Happy Wednesday and thank you for joining us for another week of "Truth, Lies, and Puppy Mills!" Tune in to this very short episode to hear why we are taking a little break from recording and when to expect us back! 

If you have ever learned from us or from this show, please consider sending a year-end donation over to help us continue our work! 

https://bailingoutbenji.com/donate/

In this lighthearted episode full of laughter and smiles, we sit down with two members of Bailing Out Benji’s admin who help drive our mission every day: Alexis, our research analyst, and Jalaine, our volunteer coordinator. They share how their roles intersect through the incredible work of our volunteers, what collaboration looks like behind the scenes, and how partnering on presentations has strengthened both their work and their friendship. It's an uplifting peek into the people-powered engine that keeps Bailing Out Benji moving forward, grounded in transparency, teamwork, and a whole lot of love.

(No, but seriously, try to keep track of how many times they say they word 'love') 

Last week you heard us talk about the online world of puppy sales and what our team is doing to try and get a handle on it! This week Alexis and Kristen sit down with Ally and Sarah , two of our volunteers who helped jumpstart our online research. Join us as we chat with them about what it takes to find unlicensed breeders online, and what it takes to create a profile to sell online! 

Thank you for sitting with us this week and please don't forget to send a donation our way: https://bailingoutbenji.com/donate/

On this week's episode, Alexis, Kristen, and Mindi dig deep into the world of online puppy mills. We talk about the history of regulation and go into the work we are doing to try and wrangle the wild-wild-west of puppy sales. 

Love this topic? Next week we sit down with a few of our volunteers to talk about what doing this work looks like! 

Want a Benji shirt? Check out our pop up store here: https://pmapparel.chipply.com/store.aspx?eid=440338

We didn't know what to expect when we opened ourselves up for questions, but we are here to answer all of them- even the tough ones! 

Join us this week as we wrap up with part two of our Q&A style episode and continue having nuanced conversations about our work and the puppy mill industry. Remember, we aren't here to force you to think like us! We are offering different perspectives and deep conversations about the puppy mill industry, in hopes of continuing to move the needle forward on animal welfare. 

If you haven't seen our recent article, please read our thoughts on how you can still be an effective advocate, without the pitchforks: https://bailingoutbenji.com/advocacy-without-pitchforks/

Do you have questions? Send them to [email protected]! We would love to chat things through. 

Don't forget to support the work that we are doing, by making a donation today: https://bailingoutbenji.com/donate/

Whoop whoop! Our team has released 30 episodes so far!! Thank you for sticking with us as we found our groove. We have had thousands of listeners tuning in on various podcast apps and several dozen watching each week through Youtube! We are hearing from advocates and volunteers who love the content each week, as well as from people in the pet industry that are curious about how they can participate in the animal welfare conversation. 

Today's episode is a fun patchwork episode that Jalaine had a lot of fun editing! Listeners of our show sent in questions that they've had since they began tuning in and we had fun talking things through. The conversation ran so long that we will actually have a part 2 next week! 

If you have questions that you would like to write in or record yourself asking, please reach out to us at [email protected] . We would love to answer them on an upcoming episode! 

We know that this conversation is rarely easy, but thank you for sitting with us in the discomfort as we keep learning to grow and evolve as animal welfare advocates! 

In today's show we reference the following study: 
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23634679/

Don't forget to donate to keep your favorite anti-puppy mill advocates recording and researching! 
https://bailingoutbenji.com/donate/

The Daniel Gingerich puppy mill case was one of the hardest cases we have ever worked on. In 2021 we helped shut down the worst USDA licensed dog breeder in history, but it didn’t come without learning some lessons and hard truths.

As we come upon the 4 year anniversary of the seizure and rescue of all of the dogs on his property, Mindi and Kristen chat about how laws and regulations often enable problematic breeders to stay in business. We also chat about unlikely allies in this case that could have helped save dogs a lot earlier, had we been open enough to reach out. For those who listened to our first podcast and followed this journey, please sit down and revisit the case, as we look back at it with all of the information that was missing the first time.

When we know better, we can do better. but first we have to acknowledge that there is growth to be had!

*Also, we misspoke during this episode. It was a $100,000 grant.

*Please remember that the discussions we have are our opinions from our lens of work. We are not speaking on behalf of anyone else or organization* 

Steve, Steve, Steve... We can't seem to keep his name out of our mouths! As TSwift might say, "it's actually romantic" how often we talk about Steve Kruse, owner of Stonehenge Kennels in Iowa- lol- okay maybe not. But in all reality he is just kind of everywhere and he seemingly evades all consequences! The tentacles that this person has within the puppy mill industry would shock you, but that doesn't stop us from trying to hold him accountable every way that we can. 

In this episode we talk about one of the most glaring examples of what the public thinks when they picture a puppy mill. We talk about a facility that has dozens of violations (including direct and critical) and has had multiple suspensions, yet still somehow sells his puppies to brokers and pet stores across the country! Sit with us this week as we talk through an extremely frustrating part of our work and let us catch you up on some of the tea :) 

Oh- and don't forget to send a little support our way! Our small but mighty nonprofit is putting in the work to put an end to puppy mill cruelty: https://bailingoutbenji.com/donate/

This week, our admin team sits down and talks about the importance of gathering together with our supporters in person to share our work. Community is extremely important and having connections in our home state and across the country are what make Bailing Out Benji so successful in our mission. 

Thank you for tuning in this week! 

Shop for our Paw and Order shirts or other merch here: https://store.bailingoutbenji.com

On this week's episode, Mindi and Kristen discuss our investigation into "California and the Case of the Disappearing Puppies". While this specific research project led to a story with the LA Times and subsequent bills being filed, it also caused some hard discussions with our colleagues about how to best tackle new issues as they come up. Our research found that hundreds of puppies were leaving some of the worst facilities in Iowa only to be delivered to names and addresses that didn't exist! 

As usual-- sit with us to talk about the messy and don't hesitate to get involved in the conversation :) We would love to hear from you! 

To read more about our investigation and the LA times article: https://bailingoutbenji.com/ca-puppies/

To support our work: https://bailingoutbenji.com/donate/