Most puppies sold in retail pet stores are sourced from large-scale commercial breeding operations, often referred to as puppy mills . These facilities typically prioritize profit over animal welfare, leading to several critical issues:

: Dogs are often kept in overcrowded, filthy wire cages with minimal veterinary care or human contact.

: Stores may use terms like "USDA-licensed" or "AKC-registered" to imply quality, but these often represent only minimum survival standards rather than humane treatment. 2. Identifying Reputable Breeders

: Overbreeding and a lack of genetic screening result in puppies that may have hereditary diseases, respiratory issues, or suppressed immune systems.