Puppy Mill Free Tennessee

12/22/2025

Have you followed our nonprofit, Bailing Out Benji, yet? This state page will be going away soon. Follow our main page for the latest puppy mill investigations, important updates, and our Thursday event roundups highlighting upcoming weekend events across the country 🫶

12/19/2025

💌 Blu's gotta know... are you on our mailing list yet? 💌

By joining Bailing Out Benji's email list, you'll get updates on our latest research into the puppy mill industry, breaking investigations, action alerts, volunteer opportunities, and real stories about the dogs and people your support impacts! Our work is data-driven, transparent, and entirely focused on empowering the public to make informed, humane decisions. When you sign up, you're standing with a national nonprofit that exposes the truth, advocates for stronger protections, and helps families avoid supporting puppy mills- one educated consumer at a time. Together, we can create real, lasting change for dogs. 🫶

Sign up here: https://secure.everyaction.com/nJH9y8dAW0ilG7-xltxBQQ2

12/16/2025

Have you followed our nonprofit Bailing Out Benji yet? This state page will be going away soon! Be sure to follow our nonprofit's home page to stay up to date on our latest puppy mill investigations and news 🫶

12/12/2025

💌 Are you on our mailing list yet? 💌

By joining Bailing Out Benji's email list, you'll get updates on our latest research into the puppy mill industry, breaking investigations, action alerts, volunteer opportunities, and real stories about the dogs and people your support impacts! Our work is data-driven, transparent, and entirely focused on empowering the public to make informed, humane decisions. When you sign up, you're standing with a national nonprofit that exposes the truth, advocates for stronger protections, and helps families avoid supporting puppy mills- one educated consumer at a time. Together, we can create real, lasting change for dogs.

Sign up here: https://secure.everyaction.com/nJH9y8dAW0ilG7-xltxBQQ2

12/08/2025

Newspaper ads. The sign on the side of the road. TikTok. Your local store. That pretty website. Anywhere that a breeder can sell, a puppy mill or unscrupulous breeder will find a way to sell there too.
Bad breeders put profits above welfare and they sell puppies anywhere they can for a quick buck. But families can make a different choice, a humane choice, and can help us end puppy mills in the process!

How can a family buying a puppy help us end puppy mills?
Research before you buy.

Ask questions from the breeder's veterinarian.
Verify the breeder's history.

Get to know them in order to make sure your new family member is coming from a place of love not fear.

Not in the market for a puppy? Us either!

But the holidays are prime puppy-buying season and puppy mills know it! So we have to be ready to have conversations with the people in our lives about where to get a pet safely and humanely- even if they aren't choosing to adopt. ESPECIALLY when they aren't choosing to adopt!

We are here to help you either way!
💙

12/01/2025

*Cyber Monday Reminder: Not Everything Should Be Available In One-Click*
That "click and ship" puppy you see online today isn’t a great deal- it’s a red flag. Puppy mills thrive on quick sales, emotional marketing, and websites that make it easy to buy first and ask questions later. There are more than 50,000 breeders selling online right now (and less than 10% of them are even licensed). If you aren't making sure that your breeder isn't a puppy mill, then who is?
This Cyber Monday, skip the online puppy listings and take the time to research before you buy. If someone is offering to ship a puppy to your door with no questions asked… it’s not love - it’s shady. At Bailing Out Benji, we can help you learn the difference and avoid supporting cruelty with your clicks.
And if you aren't in the market to buy, then please share our PSA with your community! Those of us that are adoption-first, need to make sure that we are staying open to having these conversations in order to take sales away from puppy mills!
You can view our preliminary research into one puppy-selling website here: https://bailingoutbenji.com/puppiesdotcom/

11/29/2025

Solid advice!

Every year, countless families unknowingly support puppy mills through their purchases. These facilities often hide behind polished websites and tempting listings, making it harder than ever to tell the difference between a responsible breeder and a cruel operation.

Doing a little homework before exchanging money can protect both your heart and the dogs trapped in these systems! Read their inspection reports. Ask to meet the parent dogs. Look for transparency, not excuses. Set up time to speak to their vet. And when in doubt, reach out- Bailing Out Benji is here to help you navigate the process.

The best way to shut down puppy mills is simple: educate your community, research your puppy's breeder, and choose humane sources for your new pet. 💙Oh- and Think Benji Before You Buy.

Read our tips here on how to spot red flags:
https://bailingoutbenji.com/finding-a-reputable-breeder/

*Please know* We wish that everyone would consider adoption first and foremost, but research shows that isn't happening. It is our role as advocates to reach the puppy-buyers in order to take sales away from puppy mills. Can you share this post in your community and help us make sure your friends and neighbors aren't supporting the puppy mill industry?

11/25/2025

We all know someone who has bought a puppy- whether that is a neighbor, a coworker, a friend, a family member (or even ourselves!) We can't cut those people out of this discussion, when those are the ones who need to know how to avoid puppy mills the most.

We are at the beginning of prime puppy-buying season and we need you to have these conversations with those in your life who are looking for a new companion. You can encourage adoption and help them see all of the amazing animals that are in shelters and rescues first by looking at Petfinder or AdoptAPet! But for those who are unwilling or unable to adopt, please kindly talk with them about the importance of doing their research before they buy.

Share our nonprofit with them and let them know that we are here to help them avoid falling for a puppy mill, a predatory loan, or an outright scam where the puppy doesn't even exist.

Talking about buying puppies isn't a comfortable conversation for so many of us, but that is why Bailing Out Benji is here to help and we will do it with kindness and compassion. We want to stop people before they support an inhumane facility but we need your help reaching them!

Can you help us have these hard conversations?

Here are our tips for finding a humane breeder: https://bailingoutbenji.com/finding-a-reputable-breeder/
Here is our search engine which helps families avoid facilities with a history of violations:
https://bailingoutbenji.com/search-engine/
And here is a link where you can make a donation to help us continue our important work 🙂
https://secure.everyaction.com/LT0t7MN4DEOSsBsgg1IC6A2

11/08/2025

During a government shutdown, the USDA pauses inspections and enforcement- meaning dogs in commercial breeding facilities can go weeks or months without any oversight and the inspectors are left without a way to support their families.

This is why independent watchdog groups like Bailing Out Benji are critical. We keep watch when the government can’t (or won’t) and this is another huge reason why we believe that having meaningful state oversight on companion animal facilities is so important! Inspectors on the state level are able to still conduct their inspections and investigations, even while the federal government is doing what the federal government does.

All of that is to say that our Quarterly USDA audit is a little light this time around. We are missing the entire month of September in the data, because the inspectors haven't posted any reports online since. The top two violation types were veterinary care for dogs and attempted inspections!

Read more here and don't forget to click the 'donate' button to support our important work: https://bailingoutbenji.com/2025-usda-q3/

10/16/2025

Don't be tricked.. puppy mills are no treat!

It is easier to find a puppy mill than a responsible breeder. Unfortunately, places like puppy stores, online brokering websites, and newspaper ads make it really easy for puppy mills to hide among more reputable facilities to sell a lot of puppies to the unsuspecting public.

This Halloween, help us spread the truth behind the “trick” to your family, friends, and community! Think Benji before you buy. Find out where these puppies are really coming from and choose to adopt or shop responsibly. Together, we can make sure every dog gets the happy ending they deserve 🫶

If you're looking for some tips on how to adopt or shop responsibly, this article has great info: https://bailingoutbenji.com/adopt-or-shop-responsibly/

10/13/2025

📢 Are You a Dog or Cat Breeder in Tennessee?

Although the state of Tennessee does NOT have a dog/cat breeder law, if a person meets the requirements below, then they must be federally licensed.

If you own more than 4 breeding females (dogs or cats) and sell pets online, through brokers, or pet stores, you may be required to have a USDA license under federal law.

🔗 USDA Licensing Info: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/awa/apply

*You can also use their search engine to search for breeders or brokers in Tennessee.

*please note that having a license does NOT mean that the breeder is ethical. Puppy mills can be licensed or unlicensed. That is why it is super important to research that breeder BEFORE purchasing, or better yet,

📣 Share this post to help spread awareness in your community!

Have you come across an unlicensed breeder that should be? Let us know!

09/01/2025