Tatjana Geßler, a German reporter for the SWR Aktuell news report spend her days trying to figure out the makings of the puppy mill mafia that is operating here in Germany. She met with a puppy owner that had just learned the hard way, that not every cute bargain puppy is a good deal.

Tatjana and the puppy mom (that is what we will call her in this article since she wants to remain anonymous) spend hours looking though darling puppy pictures on Ebay Kleinanzeigen. The Ebay classifides have turned into a portal for eastern European gangs that hawk off their mill puppies for bargain prices here in Germany. The puppy mom found a Chihuahua puppy on the Ebay adds, her little guy has been sick since she picked him up, diarrhea, bloody stool and more health issues.

Tatjana posed as a potential customer and contacted Chihuahua “breeders” that offered their puppies for sale prices. After some random texts, pictures and many delays Tatjana and a veterinarian got to meet with the sellers and puppies. When asked to see the mother dog, the sellers brought in some dog that could not be the mother animal, since it was not a nursing dog. After Tatjana and the vet left the apartment they informed the Police and the local state vet. The police came in and confiscated the animals, fined the sellers and forbade them from ever owning pets again.

The puppies all came from so called puppy mills, usually a dark smelly basement, shed or stable where the dogs are tied up and deliver puppies, litter after littler. Once the puppies are 4 weeks old they are separated from their moms, shot up with antibiotics so they survive the transport and shipped off to potential dog parents that pay good money for a purebred pup. Once the mother dogs are no longer able to perform their puppy “duty” they are usually beat to death, since euthanasian cuts into the profits.

Tatjana is trying to get Ebay Kleinanzeigen to verify the sellers, to ensure they pets are kept save and good conditions.