Frequently Asked Questions

Have you ever wondered where the puppies sold in pet stores come from? Well, we can tell you: puppy mills. A puppy mill is a breeder whose sole purpose in breeding dogs is to make money. Often these breeders have 100+ dogs in their facilities. Have you ever noticed you can never see the parent dogs and their living conditions? This is because they are hiding it from the public by using the cute faces of the "puppies in the windows" to distract from the truth... These dogs live in wire cages that are painful to stand, sit, or lay on. They are covered in their own urine and feces, and often the waste of other dogs too due to the close proximity the cages are kept in. They only leave these cages to be forcefully bred and when it's time for the females to give birth. These dogs and puppies do not touch grass, get baths, or receive medical care. They barely receive the minimum amount of food and water needed to keep them alive. Some will resort to eating their own feces because they don't know when they may get their next meal, and/or don't have enough nutrients to sustain themselves. The mother dogs have their babies ripped away as early as 4 weeks old (the earliest they should leave their moms is 8 weeks old) and are then bred immediately afterwards when they go into heat. These dog are completely used and abused. Some breeders in the city will even remove the parent dogs' vocal chords so they make less, if any, noise just so they don't get reported by neighbors. Their silent cries are horrible to see. Even if breeders are reported by neighbors or other sources, the police don't do anything to stop it. There are very few laws in Japan regarding animal welfare, and those that do exist are vague, so there are many loop-holes breeders take to continue their "businesses." Every puppy bought from a pet store in Okinawa directly funds animal abuse, and supports and encourages these "businesses" to continue. There are NO reputable breeders in Okinawa.

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/undefined If you open the photo album section on our Facebook page,(https://www.facebook.com/OkinawaPuppyMillRescue/photos/?ref=page_internal&tab=album) you can see all of our current rescue dogs! • If the text next to their name says "Available for Adoption", we are currently accepting applications for them! • If it says "In Trial" or "Pending Trial", that dog has an approved application and is in the process of being adopted. We are no longer accepting applications for them. • If it says "Medical Hold", that dog is not currently available for adoption, but may be soon. We do not accept applications for dogs until they are "Available for Adoption"!

Our dogs are put onto medical hold as soon as we rescue them. They can stay on medical hold for various reasons such as: illness/ongoing medical treatment, waiting to be spayed/neutered or vaccinated, behavioral issues, currently pregnant or nursing (maternity hold), too young to be adopted yet, or they are currently returning from a failed trial and need time to decompress. If you have a question about why a dog is on medical hold, please contact us and we can let you know! 🐾

Sometimes! Unfortunately we are currently on intake hold due to barely having enough foster families to take in the dogs we get from puppy mills, which is our main mission. We still try our best to help any dogs in need though, so you are welcome to contact us via Facebook messenger (preferred!), Instagram, or email. If you want to rehome your dog ASAP and we aren't able to take them, please contact Karing Kennels.(https://www.facebook.com/KadenaKaringKennelsAdoptionFacility) They will be in a better situation than being passed around on the Rehome Facebook pages, which is also how some breeders get dogs. Like us, Karing Kennels tries to make sure the dogs adopted from them go to their forever homes! There are also other local rescues and shelters that can help too! You're welcome to message us so we can help you connect with them if you are unsure who to contact.

A reputable breeder will never sell their puppies in a pet store. They will thoroughly screen potential homes, provide genetic testing to ensure the puppy is healthy, and often have a contract requiring the puppy to be returned to them if the buyer cannot keep them. Additionally, the mother dogs only have 1 or 2 litters a year and usually allow (and prefer) potential buyers to come and visit their facility so they can see the parent dogs and their living conditions. The main goal of a reputable breeder is to preserve the integrity of their breed and promote healthier and better genetic lines. Another important fact is that a reputable breeder will never mix breeds. If a pet store is advertising Yorkie/Schnauzer mixes, Chihuahua/Poodle mixes, Pekingese/Poodle mixes, etc., they are selling puppies from a puppy mill. Please be warned that there are NO reputable breeders on Okinawa!!! We highly encourage you to ADOPT, DON'T SHOP. There are countless dogs waiting in rescues and shelters all over the world that need homes!

No, unfortunately not. We currently do not have the contacts nor funding to ship dogs off-island. You are still welcome to donate if you want to support OPMR! We accept monetary donations, and we also have wish lists on Amazon U.S. (https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2SFS64HT8B70N?ref_=wl_share)and Amazon Japan.(https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/hz/wishlist/ls/2FTFKTAN37Z8X) Thank you for all of your support!