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When an Avra Valley couple can keep 752 dogs in a triple-wide trailer, something is dreadfully wrong.

Worse: When authorities raided the place last week, they found three dead dogs in "filthy conditions" on the property, some of the living dogs were actually missing paws and many others were seriously ill.

Suspended pro quarterback Michael Vick is in Leavenworth prison serving a 23-month sentence for his dogfighting operation, which involved some 50 pit bulls.

Running dogfights is not more heinous or loathsome than operating puppy mills, where animals are used only to reproduce and kept in overcrowded, squalid conditions.

Our lawmakers need to seek ways to shut them down.

The Avra Valley operation was a puppy mill of the most odious kind. The dogs were mostly small breeds and Chihuahuas. They were being sold for up to $2,400 each. About 100 of the dogs confiscated last week were pregnant.

The couple operating the business cooperated with sheriff's deputies. Pima Animal Control cleared out the place over the course of several days with help from the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, which took in the animals.

Officials became aware of the mill after a woman told her vet she saw hundreds of dogs at the place where she bought her puppy; the vet urged her to report that to authorities.

Once the Sheriff's Department investigation is completed, the case will be turned over to the Pima County Attorney's Office for review.

The couple operating the mill apparently had a kennel license; the licensing law doesn't limit the number of dogs a kennel operator can keep.

Either limits should be imposed on the number of animals permitted in kennels, or the county needs to inspect kennels more aggressively. Or both.

We like a bill sponsored by Rep. James P. Weiers, R-Phoenix, the speaker of the House, that would bar selling animals on roadsides or adjacent public property. This would help cut down on puppy mills. The measure has passed the House and is now in the Senate.

There is good news about the Avra Valley animals. The Humane Society posted a notice on its Web site Saturday that all the dogs rescued have found new homes. In fact, so many people showed up last week wanting to adopt a rescued dog that at one point the Sheriff's Department sent deputies to the shelter for crowd control.

Thirty-six exotic birds were also rescued from the Avra Valley site but still need medical treatment and are not yet available for adoption, the Humane Society site said.

The rescue was expensive. The Humane Society is estimating it will cost $400,000. An average dog's stay costs about $200, but the rescued puppy-mill dogs will cost more because of staff overtime and the animals' medical needs.

According to stoppuppymills.org, a site run by the Humane Society of the United States, we can all help close down puppy mills. Here are warning signs to help in identifying high-volume breeders:

● Does the seller offer excuses rather than let you meet the puppy's parents?

● Does the seller advertise that many different breeds are available?

● Does the seller advertise that puppies are ready for Christmas, Easter or other special occasions?

● Does the seller use handwritten road signs to advertise puppies for sale?

● Does the seller sell puppies less than 8 weeks old?