Puppy Mill Free Ohio

12/08/2025

💙🐾💙 This is such good news! We have been advocating for the repeal of the "petland bill" since it was signed in to law in 2016. Please urge your elected officials to support both of these efforts. They have not been assigned to a committee yet, so we will keep you posted. 🐾💙🐾

“With the holidays coming up, I think that these two pieces of legislation are very relevant. If a parent wants to give their child a pet for Christmas, or if someone has just been wanting a pet for a while now, it is an important responsibility. There are some ethical and financial landmines that people will need to navigate, and I am happy we can bring attention to some predatory practices. Every animal deserves a home and getting an animal should not become a financial burden,” said Rep. McNally.

“These practices are harmful to dogs and to the families who love them. The General Assembly should do more to empower Ohioans to make responsible choices when welcoming a pet. Puppy mills and predatory financing fail our animals and our communities,” said Rep. Grim.

12/02/2025

🩵 Please consider supporting the research, education and advocacy work that makes Bailing Out Benji shine.🩵

We give a lot.

A lot of food.

A lot of advice.

A lot of research.

Bailing Out Benji is a nonprofit service that gives everything we have back to the communities that need it the most. For our local community, that means giving pet food in order to keep loved dogs and cats with their people and out of the shelter. For the puppy-buying community, that means instant access to information and tips on how to avoid puppy mills. And for the advocacy community, it means providing the most thorough and up-to-date research on the puppy mill industry so we have effective ways of putting an end to the cruelty.

At Bailing Out Benji we leave it all on the table and we hold nothing back. If we have it or know it, then we share it!

If our work has helped you, informed you, or inspired you- then please consider supporting us today. Your Giving Tuesday donation means full bowls, informed families, and continued research in the fight against puppy mills. Bailing Out Benji is a small, but mighty nonprofit and we will continue to do big things with you by our side!

To make a donation to support our nonprofit:
https://secure.everyaction.com/LT0t7MN4DEOSsBsgg1IC6A2

To send a bag of food our way:
https://www.chewy.com/g/bailing-out-benji_b92375826 -list&wishlistsortby=DEFAULT

The photo you see is of our pet food shelves currently! We are expecting to have a record number of families who need our help in about two weeks. Any support you can send our way will help us more than you know.

Thank you, thank you!

12/01/2025

Weinstein is working on closing loopholes, like changing the definition of dog breeders to any establishment with six or more breeding dogs, instead of basing the definition on the number of dogs they sell.
“For one thing, we have an issue where there’s a lot of folks who like to stay right under the threshold for regulation and inspections by the state,” Weinstein said. “We can make a tweak in our bill in terms of how we classify high volume dog breeders to bring more into oversight by the state.”
The bill also calls for no-notice inspections and increased penalties for violations.
“And when folks are caught with issues, especially persistent issues, we need to up the penalties so that they have more of an incentive and, you know, kind of feel the hurt enough to treat these animals properly,” Weinstein said.
Ohio State Senator Casey Weinstein - Interview with Cleveland19 (link in comments)

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https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/sb232

💙Please contact your elected officials and urge them to support SB232. If you are in the district of one of the Agricultural Committee members, your vocal support is especially impactful. Check the comments for links to the committee.

The online versions of legislation provided on this website are not official. Enrolled bills are the final version passed by the Ohio General Assembly and presented to the Governor for signature. The official version of acts signed by the Governor are available from the Secretary of State's Office a...

11/19/2025

"The filing highlights Petland’s troubled history, including multiple prior consumer protection complaints for selling sick and dying puppies and pushing predatory loans on buyers. Even as the Ross County animal shelter—near Petland’s headquarters—struggles with a surge of homeless dogs, the chain has bragged about selling an average of 9,000 dogs annually in Ohio since 2016 alone."

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has intensified its long-standing battle against Petland, the Chillicothe-headquartered pet chain infamous for sourcing dogs f…

10/27/2025

“ Although Petland insists it follows the law, that’s hardly a defense when the law itself has failed to protect the animals or the people buying them. As long as USDA oversight remains broken and state regulators stay hands-off, the only real accountability comes from the public refusing to play along.
That’s the truth behind the glass. The smiling clerk, the wagging tail, and the financing offer that makes it all seem easy offer a carefully staged illusion. Families deserve honesty. Dogs deserve lives that don’t begin in cruel confines. If enough people refuse to look away, this kind of cruelty stops being profitable.”

Getting a dog isn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision.

10/26/2025

Stop by today from 11 to 3 pm!!

10/17/2025

"Before COVID there were about 200 “high volume” breeders, adding these are people who are registered and not counting unregistered breeders. That number of high volume breeders, meaning backyard puppy mills, since COVID has increased to 500 in Ohio alone, with 10,000 high volume breeders in the U.S.

These high volume breeders are turning out over two million dogs every year. Smaller shelters will sometimes take dogs from other counties because these high volume breeders have flooded an area with so many dogs there are not enough facilities to take all the animals, said Weaner.

Weaner added that high volume breeders are under the control of the Ohio Department of Agriculture which has five agents for the entire state and frequently, she said, does not enforce standards."

Executive director of the Fort Defiance Humane Society, Lisa Weaner

The Defiance Chamber held its First Friday luncheon Friday at VFW Post 3360 with executive director of the Fort Defiance Humane Society, Lisa Weaner, as speaker.

10/13/2025

💙🐾Please consider contacting your Ohio Senators and Representatives and urge them to support SB 232.
It will not solve all the problems that puppy mills cause, but it is a step in the right direction!🐾💙

Check out the comments for a link to help you find your elected officials and their contact info.

House Bill 539 seeks to close loopholes in the current system, which allows breeders to receive advance warnings about inspections.

10/06/2025

It takes so much time, money and love to rehab a puppy mill dog into a pet.

When you purchase a puppy without researching where it came from, you might be supporting the puppy mill industry where dogs are just dollar signs.

This week on Fur Baby Friday we met Annie Jo, a beautiful chocolate Cocker Spaniel with a heartwarming story of resilience and new beginnings.Annie Jo spent the

09/20/2025

Please consider donating today 💙

Every day, we are working towards a future where no dog suffers in a puppy mill.
A future where families know the truth, and every puppy is born into love- not cages.

That future is possible, but only if we keep fighting together. ✨

Please consider making a donation today and help support our efforts! Bailing Out Benji is the only organization that extensively researches licensed dog breeders, puppy stores, and online websites. Our research is used from classrooms to policy rooms and is a trusted resource for information and advocacy.

With your help, we can keep having a huge impact and we can help turn more puppy mill dogs into puppy mill survivors. Make a donation here: https://secure.everyaction.com/aDOnSJF3r0muNQCK0SoEWQ2

08/25/2025

Akron Pride March🏳️‍🌈


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