Animal Folks Minnesota

Consumers buy puppies and kittens. The most common way for breeders to sell is through pet stores or to advertise directly through the Internet and the classified section of the local newspaper.

Both reputable and inhumane breeders use registries, such as the American Kennel Club (AKC), to present a “stamp of approval” for their dogs. Registration papers, however, indicate a dog’s pedigree only — not its condition of health. Inhumane breeders have used registries as a marketing tactic, falsely implying the animal’s health and breeding conditions are excellent. As stated per the AKC website: it "is not itself involved in the sale of dogs and cannot therefore guarantee the health and quality of dogs in its registry."

Pay close attention to the classified sections of Minnesota newspapers, both metro and local; many ’pet’ classified ads are from puppy mills.

Within Minnesota, the number of pet stores per the U.S. Economic Census 2002 is 157; the Dun & Bradstreet directory indicates about 300 pet stores in Minnesota. A good estimate for the number of pet stores in Minnesota would be between 157-300. However, not all pet stores in Minnesota sell dogs and cats. (Further research is being conducted to profile who sells what in Minnesota.)

Many Minnesota pet stores are reputable, do not sell dogs or cats, and offer their facilities to shelters for ‘adoption days.’ Many Minnesota commercial breeders, however, sell to brokers who transport and re-sell the puppies and kittens to pet stores in other states.

A large pet store chain recognized for selling animals from puppy mills is Petland; visit:

To view a comprehensive overview of the pet stop laws in various states, visit:

Consumers should be skeptical of all websites. Beautiful photos and text do not guarantee credible breeders. If a breeder does not allow a person to visit and tour their facility, this could indicate they are a puppy or kitten mill.

Decrease demand; decrease supply

The goal is to get consumers to change their buying behavior — to stop buying from pet stores, the Internet or classified ads and to start asking questions.

The hope is that more people will instead adopt from local shelters or rescue groups, or buy from local, smaller, reputable breeders where the facilities and breeding practices can be closely evaluated.

Please email or call your State legislators and educate them about inhumane dog and cat breeding in Minnesota. Ask them to take action.