In mid-2024, the store that sold Ziva to Langston closed permanently. But Petland never took responsibility or paid Langston back the thousands she spent on the puppy’s purchase and veterinary care.
As our work continues to end the sale of puppy mill puppies in pet stores, we’ve seen declines in three important numbers we track:
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The number of dogs each U.S. Department of Agriculture-licensed commercial breeder keeps: In 2022, we determined that the size of commercial breeders was in decline as well, from an average of 87 dogs per USDA-licensed facility in 2012 to an average of 57 in 2022.
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The number of puppy-selling pet stores across the United States: Fewer than 500 stores in the U.S. still sell puppies. This is down from approximately 900 in 2017. In fact, of the 25 largest pet store chains in North America, only one of them, Petland, still sells puppies.
These declines indicate that tens of thousands of dogs were prevented from suffering poor treatment. As stories like Langston’s start to spread, more people become informed about the dangers of buying dogs from pet stores, and public demand for puppies moves toward more humane sources of pets.
Last year, our actions helped lead to fines or consequences against problem Petland stores:
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Our outreach to law enforcement agencies led to a warrant being served on the Petland in Madison, Tennessee, to force the store to stop offering puppies for sale in compliance with that community’s local humane pet store law.
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Five other Petland stores across four states closed or stopped selling puppies in 2024, and the Petland store in Grove City, Ohio, stopped selling puppies in early 2025.
The crackdown on bad puppy-selling store practices is also spreading to other problem shops:
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In January 2025, the Washington State Office of the Attorney General announced that Puppyland was to pay $3.75 million for not honoring health guarantees, offering predatory pet loans, and doing other practices that hurt customers.
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Also in January, a controversial puppy store called Petopia closed in Raleigh, North Carolina, after local animal lovers protested.
In recent years, eight states and almost 500 localities have passed laws to end the sale of puppies in pet stores. Petland lobbied against Detroit’s humane pet shop ordinance, but it still passed unanimously in January. These latest wins show that there are many ways to stop puppy mills, including legislation, litigation, consumer education and grassroots animal advocacy.
Meanwhile, pet stores that do not sell puppies are flourishing by providing supplies and services such as pet food, toys, training, grooming and more to communities. More than 300 such stores have signed letters supporting humane pet store laws over the past two years.
Together we are moving the needle on the proper treatment of companion animals, and this means not treating them as mere commodities to be churned out at cruel puppy mills and put behind glass for purchase.
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