Fresh Victory for Puppy Mill Dogs!

Last night, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed into law a bill requiring all commercial dog-breeding facilities to be licensed and inspected—for the first time ever in the state’s history.

Friends, that’s a big step in the right direction for dogs in Ohio, a state known as a haven for puppy mill operators, and where untold numbers of dogs are currently languishing in filthy, barren facilities.

This law is the culmination of more than six years of work by steadfast animal advocates, including the ASPCA and our supporters, and we’re very encouraged to see it signed. “Ohio has taken a critical step,” says Cori Menkin, Senior Director of the ASPCA Puppy Mills Campaign.

Still, the law doesn’t go quite as far as we’d have liked. For one, it doesn’t require commercial breeders to provide breeding dogs with annual veterinary care, which is critical to ensuring the dogs are healthy and safe.

“This is just one of the problems that we weren’t able to fix, but the legislation is still a step in the right direction,” says Vicki Deisner, State Director of ASPCA Government Relations for the Midwest region. “We look forward to working with the Ohio Department of Agriculture to ensure humane standards of care are instituted through the regulatory process.”

We’ve got so much more work to do for puppy mill dogs in Ohio and other states. If you’re ready to join the fight, visit NoPetStorePuppies.com to get started.