Most puppies in California’s underground market come from the Midwest — some from puppy mills

A recent Los Angeles Times investigation found, since 2019, more than 70% of dogs going into California came from the Midwest — Iowa being one of the top states exporting puppies.

Investigative reporters Melody Gutierrez and Alene Tchekmedyian spent more than a year digging into records tracing pure bred puppies imported to California. They found an unregulated puppy pipeline involving loopholes, consumer fraud and mass breeding facilities with owners citied for horrific living conditions. Excited new puppy owners were told their expensive pup was locally bred, but sometimes ended up with a sick or even dead puppy.

IPR Morning Edition Host Meghan McKinney spoke with Guterriez and Tchekmedyian about their findings: a large-scale Iowa breeder who has violated animal living conditions numerous times and how to know if a dog is from a puppy mill.