Dog Dealers - A Growing Issue in OK

Dog dealers are on the rise in Oklahoma. With increasing regulations being enacted elsewhere, the number of dog dealers here increases each year. Oklahoma is the only state with a high number of dog producers with no state regulations of these facilities.

The USDA licenses two types of dog dealers:

CLASS A dealers, commonly called ‘puppy mills,’ produce dogs that they sell wholesale, usually to pet stores.

CLASS B dealers collect dogs from ‘random sources,’ and are often associated with pet theft and theft by deception (fraudulent responses to ‘free to good home’ ads) and mainly sell dogs to research laboratories. Class B dealers often contract for dogs from, ‘bunchers,’ congressional hearings noted the problem of theft by bunchers.

Over 600 Class A and 62 Class B USDA licensed dog dealers exist in Oklahoma (a total of 721), making us the second to the largest puppy producing state in the US, following only Missouri. The number of unlicensed breeders/ dealers are estimated to be over two thousand. Because they are unregulated, and often operate in secrecy, the exact number is unknown.

Many dog breeders provide reasonable care for their dogs, however a number do not.

• In many unlicensed facilities, animals remain in tiny cages with inadequate ventilation, with owners that evade USDA regulations.
• Stacked on top of one another, ammonia and filth run from one cage to the next, resulting in illness and blindness in many puppy mill dogs. Overbred, and with an inadequate diet, many lose teeth and show other signs of serious ageing by age three.
• A lack of socialization leaves dogs with behavior problems including walking in circles, continuous barking, and fear of humans.
• Breeding of ‘cull’ animals, including ones with dysplasia, blindness, and other congenital faults, is catastrophic for consumers, many of whom are out of state.
• When elderly and no longer able to produce, a dog may be consigned at the growing number of Oklahoma dog auctions, bringing one to three dollars each.

The current lack of regulation causes:

• An unfair advantage for those who offer poor care to the dogs, financially punishing those who provide a good quality of care.
• Breeders who invest in high quality, professional facilities, compete financially with people who contain dogs in tiny cages in sheds, barns and school busses.
• Breeders who rely on regular veterinary care to ensure healthy puppies must compete financially with those who shun veterinary care, sometimes even recommending that clients avoid vets.
• Oklahoma is left open to animal abuse cases throughout our court system.
• The breeding of “cull” animals presents a looming consumer protection problem.
• This crisis earmarks Oklahoma for an increase in poor quality, “puppy mills,” continued embarrassment in the news, continuing problems with pet theft and consumer fraud issues.