Complaint Urges Iowa Attorney General to Investigate Midwest Puppy Mill Broker for Violating Court Agreement

Contact: media@aldf.org

DES MOINES, Iowa — Today, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) submitted a complaint letter urging Iowa’s attorney general to investigate violations of a settlement agreement between the state of Iowa and JAKS Puppies, a notorious Iowa puppy mill broker owned by Jolyn Noethe and Kimberly Dolphin. Puppy mills are large commercial breeding facilities that mass-produce dogs for sale. Mills keep animals in abhorrent living conditions, treat dogs inhumanely, and tend to produce sick dogs. 

Filed Complaint to the Office of the Attorney General of Iowa

Re: J.A.K.’s Puppies, Inc. Violations of Consent Judgment with the State of Iowa

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The settlement agreement stems from a 2019 lawsuit filed by the Iowa Attorney General alleging JAKS and other defendants used shell companies masquerading as not-for-profit rescue organizations to mislabel commercially bred dogs as “rescues” so that they can circumvent laws restricting the sale of such dogs. The parties struck an agreement that prohibits JAKS Puppies from transferring dogs to another entity in order to evade state or local restrictions on the sale of commercially bred dogs. Despite this agreement, ALDF obtained evidence that the company is continuing to circumvent local and state restrictions to sell dogs from puppy mills.  

“Despite agreeing to stop its puppy laundering activities, JAKS Puppies has continued its illegal endeavor to bypass local and state regulations that were put in place to protect consumers and animals from the puppy mill industry,” says ALDF Senior Staff Attorney Ariel Flint. “Given the Iowa Attorney General’s leadership in holding JAKS Puppies accountable, we are hopeful that they will enforce the terms of the settlement agreement in order to guard against future unlawful behavior.”

The evidence that ALDF obtained through public-records requests reveal JAKS Puppies has continued to sell dogs from puppy mills — despite local and state restrictions — to many stores, including Critters Exotic Pets in Waco, Texas; King Neptune’s Pet World in Morris and Shorewood, Illinois; Miramar Pets of Miramar, Florida; Puppy World in Olympia, Washington; Puppy Dreams of Sherman, Texas; and Wet Kisses Pet Company of Lake Worth Beach, Florida. These actions outline a clear breach of the judgment that JAKS Puppies agreed to in court.  

In December 2021, ALDF filed a class-action lawsuit against JAKS Puppies for conspiring with California pet stores to sell mill-bred puppies mislabeled as “rescues.” The lawsuit alleges that JAKS and its owners funneled dogs through fake animal rescue organizations Rescue Pets Iowa, Bark Adoptions, and Pet Connect Rescue, and worked with other associates to profit from puppy mill dogs despite California’s ban on such sales. The practice is known as “puppy laundering,” a term coined by the Iowa Attorney General’s Office in the 2019 lawsuit against some of the same defendants. The California plaintiffs are consumers who bought puppies under the mistaken belief that they were rescues. They brought claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the federal anti-racketeering statute, as well as California consumer protection laws. 

For more information, visit aldf.org/puppymills.