Va., puppy mill in southwest Virginia. The plight of more than 1,000 animals there in overcrowded cages came to light after The HSUS released the results of a five-month investigation of commercial dog breeding operations in the Commonwealth. Horton's Pups was selling dogs to pet stores, yet was not even licensed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture—a violation of federal law. 

HSUS staff from our Companion Animals, Disaster Services, and other sections deployed to Carroll County on Thursday and worked with county officials and others to take possession of the dogs—poodles, shih tzus, Yorkshire terriers, King Charles spaniels, and other small breeds.

The dogs, first  examined by vets, were moved to shelters for further care and later adoption. 

Please do read our website accounts and take a moment to review our video news report from the site. The HSUS is committed to exposing puppy mills, educating the public about not buying dogs from pet stores or through the Internet, and strengthening state and federal laws to crack down on these operators.

We will keep you apprised as we continue to work with county officials in this case. To help, you can take the pledge to stop puppy mills and spread the word.