From MSNBC: Movement aims to curb puppy mills, spur shelter adoptions
msnbc.com contributor
updated 8:27 a.m. ET, Thurs., May 27, 2010
Buying an adorable puppy or kitten at your local pet store may become a thing of the past, if more American cities join a small but growing movement to ban retail pet sales.
West Hollywood, Calif., became the latest city to put a leash on pet sales in February, when its city council unanimously approved an ordinance prohibiting sales of dogs and cats in retail stores. Albuquerque, N.M., and South Lake Tahoe, Calif., have also banned pet sales. Other cities in Florida, New Mexico, Missouri and elsewhere are considering similar bans on the sale of dogs and cats.
Animal advocates say pet store sales fuel the puppy mill industry, where dogs are bred and raised in cramped, unhealthy and inhumane conditions. They have similar concerns about "kitten factories," which are a smaller but growing problem. Efforts to crack down on animal mills have been hindered by limited enforcement resources, so ban proponents are shifting their focus from the supply side to the demand. Far better, they say, to adopt from a local shelter or buy directly from a reputable breeder.
"People have got to wake up to the fact that [most] dogs coming from pet stores are coming from puppy mills," said Mary Jo Dazey, a stay-at-home mom from St. Louis, Mo., who has been working to shut down puppy mills in her state for several years.
There are no official statistics on how many pet-store dogs come from puppy mills. Between 2 million and 4 million dogs are born in U.S. puppy mills every year, according to the Humane Society of the United States, and many of those dogs do end up in pet stores — in addition to being sold over the internet, through newspaper classifieds and in other venues.
"Every time we do a pet store investigation [after a complaint], we find that puppy mills are the suppliers," said Stephanie Shain, senior director of the Humane Society of the United States' puppy mills campaign.
Shain said she believes that if animal-lovers became better educated, they wouldn't want to buy from pet stores that may be supplied by puppy mills.
Public sentiment does, in fact, seem to be veering away from pet store animals. A recent poll by the Associated Press-Petside.com found that more than half of those surveyed planned to get their next cat or dog from a shelter, seven times the number who said they’d buy from a pet store. And four in 10 said they thought store pets could have hidden physical or psychological problems due to overbreeding or other issues.
A ‘guilt-free shopping experience’
Of course, in cities with bans in places, even if people want to buy from a pet store, they can't. The West Hollywood pet sale ban got a lot of attention, but it was more symbolic than anything else since no pet stores there were actually selling animals when it went into effect. South Lake Tahoe's ban passed in 2009, but doesn't take effect until 2011.
To see what really happens when a city bans pet sales, you have to go to Albuquerque, N.M. The Southwestern city banned sales of "companion animals," including cats and dogs, in 2006, and has seen a marked, positive effect, said Peggy Weigle, executive director of Animal Humane New Mexico.
Since the ban started, animal adoptions have increased 23 percent and euthanasia at city shelters has decreased by 35 percent.
“By stopping these pet shops,” Weigle said, “what you're really doing is you're reducing the demand for puppy-mill puppies.”
At the same time, Weigle said, her private animal shelter has stepped in to fill the place of pet stores for people who want pets but don't necessarily want to brave the city shelter. In February, Animal Humane New Mexico opened a boutique-style adoption center with just a few hand-picked animals — mostly puppies, many of them pure-bred dogs that were abandoned or rescued by the shelter — so that people could "shop" for shelter dogs in a pleasant, retail-like environment.
Her goal was to adopt out 45 animals in the first month; instead, they placed 118 animals in new homes. Adoptions have been so plentiful, Weigle said, that her organization is preparing to open a second adoption boutique. Weigle said she recently had a young purebred Yorkshire Terrier available for adoption for just $135, the standard adoption fee.
"Many people will say, 'Oh, I just can't go to the shelter, it's just too sad,'" Weigle said. "But if you make a guilt-free shopping experience available, and they don't have to be confronted with 100 homeless pets staring them in the face, the shopping experience is very parallel to a pet store. If you give the public a choice to shop in that kind of an environment, they will."
Focus on breeders instead?
While Albuquerque animal advocates tout their success as a model for other cities, pet store owners argue that it's not fair to take away their livelihood because of a few bad apples. They say puppy-mill and kitten-factory foes should focus instead on cracking down on breeders who are breaking the law.
"The fact of the matter is that puppies sold by pet stores frequently come from highly reputable breeders who provide healthy loving pets to the public," said Michael Maddox, vice president of government affairs and general counsel for the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, an industry group based in Washington, D.C. "Notwithstanding isolated anecdotal stories that misrepresent pet store puppies, the vast majority of customers who bring home their canine companion from a pet store are supremely satisfied with the experience."
Dana Derraugh, owner of Le Petit Puppy in New York City, says she hates puppy mills as much as any animal lover. She specializes in small breeds suited to city life, and sells about five dogs a week from her upscale shop in Greenwich Village.
"When you go to a shelter, you don't know what you're going to get. A lot of them have emotional baggage. You're taking a risk," Derraugh said. Her clean, homey store, decorated with photos of celebrity clients like Sarah Jessica Parker, sells Pomeranians for $699, Chihuahuas for $799, and something she calls a "Chiweenie" — a Chihuahua-Daschund cross — for $950.
She gives her cell phone number to clients, so they can call anytime with questions or worries about their new puppies. "I feel like my mission is not just to sell the dog, but to hold your hand," Derraugh said.
She said she buys only from reputable breeders, though she declined to name them or say where they are located. Derraugh said eliminating pet store sales would hurt consumers by reducing competition: "The prices will go way up, there will be less puppies."
Laura Ellis, who bred collies on her farm in Vermont for 30 years before moving to New York City, said Derraugh is an example of a dog store owner who gets it right. She bought her Papillion, Penny, from Le Petit Puppy in October after researching every conceivable option.
While she understands why some people might want to rescue a dog from a shelter, that wasn't what she was looking for, and she makes no apologies for it.
"I don't want other people's problems. I just wanted to start fresh," Ellis said.
"The main thing is, [Le Petit’s] puppies are happy. They're high quality, well run, humane. I don't see what there is to complain about," Ellis said. "It's a pretty good life for a puppy."
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Homeward Trails and Roxie's Fund at Cheverly Day
Come meet great adoptable dogs at the adoption event and table at Cheverly Day! Find out about Homeward Trails and Roxie's Fund, meet local fosters, and spend time with dogs looking for their forever homes! We'll be there from 11:30-3:00!
Cheverly Day is on May 22nd, at the Cheverly Town Park.
6401 Forest Rd
Cheverly MD 20785
Here are some of the dogs joining us:
Benson
Tessa and Rex
Chance
Lucy
Raven
Santini
Hugs
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Foxes: The Red and the Gray
Courtesy of the Humane Society:
Of the five species of foxes found in North America, only two are commonly seen: the red fox and the gray fox.
Gray foxes are known to be native to North America, but whether the red fox was ever native is a subject of debate. It seems likely that the red fox was, probably arriving by the same land bridge used by the first humans during the last Ice Age. Many red foxes were brought to North America from Europe in the 1700s for sport hunting, and they remain popular prey for hunters and trappers.
Family Ties
Foxes are close relatives of coyotes, wolves, and domestic dogs, but they are often called the "catlike canines." Red foxes avoid coyotes, but may coexist in the same area, competing with them for food sources and often using shore and stream habitat between coyote territories. Gray foxes are more likely to share coyote habitat, because the foxes are able to climb trees to avoid potential conflict. Both species are mainly nocturnal, but it's not unusual to see them hunting at dawn or dusk, or even during the day.
Foxes are primarily nocturnal in urban areas, but this seems to be more a method to avoid humans than an actual preference. (It's a popular misconception that a fox out and about during the daytime is disturbed or sick.) They will be active by day as long as they feel secure, and are near enough to safety. This is when they pursue prey, such as squirrels, who are also active by day.
The two species share the ability to thrive in a combination of forests and fields and on a variety of foods, ranging from berries and fruits to small mammals, birds, frogs, and turtles. Their adaptability makes them well-suited to survival in urban and suburban settings (where they can be a help to homeowners in keeping keep down populations of "pests" such as rodents).
Gray foxes are the shier of the two species. Red foxes are sometimes downright outgoing, showing brazenness that is so overt as to be disarming. A hiker along a woodland trail may encounter a fox who does not retreat, but sits and watches the human approach. Likewise, a homeowner hanging laundry may watch a fox walk through the yard, going about its business, seemingly oblivious to the human nearby. Why this occurs is anyone's guess.
Foxes appear to be larger than they are because of their relatively long legs and elongated bushy tails. The red fox is the bigger species, weighing seven to 15 pounds and reaching about 3 feet in length with an extra foot- or foot-and-a-half-long tail. Gray foxes rarely exceed 11 or 12 pounds, and often are much smaller.
Both red and gray foxes can run at speeds up to 26 miles per hour, and tend to elude competitors by circling and backtracking, rather than fighting.
A Red Fox by Any Other Name…
Because there is a great variety of color types among foxes, it is not always a sure bet that a red-colored fox is a "red fox" or a gray-colored fox a "gray fox." Red foxes are distinguishable from gray foxes by the tips of their tails, which are white.
Both red and gray foxes mate seasonally, beginning in mid-January, and usually give birth to kits in March or April. Depending on population density and food supply, litter sizes vary between three and eight. The kits are weaned by nine weeks, and begin to hunt with their parents. They may remain nearby the parents until late summer or early fall before dispersing to establish their own territories.
Foxes may dig their own dens, or they may occupy the abandoned dens of woodchucks, badgers or other burrowing animals. They generally use their dens when raising kits or to escape severe winter weather. But even when temperatures fall to levels that are quite uncomfortable to humans, foxes prefer to rest under brush piles or fallen logs.
Problems and Solutions
People are sometimes surprised to learn that foxes live in their neighborhoods, but there's almost never any cause for concern. Foxes are not dangerous to humans, except when rabid, and fox rabies are rare in most places.
Outdoor pets such as rabbits and poultry should be protected from foxes, however, by the use of secure, sturdy hutches and pens. Because foxes will dig under fences, it's important to bury an 8-inch, L-shaped footer at least a foot deep along the outer perimeter.
People are frequently concerned about their pets being outdoors when foxes are around. We do not recommend that cats be allowed to roam freely, and suggest that the best way to avoid conflicts between foxes and cats is to keep cats indoors. By and large, foxes seem to pay little heed to adult cats, recognizing that they are dealing with an animal almost their own size. Kittens and small cats, however, could be easy prey for a fox; therefore, contact between the two should be avoided.
Keeping these cautions in mind, most encounters with foxes are an exciting reminder of the beauty and diversity of our wild neighbors. Your best chances of viewing one are in the early morning and late evening hours, along the edges of forests and fields.
As part of our "Living in Harmony with Your Wild Neighbors" series, The HSUS has published a full-color pamphlet on foxes. To request your free copy, e-mail us at wildlife@humanesociety.org.
Of the five species of foxes found in North America, only two are commonly seen: the red fox and the gray fox.
Gray foxes are known to be native to North America, but whether the red fox was ever native is a subject of debate. It seems likely that the red fox was, probably arriving by the same land bridge used by the first humans during the last Ice Age. Many red foxes were brought to North America from Europe in the 1700s for sport hunting, and they remain popular prey for hunters and trappers.
Family Ties
Foxes are close relatives of coyotes, wolves, and domestic dogs, but they are often called the "catlike canines." Red foxes avoid coyotes, but may coexist in the same area, competing with them for food sources and often using shore and stream habitat between coyote territories. Gray foxes are more likely to share coyote habitat, because the foxes are able to climb trees to avoid potential conflict. Both species are mainly nocturnal, but it's not unusual to see them hunting at dawn or dusk, or even during the day.
Foxes are primarily nocturnal in urban areas, but this seems to be more a method to avoid humans than an actual preference. (It's a popular misconception that a fox out and about during the daytime is disturbed or sick.) They will be active by day as long as they feel secure, and are near enough to safety. This is when they pursue prey, such as squirrels, who are also active by day.
The two species share the ability to thrive in a combination of forests and fields and on a variety of foods, ranging from berries and fruits to small mammals, birds, frogs, and turtles. Their adaptability makes them well-suited to survival in urban and suburban settings (where they can be a help to homeowners in keeping keep down populations of "pests" such as rodents).
Gray foxes are the shier of the two species. Red foxes are sometimes downright outgoing, showing brazenness that is so overt as to be disarming. A hiker along a woodland trail may encounter a fox who does not retreat, but sits and watches the human approach. Likewise, a homeowner hanging laundry may watch a fox walk through the yard, going about its business, seemingly oblivious to the human nearby. Why this occurs is anyone's guess.
Foxes appear to be larger than they are because of their relatively long legs and elongated bushy tails. The red fox is the bigger species, weighing seven to 15 pounds and reaching about 3 feet in length with an extra foot- or foot-and-a-half-long tail. Gray foxes rarely exceed 11 or 12 pounds, and often are much smaller.
Both red and gray foxes can run at speeds up to 26 miles per hour, and tend to elude competitors by circling and backtracking, rather than fighting.
A Red Fox by Any Other Name…
Because there is a great variety of color types among foxes, it is not always a sure bet that a red-colored fox is a "red fox" or a gray-colored fox a "gray fox." Red foxes are distinguishable from gray foxes by the tips of their tails, which are white.
Both red and gray foxes mate seasonally, beginning in mid-January, and usually give birth to kits in March or April. Depending on population density and food supply, litter sizes vary between three and eight. The kits are weaned by nine weeks, and begin to hunt with their parents. They may remain nearby the parents until late summer or early fall before dispersing to establish their own territories.
Foxes may dig their own dens, or they may occupy the abandoned dens of woodchucks, badgers or other burrowing animals. They generally use their dens when raising kits or to escape severe winter weather. But even when temperatures fall to levels that are quite uncomfortable to humans, foxes prefer to rest under brush piles or fallen logs.
Problems and Solutions
People are sometimes surprised to learn that foxes live in their neighborhoods, but there's almost never any cause for concern. Foxes are not dangerous to humans, except when rabid, and fox rabies are rare in most places.
Outdoor pets such as rabbits and poultry should be protected from foxes, however, by the use of secure, sturdy hutches and pens. Because foxes will dig under fences, it's important to bury an 8-inch, L-shaped footer at least a foot deep along the outer perimeter.
People are frequently concerned about their pets being outdoors when foxes are around. We do not recommend that cats be allowed to roam freely, and suggest that the best way to avoid conflicts between foxes and cats is to keep cats indoors. By and large, foxes seem to pay little heed to adult cats, recognizing that they are dealing with an animal almost their own size. Kittens and small cats, however, could be easy prey for a fox; therefore, contact between the two should be avoided.
Keeping these cautions in mind, most encounters with foxes are an exciting reminder of the beauty and diversity of our wild neighbors. Your best chances of viewing one are in the early morning and late evening hours, along the edges of forests and fields.
As part of our "Living in Harmony with Your Wild Neighbors" series, The HSUS has published a full-color pamphlet on foxes. To request your free copy, e-mail us at wildlife@humanesociety.org.
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