Puppy Town
2800 W Sahara Ave Suite 7B
Las Vegas, NV 89102
(702) 971-6270
Date and time of CAPS investigation: 6/27/25; 11:57 am PST
Approximate number of puppies observed at time of investigation: 1 (three additional puppies were not for sale)
The store floor consisted of a very small area with open-top makeshift playpens, two on the right side and two on the left side. There was only one puppy for sale, a white male Pomeranian less than three months, who was in the back right playpen (when entering the store). One dog was in the front right playpen, and two other dogs were in the front left playpen. The back left playpen was empty. On the floor within each playpen was a thin mat.
I spoke with a Korean man in his 50s or 60s with glasses, who appeared to be the owner. I began to play with the puppy in the empty playpen. When I asked how much the dog cost, the owner said the dog was normally $2,800, but he would sell him to me for $2,500 plus tax. The owner said he “would start to order” the following week and he would “usually have a Shih Tzu, Yorkie female, Maltipoo, mini Golden Doodles, Maltese.” I asked about one of the two dogs in the other playpen, and the owner said he would sell him to me for $800.
I focused my interest on the Pomeranian, asking about vaccinations and guarantees. The owner said there is a one-year health guarantee, and if the puppy dies within the first year, I can get my money back or get another puppy.
He went on to say that there were a lot of online scams, but his puppies were good. Looking and pointing at the Pomeranian, he stated that the puppy has “to be perfectly checked with the USDA and the breeder is inspected. All the doctor check. Without that, he cannot come.”
Rather than continue talking about breeders at this point, I asked about financing, being informed of high interest rates of about 150% after a period of interest-free financing.
I asked if he knows who the breeders are, to which he replied that he did and he had been working with them for eight years. He said the breeders are not from Nevada, as getting a license in Nevada is difficult and the weather is not conducive to breeding. Most breeders, he said, were from “middle” states such as Missouri or Idaho. He said the breeders there were “very professional, even better than California. California not that strict enough.” Breeders in California, he said, were not “as good as to where I get from. They are really strict. It used to be 15, 20 years ago, people called [them] puppy mills, the factory thing. They’re all gone.”
He said that the Pomeranian was from private breeder. I asked about living conditions, such as whether they are kept in cages or get indoor/outdoor access. The store owner replied that “most of them are house, but they have a professional, the system, the facility. If they keep in the cage, they’re not going to get permission to breed because illegal. It’s better than 15 years ago.”
I continued to explain why I was expressing such concerns, and the owner replied understandingly, saying that “that’s why they give the dealer’s name and address, phone number….. Before, 15 years ago, nobody cares. And now, government, it’s really a good system.”
He continued by mentioning animal activists specifically, saying they are “overreactive, and they bring all the old stories, 10, 20 years old stories.” But puppy mills, he said did “not happen anymore.”
I asked if the dogs are flows or driven in, and the owner said, they’re come in “mostly car, like Mercedes nice truck. They’re very professional.”
Next, I requested to see the dog’s paperwork, such as vaccine records and breeder information. The owner showed me the pedigree registration papers, a health record with vaccines and shots received, state certificate of veterinary inspection (which had breeder and carrier information), and federal inspection papers. I asked if I could take a photo of the papers, but the owner said that I had to purchase the puppy to take a photo of the paperwork. The breeder was Paul P. Knepp and the carrier was listed as Puppy Travelers.
The owner said the extensive paperwork such as he showed me was why it was better to purchase puppies from a store. I said my concerns were because I had heard about backyard breeders. With backyard breeders, the owner explained, you need to get lucky because some were good and some were bad and “most of the time, they don’t complete the vaccines.” Breeders like the one the Pomeranian came from, he said, pointing to the Pomeranian’s paperwork, “do very well because they’re professional.” I asked whether all this vaccine rules were regulated by the government, to which he replied yes.
I then continued asking about the USDA. The owner said the USDA comes to inspect breeders “unannounced,” so breeders “have to prepare every day. No sick puppies.” I asked how the parents’ health is, and he said, “if the parents have a problem, I don’t think [the puppy] is supposed to be here.”
I probed further, asking how many times the mother is used, to which he replied, “Legally, these days … as far as I’m concerned, maybe only once a year, [and] maybe two, three times lifetime; they breed. 20 years ago, every six months. Not all of them, but a lot of them. That’s why it was cheap, dog was cheap.” When I said the Pomeranian was not cheap, the owner corrected me saying $2,500 was actually cheap and a dog like the Pomeranian would go for $3,400.
We talked more about financing, inspections, and health. I asked what happens after the dogs are done being bred because I had heard they put down dogs after they are retired. The owner said, “You cannot do that anymore. That’s why all the inspections. It’s getting much better.” Europe is better than the US, he noted, but in Korea and Japan were not as good as the US in managing breeders. After talking with the owner a little more, I left.
Breeder names obtained during investigation
Paul and Clara Knepp, 3224 E 450 N, Washington, IN 47501, 32-A-0501, 22 adults and 11 puppies at 6/1/25 USDA inspection
Broker and breeder names obtained from 2025 Certificates of Veterinary Inspection
CAPS requested three months of CVIs from the Nevada Department of Agriculture. There were no CVIs for puppies being sold to Puppy Town. We don’t know if the store is using a large broker like Select Puppies or Pinnacle Pet or using online broker PBT Marketplace. Blue Ribbon Puppies in Odon, IN, obtains most of its puppies from Amish-owned puppy mills. It is possible the State of Nevada didn’t find the CVIs because the store was located in Clark County until June 2025 (see below), although they should have been able to find the CVIs by the pet shop name alone.
Evidence contradicting statements made by the employee
Professional breeders who do not operate puppy mills
The owner claimed that breeders like the one the Pomeranian came from, do very well because they’re professional It used to be 15, 20 years ago, people called these facilities puppy mills but the mills were gone. While we don’t know the broker the store uses, this puppy clearly came from a puppy mill. Paul Knepp had 33 dogs and puppies at his 2025 USDA inspection. While this is a smaller facility, it is still not a small operation where puppies are being raised in the home. The USDA had a five-year plan that included the goal of licensing more Amish and Mennonite dog breeding facilities. As result, the states with the second and third largest number of USDA-license dog breeder and brokers, after Missouri, are Ohio and Indiana. Most of the breeders and brokers in these states are Amish and Mennonite.
Female dogs aren’t bred many times
He also alleged that female breeding dogs are only bred maybe only once a year and maybe two, three times in their lifetime. Female mill dogs are typically bred at every heat, which is usually twice a year. When they can no longer produce large enough litters, they are euthanized (sometimes by a shot to the head) or sold at auction. Some breeders work with rescues. Pinnacle Pet is now running a rescue in Neosho, MO (near the brokering facility) for retired adult breeding dogs called A Dog’s Dream. They don’t say that the rescue is affiliated with Pinnacle Pet and the adoption fees are as much as $800 to $1,000, which is very high for any rescue, especially for breeding dogs who have not been family pets and require socialization. The website does not list the age of the dogs, which also not information omitted by legitimate rescues.
CAPS Investigator’s Journal: The Truth Behind Amish Puppy Mills
Former Clark County location appeared to be still selling puppies despite the county’s retail ban ordinance
This store moved from Clark County to the City of Las Vegas in June 2025. Per a phone conversation with the owner of the store shortly before they relocated, it sounded like Puppy Town continued to sell puppies at the Clark County location from December 2023, when the county’s retail ban went into effect, until June of 2025.
