In the ongoing fight against pet shops and puppy mills, and on behalf of shelter animals, 2025 brought many new challenges—local, state, and national. But thanks to the generous support of our donors, CAPS scored major victories at every level.
Our undercover investigators went to 39 pet shops, 35 animal shelters, and 22 hard-to-infiltrate puppy mills across the country. CAPS used evidence from these investigations to advance and reinforce legislation in multiple states, including Texas, Nevada, Florida, New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts. We released nine video exposés about pet shops, breeders, and brokers. And we premiered a shocking new documentary about animal abuse in Kern County, CA.
In California, CAPS’ efforts have now saved 400 dogs and cats from a high-kill shelter in Bakersfield, and we are deep into producing a documentary and a series of video exposés about the crisis at the state’s municipal shelters. Nationwide, our PSA on spaying and neutering—produced in both Spanish and English—has been airing on even more TV and radio stations this year.
These efforts and victories, made possible by your support, are just a few of our accomplishments in 2025. Please keep reading to learn more about the powerful achievements your donations have been generating.
Texas
CAPS has been investigating Texas pet shops and the mills supplying them to provide evidence for retail ban legislation. So far, we have investigated 21 of the state’s 38 pet shops. A CAPS investigator also went to some of the Midwest puppy mills that supply Texas pet shops.
Unfortunately, Texas passed a preemption bill, which prevents municipalities from passing retail ban ordinances unless the ordinances are already in place. That is why a state law is more critical than ever.
Using our pet shop and puppy mill evidence, CAPS produced video exposés about the state’s Petland franchises, Puppy Dreams stores, and other Texas pet shops. CAPS will also be encouraging the Texas Attorney General to start investigations of Petland and Puppy Dreams. Watch the Texas Petlands and Puppy Dreams exposés.
Nevada
Since 2017, when the Las Vegas City Council repealed an ordinance before it took effect, pet shops have proliferated in the city. Las Vegas currently has 13 pet shops; nearby Henderson has three, grandfathered in by an ordinance that passed in 2024.
This summer, CAPS investigated nearly all of the pet shops in Las Vegas and Henderson, exposing the true sources of the puppies sold there and the many lies told by pet shop employees to deceive customers. CAPS submitted investigatory evidence in support of a retail ban ordinance, including video exposés about David Salinas, Puppy Heaven, and Petland Las Vegas. The ordinance passed the city council on November 5. But because the ban won’t go into effect for three years—something we strongly opposed—CAPS will continue investigating breeders who sell to Las Vegas pet shops. Watch the David Salinas and Puppy Heaven exposés.
Illinois
CAPS spent 13 years laying the groundwork for a statewide retail ban in Illinois, which went into effect in 2022. Pet shops can no longer sell dogs and cats; they can only offer animals from shelters and rescues. However, some pet shops are taking advantage of a loophole in the law; legislation to amend the statute’s language is stuck in a senate committee. In 2025, CAPS again investigated the five Illinois pet shops that are still selling puppies. Some of these stores are also using finance plans, which state law makes illegal.
CAPS also investigated The Barn on Baseline, a private shelter in Genoa, Illinois, where animals live in substandard conditions—often for years. The shelter makes very little effort to market its animals. We are working to get the Illinois Department of Agriculture to address the problems at the shelter. Watch The Barn on Baseline exposé.
Florida
CAPS has been laying the groundwork for pet shop ordinances in Florida, which currently has more than 75 pet shops, more than any other state. Since 2018, CAPS has gone to at least 60 Florida pet shops; we’ve been investigating breeders who sell to these stores, such as the Campbells, who sell puppies to pet shops around the country, including in Texas.
New York
CAPS began its New York Pet Shop Campaign as a collaboration with the New York Attorney General to expose and crack down on consumer fraud at pet shops. But because of the strength of our evidence, we also worked with New York legislators for several years to pass a state law banning the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits. The legislation finally went into effect on December 15, 2024.
Since then, CAPS has been investigating New York pet shops that are circumventing the law and illegally selling puppies through special orders, appointments, puppies sold only at certain times, sales from a home-based pet shop, and parking lots sales. The New York Attorney General is receiving our evidence.
Massachusetts and Rhode Island
When CAPS proposed a retail ban law in Massachusetts in 2014, the state had more than a dozen pet shops; we investigated the remaining ten in 2018. Yet, the legislation, which Sen. Patrick O’Connor introduces every session, has not yet passed. That is why CAPS has been investigating the five remaining pet shops, two of which also have locations in Rhode Island. In addition, CAPS is hopeful that a Rhode Island legislator will introduce a bill once we have completed our investigation of that state’s four pet shops. We have also been investigating puppy mills that sell to Massachusetts and Rhode Island pet shops. You can see one of those investigations here.
California
Since 2022, CAPS has been helping Kern County Animal Services in Bakersfield, CA, an overcrowded high-kill shelter with more than 300 dogs and puppies. The dogs live in small kennels in metal warehouses with no outdoor runs. So far, our efforts have saved the lives of more than 416 dogs and six cats (cats are not usually at risk for euthanasia).
In April 2025, CAPS released a short documentary about the overwhelming incidents of horrific animal cruelty in Kern County. The cruelty is not just limited to residents; law enforcement and other officials are also responsible. Because of our efforts, 23ABC in Bakersfield aired five stories on the problem. We plan to use our documentary to try to obtain special state funding for a county animal cruelty task force. Warning: the documentary contains graphic content.
CAPS is working on another groundbreaking documentary called The Crisis at California’s Municipal Shelters, which we will distribute to state legislators, the media, and the public. We have been doing interviews and getting footage at shelters around the state. So far, we have been to 34 shelters.
As part of this project, we will also be releasing a series of video exposés about some of California’s largest municipal shelters, going into more depth about those shelters’ specific issues. These exposés will include OC Animal Care, Riverside County Department of Animal Services, LA Animal Services, Kern County Animal Services, and San Jose Animal Care & Services. The OC Animal Care exposé trailer is on our website.
Dog Brokers
CAPS has been producing video exposés about some of the largest puppy brokerage facilities in the country, such as J.A.K.’s Puppies, Select Puppies, Pinnacle Pet, and Blue Ribbon Puppies. Our latest exposé is about SouthPaw Pets in Neosho, Missouri.
Spay and Neuter PSA and National Latino Outreach
CAPS’ PSA about spaying and neutering is still airing on hundreds of local television and radio stations nationwide. This includes 23 national cable stations, such as CNN, Lifetime, A & E, Food, Travel, HGTV, and Vme (Spanish). As part of our National Latino Outreach Campaign, our primary focus is on obtaining wide distribution for the Spanish version. The PSA generates daily inquiries from people across the United States and Canada seeking low cost and free spay/neuter services in their communities.
CAPS, as the nonprofit that pioneered the ordinance movement, is pouring its expertise and resources into banning the retail sale of animals across the United States through local ordinances and statewide laws. And we are now using our investigative, legislative, and videomaking expertise to address animal overpopulation and shelter overcrowding through our spay and neuter, shelter reform, and animal cruelty initiatives. But the key to success in all of these arenas is evidence.
None of our nationwide efforts would succeed without your committed support. Please donate today. Millions of companion animals are currently suffering as a result of mills, shelters, and abandonment.
