Ban the Sale of Dogs and Cats in Toronto Pet Stores

Mehr and his dog Betty

Finally! A politician proposing a dog ban that actually makes sense! Dean Mahler, a Toronto city council candidate in Ward 20 is proposing that the city bans the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores and retail market places. A Facebook Page has also been put together for this cause. Under his proposal existing pet stores would be grandfathered for a year so their current inventories of dogs and cats could be exhausted. Registered humane societies and rescues would be exempted and could charge an adoption fee to ensure people who want to enjoy the pleasures of canine and feline company can still do so.

According to Maher’s report, Toronto has 27 registered pet shops as of March 28, eleven of which sell cats or dogs. While that number may seem surprisingly low and some people may question why bother pursuing what would appear to be a small problem, a ban like this would be a monumental step forward in the battle against puppy mills. Majority of the kittens and puppies in pet stores come from puppy mills or puppy brokers (an indirect middle man between a puppy mill and the pet store). No reputable breeder of any sort would ever allow their puppy to be sold in a pet store. Even if a pet store assures you their “stock” doesn’t come from puppy mills, you can be certain they come from puppy brokers (who get their dogs from puppy mills) or any other unscrupulous sources (some Amish farmers have been known to run puppy mills referred to by pet stores as family farms) who churn out unhealthy and mistreated puppies like cheap shoes.

What is even sadder is the fact that so many people are still completely unaware of puppy mills and continue to buy their dogs or kittens in pet stores, while thousands of some times perfectly well behaved and healthy dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens are put to sleep in shelters, simply because some one got bored of them. Some of those dogs in shelters were puppies once bought on impulse in a pet store by an uneducated shopper who had no idea how big the dog would get when fully grown. What is even more alarming is seeing high maintenance breeds such as Akitas, Filas, Cane Corsi, even Dogo Argentinos sold in pet stores to buyers completely unaware of these breeds incredibly high needs for training and physical exercise. These are dogs who when not raised properly by some one lured only by their cute puppy looks can become a real nuisance and even a danger to others.

Speak to any well respected veterinarian about this issue and they will very likely tell you they do not support the sale of puppies and kittens in pet stores. Every one involved in the pet world knows it’s a major taboo to get your puppy or kitten from a pet store and for a good reason. Not only do pet store puppies support and continue to feed the puppy mill machine, because of the poor breeding practices and lack of any concern over the dogs’ health or mental well being, pet store puppies often develop behavioural and medical issues.

Pet store puppies taken from their mom and litter at a far too young of an age are almost guaranteed to develop social issues such as being overly fearful or aggressive due to the lack of proper socialization and crucial behavioural development. Finding puppies as young as 5 weeks old in a puppy store in sadly not uncommon and while fully weaned at that age, puppies need to stay with mom and litter until they are at least 8 weeks old in order to benefit from the social and behavioural lessons provided by mom and the litter mates. Puppies who are unfortunate to stay in the pet store window display too long, often develop sad behaviours to help them deal with the social isolation that can last a life time such as spinning in place, barking, and loss of care in cleanliness. Pet store puppies kept in unclean conditions can some times be nearly impossible to house break.

Uneducated and impulsive consumers buy what could essentially be called inferior products at premium prices. Some times a puppy from a reputable breeder who does regular health and temperament tests on the puppies’ parents, ensures good upbringing of the young puppy before it leaves it’s litter, and offers real meaningful health guarantees and life time of support can be cheaper then a pet store pup.

A ban on the sale of kittens and puppies in pet stores would be long over due and welcomed by many.

Related Articles:
Toronto Sun
Toronto Star

An MSNBC story about the success of a similar ban in effect in West Hollywood, California. Since retail pet sales have been banned in Albuquerque, animal adoptions at city shelters have risen 23 percent.