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In the August heat, more than 500 dogs sweltered in un-air-conditioned kennels on a farm near the town of Mabank in Kaufman County. They panted in wire cages stacked atop one another, fleas swarming, many of the dogs sick, most of them filthy. Near the gate across the gravel drive, part of a dog's skeleton lay like an omen.

Veterinarian James O'Bryan was part of the team that raided the puppy farm on Aug. 11. Afterward, he and others described in sworn statements the conditions they found. "It is my recommendation that every animal be removed from the premises," O'Bryan wrote in his affidavit to the Kaufman County Sheriff's Department.

The action that day, by sheriff's deputies and workers with local and national Humane Society organizations, was one of the largest puppy mill raids ever carried out in Texas. And yet it was almost identical in scope to another massive raid carried out only a month earlier, in which another nearly 500 dogs were rescued from a breeding operation in Montague County northwest of Fort Worth.

Across the United States, according to Humane Society officials, puppy mills - the term that animal welfare groups and others use to describe large and unsavory commercial dog breeding operations - are on the rise. The influence of the internet is a major factor, as is the development of pet store chains. Sites like Craigslist and nextdaypets.com, as well as web marketing by individual breeders, means that puppies increasingly are being shipped all over the country - and that unwary buyers usually have no idea of the conditions in which their new pets were bred and raised.

In Texas the problem is particularly acute, and it is placing a major burden on animal rescue groups and government regulators. Dogs confiscated from such operations are often malnourished or sick, having been housed in cramped and filthy cages, with female dogs birthing litter after litter of ill-bred puppies.

"Texas is definitely one of the top states for puppy mills," said Kathleen Summers, who leads the campaign against puppy mills for the Humane Society of the United States.

Texas is one of a handful of states that have no laws regulating dog breeding operations. The U.S. Department of Agriculture only licenses breeders who sell to other companies - pet stores, chains, or pet "brokers" like the Hunte Corporation. Breeders who sell strictly to individuals are subject only to animal cruelty laws, where investigations are often left to animal welfare groups. The result is that breeding operations often go uninspected for years. Those facts, plus the abundance of open space in proximity to major cities and airports, make Texas ripe for such operations.

James Bias, president of the Dallas chapter of the Society for the Prevention and Cruelty of Animals (SPCA), said his group receives about 200 complaints a month about puppy mills in North Texas. In the last two years, the chapter has helped raid about 10 puppy mills a year, compared to an average two raids in other years.

Tammy Roberts, chief cruelty investigator for the Humane Society of North Texas, said her organization's resources have been overwhelmed by the number of complaints needing to be investigated and the number of confiscated dogs that the organization has had to care for and find homes for. Nearly half the 2,000 or so animals rescued by the Fort Worth-based chapter this year came from puppy mills, she said. She estimates that there are hundreds of puppy mills in North Texas that haven't been busted yet.

Even though large-scale breeding operations operate in rural areas, cities like Fort Worth often have to deal with the results, when unhealthy dogs end up in pounds and shelters. The animals seized in the Montague County raid were housed temporarily in a loaned warehouse in the Fort Worth Stockyards, where volunteers worked around the clock to provide food, water, and medical care until the dogs were adopted.

Some activists have taken another tack in the fight against such breeders. One group has protested every Saturday for the last two years at North Texas outlets of the Petland chain, claiming that the store sells puppies raised under inhumane conditions.

Petland spokespersons deny that contention, and in fact there is plenty of disagreement over what constitutes a "puppy mill." Some breeders say that the Humane Society and similar groups are opposed to all commercial breeding operations, regardless of whether they are well run. There may be some truth in that - because many anti-cruelty activists believe that no such large, profit-oriented operation can be run humanely.

The argument continues in part because there is so little regulation of dog breeders. USDA regulations require commercial breeders to be licensed, but inspectors are spread thin, and puppy mills often operate for years before they are shut down.

Tony and Peggy Boyd, the owners of the Kaufman County farm that was raided, were arrested and charged with violating animal cruelty laws. Their case has not gone to trial yet - but Peggy Boyd says she intends to re-start her kennel operation as soon as possible.

To combat the spread of puppy mills, State Rep. Senfronia Thompson of Houston sponsored legislation earlier this year that would have required breeders to meet minimum standards of care and limit them to a maximum of 50 breeding female dogs. The bill passed the House but died in the Senate near the end of the session due to opposition from a veterinarians' group.

Even Willie Nelson came out in support of the bill. "Growing up in Abbott ... I was taught to police my own area," the legendary singer wrote to legislators in March. "When you see something is wrong, fix it. Well, something that needs to be fixed in Texas is the treatment of the dogs and cats in commercial breeding kennels or 'puppy mills.' Many states have enacted puppy mill bills requiring breeders to be licensed and to provide minimum standards of care. Texas is not one of these states, but common decency and the majority of Texans say we should be."