OHIO — Ohio once again ranked high in terms of having the most “problem puppy mills” and “puppy sellers” in the U.S., according to a new report.

What You Need To Know

  • The "Horrible Hundred" report lists states with the most problem puppy mills to bring awareness

  • Ohio came in at second place for the second year in a row

  • Violations included improper housing, incomplete health records, as well as reports of injuries and abuse

The report dubbed the “Horrible Hundred” by the Humane World of Animals is published annually to help warn consumes about common problems at puppy mills, as well as stronger humane law enforcement. The report lists 100 problem puppy mill breeders and dealers throughout the U.S.

Puppy mills are breeding facilities that put out puppies for trade, and they often live in horrible conditions.

Ohio came in at No. 2 for having 16 dealers. According to the report, the breeders were from Coshocton, Holmes, Muskingum, Richland, Tuscarawas and Wayne counties.

Some of them are repeat offenders and have been listed on the “Horrible Hundred” list before, including a breeder in Dundee, Ohio (2024), one in Sugarcreek (2024), one in Millersburg (2016, 2017 and 2023) and more.

Also, some of the breeders are on the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s searchable list for High Volume Dog Breeders.

The full list of the 16 dealers can be found here.

Violations included improper housing, incomplete health records, as well as reports of injuries and abuse.

Ohio came in second place on last year’s “Horrible Hundred” list as well, with 20 dealers.

According to Ohio law, effective in 2019, it is illegal for owners, managers or employees of a pet store to negligently display, offer for sale, deliver, barter, auction, broker, give away, transfer or sell any live dog from a pet store to a person, unless the dog was obtained from these sources:

  • An animal rescue for dogs
  • An animal shelter for dogs
  • A humane society
  • A dog broker, provided that, if the dog broker originally obtained the dog from a breeder, the breeder is a qualified breeder
  • A qualified breeder.

Additionally, they cannot give away a dog that is:

  • A dog that is less than eight weeks old
  • A dog without a health certificate signed by an accredited veterinarian
  • A dog that does not have a permanent implanted identification microchip that is approved for use by the director of agriculture under rules adopted under section 956.03 of the Revised Code
  • A dog to a person who is younger than eighteen years of age as verified by valid photo identification

More information about the Ohio law can be found here.

The full report can be found here.