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A puppy plays with toys at a pet store in Columbia, Md., Monday, Aug. 26, 2019.
A puppy plays with toys at a pet store in Columbia, Md., Monday, Aug. 26, 2019. [AP Photo | Jose Luis Magana]

Ohio Ranks Second in Number of Puppy Mills Identified in New Animal Welfare Report

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Ohio ranks second in a list of states with the most puppy mills, even after a law that was supposed to crack down on them.

Ohio’s new law meant to prevent horrific puppy mill situations has been in place since 2018. Yet John Goodwin with the Humane Society of the United States says the state still ranks second in the number of puppy mills represented on the organization’s annual puppy mill report.

“Penalties are low and we have some people who end up in the ‘Horrible Hundred’ report year after year,” Goodwin says.

The puppy mills in the report contain documented cases of sick, injured, underweight dogs being kept in unsanitary, dangerous conditions without food or water. Most of the nine Ohio locations cited are in Ohio’s Amish Country region. Goodwin says some puppies from these mills continue to be sold at pet stores.