Pet lovers protest the sale of ‘puppy mill’ dogs at Waggs to Riches
on Atlantic Avenue in downtown Delray Beach.
Mindy Farber of Delray Beach is an advocate for adopting pets from shelters
rather than buying ‘designer’ dogs born and raised in inhumane conditions.
In fact, she rescued her own three dogs, Abbey, Cara and Nicky.
Photos provided
By Arden Moore
What a difference a span of 51 years can make. In 1953, singer Patti Page rose to the top of the musical charts with her seemingly sweet song, How Much Is That Doggie in the Window.
Back in the 1950s, the local animal shelter was called the pound and was often located in a dismal part of town. There were no leash laws or enclosed dog parks or doggy day care centers. If you wanted a dog, you bought one from a breeder, a pet store or kept one from a litter of pups produced by your unsprayed female.
That sweet song now strikes a sour note with animal advocates who are doggedly doing all they can to eliminate the sale of puppies or dogs who come from mass-producing centers and are shipped to independent pet stores. They want these “puppy mills” (and “kitten factories”) shut down.
These individuals are careful to distinguish these pet store sales from responsible and reputable professional breeders, who meet certain breed guidelines and who welcome people interested in adopting to visit their homes where the young pups are being weaned.
Today, the fight to ban the sale of pets in retail stores is being waged in big and small cities all across America and has now reached Delray Beach. An ordinance that would stop such pet store sales within the city limits has been drafted and is expected to be on the Delray Beach City Commission agenda in late January or February, confirmed interim City Attorney Terrill Pyburn.
If adopted, the ordinance would immediately require pet retail store owners to prominently post a certificate of authenticity that specifies where each pup was obtained and would no longer permit pups coming from mass producing facilities. Violators would face fines up to $2,500 and possible civil action filed by the city.
Leading the local fight are Mindy Farber, a civil rights attorney who shares her home with three rescue dogs, and Stacy Aberle, a psychologist who created the Stop Puppy Mills/Ban the Sale of Animals in Retail Stores in South Florida group. Both women live in Delray Beach. They have been leading peaceful protests and passing out fliers on puppy mills in front of Waggs to Riches, a pet store on Atlantic Avenue.
Farber, who also has a home in Potomac, Md., serves on the nonprofit Pet Connect Rescue (www.petconnect.org) board and knows firsthand the life-saving need for people to “adopt, not shop” for puppies.
“Far too many healthy puppies and dogs are euthanized in shelters all across America,” she says. “Contributing to this problem are these puppy mills that produce thousands of purebreds and so-called designer breeds that are sold for $1,000, $2,000 or more a pop in these pet stores.”
She adds, “Why should dogs and cats be sold when there are 8,000 dogs being euthanized a year in Palm Beach County because they have no homes?”
Last fall, Farber paid a visit to the Waggs to Riches store, questioned the owner and began doing research online about where the store obtained its puppies. She also aired her concerns on a Facebook pet site that triggered an avalanche of calls to action and an introduction to Aberle.
“One cause near to my heart is rescuing the puppy mill puppies,” says Aberle. “These dogs and puppies face horrible conditions in these puppy mills. I approached the store owner and offered to help her find reputable local breeders to provide healthy puppies. I even offered to pay for her to fly with me to one of the commercial breeders she buys her puppies from in Kansas, but she refused.”
Aberle is referring to Kimberly Curler, owner of Waggs to Riches. The store’s website proclaims to be “the nation’s premiere full-service pet boutique” and offers the “finest in toy breed puppies.” I attempted to reach Curler for comment via phone messages and emails, but she did not reply.
Curbing the sale of “doggies in the window” is a growing crusade being waged by pet lovers all across America. It has also become a legal hot button on the local and state levels.
“It has been America’s dirty little secret long enough,” says Farber. “The time is now to close down these puppy mills.”
Currently, Lake Worth is the only city in Palm Beach County to ban the retail sale of dogs (the law passed in 2011). And at the time of this column’s deadline, the state of Connecticut plus 28 municipalities have ordinances banning the retail sale of dogs.
On the West Coast, the city of San Diego passed a ban on these pet store sales in November, but it now being legally challenged in federal court by David Salinas, the owner of San Diego Puppy store. He recently opened a pet store and began selling puppies in Oceanside, where I now live.
On a recent Saturday, dozens of people with signs proclaiming “Ban Puppy Mills” peacefully passed out educational fliers and encouraged motorists passing by the Oceanside Puppy store to honk in support.
While the sound of car horns may not be as melodic as a Patti Page hit song from the 1950s, it was music to my ears.
Arden Moore, founder of FourLeggedLife.com, is an animal behavior consultant, editor, author, professional speaker and master certified pet first aid instructor. Each week, she hosts the popular Oh Behave! show on PetLifeRadio.com. Learn more by visiting www.fourleggedlife.com
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