Complaint Urges USDA to Investigate Puppy Mill Carrier for Deaths During Transport

Contact: media@aldf.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Animal Legal Defense Fund urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to investigate and revoke Subject Enterprise’s carrier license for mishandling animals, resulting in their injury and death. Subject Enterprise is the exclusive transporter of JAKS Puppies, a notorious Iowa “puppy mill” broker owned by Jolyn Noethe and Kimberly Dolphin. Puppy mills are large commercial dog-breeding facilities that mass-produce animals for sale. They keep animals in abhorrent living conditions, treat dogs inhumanely, and tend to produce sick dogs.

Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Complaint Letter to USDA

Animal Legal Defense Fund urges USDA to investigate puppy mill carrier for deaths during transport.

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Subject Enterprise collects puppies from puppy mills, transports them to JAKS’ Iowa facility, and distributes them to pet stores nationwide. During the long, sometimes multi-day trips, records show that Subject Enterprise mishandles puppies under its care, resulting in their deaths. In just one email, for example, Subject Enterprise recorded the following incidents: “Chihuahua 181615-01 Dropped and Died,” “1 DIED IN TRANSIT,” “ONE PUPPY DIED ON WEST COAST TRUCK!!,” and “2 PUPPIES DIED MORNING AFTER GOT HERE.”

When animals need care during transport, Subject Enterprise appears not to take sick and injured puppies to the veterinarian, as federal law requires. Instead, Subject Enterprise delivers sick and dead dogs to pet stores. One store, for example, rejected an “entire shipment” of puppies due to a “parvo outbreak.” Another pet store rejected a dead puppy. And when a pet store rejected sick puppies, JAKS instructed Subject Enterprise to re-sell the puppies to another pet store. In one document, for example, JAKS instructed Subject Enterprise to “…TRY TO RESELL IF POSSIBLE!!! $825 PLUS ADD-ONS!!!.”

“The deadly journey puppies take with Subject Enterprise follows the already cruel and inhumane conditions these animals are forced to endure at the beginning of their lives after being bred in a puppy mill solely focused on profit,” says Animal Legal Defense Fund Senior Staff Attorney Ariel Flint. “Every stage of their journey, from puppy mill to pet store, inflicts even more suffering on these vulnerable animals.”

According to another document from Subject Enterprise, a pet store rejected a puppy who “had an injury on her left eye.” “This injury looked fresh,” according to the pet store representative, “and must have happen[ed] during transportation from either another dog attacking her face or [is] ‘man-made’ which I don’t want to get more into that last part.”

Congress requires the USDA to ensure the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of animals by “carriers.” Subject Enterprise is a “carrier” under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) because it is “engaged in the business of transporting any animals for hire.” As a carrier, Subject Enterprise is required to register, and has registered, as a Class T transporter with the USDA. As a registrant, Subject Enterprise must “comply with the regulations and standards” of the AWA. However, Subject Enterprise violates AWA regulations and standards: It mishandles puppies it transports across the country, resulting in their injury and death. The company’s neglect violates the AWA’s requirement that dogs not be “dropped,” as well as the AWA’s obligation that carriers “avoid causing physical harm or distress to the dog.” The AWA also explains that if the dogs are ill, injured, or in physical distress, they “must not be transported in commerce, except to receive veterinary care for the condition.”

Subject Enterprise and JAKS are defendants in a December 2021 class-action lawsuit alleging that they conspired with California pet stores to sell mill-bred puppies mislabeled as “rescues.” The suit 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, including Subject Enterprise, 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 a 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 (RICO) Act, the federal anti-racketeering statute, as well as California consumer protection laws.

The plaintiffs are represented by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Cameron Jones LLP, and Smith & Lowney PLLC, a Seattle-based class action firm.