04/14/2025
A puppy died while in transit to Puppyland in Puyallup from dog broker JAKS Puppies in Iowa. As you can read, the transport company provided no emergency veterinary care to help the puppy as it was struggling.
Thousands of animal transports happen each week across the country. Puppies going to pet stores. Companion animals moving between sheltering and rescue organizations. There is no shortage of animal movement occurring in the US. But did you know that this is a fairly unregulated part of the world?
On the commercial scale, for example, people and companies that move puppies for breeders and brokers are not required to be licensed and inspected- which is honestly so surprising! Instead, these places must 'register' with the USDA and inspections can happen if there is a reason to do so. Some of those reasons might include having a complaint filed, having ties to another problematic facility, or spotting red flags with paperwork.
While doing our routine audit of inspection records and official warnings, we learned that the transport company Subject Enterprise received a critical violation and a USDA warning after a puppy died in their care during transit. Based on records that we received from the Iowa Department of Agriculture, we know that this puppy was traveling from the dog broker JAKS puppies to the pet store Puppyland in Puyallup, WA. As you can read, the transporter was unable to provide any notes or documentation showing that they provided emergency care to the puppy, nor did they stop to find a veterinarian along the way that could help.
This case is a horrific example of why there needs to be more oversight on puppy transport companies and more accountability for these businesses to hire and train staff that know how to take care of the animals they are in charge of. With dozens to hundreds of puppies in each van from various different breeding facilities, this could be a breeding ground for disease and neglect if those transporters aren't able or willing to provide care.
