News

By Tim Pallesen
   
    The question whether a nationwide furor over puppy-mill sales requires a Delray Beach law has been delayed.
    City commissioners have imposed a six-month moratorium on allowing new puppy stores into Delray so city officials have time to study the controversy.
    The furor struck locally last December with a protest march outside Waggs to Riches, the only pet store selling puppies in Delray.
Six months later, commissioners passed a city ordinance banning the sale of animals from puppy mills on first reading.
    But Waggs to Riches owner Kimberly Curler sued Commissioner Shelly Petrolia for defamation, and the city attorney advised commissioners to put on the brakes.
    Curler praised the City Commission for its delay to study the issue. Waggs to Riches continues to sell puppies. “Four of the city commissioners are attorneys. At least we’ve got some logic,” Curler said.
    Mayor Cary Glickstein and Commissioner Jordana Jarjura joined Petrolia to support the moratorium and keep the issue alive. “The moratorium gives us time to look at how this issue is being handled,” Glickstein said.
    Commissioners Adam Frankel and Al Jacquet voted against the moratorium last month. Frankel stressed that Waggs to Riches is the only pet store in the city that sells puppies and kittens. “We create a moratorium going after one lady when there are far larger issues in the city than dogs and cats,” he said.
    “Where is the problem that we’re stomping out?” Jacquet asked. “I think we’re going overboard. We don’t want to tell businesses not to come to Delray.”
    Animal advocates oppose the sale of sometimes unhealthy puppies and kittens that are mass-produced elsewhere and shipped to independent pet stores.
    “If I was selling sick dogs and cats, I wouldn’t be in business,” said Curler, who opened Waggs to Riches eight years ago.
    Palm Beach Gardens and other cities have banned puppy-mill sales. Frankel argues that the problem requires federal rather than local regulation.