Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin

Pet store owners tell buyers their puppies come from reputable breeders and humane kennels. But verifying that is challenging, because the dogs are often supplied by brokers who act as middlemen between the shops and shady puppy mills. Jolyn Noethe is a broker who allegedly engineered a multi-million dollar scheme to launder puppies and deceive buyers throughout the country about where their new pets actually came from.

In the new season of “Smoke Screen” from Neon Hum, “Puppy Kingpin” pulls apart the scheme to circumvent laws against trafficking animals from puppy mills to unsuspecting consumers. Host Alex Schuman introduces us to the advocates, pet owners and prosecutors trying to shut down a racket that rewards cruelty and deception.