Dallas is considering a ban on the sale of puppies and kittens in pet stores.
Supporters say many animals sold in pet stores come from inhumane puppy mills and the change would create humane pet stores.
The people who run Petland in Dallas oppose such a ban.
It’s easy to fall in love with the puppies sold at that North Dallas store.
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It happened to customer Landon Hardwick.
“We went to three different shelters, couldn't find what we were looking for. But as soon as we got to Petland, we fell in love with this little guy right here,” Hardwick said.
He bought a 9-week old Cockapoo from Petland.
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“I love this place. I do not think it should be shut down,” he said.
A Dallas City Council Briefing presented Monday from the Humane Society of the United States said a puppy mill pipeline supplies the baby animals sold in pet stores.
It said 400 U.S. cities, nine of them in Texas, including Fort Worth have banned the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores.
Manager Dominque Connor said the goal of the Dallas Petland store is to meet the needs of customers and make them feel good about their purchases.
“We're doing it the right way and we take pride in doing it that way. We've been here for the last 13 years,” she said.
Odyssey Pets in North Dallas does not sell puppies or kittens.
“There's plenty of dogs available for adoption which is what we promote. We're not anti-pure-bred dog. We're just anti-puppy mill,” Odyssey Owner Mike Doan said.
His store has a feral cat on display for adoption in the front window. He supports a ban on the sale of puppies and kittens to combat puppy mill breeding.
“You cannot ethically do this on a large scale and feel good about what you are doing because they are literally stacking dogs in small crates one on top of the other,” Doan said.
Dominique Connor said Petland puppies come from good breeders and buyers get background information on the dogs.
“We have some local, we have some that are non-local. The biggest and most important thing is that they are the best of the best,” she said.
The Dallas City Council Quality of Life Committee heard the briefing but took no action. The issue will be sent to the Dallas Animal Shelter Advisory Commission for consideration before a final City Council vote on the ban which is scheduled for February.
