The Tennessean reports [1] that local authorities working with the Humane Society of the U.S. have rescued more than 700 animals from a puppy mill in Hickman Co. just west of Nashville. They say it is the largest known puppy mill rescue ever conducted in Tennessee. A criminal investigation will follow.

Here's the Humane Society's press release [2].

Here's disturbing video [3] from the scene for anyone who ever wondered what it looks like in a puppy mill.

Unfortunately, many of the pets you see in newspaper and internet ads, and in pet stores, come from puppy mills and their brokers. They are usually AKC "registered," and wholesale puppy mills are "licensed" and "regulated" by the USDA. Puppy mills that sell direct are generally not regulated.

The Humane Society of the U.S. has lots of information about puppy mills [4]. Learn how you can avoid [5] buying a puppy mill pet. The best way is to find a responsible breeder (they generally don't advertise and they definitely don't sell in pet stores), or better yet adopt through a pet rescue organization or your local shelter.