By Sallie James
How much is that doggy in the window? And where-oh-where did that doggy come from?
When it comes to finding the canine companion of your dreams, Boca Raton city officials are hoping you will take a pass on that pet store pup and join the move to curtail large-scale commercial breeders known as “puppy mills.”
In a show of support, the City Council on Jan. 13 unanimously passed a resolution encouraging the adoption of enhanced federal and state regulation of large-scale commercial dog breeders and brokers. The resolution urges the Florida Legislature and U.S. Congress to pursue stricter measures regulating the wholesale pet trade.
“I am thrilled,” said Susie Goldsmith, executive director and founder of Tri-County Animal Rescue in Boca Raton. “I couldn’t be happier in being a part of it. More attention has to be given to this. More rules and regulations must be enacted to stop puppy mills.”
The city also included the measure in its 2015 federal and state legislative priorities.
Investigations of wholesale “puppy mills” found dogs bred in dire conditions, their cages often stacked one on top of the other. The breeding mothers live in confinement with the sole purpose of producing money-making puppies. Puppy mill raids frequently yield diseased, neglected and malnourished animals.
Last June, Delray Beach commissioners considered, then shelved a proposed rule that would create a citywide ban on the sale of dogs from puppy mills due to questions related to its constitutionality.
In August, Delray Beach commissioners OK’d a six-month moratorium on allowing any new pet stores that sell dogs and cats. The city is also waiting to see the outcome of several pending lawsuits about puppy mills.
Boca Raton declined to pass a law banning the sale of dogs and cats obtained from commercial breeders after the city of Sunrise was served with a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of an ordinance it passed.
The Sunrise ordinance said pet stores may only sell animals from shelters, rescue groups and hobby breeders. The lawsuit seeks to prevent Sunrise from enforcing its ordinance.
So Boca Raton officials are trying a different tactic.
“Our goal is to go to each city to get legislation passed so that dogs or kittens will not be allowed to be sold in pet stores,” Goldsmith said. “The reason for that is that the majority of animals that come in are from puppy mills.”
“Horrific” is how Goldsmith described most puppy mill conditions.
“You would be screaming from the hills to stop it (if you saw one),” Goldsmith said. “The way they are kept in chicken coops and can hardly get up and walk around. It’s horrific. And the people are doing it for one reason: money.”
The subject of puppy mills has received much national attention lately through social media and the efforts of devoted rescue groups. Last November, volunteers determined to rescue scores of dogs from a wholesale breeder that were scheduled to be sold at a Missouri auction raised thousands of dollars online. The volunteers purchased 108 dogs, most of them Cavalier King Charles spaniels, rescuing them from lives of confined breeding. The effort, dubbed “Operation Cavalier Rescue,” used social media to raise money quickly for the dogs’ purchase. Thousands of dollars funneled in from around the world.
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