The Puppy Store Henderson
1000 W Sunset Rd
Henderson, NV 89014
702) 344-0844
Date and time of CAPS investigation: 6/26/25; 2:13 pm PST
Approximate number of puppies observed at time of investigation: 7 (one had already been purchased)
Upon walking into the store, I was greeted by an employee helping a customer look at a puppy. The store floor itself was a small rectangle. All along the left side of the store were three rows of six enclosures each, with a glass front and closed back on each enclosure. On the far of the end of the store floor was a door into the back of the store next to two rows of five enclosures each with each enclosure having a glass front and closed back. Each enclosure had a hard floor with paper shred and a small bed as well. Despite having 28 individual enclosures, the store only had seven puppies, one of which was noted as sold. Pasted to each enclosure housing a puppy was breed, price and breeder information: breeder name, address and USDA number.
On the right wall of the store (when viewed upon entering the store) was a sign stating that information on the puppies’ date of birth, source, lineage, and medical history was available to any purchaser before the completion of any sale per Nevada law. And along the front wall of the store were three play areas for customers to play with puppies.
Once the customers left, an employee approached me. She informed me that they had just been stocked, but the store had just sold three puppies. She told me that they get new puppies every Tuesday and asked what kind of dog I was looking for. I then spent some time looking at puppies while the employees were speaking with each other.
I asked to play with a Dachshund puppy which the employee brought into a play pen. I played with this puppy for several minutes. After the employee took the puppy away, I began to ask her questions about the puppy. The employee then proceeded to tell me the price again and that they offer financing with “lots of vendors.” I asked about the health guarantees. The employee pointed me to a sheet on a table in the middle of the store floor. She said they’re all up-to-date on their vaccines based on their age and are “ready to go.” After she then put the puppy away and came back, I asked a few more questions, including the difference between the two-year and twelve-year health guarantees. The two-year, she said, was “100%” while the 12-year covered anything genetic or hereditary up to 50% of cost received in store credit.
She then went to help other customers purchasing a puppy and came back to answer more questions. I asked for clarification of the health guarantees, and she noted she had given incorrect information and one of them was if the dogs pass away due to anything genetic or hereditary. I then asked about financing, and the employee told me they work with “up to seven lenders,” and “whatever your history is, whatever your credit, we work with everyone.”
After talking a bit more about financing, I asked whether the puppies mostly come from out of state, given the information on the enclosures. She said they are from Utah, Missouri, and Iowa, and that most of them are from reputable breeders that the store has been working with for years. She then said that the majority of them come with their paperwork and proceeded to get the paperwork for the Dachshund without me asking. The first piece of paperwork she showed me was the puppy’s lineage, showing him as a purebred and registered with the American Canine Association. She showed me his vaccine history and said they go over that with customers on purchase.
I asked if they know the breeders or visit them, and the employee said that while she has not, her bosses have. I said I had seen things in the news and wanted to make sure their breeders were not puppy mills. She said that “no, they are actual reputable registered breeders with the association.” She said I would get that information and could “even double check with the breeder.” I noted the names of breeders posted on the enclosures, and she said I could even “call and contact” the breeders and “it’s all visible information online anyway if I want to check the breeders [and] registration information.” She mentioned again they are “registered, reputable breeders.”
I asked what the USDA number means. She said the store lists the numbers “so you can look them up, the breeder or their profile information to see where they’re at.” I asked if the USDA regulates them, and she said “yes, and they’re the ones who reach out, give us that information.” She said I can research the breeders on my own, and there are “a lot of times some people will even drive to Utah to pick them up directly.”
I asked if they have indoor-outdoor access, and the associate said they “don’t get outdoor right now because they’re not fully vaccinated.” I clarified that I meant whether they get outdoor access at the breeders’ homes, and she said “yea they’re with their own litter and they’re outside with their parents.”
I added that I had concerns about socialization,. She stated, “We don’t have access to that” information … that’s a little bit deeper than we’re allowed to see,” [but] “for the first couple of weeks they’re pretty much with their moms.” Then, she noted, “we get them, and we send them out.” “Technically you’re not supposed to wean them off their mom” for a certain time, so “you won’t see anything younger than nine weeks.”
I think inquired if she knew how many times the moms are bred. She stated that store does not have this information because the breeders only provide so much. She added that information about breeding dogs or any other information I needed could be found by using USDA number and reaching out directly to the breeder. I could “look them or get that information online, do a little digging, because we have just enough, we don’t have everything.” She noted again that they use “reputable breeders.”
I asked one more time if I could see the paperwork. She noted that what I see depends on the documents the breeder provides. She showed me the vaccine information and “what we got from the breeder, his pedigree, then his registration information.” “They all get a vet check when they come in and once a week.” They don’t go on the floor until they get vet checked.”
After I asked a few more questions about purchasing the puppy, I left.
Breeder and broker names obtained during investigation
The following was posted on enclosures that housed puppies:
Angie McDuffie, AJ’s Angels, 24302 US Highway 10, Cushing, MN, 41A-0484, 556 adults and 247 puppies at 2/12/25 USDA inspection; 549 adults and 336 puppies at 12/7/2022 inspection; 786 adults and 386 puppies at 10/20/21 inspection; 758 adults and 579 puppies at 8/15/19 inspection; 774 adults and 594 puppies at 6/13/18 inspection. Despite a history of having more than 1,000 animals and having 885 animals at her 2022 inspection, USDA did not inspect McDuffee again for more than two years.
McDuffee took over the facility, then called Coldwater Kennel, from her mother-in-law, Wanda Kretzman, on March 9/2016, the very day that Kretzman relinquished her USDA broker’s license. Coldwater Kennel, which had as many as 1200 dogs, had a long history of serious violations. It is unbelievable that USDA would allow McDuffee to run the facility from Kretzman’s property, and it is most likely that Kretzman is still helping to run the giant puppy mill.
Angie McDufee (AJ’s Angels) investigation report and video
CAPS Investigator’s Journal: The Truth Behind Puppy Mill Brokers
Elaine Wilson, 554 Route FF, Everton, MO, 43-A-4205. 238 dogs and 140 puppies at 3/8/25 USDA inspection
Tabetha Cannon, 23030 Victoria Lane, Richland, MO. 43-A-4566, 63 dogs and 37 puppies at 7/2/25 USDA inspection
Gaylon Taylor, PO Box 248, Lone Grove, OK, 73-B-1886, 67 adults, 25 puppies at 5/3/24 USDA inspection (breeder of the Dachshund)
Brenda Rauber, 4271 NE Dogs Road, Hamilton, MO, 43-A-5504, 55 adults, 35 puppies at 3/28/25 USDA inspection
Brenda Rauber investigation report and video
Travis (and Fanny) Fanning (B&T Kennels),1276 Mountain Road, Washburn, MO, 43-A-3472, 23 adults and 6 puppies at 8/19/25 USDA inspection
Melvin Shirk, 38824 Martensen Road, Latham, MO, 43-A-6288, 36 adults, 16 puppies at 7/25/24 USDA inspection
Broker names obtained from 2025 Certificates of Veterinary Inspection
Select Puppies, West Point, IA, 42-B-0314, 156 puppies at 12/18/24 USDA inspection. 195 puppies at 7/20/23 USDA inspection; 2.125(b) violation at 6/27/23 USDA inspection: A responsible adult was not available to accompany APHIS Officials during the inspection process at 11:05am on 27-June-2023. Employees at the facility stated the licensee was currently out-of-town and no one else at the facility was available to conduct an inspection. A facility of this size should have manager who is able to accompany an inspector. 265 puppies at 3/31/22 USDA inspection; 237 puppies at 3/15/ USDA inspection; 441 puppies at 1/6/21 USDA inspection
A CAPS Investigation of Select Puppies
CAPS Investigator’s Journal: The Truth Behind Select Puppies and Pet Connect Rescue
First Class Puppies. Bluejacket, OK, 73-B-1866, 5 adults, and 45 puppies at 7/23/25 USDA inspection. Violations included not providing adequate space and exercise and not having an exercise plan
QD Kennels, Frankfort, MO, 43-B-3773, 38 puppies at 6/28/24 USDA inspection
Tiffanies, LLC, Frankford, MO, 43-B-3731, no puppies at 10/30/23 USDA inspection. This broker has not had a USDA inspection in more than two years. Tiffanies was listed on deposition documents as supplying puppies to Pet Connect Rescue, the fraudulent rescue created to circumvent laws banning the retail sale of puppies and kittens.
Evidence contradicting statements made by the employee
Bosses visit the breeders
The employees claim that her bosses, which would also mean the owner, visit breeders is false. The Puppy Store and Cedar Pet Supply pet shops, which are owned and operated by David Salinas in Nevada and Utah (and formerly California, where a CAPS lawsuit stopped the sale of fraudulent rescue puppies in violation of the state’s retail ban law) buy most of their dogs through licensed brokers such as Select Puppies. Salinas-owned stores – he owned 10 pet shops in California, Nevada and Utah in 2019-2020 – have also obtained puppies through large broker J.A.K.’s Puppies in Britt, Iowa.
Undercover with CAPS: An Investigation of J..A.K.’s Puppies
CAPS Investigator’s Journal: The Truth Behind J.A.K.’s Puppies
The store uses reputable breeders The employees claim that the store purchases puppies from reputable breeders is also untrue. Angie McDufee in Minnesota, who has had as many as 1368 dogs and puppies, is a puppy mill, as evidenced by the CAPS investigation and the sheer number of animals. McDuffee was selling puppies to J.A.K.’s Puppies and is currently going through Select Puppies. Elaine Wilson, who had a total of 478 dogs and puppies at her 3/8/25 USDA inspection, is also a puppy mill. Brenda Rauber’s facility, which CAPS investigated, is clearly a puppy mill. Breeders are in Utah and customer can contact the breeders The employees claim that breeders are in Utah is incorrect. USDA-licensed breeders (puppy mills) and brokers are located primarily in the Midwest. David Salinas owns three pet shops in Utah. Her statements about a customer being able to contact the breeders is misleading. While a customer may be able to find the phone number of a puppy mill breeder, it is unlikely these breeders would be able to provide much information about their dogs, especially if they have hundreds or even more than 1,000 dogs and puppies. For the most part, though, Salinas-owned stores do not buy directly from breeders but instead sources puppies through USDA licensed brokers. Customers can pick up puppies from the breeders in Utah
The employees statement that “a lot of times some people will even drive to Utah to pick them up directly” is misleading. First of all, as stated above, Utah is not a puppy mill state. While some of the breeders who sell to pet shops also sell online, they rarely let you pick up your puppy from their facility because they don’t want you to see that they run a puppy mill. Online puppies are usually transported by plane or a transport vehicle to purchasers.
