When Petland announced its plans to open in Athens, the citizen's disdain grew as they fought to protect the Appalachian town and its shelter. How would the local shelter, that was euthanizing hundreds of pets, be able to compete with a national pet store chain? Despite contention, the store opened in May 2004.
The city's spaying and neutering law would be the beginning of many court transactions for Petland. In order to control the pet population, Athens city council passed an ordinance that required all pets over
six months old to be spayed and neutered -- otherwise they could not be sold. Petland tried to fight the law stating that the store should not be fined $100 if they could not prove that every pet sold had the necessary veterinary work.
Photo Credit: Amber James
Finally, the city and Petland compromised, repealing the ordinance. Petland eventually teamed with the Athens County dog shelter in 2006 to create the Adopt-A-Pet program. Through this program, the store adopts puppies from the shelter and vaccinates and deworms them. The city's hope is that this program will reduce the number of dogs the county has to put to sleep.
Pet Stores and Puppy Mills
Puppy Mills. Everyone has heard of them, but what is being done to stop pet stores from purchasing from these animal concentration camps? Stop Puppy Mills created a video to inform the public about the mill's controversy. Pet stores rely on this underground "business" to stay open. As long as people continue to buy from pet stores, puppy mill owners will continue to exploit these animals for profit. Why buy a dog at the pet store for hundreds (or thousands) of dollars, when you can adopt a pet from the shelter instead?
The puppy mill controversy even made it to the November Ohio ballot, but most people did not know about it. Named Ohio House Bill 606 and Senate Bill 342, the bill would help minimize animal cruelty by establishing minimum operating standards for kennels. Kennel owners would be required to have insurance to cover the cost of any needed dog care. The bill failed.
Before you fall head-over-hells for that adorable dog in the pet store window, make sure you know how to find a good pet breeder.
YOUR TURN
The city's spaying and neutering law would be the beginning of many court transactions for Petland. In order to control the pet population, Athens city council passed an ordinance that required all pets over
six months old to be spayed and neutered -- otherwise they could not be sold. Petland tried to fight the law stating that the store should not be fined $100 if they could not prove that every pet sold had the necessary veterinary work.Photo Credit: Amber James
Finally, the city and Petland compromised, repealing the ordinance. Petland eventually teamed with the Athens County dog shelter in 2006 to create the Adopt-A-Pet program. Through this program, the store adopts puppies from the shelter and vaccinates and deworms them. The city's hope is that this program will reduce the number of dogs the county has to put to sleep.
Pet Stores and Puppy Mills
Puppy Mills. Everyone has heard of them, but what is being done to stop pet stores from purchasing from these animal concentration camps? Stop Puppy Mills created a video to inform the public about the mill's controversy. Pet stores rely on this underground "business" to stay open. As long as people continue to buy from pet stores, puppy mill owners will continue to exploit these animals for profit. Why buy a dog at the pet store for hundreds (or thousands) of dollars, when you can adopt a pet from the shelter instead?
The puppy mill controversy even made it to the November Ohio ballot, but most people did not know about it. Named Ohio House Bill 606 and Senate Bill 342, the bill would help minimize animal cruelty by establishing minimum operating standards for kennels. Kennel owners would be required to have insurance to cover the cost of any needed dog care. The bill failed.
Before you fall head-over-hells for that adorable dog in the pet store window, make sure you know how to find a good pet breeder.
YOUR TURN
- What should be done to stop animal cruelty and puppy mills?
- Is the general public naive when it comes to pet store animals?
- Should Petland be responsible for spaying and neutering their pets? Or is it the buyers' responsibility?
4 comments:
I absolutely think pet stores should be responsible for spaying and neutering pets...especially in an area like Athens when there is already such an overpopulation of animals without homes. I remember seeing a bulletin board full of information about how Petland gets their animals from puppy mills Freshman year--I knew nothing about this beforehand. I used to love going into Petlands and playing with the dogs just for fun, but knowing they don't have the dogs and cats' best interests at heart has forever changed my opinions of the store (and all pet stores that have animals for that matter). I think people are gradually becoming more and more aware of these issues and more people are adopting pets rather than buying them; however, the push to better inform people and really get the word out that adopting is the better way to go needs to continue full force. I do think there are still plenty of people out there who are unaware or naive to the problem.
Sorry, my original comment posted before I was done!
Anyway, I was under the impression that the agreement between the dog shelter and Petland was off. I know there was major backlash from the community and even from the Humane Society of the United States. You should check with Petland and/or the dog shelter to see if the agreement still exists and if it doesn't, why not?
In response to the "your turn" question... I think people, college students in particular, are extremely naive when it comes to purchasing dogs from Petland. They lay down hundreds of dollars for a dog just because the store is easy to get to and because the puppy is "cute." I even have friends that have purchased puppies from Petland and neglected to have them spayed/neutered. Also, many of the puppies that Petland sells are sick and poorly bred.
On the same level, I think many people are naive about purchasing puppies from the dog shelter. Puppies have weaker immune systems, and after sitting in the dog shelter they are highly susceptible to disease such as parvo or distemper.
It seems like there almost isn't even a good choice when it comes to adopting a puppy. I think the best thing would be to use a private rescue group. Rescue groups typically keep animals in foster care, so they are well-adjusted and healthy and they have all medical needs (including spay/neuter) taken care of prior to adoption.
First, I would like to say how happy I am to know that Pet Land is adopting animals from the local shelter. What if this were the means of obtaining all dogs and cats for pet stores, instead of aweful mills? Shelters wouldn't be overcrowded, and all animals would have the chance to get adopted.
As far as stopping animal cruelty, I'd like to see legislation pass to weed puppy mills out completely. Breeders are one thing - aren't mills recognizable to the public, and isn't there something that can be done to stop them?
Perhaps we are naive about pets, and pet stores. We're probably naive about shelters, and general pet care also. I think doing research and taking time to educate yourself makes the difference.
For example, did you know that there's a difference between the Humane Society, and the Humane Society of the United States? There is, and it's a pretty significant one. One, whose title I'll let you research for yourself, is closely linked with PETA, and doesn't actually have any dealings with animal shelters.
Good post.
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