It should have been a happy visit: a newly acquired French Bulldog puppy in for a first checkup. It was a relief to see it on my schedule as the last appointment of a busy day. As soon as I entered the room, however, I noticed the grim faces of the clients, and when I saw the little female dog, I knew why. The pup, skinny and pot-bellied, was less than half the size she should have been. She weighed just two pounds; I was shocked to discover that she had been trucked from Kansas to Massachusetts just three days earlier.
The couple, who had paid a considerable amount of money for her, did not believe she was from a puppy mill. They had carefully chosen the breeder, they explained, who had been recommended by a friend. The breeder had sent them photos and even videos. But the pup had been purchased online—which to me had become a warning sign that meant: from an online puppy mill, a sinister new frontier in the fight against commercial dog-breeding.
Puppy mills are factory farms that mass-produce dogs. Pet stores rely on puppy brokers to act as distributors and source animals from various puppy mills. Now, with pet stores facing criticism for selling these puppies, puppy mills and brokers have shifted online, where they can maximize profits by selling directly to consumers. Welcoming websites showcase a cornucopia of pups, both purebred and mixed-breed “designer dogs” replete with bows and bandanas, photographed on adorable blankets flanked by seasonal décor like pumpkins or...
NEW YORK, April 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Levi & Korsinsky, LLP alerts investors in ImmunityBio, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBRX) of a pending securities class action naming a senior executive as an ind...