Puppies for Less
9110 W. Sahara Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89117
(702) 476-6554
Date and time of CAPS investigation: 6/24/25; 1:18 pm PST
Approximate number of puppies observed at time of investigation: 21
As soon as I entered the store, a female employee sitting at a desk to the right of entrance greeted me, while a male employee walked towards me asking whether I had been to the store before. When I said I had not, he told me to sign in on a tablet computer by the door, requiring me to enter my name and email address.
Immediately upon entering the store, right in front and taking most of the floor space, were 24 cribs, arranged in four vertical rows of six. Each crib had paper shreds on its bottom, and most cribs housed one puppy, though some housed two. Prices on the dogs ranged from $1,500 (at another Puppies for Less location) to $3,800.
I looked through all the puppies in the store and decided to play with a brown and black male Rottweiler priced at $3,800 who had just arrived that day.
After playing with the puppy, I talked to the male employee about financing, vaccinations, health guarantees, and what paperwork I would get upon purchasing the puppy such as medical history. Eventually, the employee brought the puppy’s paperwork including medical/vaccination history, parent information, pedigree, and registration. The pedigree had the breeder’s name.
I asked whether the puppies come from breeders, and the employee replied in the affirmative, adding that the dog I looked at “comes from one of our better breeders, TD Kennels, out of Oklahoma.” I asked whether they’re puppy mills, and the employee replied that “we don’t work with them,” referring to puppy mills.
The employee then mentioned that if I purchased the puppy, he would have to charge me a $150 spay and neuter fee, mandated by Las Vegas Animal Control. The reasoning behind the fee, he explained, was because “of the whole backyard breeders. They’re trying to limit how many dogs are breeding and how many dogs end up at the shelters.”
I asked whether TD Kennels was a USDA-licensed, and the employee said that every single breeder they work with is “USDA-approved.” He explained that “law enforcement shows up and checks up regularly.” He explained that if breeders don’t provide all that paperwork, pointing to the Rottweiler’s paperwork, they don’t do business with them.
I asked if they visit the breeders; the employee said the owner does. The employee also said that the puppies were driven out to Nevada. I asked how many dogs come together and he said that from TD Kennels, he had “five or six dogs today.”
I then asked how the dogs were housed, to which the employee replied he didn’t know. However, he stated “Because they’re USDA-approved, they would have them in humane conditions.” He explained that the USDA-licensed breeders they use are “professionals” and that they “don’t overbreed.” I also asked how many times they breed females; he replied that he didn’t know but they have a “professional set-up” and they “don’t breed the same dogs every single time.”
When I asked what happens when the dogs are done breeding, the employee said he was not sure, but he believed that the breeders probably let them live out their lives at the facility or the breeders rehome them.
After speaking with the employee a bit more about financing and puppy health, I left.
Breeder names obtained during investigation
TD Kennels, Foss, OK, 73-A-2877, 243 adult dogs and 66 puppies, 74 cats and 5 kittens at 7/29/25 USDA inspection.
Broker names obtained from 2025 Certificates of Veterinary Inspection for all four locations of Puppies for Less
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
Preferred Canine LLC, PO Box 336, Sugarcreek, OH, 31-B-0194; physical address: 29952 CR 10, Fresno, OH (residence of Abe Miller, which is listed as an agricultural property under county tax records), 14 puppies at 12/19/24 USDA inspection
The owner of Preferred Canine is Abe Miller in Fresno, Ohio. Miller has a long history of selling sick puppies, violating the Animal Welfare Act, and being the subject of lawsuits.
Every time, Miller is in trouble, he changes the name of his facility. When Sarasota County held a hearing for the ordinance banning the retail sale of dogs and cats in January 2016, he testified against the ordinance, using the kennel name of Quail Creek. Certificates of Veterinary Inspections over the last few years showed him using the names, Comfort Canines and Holmes for Canines. Miller hired a bus to transport at least 30 of his Amish breeders to testify against the ordinance, which passed in January 2016.
The dogs he brokered included those with the campylobacter virus that made dogs and people ill in the outbreak at numerous Petland stores.
Golden Seal Puppies, LLC, PO Box 467, Sugarcreek, OH, 31-B-0193; physical address: 29939 CR 10, Fresno. OH (listed as a commercial property under county records), 39 puppies at 2/13/25 USDA inspection; this property appears to be next door to Preferred Canine. Amishdogbreeders.com lists a John Yoder as the person associated with this address. We suspect that Yoder is a manager for Abe Miller.
Both businesses had filing dates of 2/4/19 by the same registered agent with the Ohio Secretary of State. Both had a pre-license inspection on 2/12/19 and subsequent inspections on 2/10/19 and 1/8/20. We don’t believe this is a coincidence.
Under USDA regulations, an individual or one business (LLC, corporation, partnership) cannot hold two USDA licenses. However, two different LLCs can hold two licenses, which is a convenient loophole
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.
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.
Puppy Lodge, Millersburg, OH, 31-B-0230, 90 adults and 84 puppies at 1/19/24 USDA inspection; 94 adults and 128 puppies at 4/12/23 pre-license inspection, which means it is possible they were operating without a federal license until that point.
QD Kennels, Frankfort, MO, 43-B-3773, 38 puppies at 6/28/24 USDA inspection
Conrad’s Cuddly Canines (Curt and Lori Conrad), Frankford, MO, 43-B-3659, 20 puppies at 8/23/25 USDA inspection
Malinda Hilty, Fort Wayne, IN, 32-B-0276, 105 puppies at 7/7/25 USDA inspection. Violations for transporting underage puppies to breeders and having puppy enclosures that were too small. She sells puppies online through PupWorld
Breeder names obtained from 2025 Certificates of Veterinary Inspection
TD Kennels, Foss, OK, 73-A-2877, 243 adult dogs and 66 puppies, 74 cats and 5 kittens at 7/29/25 USDA inspection.
Landon Headings, Buffalo, MO, 188 adults and 145 puppies at 12/4/24 USDA inspection
Joseph and Rhonda Graber, Dusty Road Kennel, Odon, IN, 32-A-0540, 89 adults and 121 puppies at 12/11/24 USDA inspection.
Jake Kruse, K & E Kennels, Salem, IA, 42-A-1523, 89 adults and 47 puppies at 2/11/25 USDA inspection; 218 adults and 81 puppies at 1/19/22 USDA inspection. Kruse had multiple violations at his 1/19/22 inspection: worn and frayed carpet in whelping enclosure; exposed trash cans in dog buildings; chewed plastic self-feeders with a build-up of brown debris; caked food inside metal bucket bowls; caked food and wild bird feces inside metal self-feeders.
CAPS investigated this facility in September 2006 when it was licensed under Jordan Kruse, Jake’s brother. We later discovered that Jake had died in April 2006 and that the man to whom the CAPS investigator had to speaking was his father.
Jordan Kruse investigation report and video
The CVIs listed a number of other breeders, many of them Amish breeders in Indiana. It is likely that Puppies for Less is also obtaining puppies through PBT Marketplace, a website in which breeders and pet shops connect. CVIs are issued by the veterinarians for the individual breeders who use PB
Evidence contradicting statements made by the employee
TD Kennels is one of Puppies for Less’ better breeders
The employee assured me that the Rottweiler puppy was from one of their better breeders, TD Kennels in Oklahoma. This facility is clearly a puppy and kitten mill: 243 adult dogs and 66 puppies, 74 cats and 5 kittens at their 7/29/25 USDA inspection. With this many animals, there is no way that this facility is one of Puppies for Less’ better breeders.
The store doesn’t work with puppy mills
The employee denied that the stores obtain puppies from mills. The Puppies for Less stores obtain many of their puppies from large brokers, such as Select Puppies, Preferred Canine, Golden Seal Puppies, Tiffanies, and Malinda Hilty, all of which obtain their puppies from mills. CAPS investigations of breeders selling to Select Puppies, one of the largest dog brokers in the country, clearly show that their breeders run puppy mills. The brokers who also breed and the breeders all operate puppy mills with multiple hundreds of dogs and puppies: TD Kennels 309 dogs/puppies and 79 cats/kittens; Landon Headings 333 dogs/puppies; Dusty Road Kennel, 210 dogs/puppies; Jake Kruse 136 dogs/puppies in 2025 and 299 dogs/puppies in 2022.
The employee alleged every single breeder they work with is “USDA-approved.” He explained that “law enforcement shows up and checks up regularly.” He explained that if breeders don’t provide all that paperwork, pointing to the Rottweiler’s paperwork, they don’t do business with them. There is no such thing as USDA approval. USDA licenses and inspect commercial breeders (those selling to pet shops and over the internet) who have at least five breeding females. USDA is a federal government agency, not law enforcement. In fact, USDA inspectors rarely report animal cruelty at puppy mills to local law enforcement. In addition, it is not likely that every breeder has a USDA license since brokers sometimes buy puppies from exempt facilities (fewer than five breeding females).
The owner visits the breeders
The employee also insisted that the owner visits the breeders. While the owner may visit a few of his breeders or a brokerage facility, it is unlikely he is visiting the many breeders who sell to the large brokers or the large breeding facilities that are selling to the stores. USDA-approved means that the dogs live in humane conditions in facilities run by professional breeders
The employee claimed, “Because they’re USDA-approved, they would have them in humane conditions.” He explained that the USDA-licensed breeders they use are “professionals” and that they “don’t overbreed.” He also alleged that they “don’t breed the same dogs every single time.” USDA does not approve breeding and brokering facilities. It only licenses and inspects them for violations of Animal Welfare Act regulations. These regulations are minimal, and USDA inspectors rarely cite violations. USDA-licensed facilities are puppy mills, not facilities run by professionals who raise a small handful of dogs in humane conditions. Puppy mill dogs are usually bred on every heat, which is twice a year, until they no longer can produce large enough litters.
The breeders probably let the retired breeding dogs live out their lives at the facility or rehome them
The employees statement that he believed that the breeders probably let them live out their lives at the facility or the breeders rehome them is erroneous. Commercial breeders usually sell retired breeding dogs at auctions or have them euthanized (or even shoot them in the head). Some work with rescues.
