Eastern Map. Puppy Mill Stores
Since late 2011, All Pets Club (APC) in Branford has been under fire for selling puppies bred by and obtained from puppy mills. CT Citizens Against Puppy Mills and CT Coalition Against Puppy Mills led protests against the sale of puppies at the store.
During the last legislative session, the Connecticut General Assembly, after considering a bill to regulate the retail sale of puppies, kittens and rabbits, decided to create a task force to further investigate the issue next year. Here is a link to the animal laws that govern the states.
Enter a new set of players, with each side taking aim.
On Tuesday, July 2, Lori Fogler-Nicholson, the chair of the Dan Cosgrove Animal Commission, will go before the Representative Town Committee’s Rules and Ordinance Committee (R&O) with a proposal to ban the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits at All Pets Club located on East Main Street near Exit 56. She is seeking a different commercial model, she says, one that gives commercial stores the opportunity to partner with animal rescue groups.
APC and its allies, representatives from the national Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) a Washington, D.C.-based lobby that represents the interests of retailers, will be there to fight back. PIJAC says it promotes responsible pet ownership and welfare. This week Branford was featured.
The first meeting will take place Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Canoe Brook Senior Center. The Branford Compassion Club, a cat-based organization, is also encouraging people to attend the meeting.
Fogler-Nicholson says she is prepared. She says that PIJAC’s well-organized efforts to crush any legislation is apparent because it gets paid per puppy from the mills. “There’s money at stake for them,” she says.
In recent days the PIJAC campaign and APC have stepped up their campaign to reach out to dog owners across the state via e-mail and social media, asking them to show up at the meeting to describe their positive puppy purchasing experiences at APC.
Other Dog Shop Models
Fogler-Nicholson says the actual text of her proposed ordinance will be presented at the meeting, one she says that has been vetted. Other towns and cities, including Los Angeles, have adopted similar laws in recent years. She says her proposed ordinance complies with the Town Charter, Connecticut General Statutes and interstate laws. “If there’s a town that can pull this off, it’s Branford,” she says. “It will give support to state efforts and serve as a model for other towns.”
The R&O Committee will first vet the proposal; it may schedule a public hearing. Typically it holds no meetings in August so it is likely to be a while before the full RTM hears the issue.
Annie Hornish, state director for the Humane Society of the United States, is in favor of banning pet sales. “We are supporting this effort, this local effort at an ordinance for a retail sales ban on dogs and cats and rabbits at pet stores. The alternative that we would propose is the Pet Smart, Petco model, which is to partner with animal rescue organizations to help adopt out the animals,” she told the Eagle in an interview. “And that way, it builds community good will, it helps local groups. It also brings business to their stores. Petco and Petsmart are not suffering from their willingness to stop dealing with puppy mills.”
Hornish says that about 90 to 95 percent of the animals on the Connecticut Humane Society’s website are from puppy mills.
APC Reacts
Until now, Jerry Pleban, owner of All Pets Club, has defended his right to purchase puppies where he pleases. He maintained in earlier interviews that his stores, located in Wallingford, North Windham, and Southington, sell healthy puppies and that he stands by the quality of the breeders from which the puppies are obtained. He did acknowledge in a recent article in the New Haven Register that he stopped acquiring dogs from Dot’s Little Doggies, a widely recognized puppy mill in Kansas. The Eagle made several unsuccessful attempts to reach him for this article.
APC has sent an email blast in recent days to its customer encouraging their attendance at the meeting, listing “Reasons for Choosing a Pet Store Puppy” including: Pet stores provide healthy puppies; pet stores and their sources for puppies are regulated at the state and federal level; pet stores provide consumer protection; pet stores help owners find the best breed for their lifestyle; pet stores visits ensure compatibility; pet stores rely on customer satisfaction.
That’s in stark contrast to puppies falling ill at All Pets Club before they were sold and after they were sold. Here is the story of Isabella’s ordeal, which began when Kathy and Art Abate purchased their puppy at All Pets Club in Branford in November 2007.
In December 2011, two puppies, a German shepherd and a Schnoodle (a cross between a Schnauzer and a Poodle), died some time within a two-week period of Parvo, a highly contagious virulent virus that usually spreads rapidly among puppies. Click here to read the story.
In February 2012, a group of protestors returned to All Pets Club in Branford. One woman told the Eagle the story of how her two-month-old Bull Mastiff puppy began to have serious trouble breathing and how the store responded. Click here to read the story.
The Legislative Response
During the legislative session just ended, the Connecticut General Assembly failed to pass a bill that would have prohibited the sale of dogs and cats from substandard domestic animal mills.
The bill received widespread local and national support, from the ASPCA, CT Votes for Animals, the Connecticut Humane Society, and various animal welfare groups. A task force, led by state Reps. Brenda Kupchick (R-132) and John McKinney (R-28), has since been created to further examine the pet shop industry and make recommendations for the 2014 legislative session.
According to Hornish, “PIJAC, along with ASPCA, and a variety of local groups … are all going to be at the table to discuss what can be done in Connecticut.”
In an earlier interview, state Sen. Ed Meyer (D-12) expressed the hope that a bill banning puppy mill sales would be enacted next year. He acknowledged that the pet industry has a strong lobby in Hartford. Meyer is chair of the Environment Committee, which is where most animal welfare legislation originates.
Connecticut now has a lemon law protecting pet store animals as do many other states.
About PIJAC
In recent days, PIJAC sent out an “emergency” notification about the Tuesday meeting that was subsequently sent to people on All Pets Club’s email list. Here’s the notification that was on PIJAC’s website.
Do you love your pet?
We do, too!
With the following bullet points, as “the facts”:
• Few puppies purchased from pet stores wind up in a shelter or rescue organizations
• Pet store and their sources for puppies are regulated by offering warranties on the dogs and cats they sell
• Pet stores in Connecticut provide consumer protection by offering warranties on the dogs and cats they sell
• Those truly concerned about the welfare of animals should focus on effective enforcement of animal care standards, not putting legitimate businesses that provide pets to the public out of business.
The website maintains a legislative map that tracks bills within the US, and a page with action alerts, including tools to contact legislative officials. This week Branford is on its site. According to the website, “PIJAC collaborates with pet professionals, hobbyists, as well as the academic and scientific communities, to develop position papers on the most common topics facing the pet trade.”
In addition, PIJAC recently launched an advocacy website stating, “The interactive website reflects the organization’s mission to provide members and concerned pet owners with a voice in legislative issues effecting pets and pet ownership.”
Fogler-Nicholson notes that in general there is bipartisan support for animal welfare legislation, citing the PET Act that was unanimously enacted after Hurricane Katrina. That act mandates the emergency sheltering of pets during natural disasters. She said she hopes that type of support will lead to the prevention of the sale of puppy mill puppies in Branford, and ultimately, Connecticut.
She is planning to launch the website, branfordsaysno.com, as a vehicle to stop the retail sale of puppies in Branford. All Pets Club is the only store in Branford that sells puppies, although a detailed interactive map indicates other stores in Connecticut (and throughout the U.S.) that sell animals.
Marcia Chambers contributed reporting for this story.
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