Read the original article by Devin Turk at nbc-2.com here.
Cape Coral city leaders are considering an ordinance that would ban the retail sales of cats and dogs in the city.
Gulf Coast Humane Society CEO Jennifer Galloway has been there when police have busted puppy mills.
“What you see on TV is the truth of it, it’s horrifying. They’re in cages, one atop each other, full of poo and urine, matted and knotted,” Galloway said.
The humane society said a significant portion of dogs and cats in retail pet stores come from puppy mills.
“Reputable breeders have a lot of guidelines on who intakes their animals. They don’t just send them to puppy stores,” Galloway said.
Now, some Cape Coral city leaders want to discourage that and encourage adoption by banning the retail sale of Dogs and cats in the city.
“There are puppies out there. We don’t need to sell them in stores when shelters and rescues are full of puppies,” Galloway said.
But not everyone agrees.
“I think its a waste of time to be honest,” said Shane Reinhardt.
Reinhardt manages Patriot Pets and Supplies in Cape Coral. His store sells puppies. He said he only gets his puppies from trusted sources.
“My dogs come from breeders and a real close network that we’ve used for a really long time,” said Reinhardt.
He said while the ordinance has good intentions, it would hurt his business in the form of sales and foot traffic.
“I’d hate to see what it would do for people of this city. Animal shelters sometimes have bigger dogs, older dogs. Some people want to be able to get a young dog and raise it,” said Reinhardt.
The ordinance is being introduced at Monday’s meeting, and there will be a public hearing for it on October 1.
