Truth, Lies, and Puppy Mills

On this extremely special episode, Jalaine and Kristen sit down with two of our Wisconsin volunteers who are also published authors! Both Peggy Race ("Deputy Paws and the Puppy Mill Cause", "Desiree, The Music of My Soul") and Molly Weinfurter  ("Save Our Dogs") share with us what lead them to write their books and how they used their personal experiences to inspire t...

On this week's episode, we talk about a world where a magic website exists for the public to use in order to avoid puppy mills. Advocates and consumers can type in a name or license number and learn about a breeder's inspection history in order to make informed decisions. According to one TikTok user, magic is the only way something like that could exist.  *If only* we had magic. Instead...

On this week's episode, our team sits down to discuss the interview with Devon and highlight some of the ways we have seen progress within the Amish community.  Unfortunately, Amish dog breeders are one of the most vilified groups in the country. Often labeled as cruel and inhumane, breeders from the Plain Community have to work twice as hard to prove that their operations are reputable. The...

In our latest episode, Mindi has a candid phone conversation with an unlikely ally, Devon- an Amish dog breeder who sells puppies to pet stores. Their friendship defies expectations, but is rooted in mutual respect and a shared desire to see the dog breeding industry improve.  For the first time publicly, an Amish breeder shares his story, his breeding program, and why he believes change is necess...

This week, Alexis joins Mindi and Kristen as we continue our conversations about our trips to visit USDA dog breeders and brokers. We share stories about what we've seen and discuss the surprising transparency that we've been given by some of the most notorious names in the business.  To view our interactive search engine: https://bailingoutbenji.com/search-engine/ To support our work: h...

This week we are taking a break from our field research series to discuss a really important and heavy topic after the animal welfare world experienced an incredible loss last week. A fellow rescuer died by self harm due to the cyberbullying that she experienced from her colleagues. Unfortunately, bullying and harassment occurs very frequently in the animal welfare space and it has got to stop.  J...

On this week’s episode Mindi and Kristen take a look back at the webinar our team gave last Fall regarding their first trip to visit USDA kennels. The original webinar hosted an audience of inspectors, state officials, animal advocates, dog breeders, dog brokers, pet stores, and more.  If you are watching on Youtube, you will see the slideshow with photos. If you are listening via audio, then you...

This week Mindi and Kristen dive into a topic that we know many people have been anxious to hear about- our USDA kennel visits. This episode serves as a jumping off point for our team as they intend to spend the next several episodes sharing our experience visiting USDA dog breeders and brokers as a part of our Field Research. We ask you to listen to this series with an open mind, an open heart, a...

This week Mindi and Kristen continue their conversation about the lessons they learned at their recent conference. In this episode, they reflect on meeting two different Stephanies who served as important reminders that we must keep reaching the puppy-buying public with our message.  They also discuss the importance of treating everyone with kindness and grace- especially those who make choices th...

This week, Mindi and Kristen reflect on the conversations they had at a recent conference in Philadelphia. Nonprofit leaders across various fields came together to share their struggles and inspire hope for what the future holds. They also discuss how important it is for organizations to make space for new ideas and opinions if we want to see meaningful change happen.  To support our work:  https:...

It's a full house today! Mindi and Kristen are joined this week by Jalaine and Alexis as we all discuss and reflect on why our volunteers are so amazing and how our grassroots advocacy efforts are very effective on the local level. This fun, 'patchwork' episode was made complete with two zoom interviews with three of our amazing team members!  In order to share a glimpse of our volu...

In this week’s episode, we dive into the powerful role that data plays in exposing the truth about the puppy mill industry. Mindi and Kristen speak with Alexis about our quarterly USDA inspection audit and how those reports have evolved since we began them in 2022. We also discuss the due process of it all and what it takes to actually get a license revoked. Sit down with us as we unpack how Baili...

How many puppy mills are in operation in the United States?  Did you say 10,000? We bet you said that there were 10,000. That number has been floating around the internet since around 2015 (as far as we can tell) and it is used everywhere! Would you be surprised to hear that this approximation is more of a ballpark guess and isn't rooted in fact or projections based on data?  On this week&apo...

The murky world of companion animal regulation:  This week Mindi and Kristen break down the complicated, and often misunderstood, world of licensing in the animal industry. Do rescues and shelters need to be inspected? Are puppy mills licensed? Why is the state and federal government involved? These two explore how different standards (or lack thereof) create a gray area that the public rarely see...

In this week's episode, Kristen sits down with Alexis to discuss her recent trip to Missouri to volunteer at Humane Lobby Day with our volunteers. Alexis talks about the type of research prep she does ahead of these events and what type of information our teams need to be successful when they have conversations in their communities. Jalaine later joins the podcast to discuss how important our...

This week Mindi and Kristen discuss the nuances of working upstream and discuss the various types of organizations that work in the animal welfare space. We talk about our role in educating the puppy-buying public and the importance of investing in prevention before the chaos lands at our feet.  Thank you for sitting with us and joining in on the conversation!  Links we discussed in this episode i...

This week Mindi and Kristen sit down to chat about bringing the podcast back and go over some of the conversations we are excited to have in future episodes. Bailing Out Benji is a few years older since our last podcast and we've learned SO much about the puppy mill industry during the hiatus. We are excited to talk and learn alongside all of you as we set our sights on the future and we focu...

Last week you heard about how Bailing Out Benji was founded and some of the amazing work that we have done. This week, tune in as we introduce you to the people behind the scenes who keep this nonprofit running! Alexis, Jalaine, and Kristen are integral to who we are at Bailing Out Benji and each play a unique role in what we do. We are excited to give you a small glimpse into different parts of o...

Hello, new friends and longtime friends :) Thank you for joining us for our first episode back in the podcast space! Today you will hear about Bailing Out Benji's origin story,  how our first protests began, and about how a little documentary changed our world! We might be a small team, but the impact we are having on the commercial dog breeding industry is massive.  Thank you for sitting in...

So much has happened since we released our last episode nearly three years ago! With the addition of new staff, more volunteers, and lots and lots of hours of new research and networking and important conversations, it feels like the perfect time to reconnect with you all. So we're bringing the show back! In this brief check-in episode, Mindi is here to chat about what to expect as the podcas...