LANSING, Mich. — The state of Michigan is cracking down on puppy mills not only to protect animals, but to also protect customers.
Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Thursday she is filing a lawsuit against a Hillsdale County puppy mill operator.
"There's a number of issues that go along with puppy mills as to why we take a stance against them," Heidi Williams, Ingham County Animal Control director, said.
Williams said the county doesn't get very many puppy mills, but even one is too many.
"Puppy mills are a mass production breeding facility designed to produce large numbers of puppies that they can resell at a high retail cost," Williams said.
The main problem with puppy mills are the conditions the dogs are often kept in like overcrowding, a lack of vaccinations and puppies being taken away from their mothers too soon.
"Can you only imagine what these poor animals are going through. And then the puppies, are they being taken away from the mother so that she can be re-bred right away, taken away too young when they're still formative? There are all sorts of things that go into this," Williams said.
She recommends adopting an animal instead of shopping for one, but she said if you do decide to go to a breeder there are some things you should look out for like the location, the temperament of the animals and their physical condition.
"If they have cloudy eyes, or runny discharge, or a cough, they're probably not healthy and I wouldn't invest your money in that," Williams said.
And there is often a giveaway when you find a breeder online.
"Obviously if these are coming up on Craig's list, or Facebook Marketplace, time and time again, the same breeder, we might have a puppy mill situation," Williams said.
If you're not sure if where you're buying an animal from is a puppy mill, call animal control.
"Call us. We will investigate it. We do have an anonymous tip line," Williams said.
Ingham County has busted one puppy mill so far this year and the Jackson County Animal Control has dealt with eight of them.
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